In what may either be a hint that Adobe’s Flash is in real trouble, or sign that the apocalypse is indeed coming, Apple and Microsoft actually agree on something.
Yesterday, Steve Jobs posted an open letter outlining in no uncertain terms why he thinks Adobe’s Flash sucks. Jobs listed several reasons why the technology is not going to be included as part of Apple’s mobile OSs, and he went on to sing the virtues of HTML5 as the future.
In a somewhat unsettling twist for Adobe fans, it turns out that Microsoft actually agrees with Jobs, or at least the General Manager for Internet Explorer, Dean Hachamovitch, does.
On the IE9, Hachamovitch claims that Microsoft sees HTML5 as “the future of the web.” He praises the H.264 as an excellent format, and states that IE9 “will support playback of H.264 only.” Google Chrome and Apple Safari both currently support H.264 as well.
H.264 is a standard for video compression that helps makes high-quality video playable over the Web. It works with HTML5 to play video without the need for plug-ins. Jobs claims that plug-ins are the number one cause for all Apple crashes.
Hachamovitch even echoes one of the key points Jobs made, claiming that “Flash does have some issues, particularly around reliability, security, and performance.” Jobs said the same thing, and used almost the exact same wording, in his open letter.
However where Jobs stopped just short of giving Adobe the finger, Hachamaovitch tempered his reply, claiming that Flash is still an integral part of the Web, and necessary for customers’ enjoyment.
“We work closely with engineers at Adobe, sharing information about the issues we know of in ongoing technical discussions,” he said. “Despite these issues, Flash remains an important part of delivering a good consumer experience on today’s Web.”
Still, when two such bitter rivals in the tech industry agree that your product has serious problems, Adobe execs should feel free to sweat.
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