![]() ![]() While I really liked AIR from the beginning, I doubt that Adobe will be able to make it into such an attractive platform that it will keep enough focus on the Flash platform to keep it alive. So the device share on which Flash can directly run in the browser is getting smaller, and with it any good reason to develop for it. Even Microsoft decided against the Flash plugin for their Metro interface. People are moving away from desktop computers the future for “normal people” is definitely in the more-mobile area, including smartphones but especially tablets (and similar devices). While one could now make a Flash application for the web, and expect it to work on (nearly) every desk, as well as many mobile devices, it will be even harder to justify the Flash web development now. However I fear that this decision by Adobe will have direct impact on the whole Flash Platform, especially including the desktop player. Jobs was right, but he was right for the wrong reasons. If this decision allows Adobe to focus on increasing innovation in the desktop player, significantly improving their app packagers, and investing heavily in HTML5 tooling, it’s got my vote. This will change over time, but the reality is that virtually no one is creating mobile version of Flash content for the web, there simply wasn’t enough demand to justify the expense, especially without iOS support. People use their browsers for quick look-ups and fall back to apps for rich content. The mobile player requires a huge ongoing investment to support new devices and OSes, an investment that has no (obvious) financial benefit for Adobe.įurther, the type of content that Flash enables doesn’t make a ton of sense on the mobile web. Given this climate, I think Adobe made the right choice in killing off mobile Flash. Without iOS, Flash’s “write once, deploy anywhere” story became a lot weaker. Flash lost a ton of momentum, despite there being no viable replacement yet. Companies cancelled or froze Flash projects while they waited for the dust to settle. Regardless of his motive, it worked incredibly well. His biography indicates that this act was driven not by evaluating what was best for users, but rather by a personal vendetta against Adobe for past slights. Withholding a choice from users to maintain a “perfect vision” is classic Jobs, but engaging in FUD wasn’t. ![]() ![]() His famous open letter on Flash was a mix of half-truths, hypocritical misdirection, and outright lies. Unfortunately, Steve wasn’t known for compromise, so rather than either embrace this proven approach or simply maintain the status quo, he chose to lash out. It seemed like the perfect compromise, and made me wish I had the same choice in iOS. I could choose not to enable Flash, or I could choose to only enable SWFs that I wanted to view. Windows mobile browser with flash player android#Then two things happened that shifted my thinking.įirst, Adobe (eventually) proved that the Player could be viable on mobile with the Android plugin. I also didn’t have a burning need to view Flash content on my phone. Windows mobile browser with flash player full#Flash Lite was crap, and there was no evidence that the full player could be made to run well on a device. Very wrong.Īs an iPhone user, I was initially in full agreement that Flash had no place on my phone. Hating it is popular, but seems to be based less on any rational analysis, and more on a self-sustaining anti-fanboism, and the sheep-like re-bleating of Jobs’ proclamations. I guarantee that if creating HTML5 content ever becomes as simple as with Flash, you will see a plethora of horrible HTML5 content (though hopefully some lessons will not be forgotten – RIP Skip Intro).įlash is deeply flawed, but so is every technology. Yes, there’s an abundance of truly horrible Flash content out there, but that’s more a testament to its ease of use than its failings as a technology. Yes, Flash is proprietary, but that allows it to be agile. It opened a whole new class of web experience, birthed online casual gaming, defined rich UI, and heavily influenced many of the features that comprise HTML5. A LOT of innovation has sprung from Flash. One less technology means one less choice, and one less branch from which new innovation can spring.Īnd let’s be honest. I don’t think I will ever understand the joy that apparently comes from dancing on the grave of a dead technology. Sadly, this frenzy is being led by sensational headlines in the media, and snarky, self-congratulatory posts by leading tech pundits. It’s hard to miss – it has whipped the usual rabble of ill-informed techno-zealots into a screaming mass of vindictive idiocy. By now, you’ve likely heard that Adobe has ceased development of the Flash Player for mobile browsers. ![]()
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