What's the deal with Apples refusal to enable Flash for iPhone ?

I believe he doesn’t want it enabled on his products because of the vulnerabilities and security risks that exist with Flash. I think he is waiting on HTML 5 to grow and be able to do what Flash can do.

They know they have a cult following that they don’t have to waste time on it lol. I think flash is very important on smartphones. But I read they were having problems implementing it a safe way? Maybe they want to be extra safe.

1 Flash requires mouse over gestures for a lot of things to work properly. On a touch screen this is very hard to instigate in a way that is as smooth and as intuitive as the rest of the iphone interface.

2 One of the major things you do with Flash is watch videos on the web. Apple aint gonna go out of their way to allow an alternative to itunes for your entertainment. itunes is where they make they’re money.

3 it tends to be processor intensive so it shortens battery life. Short battery life + bad product reviews.

4 It is a security nightmare.

Apple ain’t going to back down on this just because jobs has gone. Sorry. You could always get Blackberry Playbook.(assuming you don’t need email).

Flash has a history of being sluggish and buggy on Apple platforms, and adobe has been pretty lethargic about fixing problems so the decision to exclude flash was likely one of security and less hassle. Having to download new firmware every time they make a fix would be a tremendous PITA. I do also think it’s a personal snafu between Jobs and Adobe and Jobs is legendary for holding grudges.

Even though it seems petty, this is actually a good thing. When the most popular mobile platform is not using Flash, then the content industry is forced to develop and use alternatives. The trend is now driving the move to the new standard HTML5 that has media support embedded into it’s DNA which makes it easier and cleaner to incorporate media compared to a technology that is completely owned and controlled by one company.

Migrating to new standards isn’t quick and easy, but with the mass marketshare iOS devices have, you’ll find web devs using HTML5 for their videos soon enough. Youtube has been testing an HTML5 version of their site for quite some time now.

@Lightlyseared Number 1 has not been an issue on my Droid X. You are correct about the other three though.

@sinscriven IPv6 has been around for years, yet IPv4 is still around… and that is beginning to cause serious problems, yet the industry still hasn’t adapted despite knowing about it for so long.

Who cares? I don’t want nor will I ever have an iphone.

Did the founder of Adobe and Steve Jobs get in a bar fight back in the day or what? Um, yeah, basically. Not actually, but it’s definitely person. Back in the day (like 80s, early 90s) Apple and Adobe were tight. The were pals, and Adobe helped to make Apple something (anything, really) and it’s arguable that Mac (and Apple) wouldn’t really have ever started without Adobe. Apple, however, tends to feel that Adobe wouldn’t be anywhere without them. But then!!! in the mid-90s (or 89? the dates a bit unclear to me), Adobe was all “So, listen Jobs, Apple isn’t really going anywhere, we’re going to go make Windows our priority” and Steve Jobs, being the grown-up he is, decided to hold a grudge forever and ever against Adobe for not having faith in him and take it out on his customers by refusing to ever do business with Adobe again (unless they absolutely had to, in rare cases).

*definitely personal, not person. urg.

Well, I’ve certainly learned a lot from everybody’s answers here and I thanked you all with as much lurve as allowed. (even the grumpy one).

How does someone whose SN comes from a fun vintage candy with collectible dispenser end up so dyspeptic? Yes, I’m referring to you, Pezzman :)

@jerv

Could you provide a plain English translation for the technotards such as I, please :)

I have no idea what Pv4 or Pv6 is. Never even heard of em. Have mercy on poor lil me.

@Buttonstc IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) is the protocol used to work out the IP address of stuff on the internet (for example 127.0.0.1). However it was invented back in the early 80’s when the only people on the internet were universities and at the time no one would guess that every individual on earth would require several addresses (mobile, laptop, desktop, etc) so we’ve kinda run out. IPv6 (invented in 1998) adds a lot more addresses (by a factor of 96) but despite being around for 14 years still isn’t widely used.

@Buttonstc What phone can’t you take on a weekend camping trip… an iphone
What phone cant you hear if the background noise is that of a fly trapped in a glass….an iphone. What phone can’t bounce.. an iphone. I think you can see a pattern here… It’s all apple brainwashing marketing that’s got it where it is… (re: SN – it’s Pezz the Axe Murderer)
PS… Not grumpy… just stating the facts!

@pezz Ok, are there phones that are supposed to bounce? I mean, dropping an iPhone might not be really good for it, but I don’t think you’re supposed to see if any of them bounce…

@pezz I’ve take an iphone on camping trips, on alpine climbs. I never have any problems hearing phone calls on it and I’ve dropped it dozens of times and the worse thing thats happened was a few barley noticeble scratches. Given that you said yourself that you’ve never had an iphone I’m curious as to where you got your facts from and how come they’re so different from reality? Weird huh?

@Aethelflaed A friend of mine had an old Motorola work cell that survived a fall down a five-story stairwell. One of his co-workers had the same model and ran it over with a truck… twice. Needless to say, modern smartphones are not that tough.

@jerv I had a phone that was run over by a car and survived long enough for me to transfer all the info. I know smartphones aren’t known for their durability (and rightly so), I guess it was the mental image of someone buying a phone and then using it like a bouncy ball when bored or playing a game that seemed so weird.

Yesterday afternoon Adobe announced Flash Media Sever 4.5 which repackages Flash video as HTTP automatically to stream to iOS devices.

Looks like Apple has won.

So when do you think that will be implemented? Did they specify a date?

I am so happy to hear this.

:D :D. :D

@Lightlyseared I find it a little bit hard to believe that a) this means the war between Adobe and Apple is over and b) that there’s a winner in the war.

@Aethelflaed I think that Apple users win since they can now access far more of the Internet.

@jerv I can see that, but I think winning for Apple users would have been just not having the war in the first place.

@Aethelflaed Actually, “winning” would be paying today’s prices for today’s tech instead of tomorrow’s prices for last years tech. The software isn’t terrible, but I’ve seen better for free. As for the hardware… except for the Mac Pro, you are basically paying for art. Toshiba is more reliable, and costs less for similar specs.

@jerv Yes, but Apple users choose, voluntarily, to buy Apple products.

@Aethelflaed… and often because they not only do not possess much/any tech-savvy, but because they actively wish to avoid ever having to. Computers = magic. Of course, most of those people won’t be on Fluther, so any Apple fan you hear from here will be atypical as the Apple fans here have other reasons for their choice; reasons that many Apple users don’t even want to try to understand.

@jerv Hey now. Don’t discount PC users who, in a fit of total psychosis over having accidentally download one too many viruses, decided that it was time to make life better and get a Mac.

Could someone please clarify something here for me?

When I read the phrase IOS devices, I’m assuming iPhones and iPads since Adobe Flash can already accessed on computers through browsers such as Firefox, etc.

@jerv

I’m trying to understand your comment about the Mac Pro and basically paying for art. Could you delineate further.

I’m trying to understand how people who already have iPhones are going to be paying anything more. And to whom would they be paying it?

I interpreted the info to mean that the translation of Flash into IOS is being done at the level of the website which is using the HTML 5. Am I misinterpreting the info. ? ( which is certainly entirely possible since I’m not a computer programmer :)

@Aethelflaed I count them too, as any tech-savvy PC user either knows enough to prevent infections or uses Linux and is thus as close to immune as any Mac user since both Linux and OS X are Unix-based.

@Buttonstc You are correct; iOS is for iPhones, iPads, and the second generation of Apple TV. Flash can be accessed through your browser… unless you are running that browser on hardware running iOS. A desktop mac has no problems with Flash, but iOS devices just can’t do it.

As for paying for art, Macs and iPods are sleek-looking things with lots of eye candy in the software that impresses many people in a “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!” sort of way, but the specs of said hardware are often on par with something less than half the price. I paid less than $800 for my PC tower and the 32” flatscreen TV I use as a monitor. Sure, my rig isn’t as sleek or sexy-looking as an iMac, but it has better specs than a top-tier iMac of the same age that cost far more.

So tell me, if something is less functional and cost far more, what could justify that discrepancy? Eye candy. Polish. Art.

The exception is the Mac Pro. You can’t get a PC of similar specs for that low a price… but it doesn’t look as good either. ~I mean, who wants a bulky tower and all those cables? Ewww!

Seriously though, price out a dual Xeon PC and you’ll find that, unlike the entire rest of Apple’s lineup, the Mac Pro is actually a bargain. And you can always install a real operating system on it too ;)

@jerv Well, we may have different definitions of tech-savvy. I know how to protect against viruses, but still got one that was particularly vicious and new, and the programs couldn’t adequetly defend against it. I also have Linux installed, but prefer working on Windows. So, YMMV. But, I am thinking particularly of people who know how to do all these things but still don’t – same as people who know they should take their heart medication, but don’t (for whatever reason).

Thanks. I see what you mean regarding computers.

I was just a little confused since my Original Q was about Flash on the iPhone.

But since it is in Social, editorializing and opinions are fine (even if a bit confusing :)
And that’s fine since I rarely post in General, if at all.

BTW.

I agree with you on some of the computer part of it. My very first Apple computer years ago was a well-used (and BULKY) Mac Pro Tower, G3 which I bought for $200.00 from a guy who was a Graphics Pro.

They always need the latest and the greatest (which I certainly DO NOT) and treat their machines really really well. So I’ve had really good fortune with that approach. And I can get a good product without paying an arm and a leg.

And years later I did the same with my (now greatly aging) Ti Book.

And just for comparison sake. In my experience at least, it’s not simply a matter of “Oooh pretty, shiny…”

A short time layer I scored an IBM Thinkpad (now Lenovo) on Craigslist for $100. and it is the flimsiest piece of plastic crap you’d ever want to see, even tho it had seen little use by the original owner.

I take good care of my few valuable possessions and am not hard on things use-wise. But every time I open or close this thing, it feels like the hinge is going to snap or the whole cover will crack or come off completely.

This is such a marked contrast to my Ti Book which had already been dropped on one corner on the concrete sidewalk (the one where the charger cord connects) by it’s original owner who slipped on the ice. And it’s still going strong till this day with no problems.

It doesn’t look the prettiest with it’s dented frame but I got it for a much much lower cost and it’s still SOLID as a rock due to both elegant design and quality construction and materials.

Had the Thinkpad ever suffered the same fate of being dropped, I hesitate to imagine the result.

So, for SOME frugal Apple owners, it’s not all about shiny pretty pretty. It’s also about SOLID CONSTRUCTION and unrivaled service. I can still call the Apple 800 number for help and advice even tho, strictly speaking, it’s been out of warranty for quite a while. Same thing for my iPhone.

Due to the Applecare, the original owner got a brand new battery replacement a few months prior to my buying it and it is also going strong. Obviously he used it up plenty as a Graphics Pro but they replaced it for free anyhow. That’s unheard of for any PC laptops.

If I had the same level of technical knowledge and expertise as you have, I’m sure I’d have the confidence to build my own PC from scratch and put Linux on it.

But the plain fact is that I don’t. And I don’t particularly want to spend the remaining years I have left on this earth to spend my time in that direction.
I have different priorities. That doesn’t make it wrong or lazy as you seem to imply about those of us who just aren’t tech savvy. Some people are naturally gifted t like that and some aren’t. You are and I and many others are definitely not. It doesn’t mean we are necessarily lazy.

You seem to think it’s somehow shameful that Apple has designed a product for us poor schmucks and is fleecing us with higher prices for superficial products which are merely pretty and artsy because we’re drawn to the glam.

You keep forgetting about the genuine substance behind both the hardware and the software. And you overlook the fact that smart people can still get that substance which Apple provides by letting the first owner take the depreciation hit first.

Gee, that sounds like an interesting parallel to used car buyers doesn’t it? And that’s exactly the same principle behind my car buying.

Not every (or even most) Apple users are so besotted by the pretty that they’re willing (or even able) to pay exhorbitantly for superficiality.

Some of us know that it’s not just elegant design. It’s solid design and long lasting functionality as well along with fantastic support.

My getting that PC laptop was a real eye opener for me. The comparison between it and my Mac are like night and day. I bought it because I thought I still needed it for whatever Apple couldn’t do since I started out on a PC. but nowadays it barely gets used at all.

@Buttonstc Solid construction is not unique to Apple. My Droid X and Sansa e280 have survived things that have killed many an iPhone and iPod, including my old iPod Touch. I also appreciate a rugged design; why do you think I love my ‘85 Corolla? Not pretty, but damn functional even after all this time, and cheaper even when new.

AppleCare is good, but unless it is a full, comprehensive, no-questions-asked insurance policy, I’d say that it isn’t quite worth the premium those of use without an educational discount pay.

As for not spending your remaining years learning more about computers, I can respect that. I sometimes forget that some don’t have the sort of aptitude for certain things that I do. See, I never really spent much time explicitly learning computers; it just kind of… happens. Some play musical instruments, some find the right words to sway peoples opinions, and I grok technology (cars, computers, CNC mills and lathes…).

BTW, I take it that you are not a serious gamer since most of the best games don’t have Mac versions. Nor do the “helper” apps used to assist with tabletop RPGs and strategy games. Neither do many of the specialized pieces of software I use, especially those I need for my job, but very few graphics design people need to take their 3D “drawings” and translate them into a FANUC program so that they can cut it out of a block of steel so I can give that one a pass, especially since many artistic-type programs are Mac-exclusive.

Then again, there is something you can do witha Macbook Air that I cannot do with my Toshiba. Apple vs apple.