I just uploaded an upgrade to the beta version where Flash now uses native OS cursors for the writing prompts instead of the old cursors. It should feel smoother. Do you notice any difference?

This is a Flash 10.2 feature, so it's been around for a while, but we just started requiring Flash 10.2, so I finally get to turn it on!

I just switched to beta because of the leech scores which is very useful, but the cursor is much better too, great improvement! Much smoother and more natural.

Didn't notice anything on linux or windows.

nick is this any use to you guys?
http://www.google.com/doubleclick/studio/swiffy/extension.html

Used to have a sort of black dot? Now I just have my normal cursor, a small white arrow. I liked the black dot for writing better.

For me it's the same like Nicki.

That's true about the cursor, but I can't say that it really bothers me, but i can definitely see an improvement in the writing quality. It's much more precise and easier to write complicated characters.

This happened once before, when the black dot was replaced by a cursor on OSX.

My initial reaction at the time was like Nicki's, but after a while I got used to it, and it made no difference.

However, if the black dot every so slightly lagged to begin with for you, as it often does on OSX, you'll likely soon notice a difference. Writing will be faster and smoother.

alxx, we don't use the Flash authoring tool at all, so everything is ActionScript 3 code. Swiffy only does (some of) ActionScript 2. I think this tool is more for things like banner ads.

I'll look into the platform support for the cursors and use the old way when it's not supported. For those for whom the black dot disappeared, which browser, browser version, OS, and Flash version was this?

In my case, the black dot disappeared. I'm using Firefox 8.0, win7, and Flash 11.0.1.

Using “Performance Monitor”, I can see that the CPU runs much much slower in the beta version when the mouse is moved. Other than this, I can't find any other difference in performance. What I'm saying is that I can't actually feel any difference in speed or smoothness. The different only exists as some graphs and numbers. So, probably, the performance difference can only be felt by those who have a slower CPU.

pts, thanks for the information. By "slower", do you mean that the CPU utilization is lower on beta, or the opposite?

I use XP and Chrome, for everything, including flash, always with the latest (automatic) update.

My reaction was a lot like Byzanti's, at first a little odd using the cursor instead of the dot, but quickly got used to it. (I think because before when I saw the cursor it meant something was still lagging so I had to wait to start.)

I like it though, it feels noticeably smoother and and more responsive for me.

@nick I'm using an Intel i5 cpu. The clock speed is not constant but will decrease with reduced load. When running the beta version, the clock speed is around 800MHz. For the current version, the clock speed is around 1.8GHz.

The dot is back now for me

Sorry, scrap that, it was at first but gone now...confusing...

Firefox 8, XP, WIN 11,0,1,152