Apple Goes on the Record: Flash is “Closed and Proprietary”
By this point, we don’t need a public confirmation that Apple doesn’t care much for Adobe’s Flash -- but they did it anyway.
Cnet DeepTech went looking for a rare public comment from Apple after Adobe’s Mike Chambers made some noise about Cupertino having a “closed system” that was restrictive to developers. Much to Cnet’s surprise, Apple decided to go on the record about it, according to AppleInsider.
“Someone has it backwards -- it is HTML5, CSS, JavaScript and H.264 (all supported by the iPhone and iPad) that are open and standard, while Adobe’s Flash is closed and proprietary,” said Apple spokesperson Trudy Muller.
It’s a rare public statement from Apple, who has taken heat from the tech world and users alike since the original iPhone debuted in 2007 without Flash compatibility. After the company showed off the new iPhone OS 4.0 earlier this month, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was asked straight out if the company plans to add Flash support, to which he replied tersely, “No.”
Privately, Jobs has allegedly been quite vocal about his dislike of Adobe Flash. At a company meeting in January, the CEO was rumored to have called Adobe “lazy” about their technology and cited Adobe Flash as the cause of most crashes on the Mac. He allegedly called Flash a “CPU hog” during a meeting with The Wall Street Journal, calling the format “full of security holes” and “old technology.”
Adobe’s Chambers announced this week that the Flash publisher was waving the white flag on their CS5-driven Packager for iPhone, which allows Flash developers to port their work over to Apple’s handset. A policy change in Apple’s new iPhone OS 4.0 specifically prohibits such non-SDK applications from being published in their App Store.
The most ominous comment allegedly spoken by Apple CEO Steve Jobs regarding Adobe Flash is also the most telling: “The world is moving to HTML5.”
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davea0511
April 23, 2010 at 5:57am
I've also been amazed with what I've seen lately as a rash of illogical self-defeating examples of brand-loyalty, some of the comments here being prime example. It's not just Apple fanboys either. 6 months ago I personally observed a Toyota-loyalist scornfully call a man a litigious lying opportunist because he claimed that Prius brakes were unreliable. Why? Didn't she know her life, even her kids' lives, could be in danger?! And here's another case ... a huge userbase eager to let Steve Jobs vastly limit their iPhone's options (even newcomer Android already has more apps, which are plenty fast). Of course, despite the fast flash apps on Android, Jobs claims they''d run slow on iPhone (so must be devcie related) that he's promoting open-source (HA!HA!HA!). Of course, it is their coporate right to restrict any tech they want, but if I was an iPhone user I'd be outraged. Regardless whether I'd use them ... it's the principle of the matter, but then I've never believed in brand-loyalty. Partnerships, yes, brand-loyalty though isn't a partnership and it often leads to servitude as in this case. I know nobody likes a kill-joy but someobody has to say it: NO CORPORATION IS INTRINSICALLY TRUSTWORTHY. Look at Toyota - the highest consumer satistfaction of any company (until lately). Trustworthy? No matterh how good ANY corporation has been to you it's self-defeating to not question their motivations or practices. Don't believe me?Why doesn't the iPad not have a webcam built in when all it needs is a $5 CCD camera? Steve will have a slick comeback that paints him as a saint and paints the competition as the spawn of satan, and some will even believe it, like sheep. But most Apple users won't believe him, but neither will they make a big enough stink to change the scenario quietly continuing their servitude because it's convenient and familiar. And that is why your iPhone is limited, not because Flash is slow or proprietary.
sleepystu
April 22, 2010 at 11:33am
Excuse the old saying, but talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
Rahm Kota
April 22, 2010 at 8:53am
Never been a fan of Adobe Flash. I avoid it as much as I can. I find it buggy and Flash intense sites are just downright annoying.
wildmomo
April 22, 2010 at 8:19am
Really - I wish Jobs and company would just send out the huge press release telling the world why they dislike flash. While it would be hugely convenient for me if the iPhone and iPad supported flash, I really would rather see the html5 evolution instead. I mean really, some say it will kill the App Store, but it won't. Some also say that flash will begin to outpace html5 as well, but it won't. See the theme. Apple has made great calls on product development, and their HW and SW evolutions.
Recall it was not long ago many haters bashed Apple for going with the Intel chipsets. Probably the best mass market move they could have ever made. One of the realities of that move, was the Intel chips could finally sustain the performance Apple sought +/- 3 years or so. But hey they got to recode for the new OS's.
I for one support Apples decision and stance on flash. For those of you so appalled by it, don't buy the products, but really cutting off the nose to spite the face - be more intelligent than that.
davea0511
April 23, 2010 at 2:00am
>- I wish Jobs and company would just send out the huge press release telling the world why they dislike flash <br />No, Jobs knows exactly what he's doing - innuendo is far more effective and you don't have do defend yourself. Jobs needs such immunity because the truth is fairly damning: the latest flash video is just as fast as HTML5 when Adobe has access to the SDK of the platform (research it if you dont' believe me) - something Jobs won't release to Adobe. Frankly I can't think of anything more proprietary and anti-competitive than Apple not releasing such info to Adobe in order to justify his hypocritical claims against them. Talk about the pot callin the kettle black, but what's even worse: Job's claim isn't even true because ACTIONSCRIPT (Flash's programming language) IS 100% OPEN ... has been for many years. There are many non-Adobe IDE's and non-Adobe compilers for it. One in particular even compiles to C++ code, so like it or not you'll have Flash programs on iPhone. You just won't know which ones. Niether will Jobs.
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