ShyGuyInChicago
November 9th, 2011, 03:13 PM
Jobs Was Right: Adobe Abandons Mobile Flash, Backs HTML5 | Gadget Lab | Wired.com (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/11/adobe-kills-mobile-flash/)
UPDATE 8:39 A.M. PST: Adobe confirmed it will cease Flash development (http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/11/flash-focus.html) on mobile devices.In an abrupt about-face in its mobile software strategy, Adobe will soon cease developing its Flash Player plug-in for mobile browsers. Adobe said it would abandon mobile flash development, nudge developers to the Adobe Air platform and wholeheartedly back what had been a rival approach — HTML5.
“HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively,” Adobe VP Danny Winokur said in a clear reference (http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/11/flash-focus.html) to Apple’s rejection of Flash support on its dominant iOS devices: the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. “This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms. We are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive HTML5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers.”
Word first circulated in an e-mail sent to Adobe partners on Tuesday evening. The e-mail was obtained and first reported on by ZDNet (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/exclusive-adobe-ceases-development-on-mobile-browser-flash-refocuses-efforts-on-html5/19226).
And with that, Adobe signaled the end of the Flash era on at least the mobile web, as Steve Jobs predicted (http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/04/steve-jobs-blog-post-flash/).
In the past, Adobe has released software tools for mobile developers (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/adobe-flash-flex/) that create a single platform programmers can use to make applications that work across three major mobile platforms: Android, iOS and the BlackBerry OS. While it’s seemingly easier than learning all of the native languages for each operating system, some developers have claimed a loss in app performance when coding in a non-native language that then gets translated into other languages.
The move indicates a massive backpedaling on Adobe’s part, a company that championed its Flash platform in the face of years of naysaying about its use on mobile devices. Despite Flash’s near ubiquity across desktop PCs, many in the greater computing industry, including, famously, Apple Computer, have denounced the platform as fundamentally unstable on mobile browsers, and an intense battery drain. In effect, Flash’s drawbacks outweigh the benefits on mobile devices.
Flash became a dominant desktop platform by allowing developers to code interactive games, create animated advertisements and deliver video to any browser that had the plug-in installed, without having to take into account the particulars of any given browser. However, with the development of Javascript, CSS, and HTML5, which has native support for video, many web developers are turning away from Flash, which can be a resource hog even on the most advanced browsers.
Apple made its biggest waves in the case against Flash in April of last year, when Steve Jobs penned a1,500-word screed (http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/) against the controversial platform, describing it as a technology of the past. Jobs and Apple disliked the platform so intensely, it has since been barred from use on all iOS devices.
Despite attempts to breathe life into Flash on other mobile devices — namely, Android and BlackBerry OS — Adobe has failed to deliver a consistently stable version of the platform on a smartphone or tablet. In Wired.com’s testing of the BlackBerry PlayBook in April (http://www.wired.com/reviews/2011/04/blackberry-playbook/all/1), Flash use caused the browser to crash on a consistent basis. And when Flash was supposed to come to tablets with Motorola’s Xoom, Adobe was only able to provide a highly unstable Beta version of Flash (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/motorola-xoom-launches-without-flash/) to ship with the flagship Android device.
“Adobe has lost so much credibility with the community that I’m hoping they are bought by someone else that can bring some stability and eventually some credibility back to the Flash Platform,” wrote software developer Dan Florio (http://polygeek.com/4838_air-mobile_flash-is-dead-on-mobile-long-live-air) in a blog post on Wednesday morning.
The drastic reversal in Adobe’s mobile plans comes in the wake of the company cutting 750 jobs on Tuesday (http://allthingsd.com/20111108/adobe-eliminates-750-jobs-in-restructuring/), a move prompted by what Adobe labeled “corporate restructuring.”
An Adobe representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Steve’s Last Laugh: Adobe Killing Off Flash For Mobile Devices | TechCrunch (http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/08/mobile-flash-is-coming-soon-i-swear/)
The year was 2008. I was at an event focused on mobile, sitting in on a roundtable discussion with several folks from key companies in the industry. One gentleman was from Adobe. The iPhone had launched the previous year, famously without any support for Flash. A lot of folks were up in arms about this — including several at this table. The guy from Adobe assured everyone: mobile Flash would be coming soon. And it was going to be wonderful. The notion that Apple wouldn’t include it on the iPhone because of performance issues was pure hogwash.The same thing was said in 2009.
The same thing was said in 2010.
The same thing was still being said in 2011.
So you’ll forgive me when I snicker a bit at the news tonight that Adobe plans to cease development of their Flash player for mobile devices. Jason Perlow has the scoop for ZDNet (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/exclusive-adobe-ceases-development-on-mobile-browser-flash-refocuses-efforts-on-html5/19226), and it’s a doozy. Here’s the apparent forthcoming announcement from Adobe on the matter:Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our source code licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations. We will continue to support the current Android and PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates.
This announcement, along with talk of a focus on HTML5, should be out in the next day or so, according to Perlow. Yes, Adobe is ending their efforts to get Flash onto mobile devices.
But again, that’s odd, since all we’ve heard out of the company for the past 3+ years was either how mobile Flash was coming, or how it was just about to be perfected. While it did finally come — in June 2010 for Android (http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/22/flash-player-mobile/) — it was far from perfect. That’s putting it nicely. Put less nicely, it sucked.
The technology on mobile devices was never ready for primetime. As Harry McCracken put it this past February: Mobile Flash: Always Exciting, Always Not Quite Here Yet (http://technologizer.com/2011/02/21/mobile-flash-always-exciting-always-not-quite-here-yet/). In that post, McCracken noted that Motorola was touting full Flash support as a big selling point of their then-new Xoom tablet. But there was an asterisk. Flash would not ship with the device itself. It would come later. It would always come later.
Things got really heated in April 2010, when Steve Jobs took to Apple’s website to write a missive against Flash. Simply titled, Thoughts on Flash (http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/), Jobs destroyed the technology in 1,700 or so words (http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/29/steve-jobs-apple-adobe-flash/). Perhaps most damning were his thoughts on mobile Flash in particular. The key parts:
“In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it.”
“Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath.”
This letter prompted an ill-advised advertising campaign (which they ran all over the web, even on TechCrunch) by Adobe in which they proclaimed: “We Love Apple”. It was transparent and lame. Worse, it was just about the weakest response possible. Adobe didn’t address any of the issues Jobs brought up. They tried to be cute. They brought an advertisement to a gun fight, as I noted at the time (http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/13/adobe-ad-apple/).
When pressed, Adobe would only call Jobs’ dismissing of Flash “a smokescreen (https://twitter.com/#!/counternotions/status/134150622101504000)“. And they would continue to promise (http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/02/adobe-cto-kevin-lynch-defends-flash/) that the technology would soon be perfected. Better, Adobe’s platform evangelist summed up his feelings with: “Go Screw Yourself Apple (http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/09/adobe-go-screw-yourself-apple-2/)“.
It’s sad that Jobs is no longer with us to see this day. But the truth is that he probably didn’t need to see it — he knew he was right. In his post, he outlined the need for a move towards technologies like HTML5, and now that’s exactly where Adobe is heading.
Steve gets the last laugh.
UPDATE 8:39 A.M. PST: Adobe confirmed it will cease Flash development (http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/11/flash-focus.html) on mobile devices.In an abrupt about-face in its mobile software strategy, Adobe will soon cease developing its Flash Player plug-in for mobile browsers. Adobe said it would abandon mobile flash development, nudge developers to the Adobe Air platform and wholeheartedly back what had been a rival approach — HTML5.
“HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases exclusively,” Adobe VP Danny Winokur said in a clear reference (http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/11/flash-focus.html) to Apple’s rejection of Flash support on its dominant iOS devices: the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. “This makes HTML5 the best solution for creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile platforms. We are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive HTML5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers.”
Word first circulated in an e-mail sent to Adobe partners on Tuesday evening. The e-mail was obtained and first reported on by ZDNet (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/exclusive-adobe-ceases-development-on-mobile-browser-flash-refocuses-efforts-on-html5/19226).
And with that, Adobe signaled the end of the Flash era on at least the mobile web, as Steve Jobs predicted (http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/04/steve-jobs-blog-post-flash/).
In the past, Adobe has released software tools for mobile developers (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/06/adobe-flash-flex/) that create a single platform programmers can use to make applications that work across three major mobile platforms: Android, iOS and the BlackBerry OS. While it’s seemingly easier than learning all of the native languages for each operating system, some developers have claimed a loss in app performance when coding in a non-native language that then gets translated into other languages.
The move indicates a massive backpedaling on Adobe’s part, a company that championed its Flash platform in the face of years of naysaying about its use on mobile devices. Despite Flash’s near ubiquity across desktop PCs, many in the greater computing industry, including, famously, Apple Computer, have denounced the platform as fundamentally unstable on mobile browsers, and an intense battery drain. In effect, Flash’s drawbacks outweigh the benefits on mobile devices.
Flash became a dominant desktop platform by allowing developers to code interactive games, create animated advertisements and deliver video to any browser that had the plug-in installed, without having to take into account the particulars of any given browser. However, with the development of Javascript, CSS, and HTML5, which has native support for video, many web developers are turning away from Flash, which can be a resource hog even on the most advanced browsers.
Apple made its biggest waves in the case against Flash in April of last year, when Steve Jobs penned a1,500-word screed (http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/) against the controversial platform, describing it as a technology of the past. Jobs and Apple disliked the platform so intensely, it has since been barred from use on all iOS devices.
Despite attempts to breathe life into Flash on other mobile devices — namely, Android and BlackBerry OS — Adobe has failed to deliver a consistently stable version of the platform on a smartphone or tablet. In Wired.com’s testing of the BlackBerry PlayBook in April (http://www.wired.com/reviews/2011/04/blackberry-playbook/all/1), Flash use caused the browser to crash on a consistent basis. And when Flash was supposed to come to tablets with Motorola’s Xoom, Adobe was only able to provide a highly unstable Beta version of Flash (http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/motorola-xoom-launches-without-flash/) to ship with the flagship Android device.
“Adobe has lost so much credibility with the community that I’m hoping they are bought by someone else that can bring some stability and eventually some credibility back to the Flash Platform,” wrote software developer Dan Florio (http://polygeek.com/4838_air-mobile_flash-is-dead-on-mobile-long-live-air) in a blog post on Wednesday morning.
The drastic reversal in Adobe’s mobile plans comes in the wake of the company cutting 750 jobs on Tuesday (http://allthingsd.com/20111108/adobe-eliminates-750-jobs-in-restructuring/), a move prompted by what Adobe labeled “corporate restructuring.”
An Adobe representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Steve’s Last Laugh: Adobe Killing Off Flash For Mobile Devices | TechCrunch (http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/08/mobile-flash-is-coming-soon-i-swear/)
The year was 2008. I was at an event focused on mobile, sitting in on a roundtable discussion with several folks from key companies in the industry. One gentleman was from Adobe. The iPhone had launched the previous year, famously without any support for Flash. A lot of folks were up in arms about this — including several at this table. The guy from Adobe assured everyone: mobile Flash would be coming soon. And it was going to be wonderful. The notion that Apple wouldn’t include it on the iPhone because of performance issues was pure hogwash.The same thing was said in 2009.
The same thing was said in 2010.
The same thing was still being said in 2011.
So you’ll forgive me when I snicker a bit at the news tonight that Adobe plans to cease development of their Flash player for mobile devices. Jason Perlow has the scoop for ZDNet (http://www.zdnet.com/blog/perlow/exclusive-adobe-ceases-development-on-mobile-browser-flash-refocuses-efforts-on-html5/19226), and it’s a doozy. Here’s the apparent forthcoming announcement from Adobe on the matter:Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our source code licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations. We will continue to support the current Android and PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates.
This announcement, along with talk of a focus on HTML5, should be out in the next day or so, according to Perlow. Yes, Adobe is ending their efforts to get Flash onto mobile devices.
But again, that’s odd, since all we’ve heard out of the company for the past 3+ years was either how mobile Flash was coming, or how it was just about to be perfected. While it did finally come — in June 2010 for Android (http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/22/flash-player-mobile/) — it was far from perfect. That’s putting it nicely. Put less nicely, it sucked.
The technology on mobile devices was never ready for primetime. As Harry McCracken put it this past February: Mobile Flash: Always Exciting, Always Not Quite Here Yet (http://technologizer.com/2011/02/21/mobile-flash-always-exciting-always-not-quite-here-yet/). In that post, McCracken noted that Motorola was touting full Flash support as a big selling point of their then-new Xoom tablet. But there was an asterisk. Flash would not ship with the device itself. It would come later. It would always come later.
Things got really heated in April 2010, when Steve Jobs took to Apple’s website to write a missive against Flash. Simply titled, Thoughts on Flash (http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/), Jobs destroyed the technology in 1,700 or so words (http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/29/steve-jobs-apple-adobe-flash/). Perhaps most damning were his thoughts on mobile Flash in particular. The key parts:
“In addition, Flash has not performed well on mobile devices. We have routinely asked Adobe to show us Flash performing well on a mobile device, any mobile device, for a few years now. We have never seen it.”
“Adobe publicly said that Flash would ship on a smartphone in early 2009, then the second half of 2009, then the first half of 2010, and now they say the second half of 2010. We think it will eventually ship, but we’re glad we didn’t hold our breath.”
This letter prompted an ill-advised advertising campaign (which they ran all over the web, even on TechCrunch) by Adobe in which they proclaimed: “We Love Apple”. It was transparent and lame. Worse, it was just about the weakest response possible. Adobe didn’t address any of the issues Jobs brought up. They tried to be cute. They brought an advertisement to a gun fight, as I noted at the time (http://techcrunch.com/2010/05/13/adobe-ad-apple/).
When pressed, Adobe would only call Jobs’ dismissing of Flash “a smokescreen (https://twitter.com/#!/counternotions/status/134150622101504000)“. And they would continue to promise (http://techcrunch.com/2010/02/02/adobe-cto-kevin-lynch-defends-flash/) that the technology would soon be perfected. Better, Adobe’s platform evangelist summed up his feelings with: “Go Screw Yourself Apple (http://techcrunch.com/2010/04/09/adobe-go-screw-yourself-apple-2/)“.
It’s sad that Jobs is no longer with us to see this day. But the truth is that he probably didn’t need to see it — he knew he was right. In his post, he outlined the need for a move towards technologies like HTML5, and now that’s exactly where Adobe is heading.
Steve gets the last laugh.