The Apple Ipad - what a suprise - no Flash support again!

I wrote this response on a blog page today and thought I'd publish it here on my blog.... Basically people were "slating" ;) Flash as a technology, and saying why do I care if its supported in my Ipad browser...

I replied....

Dont blame the toolbox, blame the craftsmen. You're comparing a web-browser with a programming toolkit - they aren't the same. A browser is designed to show a multitude of content types - thats it. If one manufacturer decides to restrict this, then you have to consider the commercial reasons why. The reality of all this is a hidden agenda. Its down to money and app sales. Apple get a hell of a lot of money in aftersales from its devices via the appstore. Why would anyone buy an app if they can go on a web-page and use a free Flash based one. Thats what all this Flash issue is actually about.

Being a Flash developer I have a broader experience of using Flash commercially - so I'm uniquely positioned to comment. You should have your opinion, but I think you need to consider the bigger picture - hopefully after reading this, you and others might see it a little differently.

People forget that Flash is a broad programming platform - not just something that you create banner ads with, and such implementations for advertising and rubbish music intro pages are only a small part of its overall capabilities and a very poor way of using the technology.

Its a software tool like any other - It can be used fullscreen as an app, or for small components on a normal web-page. Its main strength is its amazing array of rich media support. If you want to build a lush usable interface brimming with streaming HD video, animation, artwork, mp3 playback - nothing beats it for ease of development - thats why its so popular.

Try making a browser based game or rich content application with all that using PHP and HTML 5 utilising webcam functionality, HD video, animations and the sort of high quality typographical design that you'd see in a conventional magazine - very hard with other programming toolkits, but all possible with Flash to do yourself.

If you use anything else you'll be rebuilding the wheel all the time and need a massive team of people. Similarly you could also try Java, .Net or Silverlight and after you've built your web multimedia super app - but it would look like a web app like all the others with no professional design finess.

Then try the same thing in Flash - you'll soon see why its a world beater - you'll build it in a fraction of the time -And you have pixel perfect (and even fraction of a pixel accuracy on your creation) thats why its used by so many people.

I've never had Flash apps crash on me - I've been building them commercially for 10 years now - such things are always down to bad programming - or unstable hardware in a machine - or too many badly designed (written) Flash applications running on the same web page on a machine without much Ram.

So if you want to make your perfect home automation Ipad app yourself - good luck using Apple's programming kit - I know I'd rather build it in Flash in a fraction of the time and then wait for a decent tablet with full PC functionality and a proper browser that shows ALL web content Flash or otherwise. Which lets face it will happen over the next 6 months in the same way the Iphone reinvigorated the touchscreen phone market.

So putting a ban on Flash content is like saying "we won't allow you to watch .wmv videos." "divx" or worse "jpegs are not allowed".

Technology is about opening boundaries for displaying content to everyone, which is what a real fully featured web browser should do. It shouldn't matter whatever tools they wish to use to create their content.

Its like digital "free speech", why shouldn't you be able to see ALL web content - Java, Silverlight, Flash, Video, Pictures everything. I don't want companies forcing me to see and buy their stuff only.

This unfortunately is something Apple won't ever allow to happen, which in the long run is why they'll fail, because after the masses buy it, they'll get fed up with seeing "plugin not available" on their favourite websites and start liking the whole form factor of a tablet, and decide to go buy a more open PC or Mac based tablet instead in a couple of years.