Knowing very well how things developed, I can tell you that yes, initially Apple did want Adobe to put Flash on iPhone, but at they point they didn’t have a full flash ready.

However, as time went by, Apple saw that iPhone is successful even without flash, and in fact started seeing it as a threat. The biggest point is that Flash enables cross-platform compatibility, and is also (iOS-excluded) ubiquitous. Having Flash on the iOS would be a VERY strong value proposition to developers – they could target the desktop, iOS & Android “in one shot”. Which would level the playground for hardware makers, and would have Apple compete on price & hardware features.

Remember – when Adobe was eventually ready to ship Flash on iOS and found a way around Apple’s license agreement – they simply changed the agreement. And they didn’t do it nicely either (by warning Adobe, or even – say – when the prerelease/beta program stared); oh no, they waited until DAYS before CS5 launch to drop the news…. in the meantime, also mesing things up for magazine publishers like Wired, who already had bought into AIR for iPhone.

To say that Adobe picked up the fight is to buy into Steve’s propaganda…. just look at the facts, they are incredibly clear.
(it’s also telling that Steve’s campaign was “why Flash is obsolete” while Adobe’s campaign was “we love Apple”. Just looks at those public messages, who’s at war, who’s picking a fight and who is merely responding? Isn’t it obvious, really?)

Yeah, I’ve heard that Adobe is not exactly innocent and I’m sure that it’s true, just as it’s clear that most people, not just Steve Jobs, would feel somewhat slighted by Google’s development of Android, just as I’m sure that there is a real reason behind every one of Steve Jobs’ tantrums.

However, the point is that going nuclear over every business dispute is not only a waste of time, but will most likely cost him dearly at some point and in no way contributes to Apple’s success. (I do own some Apple stock, so I really am rooting for them:-)

Very interesting blog btw. Well worth checking out http://somerandomnerd.com/

- Greg

- Greg

For Adobe, it was a very clever marketing move. Until 2009, the story was that Flash was great for the desktop, but didn’t work on mobile devices. In 2010, Adobe managed to reframe the argument from being about “Mobile devices” to being about “Apple devices.” Which meant that the three year old technical story about Adobe having failed to make Flash work on iPhones, Android, Windows Mobile, Blackberry etc. was eclipsed by the political story about Apple not allowing Adobe to put their products onto the iPhone.

Of course, the fact that there were also stories about Apple’s App Store approval process that fit nicely with Adobe’s “victimised” slant of the story no doubt helped it to gain column inches. Not to mention moves like Adobe’s “We [heart] Apple” press and digital advertising.

But it’s worth noting that there are two “Adobe Flash vs Apple” stories- the side of Flash player on iOS devices, and the side of Flash as a development platform being used to build iPhone apps. Given that Apple effectively pulled the plug on the feature of Adobe’s Flash tools just days before they were released to the market with it’s revised developer agreement, it seems hard to imagine that Adobe had bothered to get Apple’s blessing before they went ahead and tried to position Flash CS5 as an Xcode alternative for developer, and using the iPhone platform as a selling point.

He seems to think that his “years in the wilderness” helped him.

- Greg

Nice post. Who knows where would be Apple now if Jobs wasn’t fired at one point of time. After all firing Jobs didn’t hurt the company at all as we can see right now.

- Katya

Actually, I’m a fan of Steve Jobs (and in the past have been accused of writing excessively positive posts). As someone who has built technology products, I have an idea what it takes to build products as good as Apple’s.

I just don’t see the point in wasting his energy with mindless feuds.

In actuality, I kind of like the idea of the flash community becoming obsolete. They were always a bit of a pain in the ass, but if you needed the work done, you had little other choice. HTML5 will make organizing workflow and staffing much easier.

- Greg

In many ways, I think you are like Jobs. Purposefully provocative. A bit restless. And, always ready for a fight.

Ok, here is my shot across your bow: I think you are a bit jealous of Mr. Jobs.

LOL.

I’m not disputing your facts and reasonable people can disagree on the same version of events. However, Steve Jobs seems to fall out with everybody. Moreover, he’s notorious for feuds and they seem to be never-ending.

I am also an Apple stockholder and somewhat of a Steve Jobs fan (my previous posts about Apple were very positive). I just wish he would focus on what he does best – make great products. Business dsputes are normal, but they seldom do they rise to the level of vitriol that Jobs seems to bask in.

In any case, thank you for being so polite in a comment to a post that you obviously disagreed with. It is much appreciated (and if it’s any consolation, it didn’t serve very well as “link bait” – not one of my most popular posts).

- Greg

Just wanted to chime in here.

The fight with Adobe was picked by Adobe, not Apple.

When the iPhone launched without Flash, NO smartphones supported Flash. It was a non-issue until Adobe contested an Apple advertising claim of being able to “view the whole web” on the iPhone. Furthermore, Apple made no to-do what-so-ever over not having Flash on the iPad. It was running the same OS as the iPhone, which also did not have Flash. It was Adobe that went completely on the offensive, launching a no-holes-barring PR attack on Apple for not including Flash on the iPad… which Apple ignore for months. Precisely because Apple did not respond to Adobe’s attacks in the press, Adobe’s one-sided PR campaign began to get traction (due to Apple silence on the matter, Adobe’s was the only side of the story being told), and the media began to frame the story around the perspective that Adobe was selling. Then and only then, did Apple belatedly acknowledge that there was even an “issue” at all, when Steve wrote a non-provocative, very straight forward, point-by-point explanation of why Apple had made the choices they had, regarding Flash. And in true Apple style, they have since gone silent on the matter. Far from what you describe as “histrionics,” beyond one open letter in response to Adobe’s massive (and likely multi-million dollar) PR campaign, Apple/Jobs have hardly acknowledge the issue at all.

As for Google, it has certainly shown Steve Jobs’ possesses at least one of the same weaknesses from his youthful years, but not at all any of those that you suggest. Specifically, Jobs has a blind-spot for trusting people he lets inside the inner circle. In the 80s, he thought IBM was Apple’s enemy, so he brought Microsoft inside the circle, believing they had a common adversary in IBM. Apple positioned Microsoft as their #1 strategic alliance in the industry. Steve was slow to acknowledge the emerging competition with Microsoft, long after others realized it was Microsoft, not IBM, that would prove Apple’s undoing.

In the same manner — long after others (including the DOJ) saw the writing on the wall, with the oncoming competition between Apple & Google, Steve had the same blind-spot. This time Steve still viewed Microsoft as the main enemy, and had aligned Apple with Google as their #1 strategic alliance, as a common combatants against Microsoft. He was very slow to acknowledge what many others (including myself) saw as obvious: that it was Google, not Microsoft, who was inevitably to emerge as Apple’s principal new corporate adversary — keeping Google executives on Apple’s board long long after it was prudent to do so.

As an Apple shareholder myself, I occasionally have some disagreements with Job’s decisions. However, I have to be candid with you here: I disagree nearly completely with the perspective that you’ve framed your article.

I am, however, confident it will prove to be provocative link-bait for your site, and I will give it a tweet.

Your dialog is always a pleasure.

cheers,
Chris