Re: Microsoft v/s Macromedia Site

[ I've trimmed some of the crossposts, but still left two lists because I'm
not sure which one actually started the message! I'm on HWG-Graphics,
myself... followups would likely be best sent to a single list, thanks.]


At 6:38 PM 1/28/99, W.W.Wilaton wrote:
> When you open two browser windows one for www.microsoft.com and
> another  for www.macromedia.com and click go on browser at the
> same time,  complete macromedia site loads much faster than complete
> microsoft site.
>
> Actually, First page of Macromedia site contains lots of effects and
> sound where as first page of Microsoft site contains only text and one
> graphics. Therefore according to me Microsoft site should load faster
> than Macromedia.
>
> Then why this unexpected effect? could you explain it?


You're right that the Macromedia site uses Flash for navigation. Actual
loading time might vary with net traffic at the time, but if you "View
Source" the Microsoft front page you'll see that it's loading in three
external .JS files, is preloading many GIFs for a navbar, and then has some
table-based layout. All these tasks will take time.

The main Flash navigation, at http://www.macromedia.com/uber.swf, is rather
large at 50K, but it's a single net connection. This reduces the number of
HTTP negotiations required... the single package can speed delivery.

Rephrased, the HTML at the Microsoft site is 18K and calls up many external
files. The SWF at the Macromedia site is 50K but requires only a single
file. Depending on your network connection, one may load faster than the
other.

Sidenote: This is also why you should be very careful when making image
tables -- too many slices will slow the download! A simple
slice-along-guides tool usually generates many more slices than are needed.
Modern tools reduce the number of slices to the bare minimum, while also
offering per-slice compression and better rollovers.


(As an aside, the main Macromedia page is *not* made with Flash! The basic
template was designed in Flash, but it uses the Generator tool to integrate
new items and rollovers into the display. Whenever the contents need to
change, the web team changes a text file with new instructions and tells
Generator to create a new SWF file for display. If you already work with
Flash, you can get a free trial of Generator through the site... amazing
stuff!)

jd




John Dowdell, Macromedia Tech Support, San Francisco CA US
Search technotes: http://www.macromedia.com/support/search/

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