Flash, Adobe’s popular media software, is estimated to run on as much as 75 percent of all the video on the Web. Looking to spread its reach further, Adobe has been working to address technical complaints by Apple and get Flash on the iPhone.
But shortly before Adobe was set to release a new version, Apple announced a change to its iPhone developer requirements that effectively keeps Flash off the iPhone. DevX reports on what Adobe’s CTO Kevin Lynch had to say about Apple’s decision and the company’s mobile strategy.
SAN FRANCISCO — Adobe’s CTO Kevin Lynch came out swinging in his defense of his company’s Flash software during a keynote onstage interview here at the Web 2.0 Expo Wednesday.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs recently posted a lengthy defense of his company’s decision to ban Flash from the iPhone, citing security, stability and poor battery support among others points. He also repeated Apple’s earlier stand that the company is focused on the emerging HTML5 standard for content creation on the Web. Companies such as Google and Microsoft have also come out strongly for HTML5 but, unlike Apple, both work closely with Adobe (NASDAQ: ADBE) to ensure Flash works on their sites.
“It’s not about HTML versus Flash. The more important question is that this is about freedom of choice on the Web,” said Lynch. “Certainly you should be able to choose whatever technology you want to develop with. The Web has been really successful with openness, it’s been revolutionary. Now we’re facing a time where some would like to wall off parts of Web. I don’t think that’s the role of a company to make those decisions, it’s the role of the industry.”
