Flash, Adobe caves...

[Pliablemoose]

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2...tm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=rss

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5o2xmJXrAY

Wow... I never expected them to cave...

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

I can't say I'm surprised.

 

[poofyhairguy]

If Flash was actually decent on any platform but Windows they wouldn't have to....

 

[Chapbass]

flash is decent on windows?

 

[ChAoTiCpInOy]

If Flash was actually decent on any platform but Windows they wouldn't have to....

It's inefficient and not compatible with today's devices. I mean video can be done through HTML. It just takes time.

 

[theeedude]

Flash is overkill for video, IMO. Flash client is free, Adobe is in the business of selling tools around it. If you are going to pay them for the tools, they don't really care if you use them for Flash or HTML5.

 

[runawayprisoner]

If Flash was actually decent on any platform but Windows they wouldn't have to....

You make it sound like Windows is quickly losing grounds...

No, I think it's more acccurate to say "if only Flash worked better on platforms that mattered".

I don't see how this move is any surprise to anyone. It was only a matter of time before it had to happen if a content provider wanted to stay with 2011. No matter how much of the market it's occupying, there are still a large number of iOS devices running rampant out there.

 

[zerocool84]

I don't see how this move is any surprise to anyone. It was only a matter of time before it had to happen if a content provider wanted to stay with 2011. No matter how much of the market it's occupying, there are still a large number of iOS devices running rampant out there.

iOS is so huge you basically have to support their closed codecs, interfaces, and such.

 

[runawayprisoner]

iOS is so huge you basically have to support their closed codecs, interfaces, and such.

HTTP Live Streaming and h.264 are standards. If anything, at most the use of them requires licensing fees and such. It's more appropriate to call them "not free" rather than "closed" since "closed" implies that they are not open for implementation elsewhere, which is not true.

For instance, Honeycomb also supports HTTP Live Streaming, and this move from Adobe would also benefit Honeycomb tablets down the line where Flash can be ditched for performance and integrity purposes.

Other than that, how iOS is executed by Apple doesn't really concern how content providers should serve their swag and how consumers can "properly" consume them. Adobe adopting HTTP Live Streaming opens up a door for content providers, and an untapped portion of the market is now open up to them. As for consumers, those who chose not to enable Flash for whatever reason (battery life, for instance?) now has a choice.

It's a win/win situation either way. This doesn't concern Apple one bit, but it does concern their user base.

 

[shortylickens]

GOOD!

Looks like Steve was right to clash with them.

 

[poofyhairguy]

flash is decent on windows?

Compared to every other platform....

 

[WelshBloke]

Compared to every other platform....

There are other working platforms? :sneaky:

 

[runawayprisoner]

Compared to every other platform....

Well, excuse me, but... I'm not sure "every other" really counts in this context anymore since we have RIM's PlayBook recently, and it has really good Flash support.

There are other working platforms? :sneaky:

I'm fairly certain you will find some when you have decided to try something new.