Abattlehas been raging . Two corporate giants have duked it out for the preceding year over Flash media but the extremely publicized cold warfare may at long last be coming to a head . And the winner is …
… Apple!According toArs Technica , it looks like Adobe has eventually come to footing with the fact that Apple wo n’t be adopting Flash media in its current form to its über - popular iOS platform anytime shortly . At the late National Association of Broadcasters ( NAB ) trade show , Adobe demoed a build of Flash Media Server using the Apple - develop HTTP survive Streaming protocol , which uses H.264 - encoded video and would eventually bring in Flash medium cyclosis on iOS devices .
Up to now , Flash Media Server used RTSP ( Real Time Streaming Protocol ) to deliver sensitive subject , which is often criticized for being dated and difficult to optimize . I sleep with passel of people who have already uninstalled Flash from their desktop ( myself include ) , so I ’d be curious to see if Adobe will desert RTSP wholly or will just use HTTP Live Streaming when an iOS gimmick is notice , similar to how Microsoft ’s Silverlight ( used by Netflix ) works . My guess is the latter , at least until Apple and other computer hardware companies put more pressure sensation on Adobe by take out Flash pre - installs ( as Apple has already done with MacBook Air ) .
Throughout the Flash - war , many kick of Apple ’s seemingly arrogant “ who needs you ? ” mental attitude towards a plug - in put in on over 95 % of desktop . I ’m sure a few smartphone users leap the iOS ship in favor of Android largely for the promise of Flash , though by many accounts performance and battery life has been just as disappointing as Steve Jobs promised it would be . It seems as though Apple ’s scheme of stubbornness pay off , prompting sites to optimise their streaming substance for Mobile River and Adobe to adopt a better performing HTTP - ground streaming communications protocol . The substantial victor here the smartphone user , most of whom at last do n’t care how their pour medium let to them , as long as it does and it ’s fast .
Mike Keller is GeekTech ’s resident iOS developer nerd . Catch Diary of a Developer every Tuesday here at PCWorld ’s GeekTech blog .
