TECH WARS

Why Apple Won't Support Adobe

Jobs implies Flash would lead to "sub-standard" apps.

Steve Jobs stoked the fires between Apple and Adobe on Thursday after publishing an essay detailing why the software company’s popular Flash technology has yet to be implemented for iPhones, iPods, and iPads. Jobs’ biggest reason for not utilizing Flash is he didn’t want “sub-standard” apps to be developed. “Flash was created during the PC era—for PCs and mice,” said Jobs in the statement. “The mobile era is about low-power devices, touch interfaces, and open Web standards—all areas where Flash falls flat.” Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen, however, isn’t buying it. He calls Jobs’ claims “a smokescreen” and that Jobs’ primary goal is instead to lock people in to the iPhone and iPad. While the complaints and bickering continue, Apple is looking toward a new standard called HTML5, which is still in the nascent stages of development.