Print 19 comment(s) - last by SilthDraeth.. on Apr 21 at 9:42 AM











Source: Media Decoder

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RE: Bye-Bye Silverlight!
By messele on 4/19/2012 4:17:47 AM , Rating: 0
Is this Mr. Bean guy for real?

RE: Bye-Bye Silverlight!
By Trisped on 4/19/2012 8:05:09 PM , Rating: 3
As a software developer who does a lot of websites I can say his comments, though strong, are pretty much correct.

HTML is nothing compared to what Jobs made it sound like. Jobs just wanted a closed platform and knew the only way to do this was to vilify Flash. Of course there was that issue where Flash, Java, and Apple wanted video off loading on Macs but Apple took too long so Flash and Java were working on other things so the told Apple to wait. Jobs was REALLY mad sounding when he realized that none of the video players were using video off loading on Mac because Flash and Java did not support it yet.

The thing to remember about Flash is that although you can use it for a video player, its primary job is to render vector images, move items around on a stage, and provide basic interaction. With flash you can make "movies" which are a fraction of the size of their H264 counter parts. This is because instead of compressing each frame, Flash generates a few objects, then moves them across the stage according to a script. It also supports interaction with the movies, like if you mouse over a flash ad a crosshair follows your pointer, or games like

While flash focuses mainly on movies and presentation, it is the first big web app platform. There is also a lot of similarity between phone apps and Flash movies.

A lot of people think flash is dead because:
A. Jobs hated it and iPhone did not support it.
B. Adobe announced they would no longer support Flash for mobile browsers.

Of course this is not the full story. Apple is still pushing its closed system, but Adobe has not abandoned the mobile space. Instead, Adobe is pushing the Air platform which allows flash like content to be run as an app instead of in a browser. This makes sense as most phone users prefer to interact with apps, and reserve the browser for sites without apps or for information look up.

You might also want to read the following:

It should be noted that several of the issues which caused people to think flash is dead are the same as why they thing Silverlight is dead.
Like Flash, Silverlight apps can be run from a desktop. Also Silverlight is the platform to develop for the Windows Phone 7 OS. The fact that these OS/Hardware independent platforms are moving out of the browser and onto the desktop as their own applications is not a sign of a dying medium, but a sign that someone smart has FINALLY put these things where they belong!

RE: Bye-Bye Silverlight!
By Solandri on 4/20/2012 7:24:20 AM , Rating: 2
Good comment. I'd rate you up if I hadn't already posted. It's important to note that:

- Flash was originally an artist's animation tool, and is still wildly popular among artists for that purpose. I'm of the opinion that the Internet fundamentally changed content distribution by allowing artists of all types (graphic, animation, music, written, video, app/game) to distribute directly to their audience. No middleman or distribution company is necessary. Failing to support such a popular artist's tool is a huge step backwards, back to when dissemination of such media was controlled exclusively by a few big companies.

- The reason Apple gave for excluding Flash (excessive power draw on websites) is obvious BS. On the Android browsers, Flash objects are rendered as a symbol. You have to tap it for the Flash to actually run. If you don't touch it, it uses no more battery life than a static page.

- The real reason iOS doesn't support Flash is because you can make apps with it. It's a code interpreter, and Apple has a very clear policy for iOS developers - No code interpreters, period. The cynic will say this is so they can get a 30% cut of all apps sold on the platform. The proponent will say this is so they can better control the spread of malware. Either way, my opinion of Apple would be a lot higher if they were just honest and up-front about this, instead of using the transparent lie they did.

