Apple VS. Adobe: Flash Ban & Wars Continue

Over the last few decades, Apple and Adobe have helped each other out and made each other what they are today. However, with the recent unveiling of the iPhone OS 4.0, it was made abundantly clear that Apple's CEO and co-founder Steve Jobs intends to see Adobe Systems go up in smoke.

The CPU Hog Problem
The problem here is not necessarily Jobs' distaste or mistrust of the Adobe Systems Flash developer platform, but his distaste for "CPU hogs," or that it is "full of security holes" and "old technology," as he said about Adobe applications and development during his keynote speech at a Town Hall given by Jobs at One Infinity Circle.

For some reason Jobs seems to think that because the iPhone and iPad do not allow Flash Adobe will go up in smoke and the people will move away form using it. However, what he may not understand is that Flash is present on every single PC, almost smartphone and many Mac computers as well. In fact, the only devices around not using flash are the iPhone and iPad. So where does that leave Jobs and his statement?

The HTML5 Problem
He also called Adobe a "lazy company" and said that HTML5 is the way the world is currently moving. Jobs also calls HTML5 the industry standard. However, this is simply untrue. According to the W3C, the industry standard is still 4.01, not HTML5. While yes, more and more web sites and applications are using HTML5, not every browser supports it yet and they will not until it is announced by the W3C as a standard HTML platform. Myth and Jobs' statement is wrong.

The Developer Problem
In the past, it was possible for developers to create multi platform applications by developing the applications in their original programming language and then exporting it to a native iPhone language. It worked for the most part. Adobe Systems announced that many applications on the iPhone actually use Flash because of this loophole. Apparently, this made Jobs very unhappy. Not only has he banned Flash from the iPhone and iPad permanently, he did it in a way that hurts more than just Adobe.

The SDK TOS Problem
The way he went about banning flash applications altogether was with the change in the developer, or SDK Terms of Service. The TOS now strictly forbids any applications on the iPhone that are not "originally" written in certain languages, or the programming language of Apple. These include C, C++, Objective-C or JavaScript only. This includes developers not having the ability to use Adobe System's brand new Flash CS5 package which includes a newly developed Packager for iPhone. The packager would have allowed developers to develop apps using Flash and repackage it for deployment on the iPhone, as long as they were certified by Apple as a developer. This is now impossible because of the newly worded TOS.

Personal Feelings Getting in the Way?
The personal afflictions of Steve Jobs seem to be getting in the way of his business sense. Wording the TOS in this way not only hurts Adobe Systems, but other developers as well. It would seem that Jobs has a need to control everything about his Apple products, right down to the color of the price label a retailer puts on Apple packages. While Apple did the same thing in the past with their MAC OS X platform, putting up a wall between Apply loyalists and the rest of the world, it will not work this time. Just because the iPhone is the best selling smartphone does not mean Jobs' tyranny can continue.

The Future
What will happen is that Jobs will try to do the same and put a wall up between the real world and Apple mobile product users and that pile of users will not continue to grow. The world around them will continue to get larger and the Apple world will stay the same size. Developers will find better and less restrictive places to develop and the iPhone and iPad will not make it to their 10^th birthday. There are just too many better phones and mobile devices at less than a quarter of the price on the market. Why would a person want to have to restrict oneself to an Apple product when others are proven better, more efficient and eventually more profitable?

World Wide Web Consortium: WC3 Standards Home Page
Adobe Labs: Packager for iPhone
The Flash Blog: Apple Slaps Adobe in the Face
CNet Report: Jobs Disses Adobe as "CPU Hog"
MacRumors: Fallout of Apple's Exclusion of Flash-to-iPhone Export Continues