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06 May 2010
Adobe's chief technology officer has slammed Apple's policy on Flash as anti-competitive and anti-internet.
Kevin Lynch told delegates at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco that Apple is "playing with this strategy where they want to create a walled garden around what applications people can use".
Lynch compared the situation to the railroad industry in the 1800s, when different operators had different sized tracks. This meant that cargo has to be loaded and unloaded every time the railroad cars changed networks.
This policy harmed the industry and affected economic activity in the US, according to Lynch.
"That's what attempting to be done right now, and I think that's totally counter to the internet. We need to have freedom of transport, open access and letting people compete on the merits they have, not on the gauge of the rails," he said.
Lynch believes that Apple's problem with Flash is that Adobe had made it work, not that it was "buggy" as Apple chief executive Steve Jobs has claimed, and that Apple does not want applications that can be deployed across all platforms.
Once Apple blocked Flash, Adobe had no choice but to shun the Apple platform, he explained.
Lynch predicted that the variety of software for open vendors will force Apple to change its policy, likening the situation to the personal computer industry in 1984 when IBM tried to dictate the market.
Adobe will not be "blindsided by HTML5", he said, as the company is preparing tools for the technology that will be the best available.
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Oracle & Flash
Oracle has built their entire support website using Flash. It's not a very stable site these days, but it's the only choice an Oracle customer has for support.
Posted by: EJ 19 May 2010
proprietary software
The list of proprietary software and standards around today is legion and head of the list is Microsoft. Ubiquity does not constitute openness. This not about proprietary software or hardware, it is about control of development platforms and the use of cross platform tools that reduce costs, but also quality. Apple is not saying you must only use our software on the Iphone, indeed that is the last thing that they want but that the software should comply with the Iphone design principles and make the user experience one of the key aims thus trying to ensure that quality is maintained
Posted by: Dave Hamilton 09 May 2010
Lynch is correct...
Lynch is spot on with his comment & b4 the MAC enthusiasts criticise this statement consider that this is exactly the ploy that caused the death of so many other organisations. Right now FLASH is big business on Youtube for a start, let alone the number of non-youtube advertisements, displays etc. How many of you actually want to be cut-off from the mainstream by this ridiculous action by MAC. Your righteous-bluff comes from a false belief that there is something better coming immediately but it isn't coming immediately, it will take some time for the web standards HTML5 to really have something that uses enough codecs to cover everything. The truth is that you are missing out bcoz of Jobs & his cronies, stance on FLASH, which while imperfect, is the only real resource at present. MAC don't have a usable option yet & the one that they devise may not be given credence by developers outside MACs. That could be a devastating blow to MACs & could end up putting them back where they always were. Your MACs aren't infallible. All machines run code which has fallibilities & FLASH is just one more. Having this wonderful machine that doesn't give you access to the most current viewing is really a fairly pointless position to take. Of course you could always just wipe it & load Linux & get access to it anyway. It won't cost you anything & your security options become stronger than they were with MAC basically bcoz you can see them all. MAC will never let that happen & this will probably mete out their suffocation. I won't care but I think you guys would probably rather have the option rather than not have the choice.
Posted by: Rex Alfie Lee 08 May 2010
So what, who cares?
The Internet is "about" open, reliable communications under even the most extreme circumstances. Think of it this way, DARPA created the Internet to survive Global Thermonuclear War! There may be only cockroaches left to download all the porn, but the "anatomical art" will still flow! One of the methods to achieve this is the OPENness of all things "Internet". Now comes before us, Apple, whose OS is so proprietary it resides on CHIPS, not disks; and Adobe, who practically INVENTED the term "proprietary data format". Ironically, Adobe would probably not exist were it not for their "ATM" - "Adobe Type Manager" for ... MACINTOSH. Just say "NO" to hypocrisy, people! There's another "A" word to consider regarding Adobe and Apple and the Internet: "ANATHEMA". How well did IBM (arguably more substantial than A and A combined) do with their foray into "proprietary", i.e. the PS/2?? Seen any MicroChannel cards on eBay lately? Can you think of any proprietary technology that exists successfully today, barring government(s) forcing the People to use it? If not for government force, would YOU use single-source, proprietary technology? I'm reminded of the words of an old folk song: "When will they ever learn?"
Posted by: Jimbo 07 May 2010
Hypocrisy
Yes we well know Apple is a control freak. But these comments of Lynch are completely silly and hypocritical especially in the light of the control Adobe maintains over it's own products. My iPad gives me access to the whole of the web, without restriction. The fact that it doesn't include flash is not a restriction. It protects me and improves my experience in the same way my home browsers all have flash turned off. If it comes to a choice I'll take Apple over Adobe any day of the week.
Posted by: Howard 06 May 2010
Flash - who cares?
Your average user just wants to be able to browse the web on whatever device without having to worry about what a website is built in? or does my browser have the correct plugins? If I am using a battery operated device I would want to maximise the time I had between charges. It would seem that the only people who care are the legions of developers who have moved to flash form a previous standard. Maybe the time has come to move on again. Of course this would reduce the profits of developers but the browsing experience of fast and clear information would be enhanced rather than using all the flash bells and whistles to distract the audience that there is actually nothing of note being said.
Posted by: Stephen Taylor 06 May 2010