Following my earlier blogs regarding the Flash controversy between Apple and Adobe, here are some related information. According to a study done by Mefeedia, a company that monitors online video on the Web, 26% of Web video is already compatible with the iPad. This means that 74% is still encoded in Flash or platforms other than HTML5 or H.264. The report also states that most new online video is created using HTML5 and not Flash. It was also mentioned that just a few months ago, the percentage of iPad-ready online video is only 10%. The fast increase shows that HTML5 is fast becoming the platform of choice for individual content providers and apps developers.
I posted a few days back a blog on Apple’s reasons why Flash is not supported on the iPod, iPhone and iPad devices. Mr. Jobs himself said that their reasons are purely technical and not based on business issues. Adobe does not accept this and issued a number of statements to refute Apple’s claims. They said they believe in an open market that lets both consumers and developers decide what technology to use for their contents – CSS, HTML4, HTML5, Flash and any other available platform. Adobe published an open letter from its founders that says Apple is actually taking a step that could undermine the mobile era of the web, wherein any individual could publish his own content, which can be accesses anywhere at any time. They also boldly said that nobody, and certainly not a single company controls the web. Word war!
Ever wondered why Adobe’s Flash is not supported on the iPod, iPhone and iPad? Critics are saying it is because of business reasons but Apple claims it is purely because of technology issues. There is no one who can explain Apple’s stand better than the man himself, Mr. Steve Jobs. He issued a statement on this dated April 29, 2010 in Apple’s website. The highlight of that statement is that Flash was created during the era of the desktop (stationary) PC. Today is now the mobile era where we have all sorts of portable devices that require touch interfaces, open web standards, and most of all low power consumption. Flash is weak in all these areas and there is now an ever-growing number of media outlets that provide their content to Apple mobile devices, using open standards like the HTML5. Mr. Jobs’ final word is for Adobe to lessen on criticizing Apple for not using Flash and instead focus on developing HTML5 tools.
WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) 2010 is just around the corner and will be held from June 7 to 11 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. But if you haven’t signed up yet, sorry because there are no more slots available. This shows how important the conference and have gained the status of some sort of a mecca for Apple software developers. It is expected that the highlights of the 2010 event will be on the iPhone OS4 and iPhone and iPad apps. New iPhone OS4 features will be hot on the floor especially multitasking and the iAd. There will also be Core OS sessions that will touch on topics on security, networking, low-level graphics layer, and hardware level services. Developer tools like the Xcode will also be discussed while development techniques for animation, graphics, gaming, audio, and video will be tackled in the Graphics and Media Lab sessions. WWDC 2010 will also focus on the HTML5, which has become an important tool for delivering audio and video to the Web. These are but some of the many things that will be taken up in one of the most important Apple gatherings and expect new developments that will be announced right after the event.
May 18, 2010 6:27 am | 
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