The beta version of snyderdigital uses our new uploader. Our current uploader is an ActiveX/Java based tool and this new one uses HTML5/Flash.

The site decides to use one or the other (HTML5 or Flash) depending on the browser being used. But it generally breaks down like this: IE8 (which is the latest you can use on Windows XP) uses Flash, most other platforms/browsers uses HTML5. HTML5 is preferred as no components are downloaded when it is used.

Here are the reasons we want to move away from ActiveX/Java:

– Users must assent to download/install the components at least once. This can be confusing. Sometimes (in the case of Java), the component is downloaded before every session.
– Java is not always installed on PCs and Macs. And the Java component on Macs is no longer updated by Apple. So, in addition to installing our component, users must sometimes install Java. Most users will be using HTML5 in our new system, based on the browser spread in the real world. So a minority will be forced to use Flash which also must first be installed. But the number of computers with Flash is much higher than the number with Java.

A couple of other design decisions:

  • The uploader no longer creates different samples (medium, thumbs, etc.) before uploading. Making this change enables the HTML5 component to work on more browsers and speeds up the total upload time. We originally put sampling in to make the print order page and gallery work more efficiently. But now more and more usage is specialty product ordering that use fewer photos with different sampling needs. And our servers are faster and process the server-side sampling more efficiently.
  • The new uploader no longer offer “Turbo Upload”. Turbo allowed for faster uploads, but was not optimal for specialty production. And it was confusing for some users. We wanted to simplify the upload page.

Here’s a link to snyderdigital beta:

http://www.photogize.com/bponet_beta/main.aspx?cl=pcall3

Check out the uploader by ordering with new photos or by just adding to albums in your gallery. You can also check out how the uploader works with your own site by using the same link, but replacing pcall3 with your graphx account number (e.g.: graphx437).

If you are on a Mac, note how the HTML5 uploader lets you directly access your iPhoto content…very cool.

Please send feedback to: [email protected]