Kinda-Sorta Internet
June 12th, 2007Everybody’s wondering whether the lack of confirmation from Apple regarding Flash support for the iPhone means that we won’t be seeing it (at least in the 1.0?).
If it’s true, to me this puts a fuzzy spin on Apple’s commercial claiming that the iPhone’s browser is “just the internet”…
To get an idea for how important Flash is to the internet, try removing the plugins (from /Library/Internet Plug-Ins), relaunch Safari, and see how many errors you get cruising the web.
I suppose the problem could be mitigated somewhat by simply ignoring the Flash content, as opposed to showing an error. But I think the iPhone still needs Flash. Even if it’s only “kinda-sorta” Flash support.
(Note: In case it’s not obvious, the image below is NOT a screen capture or picture from a real iPhone. It’s just my snarky prediction of what iPhone’s reaction to half of the web will be if it doesn’t support Flash.
It’s not the kinda-sorta internet.
It’s just the internet.
June 12th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Hey that’s a feature! Camino 1.5 just added the same thing, though admittedly their implementation is somewhat richer in that it allows you to display the Flash content if you decide you really want to.
June 12th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
No problem! Adobe can just develop a plug-in for … oh.
June 12th, 2007 at 12:27 pm
“It”™s not the kinda-sorta internet. It”™s just the internet”
Kinda like our connection here at WWDC! You could feel the tension in the room when Jobs said there wouldn’t be an iPhone SDK.
June 12th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
If the iPhone include Flash that would be too dangerous because you could develop an application that could bring down the whole network.
Or a game.
Anybody tested Java Applets, Quicktime and eh, Real Audio?
June 12th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Jobs didn’t say there wouldn’t be an iPhone SDK. There just isn’t one now. That’s a huge difference.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Until we get a real SDK, we’ll have to emulate the interface in JavaScript. Here’s my one-night proof of concept:
http://davidcann.com/iphone/
Hopefully we’ll be able to detect the speed and direction of the user’s gestures.
June 12th, 2007 at 2:53 pm
“Hey that”™s a feature! Camino 1.5 just added the same thing, though admittedly their implementation is somewhat richer in that it allows you to display the Flash content if you decide you really want to.”
Given the way SJ tried to sell no iPhone SDK as a feature, he should have tried your line at the keynote:
“No need to fiddle with Flash-blocker preferences! Boom! It’s set up right out of the box!”
June 12th, 2007 at 4:48 pm
But isn’t that an iPhone “App”? :-)
No SDK required to get that Flash animation not to work!!!!
June 12th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
So true. A significant piece of the modern web doesn’t work well without Flash.
I wonder if Apple will build a YouTube app for the iPhone that uses the same special H.264 feed that they have for Apple TV.
June 12th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
RealAudio? Are you kidding me? I rarely run across anything that uses Real.
And Flash is on it’s way out. JavaScript is the way to go.
June 12th, 2007 at 8:12 pm
Flash requires a runtime.
Runtime requires a license for OEM to install.
License requires $ paid by OEM to Adobe.
Need I say more? Flash is also very specific to the platform it runs on, and Adobe is pushing FlashLite for Mobile.
Cingular would see a Flash player as potentially cannibalizing their not-insignifcant revenue from J2ME games.
I think it will be awhile before we see Flash, but it will come.
June 12th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
> Flash requires a runtime.
Runtime requires a license for OEM to install.
License requires $ paid by OEM to Adobe.
June 13th, 2007 at 12:42 am
David: that’s a pretty freakin’ cool emulator :)
June 13th, 2007 at 2:01 am
“Cingular would see a Flash player as potentially cannibalizing their not-insignifcant revenue from J2ME games.”
Uh? iPhone doesn’t have Java either.
June 13th, 2007 at 2:53 am
Hold on a minute. What does the New York Times use for ads and video content if it’s not Flash? I’m sure I saw both of those in the iPhone adverts though I’m not quite geeky enough to go and check right now.
What was the other site they show? CNN or something? Same question there.
June 13th, 2007 at 4:21 am
Flash would be essential for the web, how else are you going to get access to all the many flash based video systems? As for real, not having real player support would essentially rule out any sort of video/audio streaming from the BBC.
June 13th, 2007 at 11:34 am
@dave:
“What does the New York Times use for ads and video content if it”™s not Flash?”
But as Steve has shown with WebClip, he’s not interested in seeing the ads people put on web pages. This will turn out to be a bad position to take, if any positions on the Apple board ever get taken up by webad-mongering bigwhigs, such as the CEO of Google.
June 13th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
But as the ad showed (the very commercial this page parodies), the NYTimes page was brought up and showed all advertisements – including flash adverts.