Comments on: Adobe Flash hampers competition and stifles innovation

By: Imogene Love

Imogene Love — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 01:01:39 +0000

This line of reasoning is completely flawed. You are hypothesizing about what could possibly happen in the future (Adobe’s tool becoming wildly popular) and comparing that event to what current exists; Apple’s iPhone platform is wildly popular. The iPhone/iPad grasp on the market is already quite large and NOW Apple is trying to force all developers to use their tool. The argument is not, “Use Apple’s tool vs. Use Adobe’s tool.” The argument is, “Use Apple’s tool vs. Use Any tool.” IF Adobe were to become the head-and-shoulders above the rest, preferred platform AND they placed unreasonable restrictions on their product THEN they might be in the same situation. I see Apple’s restriction like this: Someone asks you to write a paper but instructs you that you HAVE to use Microsoft Word to write the paper. Pages can produce the exact same document, but this person is convinced using anything except Word will create a “sub-standard” paper. Yes, app development is much more complex than a memo to a coworker, but the concept is just as ridiculous.

By: Beth

Beth — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:46:20 +0000

It isn’t lazy to want to maintain and build one set of code for multiple environments, it is smart.
Adobe isn’t the one wanting universal control, that is all Apple all the time.

By: TGM

TGM — Wed, 05 May 2010 10:37:45 +0000

Apple seem to have forgotton where they come from.

I wonder what’d happen to their core set of users if Adobe uprooted and pulled all their products from the Mac platform (Photoshop, Acrobat, Pagemaker anyone?)

Not a great future for a company that had graphic design as it’s niche.

By: Lazeez

Lazeez — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:02:30 +0000

@Dave

I see Apple’s restriction like this: Someone asks you to write a paper but instructs you that you HAVE to use Microsoft Word to write the paper. Pages can produce the exact same document, but this person is convinced using anything except Word will create a “sub-standard” paper. Yes, app development is much more complex than a memo to a coworker, but the concept is just as ridiculous.

Wrong analogy. Apple didn’t ask or contract any developers to write stuff for the iphone/ipad. Developers want in on a lucrative business. It’s like bidding on a contract with the government or a company. You want the contract, or you want the business, then you stick to certain guidelines. Apple isn’t forcing anybody to write software for the iphone. If you want in, you play by the rules. It’s Apple’s platform, so it’s Apple’s rules. You don’t like the rules, there are many more mobile platforms to write software for.

Remember the transition to the Intel architecture? Since 2003, Apple had been urging developers, including Adobe to use Apple’s tools for development. Developers that had moved to XCode before 2005 needed only to check a box in XCode and recompile to have their applications run natively on the Intel Macs. Adobe and Microsoft, because of their use of their own tools and others that were using the Code Warrior tools, couldn’t simply move and took years to support intel macs natively if at all.

What if Apple came out with a new processor that needed new binaries? They could easily add support in their own tools, but, then all the applications built using Flash would have to wait for Adobe to support this new binary that future gadgets from Apple would need.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 04 May 2010 06:31:23 +0000

The argument is not, “Use Apple’s tool vs. Use Adobe’s tool.” The argument is, “Use Apple’s tool vs. Use Any tool.” IF Adobe were to become the head-and-shoulders above the rest, preferred platform AND they placed unreasonable restrictions on their product THEN they might be in the same situation.

I see Apple’s restriction like this: Someone asks you to write a paper but instructs you that you HAVE to use Microsoft Word to write the paper. Pages can produce the exact same document, but this person is convinced using anything except Word will create a “sub-standard” paper. Yes, app development is much more complex than a memo to a coworker, but the concept is just as ridiculous.

By: Farrukh Jawed

Farrukh Jawed — Tue, 04 May 2010 01:36:50 +0000

I disagree with you completely. If Apple allowed Adobe, there would have been more developers not developers shifting to Adobe.

It like if Microsoft allowed only Visual Studio to develop in windows. (which is not the case) but still if you want to use new features people resort to visual studio.

You are painting very romantic future that every one will move to adobe.

By: Eric Chamberlain

Eric Chamberlain — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:56:04 +0000

I don’t agree with this. It is Apple who is hurting innovation by controlling the developer tools. You can build with Flash on an open platform like Android. If you don’t like Flash at least you have the option to use whatever you like. Apple doesn’t allow that. Apple is such a control-freak company they don’t even allow their own customers the ability to choose if they want Flash or not. Apple doesn’t even allow you to change your own battery in your device, and you say that others are hurting innovation? Apple is brazenly attacking their own customers by going after Adobe. One of the main reasons people like to use Macs is because of creative ventures. They use Adobe apps for that. The Creative Suite is one of the most used tools, the apps are all integrated, and Apple is telling their own customers they can’t use Flash? You call that open? BTW, implying that Adobe is paying off the government to go after Apple is irresponsible slander. If you have proof, post it, otherwise show your dignity and retract the implication.