Comments on: Adobe’s Flash/AIR Messaging Nightmare

By: Kevin Newman

Kevin Newman — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:31:51 +0000

I honestly don’t think this was a bad decision – I just think they really REALLY flubbed the PR. They essentially didn’t bother with messaging at all, then made a move which validates their competitors’ narrative about Flash. It’s a colossal blunder.

On the tech side, the reality is, Flash has always been in hostile territory when it comes to web browsers, they just had a multi-year opportunity to grab market share while IE sat on it’s hands. But browser makers essentially all want out from the problems that come with plugin architectures in general, including Google lately – and they are using the migration to mobile web as an opportunity. Basically, its not personal (except in Firefox’s case), but the landscape is hostile toward plugins, and Flash is the plugin vanguard.

The big picture though, is that Apps and middleware are the new future for the lucrative, expanding (compared with the desktop) mobile market – Adobe just didn’t commit to that fast enough. The decisions they made last week show they are now committed. They had such a comfortable position in the “browser era” (see previous post) can you really blame them for almost missing it?

It wasn’t exactly the clearest crystal ball reading (predicting the future never is), but they banked on the browser continuing to be THE web platforms going forward, as it had been for the last half decade. The big problem is, it will be! On the desktop. On the mobile web it will be apps.

Why did this PR problem erupt? Adobe simply didn’t explain any of that split or the new reality in a cohesive digestible narrative, and instead made moves which allowed their competitor’s anti-brand attributes to stick. That was their only mistake, and it was mammoth.

I’m hoping they can still make the sell though (still waiting). I really want to be able to continue to use their AIR platform for mobile apps – there’s really nothing else out there quite like it. But they are going to have to make a move pretty soon.

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 22:05:15 +0000

The “Flash Platform” is now no more or less alive than the “Lotus Notes Platform”. I.e. it has market share and solves business problems and its vendor will keep revving it as long as they can make a buck so doing so if this niche technology is something you can use for a project, great.

But what Adobe has just conceded puts the nail in the coffin that the “Flash Platform” could be considered as an alternative to the “Web Platform”. What Adobe whiffed on was not realizing this years earlier and shifting focus of Flash (and PDF) to be complementary extensions to, rather than competitors for the Open Web. Now it’s too late. The Open Web has moved on, and past. And since Adobe is (belatedly) shifting investments to solutions for the Web, chances are that Flash’s niche for video and animations will narrow sooner rather than later. And since Adobe never succeeded in getting substantial enterprise developer market share with Flex/AIR, and even Microsoft is now going to HTML/JS for desktop apps and RIAs in Win 8, that part of Adobe’s work could well fold up its tent a lot sooner. I.e. it’s a loss-maker for Adobe, and Adobe’s tools will increasingly (necessarily) be about making HTML5 RIAs. I mean, from a branding POV (and to continue to save face lest the somnolent Adobe Board wake up to the magnitude of mismanagement) they may rebrand PhoneGap as “AIR 4.0”, they may even put some Flash integration in there, but it won’t be AIR per se.

By: Dram Cutter

Dram Cutter — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:00:40 +0000

4 words in a Flash:
Mobile 3D Web Dead

By: Kevin Newman

Kevin Newman — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:39:12 +0000

Yeah, the more I read the more it should be clear that they intend to support the platform going forward. I just wish they’d promote it more aggressively. The managers and clients I talk to really don’t get what AIR even is, never mind that it can handle all the legacy Flash content they may have laying around, on actual mobile devices.

Adobe really needs to make a play to increase awareness of this valuable platform.

My optimism on the platform hasn’t changed – I still think AIR represents a ton of opportunity.

By: Frank

Frank — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:26:31 +0000

Hey Touvan,
you are right in everything you say, I also had to fight the misconception that Adobe is stopping support for mobile apps – quite the contrary is true!
As I understand, Lee Brimelow already gave exactly the commitment for AIR on mobile platforms you ask for, see last paragraph of his recent post: http://www.leebrimelow.com/?p=3151