Adobe Systems got some great news today when word hit the street that Apple had decided to modify its previously published App Store developer guidelines. According to an article published by the Silicon Valley Mercury News, Apple will now accept apps created with third-party software tools that are translated for the iPhone and iPad's iOS platform. The move reversed a stand Apple took in the spring that banned apps made with technology tools other than Apple's - a direct swipe at Adobe Flash. As noted in the Mercury New article, the earlier decision triggered anger among developers as well as reports that the Federal Trade Commission was considering an investigation into possible anti-competitive business practices. No point in making everyone cranky. Better to change the guidelines.
You may remember that when the Adobe-Apple debates were at their height of snarkiness that there were some who would have you believe that Flash is completely proprietary software. This evening, as I was reading reactions to the news that Flash would soon be making its way to iPads and iPhones, I was struck by a couple of tweets about how Adobe should now "do the right thing and use this as an opportunity to open up the Flash Platform".
So I thought you might be interested in this particular diagram. (If you click on it you will make the diagram bigger, it will be easier to read.) It is an illustration of the Flash Platform. You can clearly see the part of the platform that are open (noted in blue), You can also see the parts that are proprietary (noted in red), and (3) the parts that belong to 3rd parties (noted in maize), some of which are proprietary and some of which are open.
You will notice that there are far more parts of the Flash platform that are either blue or maize than there are parts that are red. Something to keep in mind the next time someone rails against proprietary software.
This diagram comes from the Flash platform team. I use it with their permission. Enjoy.
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