One Bad Apple

So the plot thickens. Can consumer focused shinny gizmos change the face of the Web? Apple has created a new policy to keep mobile advertising from Google off the iPod and iPad.

It’s been well reported from many sources that the mobile Web is the next big thing. And Apple knows this as well as anyone. The have the number one smart phone on the market and they want to keep it that way.

So yep, Apple has set up an ecosystem that allows them to maximize their profits by controlling the media, development, and the advertising that is displayed on their devices. A lot of people say why not. They are doing what’s in their best interest. I happen to think that strategy is flawed. And I know, I am just some dork with a blog and Apple is great and all powerful. But, here’s what I have trouble with.

Do you want a Web enabled device that allows a free market to decide what gets put on it? Or do you want Steve Jobs telling you what you can and can’t do. I promise you, we will see more of these policy changes arise as new threats to Apple’s bottom line arise. Their new mantra is, if it doesn’t make us money were blocking it. Doesn’t matter if it’s something better than what they have or if consumers want it.

The consumers lose. People who are accustomed to Flash no longer get content they were looking for. Now with advertising, most people would rather not see any, but really they just don’t want to see bad advertising. Effective advertising is good advertising and Google is effective. So now Apple users can expect a lot of lame advertising on their devices.

User focused design is catching on. That was Apple’s competitive advantage. If consumers can get a device that is just  as easy to use and doesn’t have all these restrictions, that’s what they will gravitate to. The market will balance them out and all they will be left with is their iron grip.

Has this level of dictatorship ever prospered on the Web? In policing their devices they are going cut off their users from everyone else. I like the iPhone, but it’s not special anymore and Android phones are just as if not more capable.

I won’t be goose stepping out to get the next iAnything. This Nazi level of control is a bad thing for the Web and ultimately will be bad for Apple.

Standards are great when you want a standard product. Way to wage war on innovation Steve Jobs.

First off, did anyone ever think that getting the Flash plug-in was hard to do? Or that Flash was stopping progress. No one thought that until Apple manufactured this issue. Think about it, why are the iPhone and iPad the only devices in the universe that have a problem here? It’s clear, the issue isn’t Flash.

Open standards are great. Until you want to do something open standards doesn’t support. I guess you can lobby a committee to update the standards and wait twelve years for them to change something. Adobe listens and responds to the community. Their product lifecycle is in response to the developers desire to advance what can be done. Every major version of Flash made innovation more accessible.

Flash is a better tool which is obvious to anyone who has experience, but banning the point of origin of your code has nothing to do with open standards and HTML5. Steve Job’s is using this to mask the real story. This is about controlling the development community.

What is the real story? Apple created WebKit. Something they are advocating everyone use. So they say don’t use Flash, use this thing we made instead. The altruistic open standards argument is a joke. There’s market share to be gained and that’s what the problem with Flash is. They want innovative developers to use tools that cater to Macs operating system so they won’t be creating things that work well on all systems.

And since Apple refuses to work with Abode when in comes to their closed operating system, it’s no wonder there are performance issues. This is Apple again manufacturing issues.

The security probelm? Here are two articles about Symantec retracting their statements about the Flash player:http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/146396/symantec_backtracks_on_adobe_flash_warning.html

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9090858/Symantec_backs_off_claim_says_current_Flash_Player_safe_from_attack

The problems with HTML5 is that it’s not cross browser compliant, it not an actual specification yet (still a draft), and has no advanced authoring environment like Flash that was forged through years of understanding developers needs. HTML5 will never do as much as Flash can or as easily.

I will not be swayed by Apple’s greed or deception. The market decided to make Flash what it is. Steve Jobs is doing nothing more than trying to manipulate what people have organically chosen. And if the market moves towards HTML5 in a natural way, then fine. But we don’t need to be told what to think.

Flash – Clay vs. Legos

With the iPad out there seems like there is a lot of Flash bashing going on. Part of the development community is dusting off their old arguments against using Flash and touting HTML5 as the up and coming golden era in Web development. I am not praying to the HTML5 gods to wish away Flash just yet.

As a material, I have though of Flash like clay. I can model it into any shape I want. It’s receptive to my ideas. For me, I simply have not found anything that allows for this level of creativity. I know in the hands of the inexperienced, Flash can look like a high school art project. But, in the hands of the experienced, a well crafted experience that gets noticed. And that could be said of any technology.

HTML/CSS is more like Legos. It has predefined pieces that snap together in a predefined manner. Often development is tempered with the logistics of execution. Jquery and similar things have made strides to make open standards tools that are more like Flash, but they lack the same capabilities and a sophisticated environment that is instrumental to the creative process.

All products have a life cycle. With so many things that come and go, it’s real easy to start predicting the end of the world for just about anything. Flash has evolved from a simple animation tool to a complex RIA ecosystem. Flash seem to be riding the wave of change just fine. I expect it will be around for some time.