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Adobe Throws in the Towel on Mobile Flash Player

Phil Price — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 22:14:57 +0000

The launch of the iPad had a big impact on web developers because of Steve Jobs refusal to support the Flash Player. The iPhone already used the same iOS operating system, but the lack of Flash support was magnified when the iPad came along. Clients who preferred having a Flash site suddenly were concerned their site wasn't available on the iPad. After spending tons of money developing Flash for mobile devices, Adobe recently threw in the towel on the Flash player for mobile devices. The company announced that after an upcoming update, it would cease development of its Flash player software for mobile gadgets. Instead it plans to focus on HTML5.

Flash has been a crucial technology over the last decade. It did much more than allow clients to have elegantly presented web sites. It allowed consumers to play games directly within Web pages. It became a standard way for delivering streaming media, freeing users from worrying about whether they had the right version of QuickTime or Windows Media Player to listen to a Web broadcast.

In the future, the common assumption is HTML5 will be the better alternative. But a common misconception is that HTML5 can provide animation and interactivity within web pages, which is untrue. Either JavaScript or CSS 3 is necessary for animating HTML elements. Animation using JavaScript is also possible with HTML 4.

The bottom line is the Flash player will be around a long time for PC users on the web. Sure, Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari support HTML5 to a large degree in their latest versions, but many users continue using older browsers. HTML5 does not work with a significant fraction of browsers still in use. Until it does, clients who are happy with their Flash sites for PC users can consider creating a simpler site for mobile devices... or call me for a consultation to plan for the future.

Matt Pyke (a.k.a. Universal Everything)

Phil Price — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:13:14 +0000

Matt Pyke works at the forefront of digital techniques in art and design. His work blurs the lines between commercial and contemporary art. He's also known for his collaborations. He's currently featured in a exhibition called ‘Super – Computer – Romantics’ at the Parisian digital arts space La Gaîté Lyrique. I've followed Universal Everything's work for a couple years. Here's a relatively new piece.

Supreme Believers - Nowness edit from Universal Everything on Vimeo.

Full Time Workers Historical Data

Phil Price — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:08:42 +0000

For a recent project, I created a illustrated graph that shows the number of full time salary workers from 2000-2010 by race. Besides the fact that today's overall numbers are about the same as in 2000, there are some other facts I found interesting. One is that there are still more white male full time workers in the U.S. than female full time workers of all races and ethnicities combined, but that statistic want hold much longer. Here's the graph.

Five Business Wishes for 2011

Phil Price — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 20:21:51 +0000

It's the first business week of 2011 and I can't help but ponder the direction things will go in the new year. After a brief reflection, here's my list of what I hope comes to pass.

1. Flash on the iPhone and iPad

Apple did announce back in Sept. that it has lifted restrictions on its third-party developer guidelines which included Flash, but don't hold your breath. Flash is pretty iffy even on Android for that matter.

2. Easier Mobile App Creation

To create a first rate mobil app that works across all platforms has gotten easier. Companies like appMobi have created frameworks using HTML 5 and Javascript. I hope that trend proves successful.

3. Better Comics and Storybooks on eReaders

Tablets and eReaders will be everywhere at the CES show. Once again Apple opened everyone's eyes to the possibilities with the iPad. I'd like to be able to see graphics and animation more readily available on eReaders.

4. Businesses Embrace On-line Local Advertising

Local keywords are nice and Facebook has great local targeting. Local coupons and deals are all the rage. I hope this type marketing can grow without a lot of cheesy schlock turning off advertisers.

5. Less Talk by Traditional Journalists about the Demise of Professional Journalism

Not that the subject isn't newsworthy, but I can't hit the remote fast enough when another panel of newspaper journalists takes on this topic. Maybe it's just a little too close to home.

Boba Fett Was A Freelancer

Phil Price — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 16:16:08 +0000

It's a great headline, or tagline. I wish I'd thought of it. I first saw it as a picture from a Solvate Holiday party. Solvate calls themselves "America's Premiere On Demand Workforce". They actually represent yours truly as part of that "premiere workforce" .

Boba Fett has only four lines throughout the entire original Star Wars trilogy, but he's one of the movies' most popular characters. A bounty hunter on the trail of Hans Solo with a grudge to settle. He's the best.

It's interesting that this tag line works so well for today's freelancers and independent contractors. We're not just on a job, but our very survival depends on success. During the mission, one wrong move and you're toast. After the mission, you can fly off to nobody knows where. In today's world, we're all contractors to somebody, no matter how big our company is. So strap on that rocket pack and get to work.

Photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

Ad Tech New York 2010

Phil Price — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 17:52:20 +0000

"Technological progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going backwards."
~ Aldous Huxley

This quote came to mind when I visited the Javits Center to cruise the show floor at Ad Tech last week. The Ad Tech conference billed itself as "the largest gathering of digital marketers". It was packed with attendees and a wide variety of vendors touting their visions for reaching consumers in the digital age. As you'd expect, mobile apps, widgets and social networks played a big role in most discussions. Also, local advertising was big. I thought of the quote above because I realized the old fashioned goal of all this technology is to connect with us in a personal, relevant, thoughtful manner... efficiently.

Logorama - My Latest Corporate Imagery

Phil Price — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 22:02:25 +0000

Every time I hear a political operative ranting about how big corporations are wrecking our elections, I always picture this animated short. It won the 2010 Oscar under the category of animated short. It's been out for months now, but all the election talk made me want to see it again. It was directed by the French animation collective H5. If you haven't seen it it's worth the time. Not for kids! It's superb, very very well done.

Logorama from Marc Altshuler - Human Music on Vimeo.

Google TV Site is Live

Phil Price — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 17:04:01 +0000

Glad I'm a Google fan, because they're surrounding me. Yes, it's of my own choosing, but with the announcement of Google TV I think the trend continues. I already use Gmail and have an Android phone. Now I'll be able to control the TV from my phone and check my email on my TV.

Surrealistic Photo Illustration

Phil Price — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 15:33:01 +0000

I've always liked surrealistic art. Works that feature an element of surprise and unexpected juxtapositions. Today's commercial artists create the same effect all the time using photos as a foundation. Photos combined and retouched to capture the essence of a brand. That was our intent with the illustrations below for the Rascal Films web site. These were fun to create. (Photos by Jim Golden)

Apple's Decision Regarding IPhone Gets Adobe Rolling Again

Phil Price — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 16:39:31 +0000

Apple's decision to increase (slightly) the opportunities for developers of iPhone apps to use different frameworks for app creation was at least enough to get Adobe to resume development on their cross platform mobile development tools. Below is the relevant quote from Adobe.

"Apple’s announcement today that it has lifted restrictions on its third-party developer guidelines has direct implications for Adobe’s Packager for iPhone, a feature in the Flash Professional CS5 authoring tool. This feature was created to enable Flash developers to quickly and easily deliver applications for iOS devices. The feature is available for developers to use today in Flash Professional CS5, and we will now resume development work on this feature for future releases."

Click here for the full posting on the Adobe corporate blog.

This doesn't mean Flash for IPhone is around the corner, but it at least the door's not totally closed on the possibility.