The announcement of Apple’s iPad has sparked a fresh debate over Flash on the web. It was very obvious during Steve Jobs’ iPad announcement that the new device did not support Flash. This isn’t a big surprise since the iPhone and iPod Touch do not either. The iPad has the potential to be more of a web consumption device, so the absence of Flash definitely raises some issues. If the iPad turns out to be as popular as the iPhone, web developers will have to think twice about using Flash on their sites and potentially loosing a large segment of users. Apple has made it clear that they think the future of multimedia on the web will involve HTML5.

HTML5 is the next generation of the language used to create websites. This is the first major update to the HTML standard in over 10 years. While the HTML5 standard is still a draft, many of the features are supported in current browsers. There are many exciting new features available in HTML5, including audio and video tags. It is these multimedia tags that are threatening the future of Flash.

HTML5 is a threat to Flash because it offers an alternative to one of the key benefits of Flash. Up until HTML5, the best way to embed video that worked across platforms and browsers was to use Flash. Almost everyone has a Flash plugin installed in their browser, so it makes sense. But, even before HTML5 there were forces working against Flash.

For a long time Flash was the best tool for delivering animation and multimedia.  But those things are changing.  Flash may no longer be the best choice for these features. You can now do very sophisticated animation with jQuery, and with HTML5 you have an alternative for delivering video as well.  HTML5 makes adding video to a web page as easy as adding an image.

In the end, I believe Flash will fade due to in part to limitations placed on it by Apple and lack of access to the iPhone and iPad.  There has also been trend toward open, non-proprietary standards like HTML.  Flash may still have a place as a presentation tool, but it’s role on the web is likely to diminish over time.

This week Foster Braun, Ed Rudel, Cal Carson and Vince Chmielewski will be in the studios to tackle your computer and Internet questions.

We also feature two very special non-profit websites: The Wellness Community of Southeast Michigan aimed at helping cancer patients and their families and The Sarcoma Alliance for Research through Collaboration , that provides the infrastructure for collaboration between the health professionals around the globe who are developing new standards for dealing with sarcoma. Vince was instrumental in developing both these websites as he has been in creating ours.

And of course we count on Erik Anderson to take a few Mac Minutes to talk about launch of the iPad, Apple’s long anticipated touch screen tablet earlier this week.

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Ed Rudel, Cal Carson, Vince Chmielewski and Erik Anderson discuss news from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and then put on their problem solving hats to handle your computer and Internet questions.

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Michigan State University is leading the way in New Media Education. Learn from Derek Mehraban, CEO of Ingenex Digital Marketing what it takes to get our license to drive new media. His talk will touch on social media marketing, personal branding, online public relations, search engine optimization, Google tools and more! The New Media Drivers License Course is offered as an MSU lifelong education course or as an Executive Education course for corporations looking to train their team on new media.

Listen to audio presentation at LA2M

It’s a special edition! Join us as the Internet Advisor crew, led by Gary Baker, launches a brand new website for the show. You’ll get to meet:

* Carrie Hensel and Catherine Hayes of Inner Circle Media, who created the new design,
* Vince Chmielewski of VC Web Design, who is kind of like the Wizard of Oz pulling all the right bells and chords behind the scenes to make the whole thing work right and
* Jason Yaeger from Online Tech, the company which has hosted our sites since we began 12 years ago.

It’s a chance not only to see how our new site works but give you insight into what your website could look like with a little expert help.

Foster Braun returns in studio for this important launch program. Big Red Erik Anderson has The Mac Minute ready with news from the “Dark Side” and tech expert Joel Powell joins us again to help answer your questions.

In the second and third hours the guys answer technology related questions during open line.

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As we find ourselves in the midst of the worst recession in recent history, leaders are faced with the most difficult decisions of their careers. There are few people who have experienced such challenging and uncertain times. Leaders question whether they have the “right stuff” and the resources necessary to succeed.

*What do we, as leaders, need to do to assure our company’s success through turbulent times?
*What are the issues that we will face as we emerge from the downturn?
*How do we engender resiliency during these times?

Stephanie Boyse is the President and CEO of Brazeway, Inc, brazeway.com, a global manufacturer of components to the appliance and automotive industries. In 2008, for the first time in Brazeway’s history, they found both industries to decline at the same time. They experienced the largest single quarterly decline in October 2008 of 47% and posting subsequent year over year record declines in 2008 and 2009.

Brazeway took actions to restructure the business, requiring painful employee reductions, organizational restructuring, product and profitability analysis, cash management and top line growth strategies. The result cut their break-even in half and restored profitability in 3 months.

Stephanie will share Brazeway’s story and talk about her perspective of Leadership Resiliency during tough times. And as many businesses begin to stabilize and plan for growth once again, she will address her thoughts on the issues that may lie ahead for Leadership coming out of tough times.

View Stephanie’s presentation at the November CEO Connect.

Podcasts, Screencasts, Vodcasts: Take advantage of the growing demand for media to better serve your users and drive more traffic to your site.  Make yourself a resource for media content and become a knowledge leader in your industry.  At LA2M, Vince Chmielewski explores each media type and show how to capture, publish, and distribute your content.

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David Chinsky, CEO of David Chinsky & Associates and Founder of The Institute for Leadership Fitness^TM introduces his integrated model of leadership development. He will share four crucial components of leadership success that create long-term impact for leaders and their organizations, and describe how The Institute for Leadership Fitness www.theleadershipfit.com develops “fit leaders”.

View video of presentation at September CEO Connect

Marisa Smith from The Whole Brain Group presents “The Competitive Advantages of Adopting Green Business Practices and the Benefits of Developing Electronic Solutions to Paper Problems.” The Whole Brain Group is a web application development company dedicated to helping its clients work smarter and greener. Located in downtown Ann Arbor, the company applies its philosophy of Integrated Thinking to the development of balanced and sustainable software systems, growing and adapting these systems along with a client’s evolving needs. The company specializes in the development of electronic solutions in the areas of research compliance, media relations, legal services, and accreditation.

View video of presentation at May CEO Connect

Kevin Krason, Shauna Nicholson, Ken Burbary, and Nick DeNardis participate in an informative discussion on social media.  The panel was moderated by Chad Wiebesick and hosted by Refresh Detroit.  The panelist discuss social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, Sermo, and Twitter and how they are being used.

Social Media Panel Discussion on January 21, 2009

Listen to audio of panel at January Refresh Detroit