Steve Jobs publishes some 'thoughts on Flash'... many, many thoughts on Flash
By Paul Miller 
posted April 29th 2010 9:34AM
posted April 29th 2010 9:34AM
- It's not open. "While Adobe's Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system." Man, that's some strong irony you're brewing, Steve. Still, we get the point -- HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript are open web standards.
- The "full web." Steve hits back at Adobe's claim of Apple devices missing out on "the full web," with an age-old argument (YouTube) aided by the numerous new sources that have started providing video to the iPhone and iPad in HTML5 or app form like CBS, Netflix, and Facebook. Oh, and as for flash games? "50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free." If we were keeping score we'd still call this a point for Adobe.
- Reliability, security and performance. Steve hits on the usual "Flash is the number one reason Macs crash," but adds another great point on top of this: "We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it." You've got us there, Steve, but surely your magical A4 chip could solve all this?
- Battery life. "The video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software." Steve Jobs is of course H.264's #1 fan, and it's hard to blame him, since he cites 10 hours of H.264 playback but only 5 hours with software decode on the iPhone. Still, those "older generation" sites that haven't moved to H.264 yet are pretty much the exact same sites that aren't viewable with HTML5, which means we're being restricted in the content we can access just because some of it doesn't perform as well.
- Touch. Steve hits hard against one of the web's greatest hidden evils: rollovers. Basically, Flash UIs are built around the idea of mouse input, and would need to be "rewritten" to work well on touch devices. "If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?" That doesn't really address the Flash-as-app scenario (that's point #6), but it's also a pretty silly sounding solution to a developer: your website doesn't support this one UI paradigm exactly right, so why not rewrite it entirely?
- The most important reason. Steve finally addresses the third party development tools situation, but it's really along the lines of what we were hearing already: "If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features." We doubt this will end all debate, but it's clear Apple has a line in the sand.
Apple has a long relationship with Adobe. In fact, we met Adobe's founders when they were in their proverbial garage. Apple was their first big customer, adopting their Postscript language for our new Laserwriter printer. Apple invested in Adobe and owned around 20% of the company for many years. The two companies worked closely together to pioneer desktop publishing and there were many good times. Since that golden era, the companies have grown apart. Apple went through its near death experience, and Adobe was drawn to the corporate market with their Acrobat products. Today the two companies still work together to serve their joint creative customers – Mac users buy around half of Adobe's Creative Suite products – but beyond that there are few joint interests.
I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe's Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain.
First, there's "Open".
Adobe's Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe's Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.
Apple has many proprietary products too. Though the operating system for the iPhone, iPod and iPad is proprietary, we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open. Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. Apple's mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards. HTML5, the new web standard that has been adopted by Apple, Google and many others, lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins (like Flash). HTML5 is completely open and controlled by a standards committee, of which Apple is a member.
Apple even creates open standards for the web. For example, Apple began with a small open source project and created WebKit, a complete open-source HTML5 rendering engine that is the heart of the Safari web browser used in all our products. WebKit has been widely adopted. Google uses it for Android's browser, Palm uses it, Nokia uses it, and RIM (Blackberry) has announced they will use it too. Almost every smartphone web browser other than Microsoft's uses WebKit. By making its WebKit technology open, Apple has set the standard for mobile web browsers.
Second, there's the "full web".
Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access "the full web" because 75% of video on the web is in Flash. What they don't say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. YouTube, with an estimated 40% of the web's video, shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices, with the iPad offering perhaps the best YouTube discovery and viewing experience ever. Add to this video from Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, NPR, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, People, National Geographic, and many, many others. iPhone, iPod and iPad users aren't missing much video.
Another Adobe claim is that Apple devices cannot play Flash games. This is true. Fortunately, there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free. There are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.
Third, there's reliability, security and performance.
Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don't want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash.
In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it. Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we're glad we didn't hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?
Fourth, there's battery life.
To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power. Many of the chips used in modern mobile devices contain a decoder called H.264 – an industry standard that is used in every Blu-ray DVD player and has been adopted by Apple, Google (YouTube), Vimeo, Netflix and many other companies.
Although Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software. The difference is striking: on an iPhone, for example, H.264 videos play for up to 10 hours, while videos decoded in software play for less than 5 hours before the battery is fully drained.
When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. They play perfectly in browsers like Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome without any plugins whatsoever, and look great on iPhones, iPods and iPads.
Fifth, there's Touch.
Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on "rollovers", which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple's revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn't use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?
Even if iPhones, iPods and iPads ran Flash, it would not solve the problem that most Flash websites need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices.
Sixth, the most important reason.
Besides the fact that Flash is closed and proprietary, has major technical drawbacks, and doesn't support touch based devices, there is an even more important reason we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. We have discussed the downsides of using Flash to play video and interactive content from websites, but Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices.
We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform. If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.
This becomes even worse if the third party is supplying a cross platform development tool. The third party may not adopt enhancements from one platform unless they are available on all of their supported platforms. Hence developers only have access to the lowest common denominator set of features. Again, we cannot accept an outcome where developers are blocked from using our innovations and enhancements because they are not available on our competitor's platforms.
Flash is a cross platform development tool. It is not Adobe's goal to help developers write the best iPhone, iPod and iPad apps. It is their goal to help developers write cross platform apps. And Adobe has been painfully slow to adopt enhancements to Apple's platforms. For example, although Mac OS X has been shipping for almost 10 years now, Adobe just adopted it fully (Cocoa) two weeks ago when they shipped CS5. Adobe was the last major third party developer to fully adopt Mac OS X.
Our motivation is simple – we want to provide the most advanced and innovative platform to our developers, and we want them to stand directly on the shoulders of this platform and create the best apps the world has ever seen. We want to continually enhance the platform so developers can create even more amazing, powerful, fun and useful applications. Everyone wins – we sell more devices because we have the best apps, developers reach a wider and wider audience and customer base, and users are continually delighted by the best and broadest selection of apps on any platform.
Conclusions.
Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.
The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple's mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple's App Store proves that Flash isn't necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.
New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.
Steve Jobs
April, 2010
I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe's Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain.
First, there's "Open".
Adobe's Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe's Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.
Apple has many proprietary products too. Though the operating system for the iPhone, iPod and iPad is proprietary, we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open. Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. Apple's mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards. HTML5, the new web standard that has been adopted by Apple, Google and many others, lets web developers create advanced graphics, typography, animations and transitions without relying on third party browser plug-ins (like Flash). HTML5 is completely open and controlled by a standards committee, of which Apple is a member.
Apple even creates open standards for the web. For example, Apple began with a small open source project and created WebKit, a complete open-source HTML5 rendering engine that is the heart of the Safari web browser used in all our products. WebKit has been widely adopted. Google uses it for Android's browser, Palm uses it, Nokia uses it, and RIM (Blackberry) has announced they will use it too. Almost every smartphone web browser other than Microsoft's uses WebKit. By making its WebKit technology open, Apple has set the standard for mobile web browsers.
Second, there's the "full web".
Adobe has repeatedly said that Apple mobile devices cannot access "the full web" because 75% of video on the web is in Flash. What they don't say is that almost all this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads. YouTube, with an estimated 40% of the web's video, shines in an app bundled on all Apple mobile devices, with the iPad offering perhaps the best YouTube discovery and viewing experience ever. Add to this video from Vimeo, Netflix, Facebook, ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, ESPN, NPR, Time, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Sports Illustrated, People, National Geographic, and many, many others. iPhone, iPod and iPad users aren't missing much video.
Another Adobe claim is that Apple devices cannot play Flash games. This is true. Fortunately, there are over 50,000 games and entertainment titles on the App Store, and many of them are free. There are more games and entertainment titles available for iPhone, iPod and iPad than for any other platform in the world.
Third, there's reliability, security and performance.
Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009. We also know first hand that Flash is the number one reason Macs crash. We have been working with Adobe to fix these problems, but they have persisted for several years now. We don't want to reduce the reliability and security of our iPhones, iPods and iPads by adding Flash.
In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it. Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we're glad we didn't hold our breath. Who knows how it will perform?
Fourth, there's battery life.
To achieve long battery life when playing video, mobile devices must decode the video in hardware; decoding it in software uses too much power. Many of the chips used in modern mobile devices contain a decoder called H.264 – an industry standard that is used in every Blu-ray DVD player and has been adopted by Apple, Google (YouTube), Vimeo, Netflix and many other companies.
Although Flash has recently added support for H.264, the video on almost all Flash websites currently requires an older generation decoder that is not implemented in mobile chips and must be run in software. The difference is striking: on an iPhone, for example, H.264 videos play for up to 10 hours, while videos decoded in software play for less than 5 hours before the battery is fully drained.
When websites re-encode their videos using H.264, they can offer them without using Flash at all. They play perfectly in browsers like Apple's Safari and Google's Chrome without any plugins whatsoever, and look great on iPhones, iPods and iPads.
Fifth, there's Touch.
Flash was designed for PCs using mice, not for touch screens using fingers. For example, many Flash websites rely on "rollovers", which pop up menus or other elements when the mouse arrow hovers over a specific spot. Apple's revolutionary multi-touch interface doesn't use a mouse, and there is no concept of a rollover. Most Flash websites will need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices. If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?
Even if iPhones, iPods and iPads ran Flash, it would not solve the problem that most Flash websites need to be rewritten to support touch-based devices.
Sixth, the most important reason.
Besides the fact that Flash is closed and proprietary, has major technical drawbacks, and doesn't support touch based devices, there is an even more important reason we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. We have discussed the downsides of using Flash to play video and interactive content from websites, but Adobe also wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps that run on our mobile devices.
We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform. If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers.
This becomes even worse if the third party is supplying a cross platform development tool. The third party may not adopt enhancements from one platform unless they are available on all of their supported platforms. Hence developers only have access to the lowest common denominator set of features. Again, we cannot accept an outcome where developers are blocked from using our innovations and enhancements because they are not available on our competitor's platforms.
Flash is a cross platform development tool. It is not Adobe's goal to help developers write the best iPhone, iPod and iPad apps. It is their goal to help developers write cross platform apps. And Adobe has been painfully slow to adopt enhancements to Apple's platforms. For example, although Mac OS X has been shipping for almost 10 years now, Adobe just adopted it fully (Cocoa) two weeks ago when they shipped CS5. Adobe was the last major third party developer to fully adopt Mac OS X.
Our motivation is simple – we want to provide the most advanced and innovative platform to our developers, and we want them to stand directly on the shoulders of this platform and create the best apps the world has ever seen. We want to continually enhance the platform so developers can create even more amazing, powerful, fun and useful applications. Everyone wins – we sell more devices because we have the best apps, developers reach a wider and wider audience and customer base, and users are continually delighted by the best and broadest selection of apps on any platform.
Conclusions.
Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.
The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple's mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content. And the 200,000 apps on Apple's App Store proves that Flash isn't necessary for tens of thousands of developers to create graphically rich applications, including games.
New open standards created in the mobile era, such as HTML5, will win on mobile devices (and PCs too). Perhaps Adobe should focus more on creating great HTML5 tools for the future, and less on criticizing Apple for leaving the past behind.
Steve Jobs
April, 2010
Very odd that he feels the need to publish this letter... seems some of the backlash is making its way to the top.
@DTJ all those points just make me laugh and say 'look who's talking'.
@DTJ Steve should probably be laying low right now with this whole Gizmodo thing going on... He's just digging himself deeper
@DTJ couldnt agree more! n all actuality, html s destined to fail. i mean I dont even use it on my websiite
@DTJ
7th - iAd.
@DTJ
He thinks because he uses HTML5, CSS, and Java that Apple is open.. wow.
@emopoops
Get with the program. You're going to lose out on a lot of views if you don't go to HTML5.
@DTJ Short version:
Dear Ignorant Fanboys,
As you know Apple is not evil, it's only practical. So all this badmouthing of Adobe you've been hearing about, it's only because Flash affects battery life. We hate them because they rob you of an extra 5 minutes on your apple device. As usual, it's all about you. Now hand over your money.
Your God on Earth,
Steve Jobs
@DTJ
It's for the "olds"... Has he used Xcode and Cocoa?... It's like going back to 1970.
Developing in Flash is so much more user friendly and not to mention there are 10 fold more Flash developers than Xcode devs. All Adobe needs to do is tweak the mobile flash player and make it great. Not that it's bad just really silence the nay sayers. IMHO.
So since HTML has been around before all of this is it for the olds? This logic is flawed.
@html5FLOP
He never said Apple was open, only that they use open standards, which flash is not.
So JavaScript is a NEW technology now - right! ;-)
And this multi-platform argument is not quite valid as well:
Why not give developers a chance to decide themselves if they want to use a multi-platform compiler even though it may not be 100% up to the latest apple enhancements? Let them decide on their own...
Sure, Steve... to create Flash like stuff I can't use that crappy HTML... but your proprietary software. Like you do. Smart.
@Fatherfork
For the web, that is. I'd never argue that Apple uses open standards for anything else.
@html5FLOP he didn't say that. he said apple is a proprietary system that uses open standards. try reading it properly
@DTJ
Does anyone remember the "Fight the Power" ad from Apple in which a girl was throwing a hammer at a dictator? Why do I get the feeling Apple is the dictator now? Like they say: "Absolute power corrupts absolutely!"
Apple's policy stinks to the hight heavens, you can't dictate what can run on a device I purchased with my own money!
@DTJ
I really hope the mobile Flash player for Android comes soon. Stand alone Flash "apps" are going to be it. And you won't need to jump through a million hoops and fork over 99$ a year to let people experience them. Fuck the Apple stranglehold. I like their devices but this stubbornness is getting really annoying.
Jobs should just give us the option to use Flash I say. Set the default to off. Most people who use iPhones probably won't even know where to turn it on anyway. Put up a disclaimer stating that the use of Flash may ruin everything I know about everything in the world. I don't care. Anything just give it to me!
@DTJ
Couldn't he just make flash optional...even disable it by default but give the user the option of installing? Bluetooth and wifi eat the battery much more than flash...we just disable it when not in use or live with less battery. Why does he allow those techs if he is so concerned about battery life
@DTJ
Why is it odd?
And I agree with him for the most part...especially the FLASH argument.
Between Youtube and the various dedicated companies using HTML5 or apps I'm FINE.
I don't understand why some of you are not understanding this.
The average consumer just doesn't care.
@html5FLOP He's never said that. He just believes in open web standards which coming from a development standpoint and being involved in web development I agree with him on. I've used flash ever since flash first came out but I switched to a more open and browser (as apposed to plug-in) friendly mindset.
@barac
No has got more attitude then Apple, except for Adobe. They didn't have to abandon their Flash to Apple compatible source code. Apple just doesn't want proprietary libraries to sift through for quality control. Nothing says Apple would reject source code that compiles on their compiler, it's impossible for Apple to lock out obfuscated code while letting other human written code in. Duh. Adobe is just throwing a temper tantrum. They made great improvements when they first purchased Macromedia and then dropped the ball, outsourcing and isolating Shockwave, destroying Flash's UI and losing it on security and standards compliance. If they aren't careful, they'll end up like Aldus, or Silicon Beach. Horrible.
@Fatherfork Cocoa = Flash. Cocoa is open?
@Infinity That's what Android is for. :)
Amazing. Apple (of all people) actually *takes a stand on using open Web formats* rather than a proprietary, single-vendor lockdown solution (a real head-exploding event if you think about it) and the peanut gallery still erupts with rage. Unbelievable.
Apple can't win with some of you people, no matter what they do.
Me, I'd be happy to see Flash fade into obscurity. It's time.
@barac
No one is arguing that Cocoa is open. Is Cocoa used in web development? Remember, the web is completely out of Apple's control. All they are doing here is arguing their case, not actually forcing their hand anywhere. Adobe, on the other hand, can do anything they want with flash and everyone using it is bound by it.
Wait, what? Are you being entirely serious here? I'm a web and Mac developer that has experience of Flash development; I would take Xcode over Flash CS4 any day of the week.
Flash and ActionScript has barely changed since Adobe bought the platform from Macromedia an it's in desperate need of an overhaul, not just from a developer perspective but for end users too.
@html5FLOP Lesson 1:
Java != JavaScript
@HotFuzz
Dude the bottom line is that this is another opportunity for the Apple Haters to bitch and moan.
We all know Flash is outdate and absolutely a hot mess of code. Its not needed and its not that serious.
However certain people are losing their minds trying to keep it relevant just in order to have a talking point against Apple.
@DTJ Well there are a bunch of Fandroids and Wintards who refuse to understand.
@lumich because developers are the laziest people on the planet ( if they're smart). Many would opt to take the easier route over even learning a different language, and, if I remember right, golive was one of THE reasons tables became the de facto "standard" for layout placement back in the day.
@HotFuzz
You mean like OpenGL and UNIX security, POSIX compliant shell scripts, and proven user access control a nearly a decade before Windows?
I hate UAC on Windows. That loose GUI API that let's developers highjack UI processes (i.e. Explorer toolbar hell, yahoo pizaz bar, google, digg, crapola launcher 2000, etc.) will never come to OS X any more then Viruses will. Sorry, it's not a popularity contest, it's about quality.
@Fatherfork Actually Flash is most definitely an open format. In fact, here are the specifications themselves:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/swf/
It's part of the Adobe Open Screen Project, which you can find here:
http://www.openscreenproject.org/
In fact, only part of the SWF file format that remains closed is the stuff they are unable to disclose due to patents, like codecs such as H.264.... Amusingly, something that Jobs himself heralded as something 'open' in his little diatribe. Far from it: H.264 itself is not open at all. In fact it's heavily encumbered in patents and licensing snafus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.264/MPEG-4_AVC#Patent_licensing
So yeah, you're falling for the Steve Jobs spin. Whoops. Always consider the source of information before accepting it as fact.
@Infinity I assume you don't own a PS3, Xbox, Wii, DS or PSP, right?
"Flash is the number one reason Macs crash,"
I think Adobe can only be partially blamed here, if at all. If a browser plugin is causing the whole system to crash, you blew it.
@DTJ
I find it very hypocritcal that his first criticism is that "it's not open". What do you call the iPhone platform, then?!
@DTJ: Pure win. Jobs just ripped Adobe and the ignorant anti-Apple clowns a new hole. Just read how stupid they sound - try reading comprehension 101 next time before you post drivel.
@Darkroom: there are no roll-overs on the navigation bar on Apple's main website. Either you don't know what "roll-overs" are, or you're lying. The button highlighting that *is* there, does not occur on the iPhone in he same way as it does if you are using a mouse. Also, that page doesn't use Flash, so the comparison is weak anyway.
I think if you guys actually *read* the statement from Jobs, a lot of the comments here might be more positive or at least make some kind of sense. Half the ractions here are just knee-jerk hatespeak.
@Recoil42
Go make me a custom, entirely flash website using no Adobe products.
@lumich That is covered in the reasoning.. essentially it boils down to this.. if you want to develop for apple mobile platforms, you have to target them specifically NOT just use what has 10-50% of the capability (every feature phone with flash support + the smartphones with flash lite)
IE they do NOT WANT cross platform clones ala "burnout" from EA which runs on everything from the nintendo DS/PSP, the ps1/ps2/ps3 xbox, xbox360, wii.. using essentially "the lowest common feature set"
In short apple is saying "if you dont wanna take full advantage of the platform, dont bother"
IE You do get to choose, you get to choose between taking advantage of the platform, or not targeting the platform at all.
@DTJ It's not open. "While APPLES products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by APPLE and available only from APPLE. By almost any definition, ITUNES is a closed system."
@html5FLOP Actually he fully admits that the iPhone iPod and ipad are closed, proprietary systems in themselves. He says that the modes of development (html5, css, and JavaScript) are open though which is true. The one problem I have is that app development is not open at all because you must have a mac to used the sdk.
@Fatherfork True, but H.264 isn't really open either.
@TheLondonExchange
and we all know your views are distinctly less than average.
@DTJ Not really that odd. Jobs cannot stand things he does not have control over. He really doesn't care about open standards, Apple has many many proprietary ones and many open standards Apple uses they have modified. What he cares about is making everything according to his will.
@HawtDawg
I think that's the main reason why browsers crash: plugins and poor API standards. Have ever seen your grandmother's Internet Explorer? It's got about 1 inch of web page viewing space and sh*tloads of plugin browser toolbars sucking CPU cycles. You won't ever see that on Safari. Ever.
@begna112 Requiring a mac to develop for an iPhone doesn't make C/C++ or Objective-C any less of an open standard.
@DTJ
Steve: "We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it." "
Hey Steve, and all other people locked in the crippled iPhone world:
Get yourself a Nokia N900. Flash is just fine on it.
I'm sure the Flash experience will only get better with the future Maemo/Meego devices.
@DTJ
It really just boils down to money at the end of the day. Apple knows a lot of web ads are delivered using Flash... so how do you divert some of those ad dollars to Apple's coffers?
First you create the need to convert these webpages into micro apps making it almost impossible to load any kind of ads, let alone Flash ads. Second you launch your proprietary mobile ads platform aka iAds. Third you rake in the dough by taking a small cut of every ad impression on your platform.
Smart Apple!! Except I don't like the way Apple is bullying everyone around right now and no one is seriously crying "monopolistic".
@Recoil42
So Adobe flash is an open standard, damn some of you dumb.
@koopatroopa And the Crapple freaks are more equipped to understand? Whatever. Let the All Mighty Steve take care of you and keep out all those pesky programs and applications you can't understand and use. We wouldn't want you to make your own choices afterall, when it's SO much easier to pick from a single store front to find everything and block out all the stuff Apple doesn't want you to see, er, stuff that will confound or hurt you.
@lumich Apple wants to bring the best experience possible to their end users. If they feel Flash will deliver a sub-par experience then I understand why they would exclude it from mobile devices. I'm a web developer and I have always detested Flash, it has a very messy interface and many developers over use it. It takes forever to load and can be a nightmare from a usability standpoint.
I think that the people that are the most disappointed with Flash being excluded are developers that use Flash as a crutch to deploy rich media. Learning open standard languages for interactive development increases your value and contributions to the web community and its users.