TC50: FluidHtml builds a more web-friendly version of Flash

September 14, 2009 | Anthony Ha | Comments |
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fhtmlAdobe’s Flash is a popular format for web developers because it allows companies to build pretty, interactive web apps, but it also comes with plenty of headaches. A startup called FluidHtml, launching at the TechCrunch50 conference in San Francisco today, announced a new web markup language, also called FluidHtml, which it promises has the richness of Flash while eliminating disadvantages.

Basically, FluidHtml says that Flash “doesn’t work the way the rest of the Internet works,” and it wants to change that.

For one thing, Adobe and Google say they’ve made Flash apps searchable by search engines, but FluidHtml says that support is so limited it’s “meaningless.” FluidHtml, meanwhile, says it makes Flash content completely searchable. Flash also limits the possibilities for search engine marketing, because it limits the amount of linking you can do to pages within the apps — again, FluidHtml allows that. Finally, FluidHtml says it renders Flash content dynamically, more like standard web content, rather than Flash.

FluidHtml plans to make money by charging publishers of web apps using the markup language. It’s already being tested out by art auction firm Sotheby’s.

Click here for more startup news coming out of the TechCrunch50 conference today.

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About the Author, Anthony Ha

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on enterprise technology, cloud computing, and tech policy. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.

  • Uh, it's called HTML5 and it's patent and royalty free.
  • I don't like the implications of a markup language license. What happens to a site when the operator stops paying the license fee?
  • Name
    So, they’ve reinvented Netomat's netomat markup language (ca 2002) for RIAs?
  • Let's give it a try.
  • Great...now we're gonna have senselessly all-Flash sites again.
  • Ed
    Sites like http://www.effectgenerator.com/ have been doing this for a long time already with their own mark-up language FXML.
  • good article...thanks a lot for the information!
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