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Technology titan Steve Jobs is at it again. But rather than expanding Apple’s product line, he’s forcing other technology producers to step into it — or get out of the way.
In an open letter to Adobe this morning, Jobs followed up on the company’s announcement earlier this week that Apple products — specifically the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch — will no longer support Adobe Flash applications. Jobs used the letter, posted on the company’s corporate website, to outline his reasons for saying sayonara to Adobe.
Flash’s closed (proprietary) system is not compatible for the open standards Apple wants for its web services. Flash video is being phased out by H.264, “a more modern format” that is viewable on the Apple products in question. Now, Apple mobile device users would have access to “the full web.”
The iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch rely on touch-compatibility, something made difficult with Flash’s reliance on rollovers which are more mouse-friendly than finger-friendly. Flash has caused security and other system problems for Apple products in the past.
The H.264 decoder gives you 10 hours of battery life when watching videos, double that of Flash. Flash is a third-party service provider, creating a divide between Apple and its customers. Apple wants the stuff that goes into their technology to have been made just for them. For Adobe, this has already proven to be problematic. According to an article on Reuters, updated Thursday afternoon, Jobs’ letter “helped push Adobe’s shares down more than 1 percent, as it highlighted concerns about the future of Flash.”
What does this mean for us? Until we update our existing Apple products or purchase new ones (of the three), probably nothing. As Apple begins to release its products sans-Flash compatibilities, consumers will get a taste of this latest phase in the technological world. NU students are avid consumers of Apple products, and any improvements to their services will be experienced by a sizable portion of the student body. Apple products, particularly the three affected by the decision, are pricey — sure — but if there’s any truth to Jobs’ reasoning, these improvements could mean more bang for the buck, making these revamped products a better investment.