Steve Jobs posted a long letter on the Apple web site to "jot down" in great detail why Flash is such a lousy technology and why Apple remains forward thinking and insanely great.
He continues to assert that HTML5 is a standard. He needs to check his calendar, since there is no HTML5 "standard," although the W3C is working on creating a specification. Since there is no specification as yet, he should quit his false and misleading claims that HTML5 is done now. In case he needs a refresher, here's a link to the latest proposed specification at the W3C site.
Quoting directly from the specification:
Implementors should be aware that this specification is not stable. Implementors who are not taking part in the discussions are likely to find the specification changing out from under them in incompatible ways. Vendors interested in implementing this specification before it eventually reaches the Candidate Recommendation stage should join the aforementioned mailing lists and take part in the discussions.
Sounds to me like basing a multi-billion dollar mobile platform on a specification that's likely to be a moving target for many years to come is a risky decision.
While Mr. Jobs complains about Adobe's Flash, his beef is really with the player. It is true that the Flash Player is proprietary, but there are plenty of open source methods for creating SWFs, the files that play in the Flash player. It is also true that Adobe's track record with respect to security in the current release hasn't been up to Adobe's usual level, they have been quick to respond to known threats with patches. I can't help but notice that Apple has released several security patches to its proprietary operating systems and its proprietary QuickTime player from time to time as well, but Mr. Jobs doesn't care to mention that.
The Flash player aside, Apple has also closed the door to development environments other than its XCode. While Mr. Jobs claims that open standards for the web are better for everyone, an open development ecosystem for his platforms apparently are not. Apple has stated that it will deny any iPhone or iPad app that wasn't created with XCode. Although Mr. Jobs believes that his pristine and crash-free (that's a joke, in case you missed it) app universe will be polluted by developers who apparently can only create dirty and unstable code with tools such as Flash CS5 and others, he is missing the point of an open app development ecosystem. The market will decide whether a lousy app will survive. To quote the Bad News Bears, "Let Them Play!"
I am disappointed that Apple has closed its developer doors to the open market. I am disappointed that Apple continues to cross its arms and frown at the Flash player. Unfortunately, with ratification of the HTML5 specification due in 2022 (no joke. Check Ian Hickson's remarks on the subject), I believe developers will soon look at other emerging platforms for their mobile apps. HP's purchase of Palm (announced April 28) is quite exciting, as HP has a lot of experience in platforms, interfaces and manufacturing, not to mention its existing iPAQ product line. How is it that Apple hasn't sued HP over that name yet? The Android operating system is also exciting, and the phones are amazing. It won't take long for Android devices to eat into Nokia's and RIM's and Apple's market share. Interestingly, though, the Android platform is the only one of these that's completely open and free for developers.
24WorldNews.com reports that AdMob posted some statistics recently that show more ads shown on Android phones than on iPhones, despite almost 2 to 1 iPhone to Android devices. This means that advertisers should be looking more closely at Android apps, as that's where the eyeballs will be in the near future. Apple's closed in-app ad network might want to take notice of that trend.
So, what to do? I continue to carry my MacBook, my iPhone, and my iPod. I'll buy new ones when these finally fail. I continue to curse Hulu for requiring Flash player, and am eagerly awaiting the Netflix iPhone app. I doubt very much, though, that I'll devote much time to creating an iPhone app, when the larger web is calling and I can use one development platform (remember, Flash the development environment, not the player) to create apps for web and mobile, so long as that mobile isn't iPad or iPod.
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