To bring you up to speed I will quickly describe the climate. Flash, a standard for web animation and video, was bought by Adobe in 2005 from a company called Macromedia. If I could have it my way, Macromedia would still be alive. Why? Because Adobe is poopy. They take good things and mess them up--just like Apple.
Regardless of Adobe's persistent failure to be an honorable software company, Flash maintains an incredible and powerful segment of the web. Flash has been fully embraced by artists, advertisers, videographers, game developers, and more. My father and I developed Margo Reader (www.margoreader.com) using Flash and the end result equates to illiterate people learning to read for free! Almost every video site on the web now utilizes Flash. Add the countless advertisements, animations, and rich multi-media experiences and it becomes clear that Flash is the most exciting technology on the internet, and has been since it was invented. It's nearly impossible to browse the world wide web today without encountering Flash bits every step along the way. Unfortunately with Adobe in charge of Flash, the world now finds itself in a bucket of Flash confusion.
Apple, purveyors of the "iPod Landfill", have recently trashed Flash, calling it a dying technology. This could not be further from the truth. While Adobe might be a dying software company, Flash remains vibrant and healthy due to its existing monopoly. Apple hopes to jump onto the HTML5 bandwagon to replace the need for Flash. Unfortunately HTML5 is still quite far from being usable, making Apple seem quite moronic. Apple's latest hardware technology does not support Flash, making it somewhat useless for the purpose of browsing the web. My crystal ball is now showing an iPad landfill as well.
To confuse matters further, Flash now runs on several mobile phones. This means that if your phone does not support Flash you will miss out lots of great web content--such as www.margoreader.com. My father and I had a dream that one day the Margo Reader would be usable on handheld devices. Finally this is becoming a reality. But don't look to Apple to take advantage of this awesome technology. It would seem the goodies are going to the Android mobile platform.
It has now been officially announced that Flash is coming to the currently available array of Android phones, such as the Motorola Droid. This leaves you, the customer, with a fork in the road. Which way will you walk?
And now the bottom line. Apple and Adobe both have their heads buried in the sand. For example, Adobe's flagship product "Photoshop" remains one of the least user friendly software programs ever written. Version after version, Adobe does nothing about this problem. People then struggle with it, going to classes and buying books. Folks, this is not what computers are for. Computers are here to help us--to be tools that make our lives easier! A quality software product should teach you how to use it--like Apple.
Development tools need to be open-source. Adobe's failure to make Flash an open-source technology has hurt the customer, the developers, hardware makers, Adobe's bottom line, and most of all: you and me.
I charge Adobe with the responsibility to open up Flash and make their products user-friendly by designing completely new user-interfaces. Its time for Adobe rise above their previous standard of having the worst user-interfaces on the planet.
I charge Apple with the responsibility to stop filling landfills with dead battery bricks. Especially those that don't embrace the most compelling technology in existence. I also charge Apple with the responsibility to stop lying to people. Steve Jobs comments about Flash are false and ultimately hurt consumers. He is a distorted man, focused on his own mania, and unable to see the real need that exists. The need... to be able to replace your own battery.
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