Adobe abandons iPhone code tools

Praxius

Mass'Debater
Dec 18, 2007
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BBC News - Adobe abandons iPhone code tools

Adobe is to stop making software tools that allow Apple's iPhone and iPad to use its popular Flash technology.

The decision reverses an earlier pledge in which it said it would help get Flash working on the gadgets.

Flash is very widely used on the web and many sites use it to power animations, media players and other multimedia elements.

Despite this, Apple's products do not support Flash and it has made public statements criticising the technology.

Closed tools

In mid-April, Adobe released software called Creative Suite 5 that contained translation tools that automatically turn Flash code into programs that run on the iPhone.

Shortly before the release, Apple updated the terms and conditions of the license software developers must sign to create iPhone and iPad applications. The revisions prompted a lot of criticism from many iPhone developers.

The revised terms placed strict restrictions on what developers can use to create these applications and effectively banned them from using code translators such as Creative Suite 5.

At the time Adobe wrote that it still intended to deliver the translation tools. Now it has said it will halt development of future translation tools for Creative Suite.

"We will still be shipping the ability to target the iPhone and iPad in Flash CS5," wrote Mike Chambers, Adobe's principal product manager for developer relations, on his blog. "However, we are not currently planning any additional investments in that feature."

Mr Chambers also commented on Apple's revision of its terms and conditions. He wrote: "...as developers for the iPhone have learned, if you want to develop for the iPhone you have to be prepared for Apple to reject or restrict your development at any time."

Apple responded in a statement to technology news site CNet in which it described Flash as "closed and proprietary". Apple preferred to support more open standards which replicate everything Flash can do, added the statement.

Mr Chambers wrote that now Adobe will concentrate on Google's Android smartphone software and ensure that its Flash technology works well with that.

"Fortunately," he wrote, "the iPhone isn't the only game in town."

Sounds like a bad move on Apple and a big dent to their IPhone and IPad.

Adobe and their Flash tools are HUGE! I thought Apple was screwing themselves by forcing e-book makers to use their own program and making any existing e-books made through Adobe not work (among many other formats of e-books)..... plus their already existing restrictions on Mp3's and videos having to go through their ITunes and Stores for most things and those same files not being able to be used on anything but a Mac, not to mention some won't even work on another mac system if copied/transfered...... they're certainly digging themselves in a deep hole in the corner.

Seriously, who is going to dish out that much money for these systems and programs when they don't support much of the already existing media out there and make you have to jump through hoops?

Especially when every time Apple comes out with something fancy, half a year later there's more advanced and more versatile systems being made and released by other companies that are far cheaper.
 

DurkaDurka

Internet Lawyer
Mar 15, 2006
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Toronto
Flash has never been available on the I-Pod touch, Iphone or Ipad. Some of the reasons for it never being on the platform are genuine while others have more to do with Apple's "walled garden". To be fair though, it's not only adobe that is restricted from running plugins within safari, it's all developers.

I have had an I-Pod Touch & an I-Phone for over 2 years now and I haven't missed flash at anytime. Even on the desktop, I avoid flash, I only find it useful as a wrapper for watching video.

Adobe Flash has HTML5 to worry about now as well, as video can be natively embedded via HTML tags in the coming spec, moving in on flash's bread & butter.

In regards to adobe iphone "flash tool", what it did was recompile flash code to a binary that would run as an iphone app, which resulted in a not-so very flash application.
 

DaSleeper

Trolling Hypocrites
May 27, 2007
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I don't have much use for flash either on the ITouch and if I want to watch videos youtube has them all in MP4.
But that wall that apple has built around their system might be their downfall in the long run.....a lot of people right now are fed up with their latest Itunes update 9.1, that if you don't download "mobile me" which most people don't need, along with it it refuse to recognize your Ipod and if you're lucky enough to find a site to download it afterwards and you manage to sync and it recognizes your Ipod it will still refuse to sync your address book...
Now the only thing I can do is wait for the next update and hope they fixed the missing DLL file.
 

Andem

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Mar 24, 2002
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I'm looking forward to support for Android! There's a lot of things flash is useful for and YouTube videos aren't the only thing. Watching an embedded video on one of these threads for one is quite useful.
 

DurkaDurka

Internet Lawyer
Mar 15, 2006
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Toronto
I'm looking forward to support for Android! There's a lot of things flash is useful for and YouTube videos aren't the only thing. Watching an embedded video on one of these threads for one is quite useful.

Android is also a much more open platform.

Have you looked over any of the new tags in HTML5? The video embed tag looks pretty promising.
 

DaSleeper

Trolling Hypocrites
May 27, 2007
33,676
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Northern Ontario,
I'm looking forward to support for Android! There's a lot of things flash is useful for and YouTube videos aren't the only thing. Watching an embedded video on one of these threads for one is quite useful.
How about downloading and installing the Tapatalk plugin for IPod and I'll give a try if I see the videos:lol::lol:
Tapatalk - Online Community at your fingertips!


Edit: I just tried it on another vbulletin forum and the only thing I see is the script.......But it still would be something nice to have on this forum.....they also have the plugin for android....if you didn't already know....
 
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DaSleeper

Trolling Hypocrites
May 27, 2007
33,676
1,665
113
Northern Ontario,
a lot of people right now are fed up with their latest Itunes update 9.1, that if you don't download "mobile me" which most people don't need, along with it it refuse to recognize your Ipod and if you're lucky enough to find a site to download it afterwards and you manage to sync and it recognizes your Ipod it will still refuse to sync your address book...
Now the only thing I can do is wait for the next update and hope they fixed the missing DLL file.
I not only found the missing dll, but I found 2 of them...I renamed the oldest one (2003) because I figure the installer for"mobileme" forgot? to delete it and everything is now running fine.