Google's Indirect Support of Apple and Adobe
Google Labs has recently launched a nifty new tool called Swiffy. As we discussed in an earlier article, one of the differences between the iPad and other tablets is the lack of Flash support. Swiffy attempts to bridge that gap – “You can upload a SWF file, and Swiffy will produce an HTML5 version which will run in modern browsers with a high level of SVG support such as Chrome and Safari.”
What about Adobe?
Similarly, Adobe also launched their own Flash converter called Wallaby. Their tool’s current focus is on converting Flash-based banner ads to non-Flash. They believe it is a highly desirable and requested feature that has a fairly simple solution. The difference reported between the two apps is that Wallaby allows access to ‘editable code’ whereas Swiffy is more focused on the final presentation. Wallaby converts your Flash files to HTML, allowing you to further edit the code. They do mention not all features of Flash will be supported in HTML5 format. And, they are referring to Wallaby as “experimental”.
What do we glean from this?
This development news makes one wonder if the dilemma of the non-Flash friendly iPad vs other Flash friendly tablets will now be moot. “This may be looking too far ahead, but Google may just be able to undercut the most common complaint about the Apple iPhone and iPad – that they don’t run Adobe Flash – by making the difference largely transparent for end-users.”
Continuing this thought, Google appears to be providing a way for Adobe to continue the Flash technology, enhancing both Apple and Adobe at the same time. Are you concerned about Flash with your web content? How important is it to your business website?
Stephan wrote on Jul 25, 2011 06:51
I think in the long run HTML5 + JS will win out. Flash at this point is simply too proprietary and the endless security holes make matters even worse. Not to mention the fact that JS rendering engines have drastically improved over the last few years.
But in the mean time, there exists a lot of legacy Flash code out there. These tools may make life easier for front-end developers to “bridge the gap”.
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