Why do you require use of Macromedia Flash Player?

We've required Flash for using our map based search since we first launched back in Feb 2006. This was based on our desire to create an interactive map based application that allowed displaying dynamic data (zestimates, parcels, etc) on top of dynamic and interactive street and aerial maps, which at the time was not something you found on real estate sites. Trying to show 100s of parcels on the map with highlighting on mouse over was something that was hard to make perform well in real time with DHTML and scripting. More recent browsers and available mapping technologies from Microsoft and Google have made it possible to accomplish most of our goals without requiring flash. We do have a longer term goal to remove the flash requirement for our maps, so we appreciate your feedback. Adobe reports 95+% install based in the US for flash player v10, so it is our belief that nearly everyone has flash capabilities. That said, we do know of some corporations blocking access to flash content, so even though the player is installed, the flash application won't work properly. On mobile devices, where flash is not broadly available, we have provided other methods for accessing our home information. We have a dedicated Zillow iPhone application  and we are working on other mobile platforms. You can also use a slimmed down mobile experience on http://mobile.zillow.com/ .   Additionally, there are other parts of our site that you can use which don't require flash, so we encourage you to explore those areas as well.