

On Adobe, Flash CS5 and iPhone Applications - superduper
http://www.mikechambers.com/blog/2010/04/20/on-adobe-flash-cs5-and-iphone-applications/?r

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mattparcher
_"I think that the closed system that Apple is trying to create is bad for the
industry, developers, and ultimately consumers, and that is not something that
I want to actively promote," Chambers said. "We are at the beginning of a
significant change in the industry, and I believe that ultimately open
platforms will win out over the type of closed, locked-down platform that
Apple is trying to create."_

Apple's response:

 _"Someone has it backwards--it is HTML5, CSS, JavaScript, and H.264 (all
supported by the iPhone and iPad) that are open and standard, while Adobe's
Flash is closed and proprietary," said spokeswoman Trudy Miller in a
statement._

(<http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20003006-264.html>)

To be fair, the Apple response doesn't address Chambers' appraisal of the App
Store, but the fact is that iPhone still supports open development via the
web.

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aphyr
Yeah, but comparatively, Apple is still less open. Android supports all those
things, _and_ development with any toolchain you like. So long as it's a
runnable APK, you can install it.

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feverishaaron
I don't see the developer lock-in on the iPhone being much different from
designer/developer lockin with the entire CS suite.

This just sounds like a poor sport who wasn't invited to the same type of
party they are already throwing.

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SamAtt
How's that? I use Paint.NET when I'm on the road to edit .psd files and it
works fine. Actionscript can be written in a text editor if you so desire.
Dreamweaver's html and I couldn't even list how many third part pdf editors
are out there. So how are designer/developers locked into the entire CS suite?

~~~
feverishaaron
Many of the features in the .psd format are undocumented and proprietary, and
some are not backwards compatible. Up until CS5, the .fla format was
proprietary (it is now zipped XML, and I understand that there are
undocumented features there too).

Ever try sharing an indesign file between different versions? You can't, even
if they are one version off. Sure you can export XML, but again, it often
doesn't retain the same layout.

Fireworks adds proprietary information to the PNG format, so you can't open
those files in other editors without losing data.

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mattparcher
Key point:

 _We will still be shipping the ability to target the iPhone and iPad in Flash
CS5. However, we are not currently planning any additional investments in that
feature._

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ddrouin
For reference, Mike Chambers is the principal product manager for the Adobe
Flash platform. You can read this as Adobe's officialish reaction on this
whole debate.

