I've seen it on a number of websites such as when I enter I am asked "flash" or "html" and I don't see much difference.

I thought you were going to ask the difference between Flash and Shockwave!

one section has flash animation shyte though sometimes it aint noticeable, the other doesnt have flash. there u go

Farang, I'm surprised you don't know the difference. Maybe that's because I spend too much time working in Flash and we all assume everyone knows what we're talking about, that's ego-centrism for you! Flash is an immensely powerful program but as the above statement implies many don't know how to use it correctly. In my view, no page should be wholely Flash there should always be an opt out somewhere. Many people don't know how to optimise and the file size becomes bloated, that's obviously caused some ill feeling judging by Slynky's reply. As far as 3D animation is concerned, in the next few years the format will become essential for us and despite the concerns felt by Slynky we will all of us need to learn at least some aspects of it. Try going to Macromedia's web site and see what's happening in the shockwave 3D arena. Already, Lightwave, Truespace, Maya, Max and Cinema are supporting the w3d export format and as connection speed increases so the full impact of the work we do will be felt. As 3D artists we will have an enormous advantage over even the best of the Flash Gurus and that wil equate to money.....!!!!

Attached Link: http://www.once-upon-a-forest.com

flash web design at the moment is highly over rated, and is mostly used for useless eyecandy without adding any real functionality to a site. A few sites incorporate it extremely well, but these are very few and far between. The only band site I've ever seen that uses it well is Gravity Kills' site (www.gravitykills.com). Flash has a long way to go. Sites like newgrounds.com have nailed down the fun part Flash can entail. Still, the sites with the best and easiest to use site navigation are still in lil'old html format. Flash sites can easily surpass this, but, broadband is not yet the standard for the internet, and wont be for a very long time. When that time comes though, people will be able to really show off what the program is capable of. incidentll, the link i posted here, dont click it unless yer on highspeed, and have at least a 700mhz processor. This site is purely eyecandy,. showing off what the creator is capable of...

By and large we agree Slynky, the only point I think I disagree with you on is that it's the people who use Flash who have a long way to go, not the program itself

I do'nt think anybody has mentioned it, but the princible behind Flash is that it produces works with vector files for its animations. Some graphics are pixel based, meaning they have a finite demension i.e. 1024x769pixels. They lost thier sharpness when they are displayed larger than they were saved. Say yoiu have a 200x200 pixel photo, if you were to try to cover your whole screen with it it would appear very degraded. With a vector image the graphic is saved as a mathmatical equation. This equationcan be dislpayed at any size, without quality loss. A vector logo displayed in the corner of a screen would look the same way plaster along the side of a skyscraper! = )