It's not a matter of why Apple won't support Flash - it's a question of why there is no alternative browser
Personally, I’m not that impressed with Flash video to begin with. It’s jerky on Firefox, and it’s proprietary. Sure HTML 5 will replace it over time. But, if you want to view a Flash-enabled site with Safari, forget it. Apple, pretending to be Microsoft in this case, knows best. That’s sad, but it’s not the worst part.
The best part of owning a computer is being able to do whatever you want with it. Alternative OS? No problem. Write code and distribute it however you wish? Ditto. The problem is that the iPhone (and the iPad) are not computers, they’re appliances. You can’t install new code on your refrigerator or stove. If these things did run an OS (and I’m sure some do), the vendors would of course restrict what apps can run.
But a PC or handset or a tablet computer is different. It doesn’t simply boil water or keep beer cold; it’s designed to manage and manipulate a wide range of information. You bought it. You most certainly can buy apps for it. But, in Apple’s warped world view, you can only buy what they say you can, which is whatever they get a piece of the action with. Don’t like it? Buy something else. Regardless, tough luck, take a hike, stronger expletive here.
If you could run a server farm that gets billions of hits and get 30% of all of the revenue generated via said facility, and such being the limit of your involvement save reviewing apps to make sure they don’t impact your profit margins, wouldn’t you? Wouldn’t you defend your turf, legitimate or not? But is my view here jealousy or simply me once again overreacting to a strategy akin to fascism?
I can’t believe this behavior is even remotely legal, and yet I’ve seen nothing even hinting at a lawsuit regarding the App Store. It should, IMHO, be illegal for the vendor to restrict the use of a product you buy. Whatever happened, regardless, to open systems? Are we so busy checking the compass on the 3GS and otherwise drooling all over that cool user interface to see the fundamental problem here? Are we sheep?
Obvious example: No alternative browser. You get Apple’s vision of what the Web should be, and that’s it (sounds like Microsoft and Internet Explorer all over again, doesn’t it?). Legal? I doubt it. But where’s the indignation? Where’s the outrage? We’re talking here about the very future of computing and IT. Do we really want to give up, roll over, and just do what multi-billion-dollar companies tell us we can do? I find this whole situation utterly amazing. Again, don’t like it? Buy an Android phone. That way all you have to worry about is Google spying on you. Really, can I get even a little indignation? Please?
BTW, you can run Flash on the iPhone. You just need to jailbreak it first. Can you imagine? Again – where’s the outrage?
