Rage Against the Machine: Apple’s Fall From Grace
OK, I have to win some kind of award for most inflammatory (and misleading) post title for this one. 
Like many of you, I have been reading the numerous posts (see links below) following the anti-Flash position Steve Jobs presented at a recent Apple shareholder meeting. I had considered writing about it, or at least commenting, but seeing how polar the issue is, decided to sit back and let others fight this battle.
Then, this afternoon I was contacted by a friend who was curious about my opinion on the matter and my response ended up being much of what I’d originally considered posting. So, since the bulk of the work is already done, I am going to go ahead and paraphrase what I wrote:
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There is no lack of controversy whenever Apple does/says anything. People tend to be so fanatical on both sides of any Apple related issue, i.e. Mac/PC, and now Apple/Adobe.
The funny thing is so many (most?) Flash designers/developers are using Macs now - I was amazed to see how many folks were carrying around their silver notebooks at FITC last week. For a moment I was actually a little embarrassed when I pulled out my Toshiba TabletPC ( I should have flipped the screen around and started taking notes - heh! ). I feel kind of like Donald Sutherland in ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’ (I’ll probably be the 2nd to last person to ’switch’).
As for my take on the dispute, I think the real issue is the same as with iTunes/iPod/iShuffle/iTouch(?)/etc. Apple’s mission is to control and monetize the user’s access to media. They do this by locking down the hardware and preventing 3rd party access to the application stack. The Flash player is a doorway that would allow access to content, media and functionality that Apple wouldn’t control.
In the short term, this probably makes sound business sense - after all, how many people didn’t buy an iPhone because it lacked a number of common features? Now compare that to the number who would use Flash to bypass iTunes and other partner controlled channels if they could. Other companies do this as well. Sony, for instance, limited the functionality of Flash on the PSP to prevent competition from 3rd party game manufacturers.
In the long term, Apple’s closed, anti-competitive stance may come back to haunt them. They have played the ‘underdog’ role for so long, they seem oblivious to the fact that they are now as much or more of a mono-culture than Microsoft ever was. This opens the door for the next underdog. As for the iPhone, there are a number of soon to be released devices that could fill the void (and a few suitable alternatives in the meantime). Mobile devices are short lived anyway, 6 months from now we may all be drooling over an Android based device with WiMax, 64 GB SSD, removable battery, A2DP, 10 MP video, 5x optical zoom and plays any damn format you choose including Flash. “Yes, I have a dream.”
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http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/03/05/steve_jobs_pans_flash_on_the_iphone.html
http://blogs.zdnet.com/Stewart/?p=777
http://www.news.com/8301-10787_3-9886265-60.html?tag=nefd.top
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=206901923
What total bullshit…MS is the most proprietary company on the planet. Silverlight (their flash killer)? WMA, WMV, Direct X (trying to kill open GL), Janus DRM, Plays for sure DRM, Zune market place, Win CE. The list goes on & on. Apple seems to be shying away from proprietary formats (which flash is). Anything MS does is about them running the show & is proprietary. ZDnet & Cnet are not quality sources for anything Apple.
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/08/03/05/steve_jobs_pans_flash_on_the_iphone.html
Why it won’t be as easy as you think for other phone manufacturers.
http://www.roughlydrafted.com/2008/02/27/apples-iphone-vs-other-mobile-hardware-makers-5-revenue-engines/
Please don’t resort to the usual fanboy, zealot BS.
March 5th, 2008 at 7:50 pmIf you want to use Flash, use a pc because Flash is a hog…. and if bog down your iPhone who will you blame?
March 5th, 2008 at 9:18 pmI’ll bet you dollars to donuts that there’s nothing you could do in Flash on the iPhone that you won’t be able to using the SDK. Especially since Flash is supposed to be a “platform independent” layer that essentially ignores the hardware it’s running on.
There’s no secret conspiracy.
http://www.iSights.org/2008/03/the-secret-cons.html
March 5th, 2008 at 9:53 pmI share the same feeling about Mac being very enclosed. Mac keeps everything very secretive which results in fewer applications that can run in Mac. PC on the other hand is much more open and that is also why there are so many virus around. I’m pretty sure Mac has a lot more vulnerabilities but because less people know about it and it becomes “more secure”.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:42 pmI use a mac cause I enjoy having my life organized for me … because it’s a proper computer ..
happy iphoning flash or not!
March 6th, 2008 at 2:14 amI agree with you about both of your comments - closed in attitude to the os and channels. I have both PC’s and Mac’s. In fact, I am using my mac now. But I see one other issue with this attitude. It assumes that the web standards, which if I follow it is apples response will have all that is needed to innovate. I think what is missing, is a realization that it is because of Flash, Java, ActiveX that real innovation in the web has actually happened. Where do you think AJAX would have been without the ability to “plugin” code via ActiveX/Java that could run async to prove a concept ? Only after it had proven its worth did it earn the right to be made native in the browser. Also, what about U-tube, myspace etc. It is actually these next generation apps that are driving the real internet economy. Why ? because they allow people to innovate without getting permission. So what does the iPhone mean without flash and Java? It means that many markets apple could be participating in are going to be missing. It means, that innovation in the eyes of apple is about “new cases” not “new ways of doing business”. Because, and this you can rest assured, there is a world out there that is thinking “wow… if I combine X and Y, I can do something amazing”. And like the history of the internet so far, that is what is going to be the driving force over the next 5 years. In fact, I think we are on the verge of a new kind of .com boom. Not like the last one. This is one which is going to build momentum every day, until in about 18 months time we are going to see it explode, because then we are going to see the first of the new IPO’s. It is built on using the internet to grow the top line as well as the bottom. What is this new boom. It is one fueled by these technologies that have matured to the point where they are on every platform. This allows a new generation of business models to happen. The first .com boom, was in fact limited not by its ambition (of which there was too much), but buy how fast they could push that change. Now broadband is everywhere. And more so in 12 months. Look at the impact of u-tube/myspace etc. If you look around closely what you are seeing are more and more new businesses happening that use the best of what is now in the market to do something cool. That is the real shame. That the iphone, which could help accelerate this process could in fact miss the boat all together. Because, it just can’t run those business apps that are coming. Maybe this will change. If only we could get those annoying people out there with their u-tubes, myspaces, facebooks, web2.0 business models etc to just stop thinking differently and conform to the standards.
March 6th, 2008 at 5:16 am@JS:
Thanks for the link to the article about Apple’s superior business model. It describes at length how Apple has fingers in everyone’s pies and is able to control a number of revenue streams. While I am guessing it was not your intention, the article makes an excellent argument in support my point regarding Apple’s anti-competitive stance.
“Please don’t resort to the usual fanboy, zealot BS.”
Was this a ‘note-to-self’ that you inadvertently typed?
@AdamC
I’ve read way too many posts/comments in the last couple of days describing Flash as a ‘hog’. Is this some kind of semi-orchestrated Googlewashing campaign, or just a lack of creative metaphors? I don’t mean this as an insult, just wondering out loud.
@Michael
From your linked post:
“Immediately, Flash fires erupted around the web as supporters came out of the closet (yes, that kind of love) and scurried out from under the rugs, declaring to one and all that Apple had a secret agenda.”
Seriously?
BTW, it’s hardly a secret (or a conspiracy). It’s just an aggressively competitive business decision. My point is, that despite the ‘open’, ‘free’, ‘anti-establishment’ image that Apple spends hundreds of millions selling, underneath is just another big corporation with a bottom line and a mission to beat the competition (whoever that may be).
@mmp1
Nice points - it is all about innovation and choices. As long as there is open competition, we all (collectively) win. When one company locks out its competitors and controls all revenue streams, the company wins, but we (collectively) lose. You can substitute any company name you like into this equation, the result is the same.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:47 pm