Beware of Java Virtual Tours

In late 2003 we had a number of our listing clients that complained they couldn't see the Java Virtual Tours I did for marketing their homes. After asking questions and doing some research I discovered the reason was they didn't have Java installed on their PC.

I had assumed that Java was installed on most PCs. Apparently not! My personal survey of home buyers and sellers that try to view my Java Virtual Tours during 2003 and 2004 indicated that about 40% of PCs don't have Java installed.

The other fact I discovered is that even now (late 2005) PCs at Microsoft and PCs owned by Microsoft employees usually do not have Java installed. To understand why you need to understand that in the "Tech world" technologies get raised to the level of religious ideologies and Java is considered "un-clean" at Microsoft. Therefore they choose not to use it. So, if you are a Seattle eastside Realtor who is marketing to Microsoft buyers better not depend on Java virtual tours!

These facts convinced me to move to Flash for my virtual tours. The Flash technology comes standard on virtually every PC on the planet. The the technical controversy and confusion surrounding Java does not effect Flash. The down side is that Flash is slower and has lower quality images. But I've never found a potential home buyer that couldn't see a Flash tour.