I’ve been reading every opinion in my feeds following the fallout of the iPad launch. I think it’s fascinating to see how quickly people are polarised. There are a lot of angry Flash developers out there, and a lot of smugness coming from the other side.
I will admit that I like developing with both ActionScript and JavaScript/HTML. I think both the Flash Platform and the Browser show great potential for different purposes. And each has its problems when misapplied. So what’s new? As developers we face these choices with our technology every day. So Flash isn’t on the iPad or iPhone. Does it matter that much? It’s a single device platform with a visionary design. It should be applauded. But we are not creating interactivity for a monoplatform world. Innovation will mean there is something that outwits the iPhone OS. Necessity will require us to adopt new, unchartered and non-standard solutions. Interaction design and communication technology is not all about LED screens and input devices. Principles will still be the same: make things for people not for technologies.
There is so much to say on this subject, it opens up so many juicy channels of opinion, debate and evidence. Is this about openness? Is it about innovation? Is it about standards? Is it about winners or losers? Ultimately the debate is good for the web development community, and it’s time we all had a chance to define some thinking about these issues in this landscape. The launch of the iPad may be a watershed moment for more reasons than innovative touchscreen technology and eBooks saving the publishing industry.
I think the ball is in Adobe’s court right now. They could really turn this around to their favour. Open source the Flash Platform completely? Support the development and adoption of the HTML standard by giving developers more great tools? Make Flash better and more essential to everyday browsing? Make a FlashPad device?
Ray Valdes on Gartner probably offers the best and most balanced overview of the issues that face us as media producers for these platforms.
I honestly think Adobe needs to split flash into two entities. Flash is a very powerful tool but it has a lot of flaws and is a huge cpu burden. First they need to make it more efficient. Second I think they need to take original flash and gear it more towards animation like toon boom which is just animation, then take their new program flash catalyst and make that the more web oriented one but support HTML5 and allow you to publish for HTML5 cause we are in a world where you have to design for wide wide audiences and what platforms we design for are a choice we have to make just like we’ve always had to choose who our designs want to hit and attract. With flash as animation, and catalyst more towards web and interactivity I think they could work more on efficiency and with the two together you could still make good interactive web games or device apps. Overall I applaud Apple on it’s innovation and they know that we are a mobile generation, no one wants to be tied down to a desk, we want stuff now and we want to do a lot of things at once. But Adobe is refusing to accept that maybe flash isn’t the full answer. I know flash will not ever “die” but to change it and evolve it is only natural right? So recap Flash=Animation(like toon boom) Catalyst=Web and interactivity with support for open source web standards. I just wish someone could talk to adobe :/