Hi Cara and Others, Actually, the more interesting comment on this was the Matt Legend Gemmell's "rewrite" of the announcement on his blog, which presented his condensed version of how Adobe should have written this announcement for both clarity and better relations. I'll excerpt his comments posted after the original Adobe announcement, and you can go the original blog pageon "Adobe Communication", which was linked by John Gruber's Daring Fireball blog: http://mattgemmell.com/2011/11/09/adobe-communication/ <begin excerpt> Pretty bad. It’s far too long, and they’re overly eager to sound like it’s business as usual. The fact is, despite being somewhat late, Adobe is doing a really brave and clever thing. The wording above dilutes that, which is a shame.
Here’s my version, which says the same thing: Adobe’s goal is to help you create engaging content. Flash has served that goal for more than a decade, often inspiring new features of HTML, and has been very popular on mobile devices as well as the desktop. However, HTML5 is now supported on more devices than Flash, and we’re excited about it. We’re committed to HTML5, so Flash Player 11.1 will be our last version for mobile devices, except for bug fixes and security updates (though source code licensees may still release their own implementations). Instead, we’ll focus on helping Flash developers create Adobe AIR apps for the major app stores. We’re still actively working on Flash Player for PCs, and the recent new version 11 introduced exciting features like hardware accelerated 3D graphics and HD video. We plan to keep driving innovation online, and we’re devoted to web standards. We think the future is bright for Flash and HTML5, and we can’t wait to see it. To my eye (or rather, mental ear), this version sounds more earnest. Sincere, upbeat, and well-considered - without the sense of nagging insecurity and a need to prove itself. Take time to think about your own professional communications. Don’t accept biz-speak as the right solution, regardless of how ubiquitous it is. Be human, and engage directly with people - they’ll respect you for it, and be more willing to give your business a chance. <end excerpt> Just to remind you, Matt Legend Gemmell wrote a great blog post some months ago exhorting developers of iOS apps to consider ensuring accessibility in their products, and outlining in detail how easy it was to achieve this in many cases with the existing tools. The original article is linked the the AppleVis site, but if you want the link to read it yourself, here's the link (below). It's a great read. * Accessibility for iPhone and iPad Apps (December 19, 2010 blog post): http://mattgemmell.com/2010/12/19/accessibility-for-iphone-and-ipad-apps/ HTH. Cheers, Esther On Nov 11, 2011, at 07:06, Cara Quinn wrote: > I thought all of you might find this really interesting. This is actually > really amazing news for us in the blind community! > > This is the first step to dealing with some of the extraordinarily difficult > issues we've all had at times in accessing important content on the web! > > This is truly a wonderful step! woohoo! > > Smiles, > > Cara :) > --- > Adobe discontinues mobile Flash Player > > Sylvie Barak > > 11/9/2011 3:51 PM EST > > MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--Adobe Systems Inc. announced Wednesday (Nov. 9) it > will restructure its operations, a move which will result in layoffs for some > 750 employees and the discontinuation of Flash Player for mobile devices. The > upcoming release of Flash Player 11.1 for Android and BlackBerry PlayBook > will be the last update to the software. > > In a shocking 180-degree twist, Adobe said in a blog post it would no longer > be working to adapt Flash Player for mobile to new browsers, OS versions or > different device configurations, and that it would instead focus on building > applications for mobile and investment in HTML5 - long considered a rival > standard. > > “HTML5 is now universally supported on major mobile devices, in some cases > exclusively,” wrote Danny Winokur, vice president and GM of Adobe’s > interactive development team, adding that this now made HTML5 superior in > terms of creating and deploying content in the browser across mobile > platforms. > > “We are excited about this, and will continue our work with key players in > the HTML community, including Google, Apple, Microsoft and RIM, to drive > HTML5 innovation they can use to advance their mobile browsers,” he added. > > Winokur said Adobe would now urge developers to continue packaging native > apps with Adobe AIR instead. > > “The announcement to no longer develop Flash Players for mobile devices is an > admission by Adobe not so much about the superiority of HTML5, but more about > HTML5 momentum and the incredible amount of resources it takes Adobe to > maintain the Flash player for so many different chips sets and mobile OSes > that change generations two to three times per year,” said analyst Jack Gold > of Gold Associates. > > Indeed, in the mobile space where OS versions and chips change so quickly, > Gold says Flash for mobile has been a “resource nightmare” for Adobe. “We > could have seen this coming,” he added. > > The war of words over whether Flash was right for mobile has been raging for > years now, with Steve Jobs and the Apple Inc. camp firmly opposed to Adobe’s > offerings on the basis of their inherent instability and battery drainage. So > adamant was Jobs, in fact, that he famously wrote a 1500 word missive about > what he saw as the platform’s failings, subsequently banning it from iOS > altogether. > > Some see today’s announcement by Adobe as surrender and an acknowledgment of > defeat, whilst others see the move as a simple repackaging and rebranding > exercise, as long as Adobe Air (Adobe Integrated Runtime) lives on. > > AIR-a cross-platform runtime environment for building rich internet > applications using Adobe Flash, Adobe Flex, HTML, and Ajax-can be run as > desktop applications or on mobile devices. The runtime supports installable > applications on Windows, Linux, Mac OS and some mobile operating systems such > as iOS and Android. > > “AIR wraps Flash and runs outside the browser, so it’s not subject to the > browser restrictions,” technology pundit and software expert Simon Bisson > told EE Times adding that a lot of Flash’s problems had been down to the > browser sandbox. Bisson claimed Android Flash, for example, was let down by > its lack of touch capabilities for the browser - two point only. > > AIR, however, is multi touch and allows much more hardware access from > outside the browser, making it easier to manage resources like battery too. A > good example of AIR in action is the BlackBerry PlayBook UI, which is all > AIR. > > Adobe's mobile future up in the AIR > > AIR has already seen a fair measure of success, with apps based on the > platform available not only on iOS, but also at the top of the Android > market. “It’s not as obvious as Flash, as it looks like just another app, and > Adobe has now launched the app-bundled runtime for Android, which is even > less visible,” said Bisson. > > AIR’s low level hardware integration also means better GPU support and > Flash’s 3D libraries are much more advanced than WebGLs, meaning it might be > the logical choice to do 3D in AIR, especially with support from frameworks > like Marmalade and Unity. > > “A lot of what Flash does HTML can’t yet do,” he added, calling Flash more of > a test pilot trying things out that would later end up getting integrated > into HTML, like DRM for video for example, something HTML5 is still unable to > do. Thus, for applications like Netflix, for instance, AIR would still very > much be a go-to market. > > “It's never really been a matter of competing between the two (HTML5 and > Flash), though some people do put it in those terms,” Bisson admitted. > > “Apple may be gloating, but it’s not so much that HTML5 is better, as it is > that Adobe just isn’t capable of providing the amount of resource that an > open-sourced, standards-based approach can offer,” added Gold, saying the > rivalry was more akin to the more popular VHS winning over technically > superior Beta all over again. > > “This will accelerate the deployment of HTML5 content, not just for mobile, > but also for PC/Mac platforms,” Gold posited. > > Bisson, meanwhile, said he believed this might only hold true for in-browser > use. “Outside the browser, it's more complex,” he said, saying most > developers were using HTML5 for web anyway and that Flash for advertising had > never really made it to mobile. Indeed, Adobe recently announced the > acquisition of Natobi, creator of PhoneGap, giving the firm the opportunity > to provide tools to developers to quickly create HTML5 content for phone ads > that’s supported by virtually every mobile browser. > > “I just don't buy it as surrender,” said Bisson adding, “change of strategy? > Yes. And, an unwillingness to dumb down the capabilities of the platform for > mobile browsers, which still lag behind the desktop considerably.” > > Even on the desktop, however, some see a trend of developers moving away from > developing rich content in Flash in favor of Javascript, CSS, and HTML5, > which has native support for video. > > On the other hand, Adobe has released tools that will allow mobile developers > to write a program on a single platform and deploy it across several major > mobile platforms, including Android, iOS, WindowsPhone and the BlackBerry OS. > > “AIR becomes direct competition for native frameworks that way,” explained > Bisson, adding that the simplicity of writing something once in AIR and being > able to deploy it across several operating systems was a major strength. > Others have argued, however, that the method does engender a certain lack of > app performance, though how significant this performance loss is remains to > be properly documented. > > To most, however, the major concern with Adobe’s announcement will be that > all the Flash content on the web will now no longer be guaranteed to run on > future mobile devices and may now cause a split for web developers having to > code sites separately for mobile and PC. > > “We don’t believe Adobe will be able to offer a simple ‘switch’ in its tools > to optimally create/support both with one development environment – others > have tried this approach and it’s not worked out that well,” said Gold. > > Meanwhile, Winokur promised Adobe would “of course continue to provide > critical bug fixes and security updates for existing device configurations. > We will also allow our source code licensees to continue working on and > release their own implementations.” > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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