Tag Archives: Flash

The problem with Adobe’s Flash for most consumers, as anyone with an Apple iPhone/iPad is acutely aware of, is that it is not universally supported by all mobile platforms. Google’s Android OS didn’t get Flash until version 2.2 and there is still some time to go yet before support is added to the tablet-centric 3.0 Honeycomb update, but the runaway success of Apple’s iDevices has left a sizable number of mobile tech users without access to chunks of the Internet.

Apple has instead put a big push behind the less hardware-intensive HTML5, which a number of popular websites — notably YouTube — have converted to or offer support for. In recognition of this, Adobe has pulled back the veil on an experimental file conversion application called Wallaby which is designed to turn your Flash files into HTML. It is a developer-focused release, so you won’t be able to put this on your phone and start browsing through Flash-driven pages.

Instead, the intent with this initial offering is to give advertisers a workable solution for bringing their Flash-based ads to iOS devices, as it says in the Wallaby release notes. Awesome. That Flash-driven website still gives you the frowny face icon whenever you load it, but at least the Extenze ad at the top of the page is fully animated!

In all seriousness, this is at least a first step. The initial release of Wallaby doesn’t support the conversion of ActionScript, movies or sound, but Adobe is working on implementing these features and more. For now the application simply takes your supported Flash content and converts it to a mix of HTML, CSS and JavaScript code, which can then be edited or simply dropped into a webpage.

Source: Digital Trends

March 8, 2011 smartbomb Research & Development, Whatnot No comments

Apple’s prohibition of Flash from its mobile devices appears to be pushing many web developers to find alternative technologies compatible with the iPhone and iPad, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Chantelle Simoes, a VP at design firm Ninth Degree, suggests her company will have to hire additional staffers to accommodate customers trying to avoid Flash on their websites.

“Since the iPad came out we’ve had a lot of clients say that they just don’t want Flash on their sites,” Simoes said.

Other companies have taken a similar approach, however many companies adopting HTML5 and other iPhone-friendly technologies do not intend on dropping Flash. Instead, developers are maintaining several sites that take advantage of the capabilities offered by Flash and the compatibility of other standards.

Sports Illustrated Group editor Terry McDonnell admitted that his company would continue to push forward on “more than one front.” The strategy aims to ensure that Sports Illustrated sites can be viewed by a wide range of users, regardless of the device.

Other companies, such as Carnival Corp, have transitioned away from Flash without the intention of approaching from both angles. The company dropped Flash from its cruise-line sites to guarantee compatibility with the iPhone and iPad.

The number of companies moving away from Flash have not stopped the technology from continuing to expand. Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch recently pointed out that the number of Flash developers has climbed by 59 percent in 2009, reaching a total of 3.5 million.

Article originally posted at Macnn.com

May 23, 2010 smartbomb Research & Development, Whatnot No comments

Excerpt from Engadget.com
“We have to say, it’s really something to have a mobile browser that doesn’t pop up little cubes with question marks all over the web, but we found that rediscovering Flash was much like reuniting with a high school friend; at first you’ve so much to catch up on, but then you realize how far you’ve grown apart. Adobe’s pre-vetted list of Flash-enabled sites do a good job of showing off the technology, but we still can’t help but think the interactive elements still have a lot of catching up to do. As for video, the stream is good quality but gets fairly choppy — especially when you check out something “not optimized for mobile viewing.” Some of the HTML5 footage we’ve seen via the same device shows up in crisper detail and fluidity. Battery and heat are also of concern: the pre-release beta we have, according to Adobe, lacks hardware acceleration. Ergo, our beloved handset got piping hot after about 30 minutes of heavy video watching, and the battery indicator in the upper right had a sizable dent.”

read the whole article here
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May 23, 2010 smartbomb Research & Development, Whatnot No comments

The Supreme Leader of Apple posted an open letter in regards to Flash and it’s relationship to iPod, iPad and PDA web development… Very interesting (read below):

Apple has a long relationship with Adobe. In fact, we met Adobe’s founders when they were in their proverbial garage. Apple was their first big customer, adopting their Postscript language for our new Laserwriter printer. Apple invested in Adobe and owned around 20% of the company for many years. The two companies worked closely together to pioneer desktop publishing and there were many good times. Since that golden era, the companies have grown apart. Apple went through its near death experience, and Adobe was drawn to the corporate market with their Acrobat products. Today the two companies still work together to serve their joint creative customers – Mac users buy around half of Adobe’s Creative Suite products – but beyond that there are few joint interests.

I wanted to jot down some of our thoughts on Adobe’s Flash products so that customers and critics may better understand why we do not allow Flash on iPhones, iPods and iPads. Adobe has characterized our decision as being primarily business driven – they say we want to protect our App Store – but in reality it is based on technology issues. Adobe claims that we are a closed system, and that Flash is open, but in fact the opposite is true. Let me explain.
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May 18, 2010 smartbomb Research & Development, Whatnot No comments