Virgin America dumps Adobe Flash for iPhone users

[*LTD*]

http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/03/02/virgin_america_dumps_adobe_flash_for_iphone_users.html

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/02/virgin_america_html_flash/

Virgin America dumps Adobe Flash for iPhone users

By Prince McLean
Published: 06:00 PM EST

In an interview with the Register UK, Virgin's chief technology officer Ravi Simhambhatla said, "I don't want to cater to one hardware or one software platform one way to another, and Flash eliminates iPhone users. This year is going to be the year of the mobile [for Virgin]."

The Register reported that Virgin's new Flash-free website is responsible for bringing in 70% of the company's $100 million in quarterly revenues. The airline's "crown jewels" website replaces a previous version that used Flash and was less than three years old.

iPhone launches a migration from Flash

The move illustrates the leverage Apple now exerts in being able to drive new web development to use open web standards rather than proprietary binary platforms like Flash and Microsoft's Silverlight, which exist as closed alternatives to the Web's simple HTML and JavaScript.

Apple itself dropped Flash from most of its web properties the iPhone debuted, and just before its launch, the company worked with Google to begin serving YouTube videos without requiring a Flash wrapper. Apple chief executive Steve Jobs insisted that Flash was simply not well suited for mobile devices like the new iPhone.

Google has since floated a beta version of YouTube for desktop users that drops Flash entirely and instead presents videos using the native multimedia delivery support written into HTML5, the latest specification of the Web's standard for semantically marking up content.

Virgin said it is planning to make use of new features in HTML5 as the standard is ratified. Until then, company representatives said today's HTML is "good enough" to do what the company had been using Flash to do on its previous site.

Flash vs the Web

Unlike Flash or Silverlight, which are presentational and therefore deliver a fixed view for users to experience, the Web's native HTML only describes content semantically, so users and their browser can interpret how they want to experience that information.

HTML supports flexible presentation using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), a technology that can scale Web content and complexity to accommodate the limitation of mobile devices, accessibility issues for the blind or physically impaired, or simply customize information presentation to fit the desires of Web users.

Morgan Adams, an interactive content developer with a lot of experience with Flash recently explained that most of today's existing Flash-based games, navigation elements, and other content is oriented toward mouse-centric desktop and simply can not work well in a multitouch environment like the iPhone or Apple's upcoming iPad, where there is no mouseover.

Adobe is working to push out new enhancements to Flash to accommodate touch-centric environments in new content, but developers have to weigh whether sticking with Adobe's platform makes sense now that HTML5 delivers much of the functionality of Flash without dependance upon Adobe. Apple's staunchly Flash-free mobile platforms are helping to tilt that decision in favor of open standards.



It's all coming together. I wonder who will be next to drop Flash. There *will* be more.

 

[rdowns]

All coming together.

One company, give me a break.

 

[roadbloc]

It's all coming together. I wonder who will be next to drop Flash. There *MAY* be more.

Fixed that one for you.

I will believe it is all coming together when around half the major companies websites go flash free. One website is naff all.

 

[ArrowSmith]

Yeah let's pretend some goofy, vaporware is desirable compared to Flash or Silverlight. Yeah only pathetic Netflix uses Silverlight to stream 1000s of movies. But who care right? It's all about what Apple wants!

 

[ObsidianIce]

I quite agree that there will be more. Apple products are getting quite popular, it may not be the tipping point, but also from a programming standpoint..and i do a bit of programming HTML5 is definitely better than flash.

 

[djellison]

From what I've read, and heard from devs, writing for HTML5 is a clusterf*** of nightmares for compatibility. For anything other than basic functions, you essentially have to code for each browser. It's a long long way from replacing Flash, if ever.

 

[Eraserhead]

All coming together.

One company, give me a break.

And the standard website is about as Flash free as any other airline, only the route map appears to use Flash.

 

[FrankieTDouglas]

I quite agree that there will be more. Apple products are getting quite popular, it may not be the tipping point, but also from a programming standpoint..and i do a bit of programming HTML5 is definitely better than flash.

When you have an alternative that designers can use without programming, a program that incorporates a visual timeline to create sequence based decisions instead of >, =, and 0, then I'll start listening about a Flash alternative. Until then, you still have programmer solutions and designer solutions. The designer solution currently has no plans of fading away.

 

[rdowns]

I've decided to jump on the HTML5 band wagon. I am announcing that my blog will no longer use Flash.

It's all coming together. I wonder who will be next to drop Flash. There *will* be more.

 

[niuniu]

'Flash eliminates iPhone users.'


Yes, because the iPhone came first right

 

[JNB]

Flash may or may not be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but since every instance I've encountered or have been made to endure that relies on it, also apparently relies on the programming skills of poo-flinging monkeys. I'll stick with something a little more predictable, and less dependent on said primates.

Flash is to the Web what PowerPoint is to presentations. More god-awful crap than useful output.

TBH, all Flash has become is one great steaming heap of dancing baby. The sooner it's dead, the sooner we can all go back to being productive.

 

[*LTD*]

'Flash eliminates iPhone users.'


Yes, because the iPhone came first right

The iPhone and Apple devices happen to be *what matters.*

Content providers are realizing a) just how important Apple devices have become, and b) that they'd rather keep the iPhone (and soon to be iPad) demographic.

Bottom line: If your content doesn't play well with Apple devices in 2010 and beyond, you're doing it wrong.

 

[rdowns]

Flash may or may not be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but since every instance I've encountered or have been made to endure that relies on it, also apparently relies on the programming skills of poo-flinging monkeys. I'll stick with something a little more predictable, and less dependent on said primates.

Flash is to the Web what PowerPoint is to presentations. More god-awful crap than useful output.

TBH, all Flash has become is one great steaming heap of dancing baby. The sooner it's dead, the sooner we can all go back to being productive.

I don't think you'll get an argument from anyone but it will be years until Flash isn't as prevalent as it is today, regardless of how successful Apple devices are. HTML 5 isn't ready for prime time yet.

 

[jav6454]

I don't think you'll get an argument from anyone but it will be years until Flash isn't as prevalent as it is today, regardless of how successful Apple devices are. HTML 5 isn't ready for prime time yet.

Keyword, yet. That is changing or going to change starting this year. Flash won't go anywhere in the next 2 years, but after that.... if Adobe falls behind, well, Flash may not have a space in the Web today.

 

[clevin]

I fail to see the argument of flash vs CSS, are there really anybody out there think CSS can do all flash can?

and its more like apple vs adobe, rather than flash vs web.

Keyword, yet. That is changing or going to change starting this year. Flash won't go anywhere in the next 2 years, but after that.... if Adobe falls behind, well, Flash may not have a space in the Web today.

you overestimated the speed of the change of web.

 

[Melrose]

All coming together.

One company, give me a break.

All the same, despite what fanboys say about Apple being so wonderful they are a big corporation, and a big player on popular media. When a company of Apple's size and influence decides to drop a plugin it very well could signal the start of a shift in both corporate and popular opinion. YouTube has already showed a willingness for other options and they're one of the most popular websites.

Add to that the fact that web standards are here to stay, despite what Flash-crazy designers may personally want. The future is HTML5, not Flash - even if it's a few years off.

The fact that a company of Virgin's size is jump
ing on board is a strong signal of the way things will likely go in an increasingly mobile world.

 

[jav6454]

All the same, despite what fanboys say about Apple being so wonderful they are a big corporation, and a big player on popular media. When a company of Apple's size and influence decides to drop a plugin it very well could signal the start of a shift in both corporate and popular opinion. YouTube has already showed a willingness for other options and they're one of the most popular websites.

Add to that the fact that web standards are here to stay, despite what Flash-crazy designers may personally want. The future is HTML5, not Flash - even if it's a few years off.

The fact that a company of Virgin's size is jump
ing on board is a strong signal of the way things will likely go in an increasingly mobile world.

+2 That was well summed up.