Flashdance Technology | February 17th, 2010
by Vasu Tummala
With the launch of the iPad, Steve Jobs fired a shot at Adobe’s widely used Flash platform, calling the company “lazy” for not committing to stronger Flash updates as the 14 year old system ages.
Over the weekend, Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch finally responded, committing to improve performance, while Flash engineer Tinic Uro blogged about the improved performance of an upcoming version of Flash that addresses some of the myriad problems and drawbacks that inspired the “lazy” comment.
I think Jobs’s persistent trashing of Flash and refusal to allow it anywhere near Apple mobile products has finally hit home, but I don’t think there’s much Adobe can do about it.
Mobile Problems
I liked Flash in its earlier years as an accessory to the web. But as the web moves forward and becomes ever more mobile, Flash’s performance, cost, and proprietary nature creates a recipe for disaster as it nears ubiquity.
Open a Flash-heavy site on your laptop and you can literally watch the temperature shoot up to 180 degrees, the fans ramp up to maximum speed and your battery life plummet.
These responses rule out opening that site on your iPhone or iPad as it would quickly crash your device. The future of the internet fits inside your pocket or in the bag across your shoulder, so as long as Flash remains as cumbersome as it is today it will necessarily get left behind.
Not Dead Yet
Irony (this is Flash)
Flash still has some advantages. Ninety percent of web development time is spent making sure the site is compatible with all versions of Internet Explorer, the most widely used web browser out there right now.
Since Flash looks the same on every site, except for mobile devices, it’s seen as a shortcut to instant compatibility. But the overall drawbacks are beginning to drag down any site that relies too heavily on Flash to get by.
Other Options
We’re still years away from Flash’s demise, but in the meantime, I think there are a few different options out there right now that are faster, easier to work with and ultimately much better than Flash will ever be.
Flash is used for a lot of web interactivity, but things like jQuery are replacing that now. Creating a site from scratch in good ol’ HTML and jQuery may require more work, but the site will load faster, run faster, use less power on laptops, look the same on mobile devices, and remain easier to maintain over the years. It also won’t cost you hundreds of dollars to get started.
YouTube has been the number one Flash user for years, but Youtube and Vimeo each recently launched HTML5 versions, giving that comparatively new video platform a serious foothold in the market.
As more developers see the advantages of ditching Flash, I think Adobe will have its hands full playing catch up to try to keep Flash viable, but I think we’ll see a Flash-free internet within 10 years… apart from Adobe’s home page.
