Sean Walther’s Blog

Adobe Responds: Flash isn’t Open Source, but we’re trying

A few days ago I had posted Apple, Adobe, Flash, iPhone, iPad and Open Source with reference to a debate on various blogs.  The debate is whether Flash will ever go open source, should they, and what it means to the Apple / iPhone / iPad contingent.

Adobe came back with the blog post Following the open trail, by Dave McAllister. › Continue reading

Tags: Actionscript, Adobe, Adobe Media Gallery, Adobe Source Libraries, AIR, AS3, as3corelib, blazeds, cairngorm, cmap resources, Dave McAllister, durango, extensible metadata platform, Flash, Flash-AJAX video component, Flex, Flex SDK, flexlib, FlexPMD, FlexUnit, Generic Image LIbrary, GIL, iPad, iPhone, Mapping Resources for DPF, Open Source, Open Source Media Framework, Tamarin, Text Layout Framework, Webkit, XMP

Apple’s iPad / iPhone HTML5 Bet: HTML5 Drawing App Proves Capabilities

Recently I’ve been posting on HTML5 versus Flash.  Many people who are not familiar with HTML5 may not know exactly the amount of power that has been provided with the new spec.  HTML 4 was nice, and a big upgrade, but I believe HTML 5 will be an even larger upgrade over HTML4.

The reason we are talking about HTML5, is Apple seems to be placing their bets on it.  Apple continues to refuse to have Flash running on their controlled devices (iPhone, iPad, etc) and seems to be pushing for HTML5 to take over.

We are slowly having to rethink the capabilities of the “HTML” platform that we have grown to know over the past 15 years. › Continue reading

Tags: Apple, Flash, HTML, HTML5, iPad, iPhone, Javascript, MugTug, Sketchpad

iPad Makes Appearance at the Grammy Awards

For those of you who missed it (I didn’t see most of the Grammy Awards either), here is a video of the iPad making its television debut in the hands of Stephen Colbert:

Tags: Grammy Awards, iPad, Stephen Colbert

Apple, Adobe, Flash, iPhone, iPad and Open Source

I just saw an interesting blog “Back and Forth” between a few sites:

• Robert Scoble at Scobleizer
• John Gruber at Daring Fireball
• Dave Winer at scripting.com

The conversation revolves around the future of Flash and open standards. › Continue reading

Tags: Adobe, Apple, Daring Fireball, Dave Winer, Flash, iPad, iPhone, John Gruber, Macromedia, open standard, Robert Scoble, Scobleizer, Scripting.com

iPad, iPhone, Apple — and Flash. A Sad Story.

Anyone who regularly reads this blog (sorry) can see how optimistic I am that the iPhone will eventually support flash.  Today I read news that entirely dashes those hopes.

I just hopped over to MacRumors.com (I love that site) and saw this, Steve Jobs at Apple Town Hall Meeting on Google, Adobe, Next iPhone, 2010 Macs and More.

In the article MacRumors reports:

Apple does not support Flash because it is so buggy, he says. Whenever a Mac crashes more often than not it’s because of Flash. No one will be using Flash, he says. The world is moving to HTML5.

That is, what I consider to be, the final nail in the coffin.  Steve Jobs has shown his hand with regards to Flash.

A few weeks ago, news hit the internet of a clever developer who had implemented his own HTML/Javascript version of Flash — and it worked on the iPhone.  You can see this at the demos of Gordon – An open source Flash runtime written in pure JavaScript with SVG.

What does all this mean?  Flash won’t be allowed on Apple’s most cherished devices.

If Steve Jobs is experiencing headaches because of Flash and there is an alternative, why wouldn’t he pursue it?  HTML flash handle Flash like effects in an open format, a format in which Apple can control and mitigate the reach of Adobe into its own products.

It has been over a year since Adobe was able to demo Flash running on the iPhone.  Why hasn’t it made it on the iPhone?  Well Steve Jobs and Apple both believe the future is in the canvases of HTML 5.  Video can be properly (and easily) embedded, sound included, animation effects that surpass today’s AJAX packages, and many other facets that make HTML 5 a candidate to replace Flash.

This doesn’t make me happy.  I’ve come to love Flash as it has evolved.

Apple will use all forces it can to stop Adobe from growing their Flash install base.  While Apple has control over a large platform, the iPhone/iPad, they will force developers to adapt to the new technologies such as HTML 5.

Apple has zero intention on ever letting Flash hit the iPhone, iPad, or even any computer if they could do that.  I don’t foresee them stopping Flash from their full fledged computers, that would be suicide.

Say goodbye to the romantic notion of Flash on your Apple device.

Tags: Apple, canvas, Flash, HTML 5, iPad, Steve Jobs

On the Apple iPad: Problems I See

For the first time in years I think Apple has missed the target.  There are so many problems that I see, right now, with the iPad. › Continue reading

Tags: App, Apple, Droid, iPad, iPhone, iPod

Apple Announces the iPad

It’s finally here.  No more rumors / guessing.  Apple has finally announced the iPad.

This afternoon Steve Jobs announced the upcoming launch of the iPad at the Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco. › Continue reading

Tags: Apple, iPad, iPhone, San Francisco, Steve Jobs, Yerba Buena Center