FedEx Caught Off-Guard By Browsers Blocking Flash, Will Give Customers $5 To Enable It

[Lucian Armasu]

FedEx will offer customers a $5 discount if they have to enable the Flash plugin in Chrome or Safari. FedEx seems to have been caught off-guard by the browser vendors starting to block Flash content and hasn't yet made the transition to an HTML5 website.

FedEx Caught Off-Guard By Browsers Blocking Flash, Will Give Customers $5 To Enable It : Read more

 

[ddpruitt]

So $5 per person to enable it for who knows how long (businesses will love this), or around $50,000 (high estimate) to redesign as HTML5. Yeah, I can see why FedEx service sucks balls.

 

[dstarr3]

So $5 per person to enable it for who knows how long (businesses will love this), or around $50,000 (high estimate) to redesign as HTML5. Yeah, I can see why FedEx service sucks balls.

FedEx has two choices while they do an HTML5 redesign:

1) Lose an entire sale because Flash being disabled prevents a user from navigating the store
2) Give user a $5 coupon to enable Flash so that they can complete a purchase

That $5 coupon is going to save them a lot of lost sales until they get their HTML5 redesign up.

 

[cryoburner]

When a vulnerability is found in Flash, it usually impacts all browsers. On the other hand, HTML specifications have different implementations for each browser.

They can still just target Chrome, and get over half of users. I suppose Google figures that gives them more control over searching for and patching vulnerabilities though. On the other hand, if Flash is no longer enabled by default, then it's no longer as much of a security risk for those who continue to use it either, since fewer people with malicious intent will bother searching for exploits in a piece of software that relatively few people have enabled.

That $5 coupon is going to save them a lot of lost sales until they get their HTML5 redesign up.

Plus, they're actually likely to make some sales out of this that they might not have otherwise. If someone was going to ship something using another courier, but they heard FedEx is having a "$5 off $30 sale" for simply toggling a setting in their browser, I'm sure there will be people who will jump on that. They might even make some new regular customers if they find that they like the service.

 

[Steven_166]

chromelugins no longer works in chrome 57 so re-enabling is going to be a issue.....Try again fedex....

 

[Chester Rico]

People still use flash? What?

 

[grlegters]

I'm surprised lawyers let this one slip through. FedEx pays your employees $5 to enable Flash. Your company gets hacked to the tune of millions. You sue FedEx. MSNBC accuses FedEx of conspiring with Russia.

 

[Emanuel Elmo]

People still use flash? What?

people still use javascript? what?

 

[chicofehr]

This is great. Now you can save $5 each time. Finally flash does something good

 

[Emanuel Elmo]

chromelugins no longer works in chrome 57 so re-enabling is going to be a issue.....Try again fedex....

true but you cans till enable flash by going to content settings and enable it.

but that is going to be for now. Google plans on completely removing flash from it browser at some point.

 

[targetdrone]

This sounds like another setup like Forbes.com forcing you to disable ad blockers. Those that did, got infected.

 

[Mr5oh]

FedEx has other problems too for commercial customers. Last week we had problems where I work as to print FedEx labels to their thermal printers requires Java, guess what plugin doesn't work in the latest version of Firefox? (The last browser their website fully worked in for our account)

I downgraded Firefox for so shipping and receiving could print labels again, and had to send out an email to everyone in the building to let them know not to touch or upgrade that machine again for the time being.

Its not like these changes were a secret. These were known. Fail on FedEx's part all around.

 

[Guest]

So $5 per person to enable it for who knows how long (businesses will love this), or around $50,000 (high estimate) to redesign as HTML5. Yeah, I can see why FedEx service sucks balls.

$50k, a high estimate? Boy, you've never worked in corporate website design. $5 million, minimally. And that's a low estimate.

 

[chaosmassive]

HTML5 been here for long long time, no idea why developer still prefer flash known for a load of vulnerability

 

[JamesSneed]

So $5 per person to enable it for who knows how long (businesses will love this), or around $50,000 (high estimate) to redesign as HTML5. Yeah, I can see why FedEx service sucks balls.

$50k, a high estimate? Boy, you've never worked in corporate website design. $5 million, minimally. And that's a low estimate.

Yeah this will cost much more than $50K. You add two zeroes and you may only be a little bit on the high side.

 

[genz]

@DSTARR3

That assumes they planned to update at all. FedEx (like many other multinationals in the century-old-plus club) doesn't really like the internet model and I guarantee it outsources it's design for top dollar expecting it to last 20 years or more. The want a full front and back end idiot-proof deployment that will last like a bike or a car with no extra maintenance. Software doesn't work like that, because other developers will break your program long before, so FedEx will get a snazzy HTML5 site with a polished back end eventually, but when they do it'll be another 10 years before they can move off HTML5.

 

[ttocsmij]

For crying out loud, just convert the Flash content to something standard that HTML5 supports. This is NOT rocket science and will have to done anyhow now that Adobe and friends have essentially abandoned Flash. Bonus: the site will now be compliant (and probably look better anyhow).

 

[ttocsmij]

In re to MR5OH comment on Java on Mar 25, 2017, it will be interesting but annoying to watch the big boys pissing on each other over Java (not to be confused with javascript which is a totally different technology). I suspect Google is trying to develop a Java-clone to avoid having to license it (thus the hystrionics over supporting Java).

 

[junkeymonkey]

I did notice now you cant uninstall flash anymore like you use to could that's how desperate they are to save themselves

https://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/uninstall-flash-player-windows.html

the foot note

''These instructions are NOT applicable to Flash Player included with Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer on Windows 8 and later or with Google Chrome on all supported operating systems. Please visit the Flash Player Help page for instructions on enabling (or disabling) Flash Player in various browsers.''

long live windows 7 [ you know the OS that you do as you want and need and works not as Microsoft and there cronies want you to as they see fit for there needs ] like win -10 joke of a OS