trokker

Why the iPhone/iPad shouldn't need Flash support

Thursday, January 28, 2010 9:24:25 PM

Ogg Theora, HTML5, iPad, HTML, Flash, Ogg, Apple, Web, H264, iPhone, Mozilla, Google

Has it ever occurred to you that these device don't support flash for a reason? Flash is a bridge technology, filling the gaps in HTML. Almost anything you can do in Flash will be available once the dust settles around HTML5 and SVG. Then all Apple needs to do is update the webbrowser and voilá!
Embedding videos in websites has gotten easier with HTML5 since there's native support. I know that's still in it's early stages and two of the big browser developers (Mozilla, Google) haven't even settled for a standard. Right now it's H264 vs. Ogg Theora, because Mozilla only allows full open-source code in it's projects (which I totally agree with) and Google (and the rest of the browser developers) are afraid of patents which might someday surface with Ogg.
Personally, I think Apple is waiting until Flash is obsolete and then we're talking web development again.

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Comments

MJerezmjerez # Sunday, January 31, 2010 4:55:35 AM

I think flash in videos in one of many functions. For example, online gaming uses flash as the main tool.
You may say that very little people plays flash games, but actually there are a huge amount of these games.
Moving to html5 it's only a part. Then make a tool to develop SVG+javascript games as complex and useful than flash, and then we will talk about dead of flash platform. Until then Apple is removing a lot of content of the internet experience.

trokker # Monday, February 1, 2010 8:17:06 AM

This maybe true, but there are many native game apps for the iPhone and Apple supports this with the app store. Plus they don't get yet another player on board of their platform, thus minimizing the risk of security holes (which flash is famous for).
I don't say I support their decision, but I think I understand it.