st.com now a flash only website ?

I just tried to find some str711 documents and it appears st.com is now a flash only website. :-( It also looks like ST have broken many of the related documents page links in the process.

Can anyone confirm this and do you know of a non-flash version of the ST microcontroller website ?

Thanks,

Simon.

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Simon Clubley, clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world
Reply to
Simon Clubley
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Navigation seems to be okay with javascript enabled but content (i.e., Flash) disabled while using the Opera browser. Without javascript it was just a blank page.

Oh fargle bargle. I tried to navigate to a datasheet and got the "This application requires Adobe Flash Player 9 or greater.Get Flash." warning but no datasheet. Marketing gone wild, I guess. Farking marketing "Oooo, sparkles!" Feh.

Try the various 'net datasheet archives?

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Rich Webb     Norfolk, VA
Reply to
Rich Webb

My standard practice is to link to the manufacturers' data sheets through Digikey product pages. This seems still to be working. I just linked in to through Digikey, and to through dipmicro's catalog pages.

Digikey.com was out of action briefly this morning, after I read these posts, which made for some exciting suspicions.

Mel.

Reply to
Mel

Thanks for checking.

Unfortunately it's not just the datasheet I am interested in, but the whole ecosystem of application and technical notes as well which, until today, were nicely organised into collections of related documents on static HTML pages.

I've worked with ARM boards in recent years, but it's been on the larger processors such as Intel's IXP425. This is the first time I've tried using a ARM processor as small as a ARM7TDMI MCU and I don't know what ARM7TDMI specific issues (if any) I am going to encounter.

Although I had a strong preference for Atmel (their software support kits are very GNU friendly), the ST MCUs have more UART ports which was a advantage for this project. However, I have now gone for a board using Atmel's SAM7 and will implement the project slightly differently.

Congratulations ST marketing, you just lost a sale (even if it was just a single board. :-))

Personally, I think requiring Flash for basic website access is unacceptable for a technical website. (I regard Flash as a major security weak point along with causing usability issues and manage just fine without it elsewhere.)

Simon.

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Simon Clubley, clubley@remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world
Reply to
Simon Clubley

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I agree wholeheartedly! I just don't like Flash on general principals. If I have to have some third party application beyond a browser just to view a web site, then it is a web site I don't need! I don't have Flash installed on Firefox and don't plan to install it anytime soon. Mostly it is just the extra bandwidth used by flash sites, but also the fact that I am coerced into using software I don't want is a major strike against. The funny part is that ST will never figure this out either as even the contacts page requires Flash!!!

But if I remember correctly, the ST site was never a joy to navigate. I have always felt that TI has a grade A site almost the equal to Digikey. Obviously someone has figured out that the Internet is a boon to sales...

Long live TI and Digikey!

Rick

Reply to
rickman

Yep, it was totally useless when I went to the site on my IPAD. I have other ways to get to the PDFs, but I do a lot of evening browsing on the IPAD.

Mark Borgerson

Reply to
Mark Borgerson

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Seconded. I use a lot of MSP430s from TI because they have done a good job on documentation and keeping the chips available at Digikey. (Well, a nice architecture and inexpensive compiler and debugger from Imagecraft help a lot.....Yes, that was a plug!)

Mark Borgerson

Reply to
Mark Borgerson

It was so bad, I sent them some scud feedback.

You have to wonder WHO they tested it on first ? Perhaps we would run a sweepstake for how long it takes before the deluded fools in ST marketing, realize they are NOT the bees knees ?

-jg

Reply to
-jg

I recommend installing flash in Firefox, and installing the "flashblock" plugin. Then you can use flash if you need it, but avoid it most of the time.

I totally agree that flash is a terrible idea for a website (though it could be worse - they could have used a Java applet, or - shudder - Silverlight). ST will lose sales from me too.

But there are occasions where flash is a reasonable choice (though sometimes javascript could be used instead). Things like selection tools with lots of filters and selections can work well in flash. But it should always be an alternative - not the only way to get the information you want.

The rule for good website design is that it should work with no flash and no javascript, and preferably even without images. But it's okay to add javascript and flash to make it look nicer, navigate faster, or add extra functionality.

While we are ranting, I'd like to add in a couple of other complaints.

I /hate/ websites that force links to open in new windows, or open in the same window/tab. All links should be simple, ordinary links - then it is /my/ choice if I want a new window (shift-click), a new tab (ctrl-click) or the same window (click).

I also dislike websites with meaningless addresses to pages. If you are selling foobles, the product page for them should be something like

formatting link
- not some meaningless number, or a html get string based on "products.jsp". The server backend might use a common jsp script - but it should appear as a straight html page. Anything else is just incompetence at using the webserver's re-write rules.

And of course the datasheet for foobles should be called something like "fooble_datasheet_rev.1.2.pdf".

TI requires flash to navigate to Stellaris pages, via a selector tool. The selector tool is quite good, and it's okay to have that in flash - but it should be an alternative to a simple list.

Reply to
David Brown

On quite a few pages the main navigation was half hidden because somebody wrote the site based on ONE screen size and positioned EVERY item based on pixel co-ordinates.

Secondary windows open up of a FIXED width which are SMALLER than the pixel defined content to be displayed.

Worse than that it requires Flash 9.0.124 (wondering what happens with Flash 10, 11..19), and this is defined on each page at LEAST FOUR times as follows

=------------ Page code snippet-----------------=

${title}

=------------ End Page code snippet-----------------=

This is code that should be submitted to

formatting link

No doubt if someone at ST sees this post they will think I have hacked their website, when all I have done is 'View Source' available in ANY browser.

Which propbably because it ws someone senior's pet project will get ignored until the number of hits for 6 months drops, sample requests dwindle and revenue decreases.

May also have been done by some startup that is a relation of a board member, not long out of college/school. Typical Flash point and click monkey coding I would expect from the 15 year olds over here (UK) doing their ICT courses at Secondary school. I should know having seen lots of them that the other half marks as she teaches the subject.

Someone spent a lot of money on M$oft style animations where they are not needed.

This design style is not suited for the target market of engineers as the MAJOR users.

This remins me of the NXP fiasco a couple of years ago.

Probably the board who are impresed by powerpoint and other glitzy presentations, not whether it is the right product/service etc..

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Paul Carpenter          | paul@pcserviceselectronics.co.uk
    PC Services
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Reply to
Paul

Actually it's an f'n stoopid marketing idea as well, since Google doesn't index Flash sites.

Reply to
Clifford Heath

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