I just finished reading the article on the XBanner and Cybuy Banner (iMarketing News, April 9).
What a joke.
They actually compared it with a rich media banner and then said it is advantageous because it doesn’t require a plug-in!
It is not comparable at all. It cannot and does not contain true animation/movement/movie, synch sound effects or background music. It just calls on a pop-up window! Big deal!
With a Flash banner, someone could literally browse an entire site without reloading a page and get full-on animation, sound and interactivity that the XBanner couldn’t imagine as well as a secure connection. I can’t believe a news organization that covers the Internet would write an article about a banner that simply opens its target in a new, resized, secured window and allow it to come off as “new” or even close to rich media content.
By the way, the Flash plug-in is installed in about 96 percent of users’ systems worldwide — about the same percentage of people with a current enough browser to call on a centered pop-up window (browsers 3.0 and up).
Nathan Kincaid, Rich media director, FreeDomainforLife.com, Irvine, CA