After my recent FreeBSD experience, I came to the realization that a large part of my web experience depends on Flash. Not having a decent Flash player in BSD was a big turn off to the OS as a viable desktop environment. Oh sure, you can use the Linux binary emulator to run a Linux version of Firefox and Flash under the BSD kernel. That’s definitely neat, but just not practical. And what about other platforms that can’t emulate Linux or Windows? Are they just out in the cold? Well, not exactly. There are FOSS alternatives, like Gnash and others. Anybody who has tried to use these things knows they aren’t exactly a joyride. No offense to these guys, they’re doing the best they can with what they have to work with from Adobe, which is basically nothing. Reverse engineering something as complex as Flash can’t be easy. Hats off to the Gnash team and others for trying to help.
With this being said, i’ve come up with what I believe to be compelling reasons for Adobe to open up the doors to Flash for the rest of the world to truly embrace it. Now, when I say “open up the doors to Flash”, I do not mean give up the source code. That’s really not practical. No, what i’d like to see is for Adobe to open up the format for everyone to use. I understand that they can’t very well open up the full source code to the Flash player without giving up on some trade secrets, but would opening up the file format kill them?
Technological Reasons
- It’s old enough. The money has been made, adoption is at it’s peak. Give it away and allow it to spread it’s wings even further. Keep it proprietary and watch as people being to migrate away from it. (More on this later)
- A large majority of the web sites out there depend on Flash content, yet the player isn’t supported on all platforms. Support for some of those platforms is pretty pitiful. I know there’s not a lot of demand for commercial UNIX versions, I get it, but still…
- The FOSS developers would most likely provide support on all of the platforms. Leading in from my last point… hey Adobe, if you want Flash on all platforms, then give it to people who love their platforms enough to put it there.
- Alternative technologies (like Silverlight) will not stand a chance against a format that is applicable to all users with all browsers. The market is speaking out and buying alternative platforms and hardware. People are experimenting with their machines again.
- Applications will start to use Flash as a format for other things, not just web applications. Creativity will set in eventually and the Flash format will soar to new heights. Just imagine the amazing widget engine that could be built using Flash/ActionScript instead of HTML/CSS/JavaScript!
- SVG didn’t do so hot in the web world. (Makes for a great icon though!) It was misunderstood and poorly implemented in most cases. We’re sorry that didn’t go so well, but Flash is already seated. Just open up the format and solidify it’s position as a first rate content format.
Business Reasons
- The current Flash money making model is to sell environments to build high quality Flash content. Opening the format will open the door for competition in this arena, thus giving alternatives to those who don’t like the current Flash editor. This may be considering a negative by some, as Adobe will have to try harder to build the best Flash editor money can buy. In the end, competition will only drive these companies harder and the consumer will be the winner.
- Be the company that gave Flash to the world, similar to what Sun is trying to do with Java. Build products that use Flash and sell those, don’t hog the Flash format. Don’t be the company that drove us away from Flash. Remember, today’s computer geek is tomorrow’s IT lead.
- It’s cheaper to release a format specification and a reference player than it is to release a player for all platforms. Make the Windows/Mac player if you’d like, and let the FOSS guys handle the rest if you choose not to. Hey, here’s an idea… how about an open source version of the Linux player that can be extended more than the normal player. Maybe some alternate graphics engine support, similar to the current generation’s alternative sound engine support. (Which was a great move from Adobe). I’m sure Apple would like to get their hands on the MacOSX player to build a highly optimized version. I’m sure the Linux guys would love to as well.
Ethical Reasons
- People will sing the praises of the company that makes and supports open formats. Flash will become “a standard”. Not just a “we use it because they’re isn’t anything better out there right now”
- It’s a really nice thing to do. We’d really appreciate it. (Do I have to beg here?)
In closing… Adobe, please open up Flash. Take the lead here, give the Flash format to the world and let us build some amazing applications with it! Don’t make us invent something better. It can happen. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at how much Flash market share has already been lost to CSS.