Flash. No Flash. Are we really having this argument? When HTML 5 comes along, it’s going to support audio and video natively. You’re not going to need Flash plug-ins or QuickTime plug-ins. Yes, the iPhone, iPod Touch, and now the iPad don’t support Flash. Yes, it’s a nuisance at times. Get over it. There are many sites moving away from Flash because it doesn’t work on the iPhone. It’s called progress, people! Either you keep up or you’re left behind. It’s just that simple.
9to5Mac posted an article on January 29th stating that the iPad will have Flash support, because one of the commercials shows the iPad displaying Flash on the New York Times site. After reading the headline, I was scratching my head. When Steve Jobs was demoing the iPad at the Keynote, there was a couple of times where we could see the Flash plug-in icon. The one that looks similar to a Lego brick. So, why is Flash now supported? The first thing that came to mind was link baiting, but I read through the article, and they said that it’s there. So I read the article again later in the day, and 9to5Mac posted this update:
“Update: We’ve just got word from our source at Chiat/Day Media Arts Lab that they make fake optimized web pages for all of Apple’s commercials — which load faster. In this case they made optimized images to take the place of Flash and are redoing them as we speak. So probably no Flash.”
I applaud 9to5Mac for placing this update on their site. With that said, there are other sites such as YouTube and Vimeo that are transitioning over to H.264. That means their videos will play on the iPhone, Touch, and the iPad. Now, if Hulu would make this transition, I think this whole Flash thing would be a moot point. A lot of people are complaining that they will not be able to watch Hulu on the iPad. o, instead of saying it’s Apple’s fault or Adobe’s fault. Why don’t we look at NBC, and ask them why aren’t they transitioning over to H.264? Is it cost? Are they waiting for HTML5 to become universal? Maybe they’re just being hard headed.
Bottom line: If Apple doesn’t want to put Flash in their portable devices, they’re not going to do it. All the arguing in the world is not going to change their minds. Apple claims that Flash drains the battery quickly. I don’t have any of the data they are working from. However, I haven’t heard Adobe even try to disprove this. As I stated earlier, if you don’t keep up with progress, you’re going to get left behind. Flash might just be getting left in the dust.
Photo Credit: Apple iPad Full Details Inside
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