In a nutshell, here is the situation as it now stands: Adobe wants Flash everywhere, Apple does not want Flash anywhere on any Apple mobile device. The Safari browser, which Apple uses on the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the iPad does not support Flash.
Adobe says publicly that Apple is being proprietary by denying Flash to Apple's mobile users, and is being proprietary because Apple wants to lock users into iTunes and that source of revenue, actions which Adobe says denies Apple uses full use of the web for delivery of video and interactive content. Apple counters that there is no flash player available for mobile devices, that flash is not designed for touch interfaces, is not an open standard and that the 100 million or so people who have bought Apple mobile devises, are happy navigating the web without Flash. They want developers to use HTML5, and H.264 which are open, (but not yet in the case of HTML5 ) an approved standards. Apple claims they are looking to the future, not the past and the Flash is definitely the past.
It is a complex issue with millions of dollars and the very nature of the future web dangling in the balance.
It is so important that Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder and CEO, and arguably the most influential individual in technology today, has issued a rare public letter to Adobe. Only one other time that I can recall, has Jobs done such a public missive, and that was when he was arguing for the elimination of DRM (digital rights management) on music tracks in the iTunes store. Incidentally Jobs was successful in getting the record labels to abandon DRM.
It is a hugely fascinating battle as the these two tech giants, Apple, the new media titan and Adobe, the dominant maker of software for digital content creation, argue for the adoption of their view of the future web.
Who will win, I couldn't say, but if I were a betting man, it would double down on Steve Jobs. He simply has the best track record over time.
If you are interested, below is the link to Jobs' public letter to Adobe. He does a thorough job of laying out Apple's contention about what they think is wrong with Flash on mobile devices. It will be interesting to see if Adobe makes a point by point rebuttal to Jobs.
It is an interesting and vital issue for all of us deep into the world of Flash.
Here is the link:
