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BBC News - High-end mobile phones to get flash in 2010!
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Well lets not forget all the websites that, when looked up on your i, leave you looking at a little blue box instead of their content. Flash would be nice....
Absolutely like the BBC News site!!
I'd be happy with a stripped-down Flash Player Plug-in, that ONLY played video (but didn't bother with the animation and interactivity).
I wonder if that's a viable solution, but already been discarded?
Presumeably, for Adobe to say:
So is Apple's refusal to co-operate based on other issues such as battery life, user experience (i.e slow/low quality?) or simply political?
I'd be happy with a stripped-down Flash Player Plug-in, that ONLY played video (but didn't bother with the animation and interactivity).
I wonder if that's a viable solution, but already been discarded?
Presumeably, for Adobe to say:
- they already know it's technically possible, if Apple "co-operate", as they've already proved the concept in their labs on a jailbroken iPhone.
So is Apple's refusal to co-operate based on other issues such as battery life, user experience (i.e slow/low quality?) or simply political?
It's called HTML 5 which has open tags for this that Apple already support. No need for bloated crashtastic Flash.
OK thanks, I appreciate that for the future - but how do I view the ninety-something percent of legacy websites out there NOW using Flash for video playback.
I agree.
This news article is not about flash on mobiles it is a direct challenge to Apple. I would imagine that Adobe are concerned as the iphone is so popular. Web designers will now look at other ways of delivering multimedia content and drop Flash. The tools are available and work better than flash.
I think it will be interesting to see what Apple does here.
Apple needs to support technology like that in the future if it is to stay competitive. At the moment it appears to be counting on HTML5 features to become prominent.
But most websites use Flash (although more and more for video only, as most websites are returning to HTML, thankfully!) and people are genetically reluctant to embrace change.
Adobe, on the other hand, needs to keep Flash alive for its own bottom line. But it is obvious that Apple is uncomfortable with the power that yielding on this would bring to Adobe.
Problem is, how long will it be before the majority of Flash-based components in websites (mainly video) convert to another format, if ever?
Apple cannot afford to have the only smartphone not to be able to watch Flash videos on the web. Will it eventually buckle (like on USB 2.0 and FireWire) or use this opportunity to reduce web reliance on Flash in general?
Apple needs to support technology like that in the future if it is to stay competitive. At the moment it appears to be counting on HTML5 features to become prominent.
But most websites use Flash (although more and more for video only, as most websites are returning to HTML, thankfully!) and people are genetically reluctant to embrace change.
Adobe, on the other hand, needs to keep Flash alive for its own bottom line. But it is obvious that Apple is uncomfortable with the power that yielding on this would bring to Adobe.
Problem is, how long will it be before the majority of Flash-based components in websites (mainly video) convert to another format, if ever?
Apple cannot afford to have the only smartphone not to be able to watch Flash videos on the web. Will it eventually buckle (like on USB 2.0 and FireWire) or use this opportunity to reduce web reliance on Flash in general?
Exactly. Well done Apple for not ruining the iPhone experience by putting a decrepit, dying technology into it.
The only real reason Apple hasn't included Flash yet is the performance. On my HTC Hero it goes at half speed and slows down the browser. Why would Apple cripple it's browser with that?
I remember watching this dolt from Adobe showing off Flash on the Hero. He was going on about how great it was while on-screen it's chugging away at half speed. He was so proud of it all and totally ignored what was happening on the screen in front of him.
If the new version is good enough I can't see any reason Apple could have for not including it.
I remember watching this dolt from Adobe showing off Flash on the Hero. He was going on about how great it was while on-screen it's chugging away at half speed. He was so proud of it all and totally ignored what was happening on the screen in front of him.
If the new version is good enough I can't see any reason Apple could have for not including it.
Let's review.
What are the two main reasons people use Flash on a day to day basis?
1) Games
Think about this for a moment and compare your multitouch iPhone interface to a computer with a mouse. Different, yes?
I doubt many Flash based games would work well considering the differences in the interface. You could make some, but the App Store already provides excellent games.
2) Video
Video via Flash has to be the biggest joke every played on the rest of us. Video can be played natively on computers using any number of different highly optimized software packages, but we all use a poorly written proprietary browser plugin because nobody could agree to a standard. h.264 is that new standard and HTML5 removes the second main need for Flash.
Flash is and will be virtually useless moving forward. I don't want it on my iPhone as I don't want Flash based advertising on my phone. No moving ads with sound, ever.
What are the two main reasons people use Flash on a day to day basis?
1) Games
Think about this for a moment and compare your multitouch iPhone interface to a computer with a mouse. Different, yes?
I doubt many Flash based games would work well considering the differences in the interface. You could make some, but the App Store already provides excellent games.
2) Video
Video via Flash has to be the biggest joke every played on the rest of us. Video can be played natively on computers using any number of different highly optimized software packages, but we all use a poorly written proprietary browser plugin because nobody could agree to a standard. h.264 is that new standard and HTML5 removes the second main need for Flash.
Flash is and will be virtually useless moving forward. I don't want it on my iPhone as I don't want Flash based advertising on my phone. No moving ads with sound, ever.
So let me get this straight...
Apple says they don't like Flash Lite because it doesn't run well enough or efficiently enough. Then, Adobe says they're brining full Flash to mobile phones so they don't have to just use the Lite version.
And it's news that Apple isn't gonna go for that?
Apple says they don't like Flash Lite because it doesn't run well enough or efficiently enough. Then, Adobe says they're brining full Flash to mobile phones so they don't have to just use the Lite version.
And it's news that Apple isn't gonna go for that?
HTML5 has no stream ripping protection at all. Virtually every change to Flash in the last version and a half is stream ripping protection being built in and getting stronger, and that's what content companies broadly need - HTML 5 is going nowhere, fast any time soon, and while there's no content protection mechanism within HTML it won't take off significantly.
Even YouTube seem to have quietly distanced themselves from the notion they'll use HTML5...
Phazer
Obviously the "best" way to play video online will evolve in future into something different from today's Flash, but I see no-one's got an answer for my previous question then:
"How do I view the ninety-something percent of legacy websites out there NOW using Flash for video playback?"
(Except "Go without".)
"How do I view the ninety-something percent of legacy websites out there NOW using Flash for video playback?"
(Except "Go without".)
You bought a phone that couldn't run Flash. You'll still have the same "problem". How are you solving it now?
To everyone citing poor performance as a reason:
Could Apple make the option to use Flash on the iPhone user-enabled? Sort of like how it is with turning 3G on and off.
Could Apple make the option to use Flash on the iPhone user-enabled? Sort of like how it is with turning 3G on and off.
Sounds sensible to me. Then users could make their own individual decision according to their preferences.
That fact that it's NOT a user-option suggests it's a political/commercial decision, not technical.
That fact that it's NOT a user-option suggests it's a political/commercial decision, not technical.
Didn't you see the posts about some other new smartphone a month or so back that played flash video?
It took a LONG time to work, even on Wifi, and even then it kept stopping. It was painful to watch.
Apple is not going to let users turn on a 'make my phone terrible' mode.
Surely the users would realize it was their own fault for turning it on and not Apple's fault even though Apple let them turn it on. [/sarcasm]
Apple would totally get hammered if they allowed a feature that sucked in practice.