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Thoughts on Flash

apple.com

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Re: Thoughts on Flash

#141

Post by ptomato »

gecko wrote: post #84
ptomato wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

* "Objective+C++ is not open." Yeah? http://gcc.gnu.org/ * "Adobe only wants cross-platform apps, not good apps; generic subjective bullshit." Alright, so point to a single Adobe Air app, for example, that looks & behaves natively. * "Comparing video decompression versus hardware decompression battery gains and claiming that's an advantage over Flash: bullshit, since Flash uses video decompression in most cases." Did…

Whether Objective-C is open is a weird discussion. The Objective-C compiler is fully GPL'd, so that's definitely open. Objective-C, though, depends on a runtime, and Apple's runtime is proprietary. While the GNU project has their Objective-C runtime, it performs markedly worse, and misses a lot of features that are available in Apple's version, including blocks, GCD-style multithreading, garbage collection, fast iter…

I'd note that blocks at least are open-sourced under the MIT license so there's no excuse not to include them in the runtime.

Re: Thoughts on Flash

#142

Post by joubert »

RyanMcGreal wrote: post #18

>I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts I'm guessing a company that controls information as obsessively as Apple doesn't just "jot down" its official response to a major, ongoing controversy. >We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform. It so…

"they will lose to apps that do"

That is not a guaranteed outcome.

Re: Thoughts on Flash

#143

Post by lftl »

tumult wrote: post #75
greendestiny wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well 3.3.1 is worded poorly then, you'd think their legal team could do better if they just wanted to stop Adobe. Its pretty explicit about banning other languages.

Yes, it's stupid. But with Apple, I feel I only need to fear their intention, not their wording. The intent here, it seems to me, is to stop Adobe from making crappy commercial middleware for Apple's platforms. The wording is overly broad and stupid, but I'm no longer as afraid of it. If they were intent on getting rid of everything under the sun that isn't straight C, Obj-C or C++, there would already be an App-ocal…

The intent here, it seems to me, is to stop Adobe from making crappy commercial middleware for Apple's platforms.

This is actually the biggest part of Job's argument that I don't buy. If their intent was actually to stop crap from being produced, they would just reject apps that are crap from the App Store as they do now.

Re: Thoughts on Flash

#144

Post by bsergean »

va_coder wrote: post #104

It continues to amaze me that Jobs, as CEO of the 2nd largest company by market cap, is more technical than many of the managers I have had.

Conclusion: being a great CEO in a tech company requires to have a solid tech background. Eric Schmidt wrote flex (yacc friend), Adobe founders were kick ass phds, Bill Gates comes to mind too.

Re: Thoughts on Flash

#145

Post by meroliph »

I've jumped to the conclusions on the article and this puzzled me:

"The avalanche of media outlets offering their content for Apple’s mobile devices demonstrates that Flash is no longer necessary to watch video or consume any kind of web content."

Because media outlets are forced to make their videos available to the iPhone without being able to use Flash, this means that Flash is no longer needed?

Re: Thoughts on Flash

#146

Post by snsr »

shawndumas wrote: post #108
joshwa wrote: post #74

If they're going to pitch HTML5 as an alternative to Flash (and, implicitly, the iPhoneOS API), then why not let them compete directly with Cocoa Touch apps? Why not offer HTML5 developers a way to take advantage of the App Store's monetization and discoverability? Apple already provides some amazing documentation and tutorials for making offline-capable mobile web apps, but they're still treated by Apple as the bast…

http://www.phonegap.com/

Awesome. Thanks for the link.

Re: Thoughts on Flash

#147

Post by betageek »

joubert wrote: post #116
joshwa wrote: post #74

If they're going to pitch HTML5 as an alternative to Flash (and, implicitly, the iPhoneOS API), then why not let them compete directly with Cocoa Touch apps? Why not offer HTML5 developers a way to take advantage of the App Store's monetization and discoverability? Apple already provides some amazing documentation and tutorials for making offline-capable mobile web apps, but they're still treated by Apple as the bast…

Can't you create a barebones cocoa touch app that basically just shows safari, and your app runs inside that as ja and HTML?

You could, but Apple are rejecting apps that are just web views or RSS readers so I wouldn't recommend it.

Re: Thoughts on Flash

#148

Post by doki_pen »

They seem to be arguing both sides. First we should have open standards. This is great because apps work cross platform. But then he goes on to say that cross platform libraries are bad because they stifle apple innovation. This is very reminiscent of MS's reasons for not having standard compliant software in Office, IE etc. You can't have it both ways. Proprietary innovation may be faster short term, but in the long term it only benefits Apple. History has shown that once a corp gets the lock in advantage, they stop innovating and slow the entire process down.

Re: Thoughts on Flash

#149

Post by joubert »

acg wrote: post #3
yan wrote: post #2

I wonder why Jobs felt he had to explain this situation, which (in my opinion) was fairly clear to anyone involved in technology. Perhaps the criticism was getting to him? Also, I found this to be a brilliant snipe: > If developers need to rewrite their Flash websites, why not use modern technologies like HTML5, CSS and JavaScript?

Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain. I think he states the major reason, Adobe seeks to characterise Apple as against the freedom of the developer. This campaign adds weight to developers that are jilted by the iStore. They can find a home in Adobe. I think that this should clear up why Flash would not be the friend of the iPhone developer…

What is the iStore?

Re: Thoughts on Flash

#150

Post by waxman »

I love how he didn't sugarcoat Apple's core motivations:

Everyone wins – we sell more devices because we have the best apps, developers reach a wider and wider audience and customer base, and users are continually delighted by the best and broadest selection of apps on any platform.

Yeah there's a business interest. But it's also good for developers, and it's also good for end-users. And they're all interconnected.

Mere mortals may have been tempted to eschew the business aspect altogether, but good ol' Steve isn't afraid to tell it like it is...

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