Hi all,
Kendra,
You need not worry about downloading and installing the Flash Player; it's harmless and very resource-friendly (it won't eat up your computer's memory and slow everything down). Flash is merely a standard platform that processes and displays multimedia content on your PC. Many web pages (games or videos or photo slideshows, for instance) use it, as do cell phone applications. Having said this, there are certain requirements your system must meet in order to function with Flash: you need to be running at least a Pentium II at 450 MHz (or the equivalent) and have at least 128 Mb of RAM memory (you can check your own machine's specs by clicking on
Start, pointing to and
right-clicking on
My Computer, scrolling down the menu to, and then clicking on,
Properties; everything you need to know will be listed there). A 450 MHz Pentium II with a 128 Mb of RAM is a machine born ten or twelve years ago. It should run Flash without a hitch.
Of course, if you're still nervous about installing the Flash Player, just create a restore point, first. A restore point is a "snapshot" of sorts your PC takes of its own internal organization so that, in the event something goes awry, it can, well, restore, itself to its previous functional state once you reboot it. Actually, every time you power on your machine, it takes such a snapshot automatically and stores it in the event something goes horribly wrong during the current session. It can then use that snapshot to right itself after, say, a fatal crash. But you can create a restore point yourself, too. Say, before installing a new piece of software. Here's how (and I'll be assuming you're using Windows XP here):
1. Click on
Start
2. Point to, and click on,
Help and Support
3. In the window that pops up, go to the
Pick a Task category on the right-hand side and click on the
Undo changes to your computer with System Restore link
4. In the
Welcome to System Restore window that pops up, click on the
Create a restore point button and then on the
Next button at the bottom of that page
5. In the
Create a Restore Point window that pops up, type in a name for the restore point in the
Restore point description box (say, "Before the installation of Adobe Flash Player 9"), then point and click on the
Create button at the bottom of that page
6. There you go; you'll have a confirmation that a restore point has been created--date and time stamp included. You can now click on the
Close button (and also close the
Help and Support window). Now, if, perchance, Flash installation has messed up your PC, you'll be given the opportunity, upon rebooting it, to use the restore point you created before installing Flash, and all mention of the Flash Player will disappear from your PC's internal organization (called the "registry"--the system files that hold information regarding your computer's configuration).
Of course, it remains your decision whether or not to install anything whatsoever on your PC, Kendra. Just remember that many web pages won't display properly (or at all) without Flash. It's a must, especially if you own a multimedia computer. Another couple of programs brought to you by the makers of Flash that are fairly important to have installed are the Adobe Reader (it lets you view files created in PDF format or "Portable Document File" format, a popular electronic document exchange format) and the Shockwave Player, which has uses similar to that of the Flash Player. You can find all three by clicking on the following link:
Adobe
Just take a peek on the right-hand side of the Adobe page and you'll spot the links for the Flash Player, Adobe Reader, and Shockwave downloads. Don't worry; they won't download right away; they'll bring you to the respective download pages that will allow you to pick and choose which versions you need, in the event you're running an older machine or something other than a Windows PC with Internet Explorer. Good luck, Kendra!
Now, to answer your questions, yes, the Photobucket Pride album is a set of photos that you can scroll forwards and backwards. Hence, the Photobucket site uses, what else? Flash technology. And, no, my SO, Roxanne, is not the Roxanne you're thinking about. I don't remember ever reading that particular Roxanne's column (although I have picked up the odd issue of
Ladylike in the past). Plus, my SO's real name isn't Roxanne (oddly enough, it's a name she doesn't like and yet went and picked it for herself anyway--guess that says something about her
).
Love,
CJ
) but those of you who are sharp-eyed may spot Roxanne in there somewhere.
Proud Military Family - Navy, Army, Coast Guard, National Guard 
