Apple vs Adobe - Web developers caught in the cross fire
Apple's refusal to allow web-based Flash applications to run on the web browser on either the iPhone or the iPod Touch continues to drive web developers crazy. Like it or not, Flash is virtually ubiquitous on the web. In fact, Flash is one of THE most common plug-ins you can find on web browsers with more than 97 per cent of Internet users able to view Flash-based content.
Apple appears poised to allow Flash-based applications to be sold in their online App Store. But Apple also disallows applications in the store that duplicate Apple software. Such as the iPhone / iPod web browser.
Is Apple still pissed that Adobe brought software to the Windows world ahead of versions for the Mac? Is Apple still trying to convert the rest of the world - including Mac users - to a WWW without Flash?
It's stupid, it's annoying, and it smacks of the same kind of autocratic nonsense that earned Microsoft so many accusations of caring not a bit for the average user (yes, I'm talking about Windows' horrible security record).
According to Adobe, there is no technical reason that Flash-based web browsing can't be provided to iPhone / iPod users. Only Apple's intransigence. And that's forcing web developers to either create two versions of web sites - one for Apple mobile device users and one for the rest of the world- or to say 'tough nuggets' to the Apple fans who get that cute little error icon when they visit web sites with Flash content.
-G
