Steve Jobs Escalates Fight With Adobe

[Barefootsies]

Apple Inc. Chief Executive Steve Jobs escalated his fight with Adobe Systems Inc. over the software known as Flash, a battle that could shape the evolution of video and gaming on mobile devices.

Mr. Jobs?after months of criticism from Adobe and software developers for his company's decision to ban Flash from iPhones, iPods and iPads? Thursday took the unusual step of posting a lengthy essay on Apple's Web site criticizing Adobe's software as a flawed throwback to a time before smartphones caught the fancy of consumers. Flash was created during the PC era?for PCs and mice," Mr. Jobs wrote in an essay totaling more than 1,600 words. "The mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open Web standards?all areas where Flash falls short."

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen fired back in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, disputing Mr. Jobs's assertions about shortcomings in Flash. That is a "smoke screen," he argued, for Apple's plan to keep its own lock over software development for its mobile devices. "It's clear that it has nothing to do with technology," he said.

The tough rhetoric underscores the huge stakes in setting key technical standards for the mobile Internet, a process that could affect the fortunes of device makers, programmers, media companies and advertisers.

Apple, a PC pioneer whose influence in that market waned, has won new power in the mobile world because of the success of the iPhone and the App Store created to supply software for it.

Analysts and industry executives don't expect Mr. Jobs to readily share that power with other standard-setters such as Adobe. "They are trying to control their ecosystem," said Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst at Forrester Research, of Apple. "It's all about control."

Mr. Jobs, through a spokeswoman, declined a request for an interview to elaborate on his essay and the reason for releasing it now.

Media companies and advertisers have privately expressed frustration about Apple's stance toward Flash because their online video and other Web content incorporates Flash. Adobe, meanwhile, has said it will try to work closely with Google Inc. to popularize Flash on phones using Google's Android system.

Flash is the most popular video format on the Web, and is also used for animation and advertising. It has been slower to take hold in cellphones, but Adobe has recently introduced new versions aimed at mobile devices.

Instead of Flash, Apple is supporting Web sites that use an emerging standard called HTML 5, which is being developed by a consortium that it is a part of alongside Google. But some Web developers say HTML 5 isn't yet ready to be used for anything besides trials.

Apple's anti-Flash policy is not new, but attained greater prominence after the iPad was first publicly demonstrated in January. With a small device like the iPhone, people expected a truncated version of the Web, but with the iPad, people had expected to be able to watch video on the device's big Web browser, said Ben Bajarin, an analyst at Creative Strategies, a research and consulting firm.

Another factor is a new version of Adobe's Creative Suite software, which includes tools for using Flash to build iPhone apps. Just before Adobe formally unveiled the software, Apple changed the terms of use for its App Store to forbid apps written with the new software.

Dave Wolf, vice president of strategy at Cynergy Systems Inc., a Washington, D.C., design firm, calls Apple's no-Flash policy "a pain." Mr. Wolf had planned to build apps for clients using the new Adobe software.

Developers are "caught in the middle," agreed David Clarke, founder of BGT Partners, a Web design firm in Miami.

The essay is a rare but not unprecedented move for Mr. Jobs. Three years ago he published a statement urging the music industry to let Apple sell music without anticopying software.

The debate has divided the media and technology industries. Adobe supporters created a Facebook page called "I'm with Adobe" that has nearly 11,000 members while others have sided with Apple.

Mr. Hammond of Forrester said many points raised by Mr. Jobs are just wrong. But other analysts disagreed. "I think Jobs summarized all the frustrations he's had," said Rick Doherty, an analyst with consulting firm Envisioneering Group. "I'd be really surprised if Adobe can challenge his arguments because they're predominantly true."

Mr. Jobs argues in his letter that Flash hasn't worked well on cellphones, shortens their battery life, adds security problems and doesn't support touch interfaces. He said Adobe's effort to use Flash to create apps for Apple's devices could cause problems if Adobe were slow to add support for Apple enhancements.

Adobe's Mr. Narayen said developers and consumers benefit from Adobe's multi-platform approach, which could ultimately make apps for iPhones work on other devices. "It doesn't benefit Apple and that's why you see this reaction," he said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...mostcommentart

[Fletch XXX]

quicker these old pricks die out the sooner new gen takes over

[Barefootsies]

Originally Posted by Fletch XXX

quicker these old pricks die out the sooner new gen takes over

Goddamn man. You crack me up.

Thanks for the LOL.

[Adam_M]

Only thing Flash is the death of is appstore games!

[dav3]

Originally Posted by Steve Jobs

Mr. Jobs wrote in an essay totaling more than 1,600 words. "The mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open Web standards?all areas where Flash falls short."

ok steve... better get back on the medication for your senility

[SomeCreep]

Gutsy move, no doubt.

[Ethersync]

Fuck Steve Jobs.

[ruff]

It's the same story with Apple now for years. That's why they never became a player in the PC market. They make doodads now, nice toys for kids. Nothing worthwhile for the business market. In another year, competition will blow their shit right out of the water. Jobs hung his hat on html5 about 2 years too soon.

[LoveSandra]

Originally Posted by Ethersync

Fuck Steve Jobs.

[Mr. E]

well hes right about how badly flash sucks on mobile devices. Try pulling up a site with alot of flash on your phone and watch what happens

[RaiderCash_Dominik]

Duche... Thats why I would never buy apple product.

[v4 media]

Adobe should stop making products for the mac..

bloody annoying when flash dosent work on the iphone, but i guess he has apoint about it being used with mice, some flash animations are quite advanced and probably wouldnt transfer well over to the iphone and touch

[hypedough]

I'll be the first Mac person to ask, which version of Windows runs Adobe Studio products most flawlessly? I have a feeling Photoshop and other programs will have less Mac support in the future.

[seeandsee]

steve bonnes put flash instead finally

[barelist]

Love to see Jobs face when Adobe's products just stop working on Macs

[RayVega]

Jobs needs to face the fact that the strategy of keeping control of your software in a hardware centric manner doesn't work. That's the reason Windows took over the world and Apple damn near died completely. Although it doesn't play by the normal business rules, software needs to be licensed and shared on multiple platforms to become a standard. This whole flash issue is a big ego fueled bullshit fight that we the consumers pay for.

Too bad someone doesn't figure out a way to transcode flash to html5 on the fly (if anyone accomplishes this I want my cut for giving you the idea)

[gaffg]

apple police

[Amputate Your Head]

Jesus has spoken.

[alexchechs]

Originally Posted by hypedough

I'll be the first Mac person to ask, which version of Windows runs Adobe Studio products most flawlessly? I have a feeling Photoshop and other programs will have less Mac support in the future.

Totally agree. I have been a MAC user since 1995 and never had a favorable PC experience for design or biz applications. But the bigger issue here is that Adobe software made Apple what it is today for creative professionals. To see Steve Jobs take this stance is really alarming.

[Phoenix]

jobs and gates need to see their marketshare diminish...fuck those guys