Thought

Adobe vs Apple. Open vs Closed. - The Truth

If you read any tech sites or blogs, you've read about Adobe and Apple taking shots at each other. Well, they've said a lot of things about each other and I took it upon myself to go through all of it. Here's my analysis and clarifications of what they're saying.

Introduction

I'm getting sick of Adobe and Apple bickering back and forth about who hurt each other's feelings first. The ramifications of their public statements are more than people might think. Their remarks on open and closed is misinforming the public.

Both companies have claimed the are open and that the other is closed. Their statements clearly are trying to sway the public on their side.

So who's telling the truth?

NEITHER.

Apple says:

Apple and now Steve Jobs have been proclaiming that they follow open standards (HTML5, CSS, Javascript, through their open source browser engine - Webkit).

Steve Job just released 6 points to justify Apple's stance on Adobe's Flash. He says:

It's not open
The full web is available in other formats than Flash
Reliability, security, and performance are all issues with Flash
Flash sucks battery life
Flash isn't designed for touch input.
Flash cross platform applications will not follow up-to-date to platform enhancements

Apple is justifying their abandonment of Flash on mobile devices. Are they right for doing this?

Adobe says:

Adobe professes that they are open by being cross platform (Flash works on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux). Flash is the full web. Adobe explains that the majority of dynamic media on the web is powered by Flash.

Adobe also is convinced that they can make a mobile version of Flash. They have demoed and showed off Android devices running Flash.

The demos demonstrate Flash's ability to accept touch and we're told with minimal impact on your phone's battery life.

Lastly, Adobe even planned to have Flash CS5 capable of making Flash applications into iPhone applications. This would allow for developers to easily create multiple versions of their applications with ease.

The Truth

Adobe and Apple are neither open.

Flash is a proprietary browser plugin. Flash media can only be created through Adobe's Flash program. Even though they support many platforms that doesn't mean they're open. They're closed because they don't allow Flash to be created by tools not provided by Flash and any improvement to Flash is only done by Adobe. Adobe Flash is closed source software.

Apple is closed because they determine what gets put on their devices. The App Store is established to allow Apple to approve or deny applications by however they choose. Apple may use open standards but they determine what they want you to see and how you're going to see it. That's not very open. Apple has gone so far to block women in bikinis from any app. On top of that, the way Apple allows you to create apps for their mobile devices is extremely limited. Apple's devices are closed platforms.

The full web is comprised of many things.

Flash does not make all of the web neither does open standards (Take a look at Internet Explorer). But Flash is a component of the full web experience. There are alternatives to Flash but they aren't automatically better or provide a better experience. I've used YouTube in HTML5 and quite frankly it sucked in usability.

Reliability and performance is obstructed by Apple and security is a problem for Adobe.

There's no denying Adobe really needs to work on the security of it's products. They have been working on this and I imagine them to be much better in the future. The reliability and performance is another issue that Apple keeps attacking but they only ones I can blame is Apple. On OS X there has been no hardware decoding by the video card available until about a week ago. On Apple's mobile devices, Apple blocks direct access to the hardware unless you use their standards.

The battery life will likely be drained more by Flash but not as much as Apple says, especially if hardware decoding was possible.

The battery performance is tied into the hardware decoding.

The claims that Flash was designed for a mouse is ridiculous. SO WAS EVERY WEBSITE until iPhone changed the landscape.

Adobe is working on a touch and mobile capable version of Flash. How can Steve Jobs explain that Flash was made for mouse input and can't change? Seriously? Didn't Apple change OS X (designed for mouse input) into a touch designed version for the iPhone?

If Flash was able to create iPhone apps, they would definitely not be up-to-date to the current platform enhancements. So what?

Being able to create an app for multiple platforms by creating only one original is fantastic. I guarantee most developers would take this convenience over the newest enhancements of the platform. If a developer wants to use these enhancements, they can either wait for Flash to update or they can make the app manually using Apple's SDK.

Who's worse?

Clearly, you can already tell I believe Apple is more in the wrong. But this is completely justified.

I have no personal vendetta against Apple.

I love Apple products but I cannot tolerate being told how to use the products I buy. Apple is determining how they want you to use their devices and what you can see on them. That's blatant censorship and limits developers.

Technology has always been about breaking down limitations and the Internet has been founded on the freedom of speech and expression. I have no desire to watch porn on an iPhone but if I wanted to, I should be able to choose that.

I understand Apple's logic but it doesn't mean it's right. I do understand that Apple is trying to provide the best usability experience that can reach the largest audience (family friendly).

Lastly, Adobe is not unscathed but they're just a company trying to provide a better way to view media on the Internet. You don't have to use Flash if you don't want to. Developers can make their websites or applications anyway they want.

Adobe clearly needs to work on security and performance. If Flash is to survive, it needs to be the best viable option. Adobe is responsible for making it the best option (Adobe make Flash better!).

Other Notes:

Jobs bashes Flash on the iPhone or iPad because it's inability to use hardware decoding, which he explains is better for performance. What's funny is Flash can't support hardware decoding because Apple blocks it.
Apple is now morally responsible for all the content you see on their devices. Didn't anyone learn in morality class that, everyone has a different set of morals.
Flash will be in the next release of Android, which is rumored to be released within the next month.
Apple is tightening it's grips on deciding what they want on their products, while Adobe is working harder to improve security and support mobile devices.