The following article was originally posted on April 9, 2010 at 5:27pm ET. By overwhelming request, and in honor of the Adobe’s killing of mobile Flash, we repost it here:
“By now you have surely heard about the new iPhone 4.0 SDK language that appears to make creating applications in any non-Apple-approved languages a violation of terms,” Lee Brimelow, Adobe Flash Platform Evangelist, blogs for The Flash Blog.
“Obviously Adobe is looking into this wording carefully so I will not comment any further until there is an official conclusion,” Brimelow writes.
MacDailyNews Take: Brimelow then inexplicably proceeds to comment further. This marks just the first of his many lies. Of course, in order to evangelize Adobe’s Flash, you have to be a liar.
Brimelow continues, “What they are saying is that they won’t allow applications onto their marketplace solely because of what language was originally used to create them. This is a frightening move that has no rational defense other than wanting tyrannical control over developers and more importantly, wanting to use developers as pawns in their crusade against Adobe.”
MacDailyNews Take: Whiners whine and liars lie and sometimes they’re one and same. We already explained this quite clearly earlier today: “Flash is a proprietary, resource-hogging, browser-crashing abomination and we don’t want ported software on our iPhones, iPads, iPods or Macs; software designed for the lowest common denominator is inferior to software designed to take advantage of individual platforms’ strengths.”
As John Gruber writes over on Daring Fireball, “My opinion is that iPhone users will be well-served by this rule. The App Store is not lacking for quantity of titles. Consider, for one example, Amazon’s Kindle clients for iPhone OS and Mac OS X. The iPhone OS Kindle app is excellent, a worthy rival in terms of experience to Apple’s own iBooks. The Mac Kindle app is a turd that doesn’t look, feel, or behave like a real Mac app. The iPhone OS Kindle app is a native iPhone app, written in Cocoa Touch. The Mac Kindle app was produced using the cross-platform Qt toolkit.” Full article here.
Adobe should understand programming for lowest common denominator implicitly because they long ago turned their backs on the very platform that made their company in order to design their apps for Windows, the lowest common denominator. That is why Mac users suffer with inferior Adobe software today. Adobe should have focused more on Apple’s Mac instead of foolishly waiting for the platform to die and then, when it didn’t drop dead as they hoped, treating Mac users as second-class citizens while pimping inferior Windows PCs.
In addition, “The primary reason for the change, say sources familiar with Apple’s plans, is to support sophisticated new multitasking APIs in iPhone 4.0. The system will now be evaluating apps as they run in order to implement smart multitasking. It can’t do this if apps are running within a runtime or are cross compiled with a foreign structure that doesn’t behave identically to a native C/C++/Obj-C app,” Daniel Eran Dilger reports for AppleInsider. Full article here.
Brimelow continues, “The fact that Apple would make such a hostile and despicable move like this clearly shows the difference between our two companies. All we want is to provide creative professionals an avenue to deploy their work to as many devices as possible.”
MacDailyNews Take: So, Adobe doesn’t want to own the proprietary toolset to generate profits by controlling the Web’s multimedia platform. The charitable angels at Adobe just want to provide creative professionals with blah, blah, blah. Well then, Adobe should drop Flash into the dumpster where it belongs, and embrace the creation of cross-platform tools that enable people to deploy open standards, such as HTML5, that actually will work on as many devices as possible, including 85+ million iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads.
Brimelow continues, “Many of Adobe’s supporters have mentioned that we should discontinue the Creative Suite products on OS X as a form of retaliation. Again, this is something that Adobe would never consider in a million years. We are not looking to abuse our loyal users and make them pawns for the sake of trying to hurt another company. What is clear is that Apple most definitely would do that sort of thing as is evidenced by their recent behavior.”
MacDailyNews Take: Adobe won’t do that because they’d go under. Real creative professionals use Macs. Adobe can’t live off Windows sufferers trying to use pirated copies of Photoshop or mangling amateur video with Adobe’s craptastic Premiere.
Brimelow continues, “Personally I will not be giving Apple another cent of my money until there is a leadership change over there. I’ve already moved most of my book, music, and video purchases to Amazon and I will continue to look elsewhere. Now, I want to be clear that I am not suggesting you do the same and I’m also not trying to organize some kind of boycott. Me deciding not to give money to Apple is not going to do anything to their bottom line. But this is equivalent to me walking into Macy’s to buy a new wallet and the salesperson spits in my face. Chances are I won’t be buying my wallets at Macy’s anymore, no matter how much I like them.”
MacDailyNews Take: Adobe’s Platform Evangelist relegates himself to second-rate media services and that’s supposed to be some big statement? A big joke is more like it; we’re certainly laughing.
Brimelow continues, “Now let me put aside my role as an official representative of Adobe for a moment as I would look to make it clear what is going through my mind at the moment. Go screw yourself Apple.”
MacDailyNews Take: Pure class and absolutely nothing new: “Go screw yourself” is exactly what Adobe’s been saying to Apple Mac users for the last several years.
One of these two companies is screwed and it’s not Apple.
Now, somebody over there in lazytown had better give widdle baby Lee his bottle, he sounds desperate.
MacDailyNews Note: Ever launch Photoshop? The length of time it takes for that mess of spaghetti code to launch is one reason why we find ourselves using Pixelmator pretty much exclusively nowadays. The [US$29.99] Pixelmator is really nice and it’s built expressly for Mac OS X, not released as an afterthought that fails take advantage of many of Mac OS X’s core strengths.
Note to advertisers: (including those who advertise via third-party ad networks and become, in effect, our advertisers): Your Flash-based ads are no longer reaching the most well-heeled customers online: 50+ million iPhone owners. They’re also not hitting brand new iPad users or 35+ million iPod touch users. If you care about reaching people with discretionary income, you might want to consider dumping your flash-based ads and moving to a more open format that people with money and the will to spend it can actually see.
Help kill Adobe’s Flash:
• Ask CNBC to offer HTML5 video via the customer support web form here.
• Contact Hulu and ask them to offer HTML5 video via email:
• Ask ESPN360 to offer HTML5 video instead Flash via their feedback page here.
• Join YouTube’s HTML5 beta here.
• On Vimeo, click the “Switch to HTML5 player” link below any video.
Related articles:
Beleaguered Adobe pulls plug on Flash; axes 750 jobs; shares drop – November 9, 2011
Adobe ceases development on Flash Player for mobile, refocuses efforts on HTML5 – November 9, 2011
@ Digital Mercenary
Er… not really. They DO run natively on Intel Macs. They just don’t use Cocoa APIs, they still use Carbon. And Carbon isn’t 64 bit and never will be. So I think that’s what you’re thinking of.
“In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Friday, Adobe identified Apple’s refusal to allow Flash on its devices as a “risk factor” for its business that could steer users toward “alternative technologies.”” (source: PC World)
Chickens. Home. Roost?
Brimstone seems all fiery now that Apple’s baked his mud hut.
I think they are feeling more and more pressure – you can do most of what Adobe CS does for less money using Apple products (final cut, aperture, iphoto, iweb, etc…)
“Personally I will not be giving Apple another cent of my money until there is a leadership change over there. …”
A leadership change? Oh really – go HTML5
Lee Brimelow did his company a great disservice by posting this. Truth be told, Mr Brimelow, your company, Adobe, did all it could to leave the Mac platform during Apple’s darkest period and especially during Apple’s Mac OS X transition. Who could forget Adobe’s announcement that Premiere would be Windows only apps. To add insult to injury Adobe began to ship Windows versions first before Mac OS versions because the current thinking then, Apple would be gone before the decade was out. When are the Cocoa version of Photoshop, Illustrator and After Effects going to be out? Those versions were supposed to be out three to four years ago. Hell, Apple made it easy for you when they transitioned to x86 processors and Mac users still ended being shafted by your company.
Steve Jobs would had given Adobe a lot of slack if your company, Mr Brimelow, supported the Mac platform firmly and consistently especially during 1998-2004 with first rate products not hand me down ports. Instead your company mistook Steve Jobs as a fool and Mac users as second rate customers just because Apple was financially struggling and it’s market share in less than 5 and now you are wondering why Mr Jobs does not want any of your products in it’s very popular mobile devices especially when your company is financially struggling .
So do not be surprised when Steve decides to stick to Adobe what it tried to do to Apple several years ago.
Amen to that statment Will. I could not agree more. I worked for Apple in the early 90s as a demo specialist for this new wonder program called Photoshop 1.0 exclusive to the Macintosh with the Apple QuickTake 100. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_QuickTake
After WINDOZE 95 was released it was downhill from there for Adobe and Apple. To this day I still have I’ll feelings toward Adobe and it’s business practices. I have vivid memories of Widoze PC Schmucks telling me that they had just discovered this WONDERFUL “NEW” photo manipulation program called Adobe Photoshop 3.0 for Windoze!!!! Adobe Fcked Apple HARD! Just Like Microdog with Office for the Mac. Good RIDANCE ADOBE! And I mean that in the most sincere way. FU Brimelow!!!!
He’s really comparing discontinuing CS software for OSX to this? Like, in the one case where people have invested thousands of dollars, spent years of their life learning their software, and have careers that depend on it. And in the other something for entertainment.
I get that he’s pissed that his companies code can’t be used. Fair enough. He has to say, “screw you Apple!” because Apple is saying, “Screw your and your shitty code, Adobe!” Understandable. But, Adobe, maybe if your shit worked better on Apple hardware/software, Apple wouldn’t be saying that.
His pretense of a noble Adobe and a mean, cruel, heartless Apple is pretty fscking lame. Adobe is just as mean, cruel, and heartless with regard to business.
So, screw you Adobe. Screw you and your Flash nightmare. Screw you and your motherfscker-to-install on Snow Leopard CS4. Thanks for PDFs, though. Those are lovely.
hugs, kisses, and donkey balls,
Johnson
adobe your outdated, spaghetti code is toast. I refer you to your recent sec filing which acknowledges you cannot live without apple. You blew it. Now lay yourself down on Apple’s trash heap.
Fortunately for Apple, most iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch customers care about the excellent user experience that Apple provides. Apple’s leadership and engineers obviously put a lot of thought and care into iPhone OS 4.0, and the efficient and controlled way it will do multi-tasking. By not supporting Flash from DAY ONE of iPhone, it’s not something users will “miss.” All this whining is mostly meaningless gibberish, and “Lee Brimelow, Adobe Flash Platform Evangelist,” should probably just shut up, because he sounds like an angry moron.
I think it is more of a defensive lash out. Adobe and Lee are scared and rightfully so. They thought they would be able to force their way on the iPhone/iPad platforms. Now, they realize that not only has Steve shut every door to the platform, but is convincing others to go away from Flash.
apple buys adobe and all is looking up again?
1-Flash is Spyware- it phones home-often and in a nosy fashion.
2-Flash is a resource hog.
3-Flash is poorly written shit software worthy of Micro$oftopoly.
4-Flash is the number one cause of Safari crashes.
Friends don’t let friends use Flash.
“…discontinue the Creative Suite products on OS X as a form of retaliation. Again, this is something that Adobe would never consider in a million years.”
Check your history Mr Brimelow. Your company did virtually that by refusing to support OSX when Apple gave Adobe the opportunity to serve your Mac customers early in the switch to the new OS. They were very rude to Mr Jobs personally, and claimed there weren’t enough Mac users to warrant going along. Yes, there was even talk Adobe was out to destroy OSX and force Mac users back to OS 9. Those of us who used PhotoShop and OSX (in other words EVERYBODY in the graphic communications field) had to switch to Mac Classic to use Adobe products. Perhaps no one has told you of our outrage, and how Adobe finally realized they needed their huge Mac base, which had all switched to OSX. Like I told my Adobe rep at the time: “Don’t make me choose between your products and my Mac; you won’t win that.”
OK, I am looking for an alternative to InDesign. Pages will NOT do it. Pages sucks compared to InDesign. Maybe Pages 4.0 will be good enough (if so, then Apple had better release it pronto).
We need alternatives to Photoshop and Illustrator. And I mean WORLD CLASS PROFESSIONAL alternatives.
For video, we already got the professional tools. We need alternatives to Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign.
Apple should just have bought FreeHand and PageMaker. Now Adobe owns everything in that corner.
This is just computer history. Adobe screwed Apple before, and now they are getting theirs back. I guess maybe Lee Brimelow is too young to know this.
Anyway, essentially HTML5 obviates the need for Flash, so it’s not really an evil thing but Apple is just moving the market to better technology (like it always does). Lots of folks want to stay the status quo (like Microsoft). That’s why we don’t get innovation.
“All we want is to provide creative professionals an avenue to deploy their work to as many devices as possible.”
Maybe they will learn to put the end user as their priority eventually. Why should we waste disk space and processor cycles and ram just to facilitate lazy programmers?
“apple buys adobe and all is looking up again?”
that is a Redmond strategy to retain the status quo.
Cupertino prefers to win by making the other guy obsolete.
CS5 Mac better better be the full Monty and run fast on iCore macs (multiple threaded using all processors, plugin optimized, 64 bit, optimized for more than the pissy graphics cards Apple sell) or it going to be a slow US summer for Adobe.
I believe that Steve and Apple have made their feelings about flash well known long before OS 4.0. Try when the first iPhone came out. Hahaha. Flash must and will die! And I wouldn’t miss Adobe’s CS suites ridiculious activation process. Or their huge updates. Reminds me of microslut.
Who is adobe?
wah wah wah…
Adobe blew it a long time ago… If it wasn’t for Photoshop, Mac users have no reason to use Adobe products.
It’s too bad Macromedia was bought out by Adobe. Outside of Photoshop, i don’t think Adobe was any better than Macromedia.
HTML 5… it’s about time…
now if hardware I/O standards: Light Speed would be pushed harder instead of another USB standard that would be awesome. Apple missed the opportunity it had for FireWire…
A question to all,
Do you think that two and a half hours to install Acrobat 9 on a ‘modern PC’ by a competent IT professional to be normal? Then crashes on start-up? Adobe has missed the boat.
I’d appreciate suggestions as to the best email address we could all use to provide Adobe upper management with our responses to Brimelow’s nastiness.
Wow… a lot of vitriole from a lot of people ( MacDN included ) that have no idea of what they’re talking about.
This is no different from how some banks and other websites block Safari for no apparent reason.
You all hate that, don’t you? Understand the issues, people, before you blindly put on your fanboy hats and wave hurrah.
If you don’t know anything about developing software you sound like an idiot on this issue.
C1,
Didn’t know that Adobe was past tense for you. Still, you’re 2 cents is appreciated!
I’m no apologist for Adobe; they have made some really dumb business calls that put them on thin ice. The Flash debacle — it runs on exactly ZERO smartphones today — has remarkably been turned by most commentators into a Steve Jobs hatefest.
But I think this article’s mudslinging encourages people to harden their views, not to reach a win-win solution.
Brimelow CORRECTLY notes that over the years, Apple and Adobe have profited greatly from their collaboration. Heck, without PageMaker, the Mac would’ve lacked its killer app and might have disappeared in the loud chorus of complaints about it being a “toy.” I know people who practically live in PhotoShop. They’d be thrilled to have a more capable product on their Macs, but until somebody else steps up, they’ll settle for a much better PhotoShop. Please!
Sooner or later, the blogosphere will turn on Adobe’s inability to put Flash on the Palms, the Blackberries, the WinPhones, and Androids and they’ll stop trying to make Apple the scapegoat. That’s a debate that MDN can influence, but not by ad hominem attacks on somebody who’s lashing out in pain.
At that time, perhaps Adobe will do a cool-headed evaluation of what their core competencies are, what their neat ideas are, and start acting like grownups. That is, IF they don’t get tricked into 8-year-olds’ type playground brawls like the name-calling here.
Jobs is playing rough, but basically is protecting the company’s interests by promoting its special features, fighting for mindshare while not letting others marginalize or commoditize the firm’s products. As a shareholder, “Bravo!” As a customer, I would like to see him throw down the gauntlet in a way that’d make it clear this issue is not about cojones.
None of turning the debate will be helped by this article’s misreading of Brimelow’s first few paragraphs, nor taunts about where he likes to buy music. (Most of my music comes from Amazon, too— then straight into my MacBook and thence onto my iPod & iPhone.)
If MDN wants to rally the troops, how about to get Adobe to cop to the fact that Flash on phones is (currently) a fantasy and that Apple has nothing to do with the problem. To have Adobe justify why their technology choices in Creative Suite haven’t been basically tantamount to telling Mac users to give up and buy Windows. To ask Adobe when will their Flash tools morph to HTML5 or some independent web standard, or to manage an open-source Flash reader that doesn’t suck eggs?