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Apple's iPad NYTimes Promo Video Shows Flash Again

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Apr 12, 2001
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014145-ipadflashagain.jpg


Flash content shown (left), Broken plug-in shown (right)
We're planning on writing this one off as a web-blunder, but one reader points out that Apple seems to have reverted their iPad promotional video back to one which renders the NYTimes Flash content correctly.

The iPad promotional video caused a lot of buzz when it was discovered that it depicted properly working Flash content on NYTimes' website. As it turns out, the videos are essentially mock-ups and were never purposefully intended to depict the iPad running Flash. Apple was even quick to post a new version of the video properly showing a broken Flash plug-in in the place of the video content. The incident even generated an FTC complaint against Apple for false advertising. So, why would Apple change it back now?

The easiest explanation is that either Apple or Akamai made a mistake this weekend and republished the original video. Meanwhile, an absurd and essentially impossible alternative given Steve Jobs' comments about Flash is that the iPad will support Flash. If this was a purposeful switch back, perhaps the NYTimes may plan on offering HTML5 content for their video content, much like YouTube and Vimeo have started doing.

Chances are, however, the video will again be corrected in the near future.

Article Link: Apple's iPad NYTimes Promo Video Shows Flash Again
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/02/22/apples-ipad-nytimes-promo-video-shows-flash-again/
gibbz said:
That would require reading for some people, which is generally asking too much :)

I guess we'll see if this is corrected by tomorrow.
Click to expand...

Do you mean your post?

I think the NYTimes may indeed replace the flash content with html5 based on browser detection... which would explain the new promo video correctly showing what just got replaced.
 
Do we know for a fact that the video is showing flash content? Just because visiting NYTimes.com today displays content using flash doesn't mean that the website will not display the content using some other means when the iPad is available. There are other ways of displaying video and pictures than just flash, and sites that want to get their content to eyeballs know that.
 
I hope this means Flash will be on the iPad, but I doubt it.

I've been pretty vocal in the past about my hatred for Flash. I loathe it with a passion and would love nothing more than to see it die a quick, painful death. I'm also just fine with Apple not supporting it on a mobile device if it fails to meet their demands about power consumption and user experience.

However, given that the iPad is supposed to supplant the browsing experience on a laptop--not a phone--I take the position that Apple is being absolutely moronic in excluding Flash from it. There's just no excuse. This is not a device you carry around in your pocket all day and rely on for phone calls, so power consumption is largely irrelevant. The usage would presumably center around the home or a workplace where it can be easily recharged. So even though I hate Flash, I think Apple needs to pull their head out about this and get it working on the iPad.
 
Jorad said:
Do we know for a fact that the video is showing flash content? Just because visiting NYTimes.com today displays content using flash doesn't mean that the website will not display the content using some other means when the iPad is available. There are other ways of displaying video and pictures than just flash, and sites that want to get their content to eyeballs know that.
Click to expand...

also addressed in the article. :)

arn
 
Come on people

It's obviously just a mistake. The iPad won't support Flash and this article will just ignite more "end of the world" rhetoric.
 
Steve Jobs is a very persuasive man, maybe he was able convince the NYTimes to dump Flash for HTML5.



Doesn't Steve Jobs know what we want more than we do?
 
stephengiem said:
Do you mean your post?

I think the NYTimes may indeed replace the flash content with html5 based on browser detection... which would explain the new promo video correctly showing what just got replaced.
Click to expand...

Touché. No, I meant the promo video.

I immediately thought of HTML5 as the reason for the change. If this video is still up for a few days, we'll know something might be up.
 
gibbz said:
That would require reading for some people, which is generally asking too much :)

I guess we'll see if this is corrected by tomorrow.
Click to expand...

First let me say that I am honored to have been directly addressed by Arn himself. Secondly, I was simply attempting to cool the jets of those flash hungry internet surfers. Now the suggestion that I did not actually read the article, while true, was below the belt.
 
Friscohoya said:
First let me say that I am honored to have been directly addressed by Arn himself. Secondly, I was simply attempting to cool the jets of those flash hungry internet surfers. Now the suggestion that I did not actually read the article, while true, was below the belt.
Click to expand...

It was all in good fun, hence the smiley face.

It will be interesting how this plays out in the next few days.
 
It's embarrassing that Apple go to so much trouble, they make a conscious decision to fake this, to HIDE the fact that there is no Flash on the iPad.
 
It is the New York Times, like they ever let reality, truth and the facts get in the way of a political or business plan objective?
 
No Flash on iPhone yet

Well I just went to nytimes.com on my MacBook Pro and my iPhone.

The flash ad on the iPhone is replaced by an image ad and the main photo flash page selector thingy is also just an image.

The video near the bottom shows up as a broken lego but that is it.

So maybe the promo video is correct and up and running with a flash replacement for devices that don't support it?
 
Well sure, it's obvious to doubt it, but then, considering how many publishers they're trying to get on board with this device, and how most of them have already spent scads of money over the years getting chunks of their content into flash, perhaps hearing all the groaning about ipad not including flash from industry, mainstream media & consumers (ok, scratch the consumers) will take its toll during the 2 months of dealmaking.

When EVERYBODY but a tiny, tiny fragment of devoted gearheads thinks its absurd not to have access to the biggest rich media format on the web...

Hey, it's not like Steve ever changed his mind, right?

Right.
 
If I go to the video on my Mac, the video I get served is:

movies.apple.com/media/us/ipad/2010/tours/apple-ipad-video-cc-us-20100211_r848-9scie.mov?width=848&height=480

I presume 20100211 is a date code, indicating this version was updated on 2/11/2010, which would indicate a revision compared to the original and is at least anecdotal evidence that they didn't simply revert to the original version of the video.

edit: this version movies.apple.com/media/us/ipad/2010/tours/apple-ipad-video-cc-us-20100130_r848-9scie.mov?width=848&height=480 from Jan 30th shows broken flash, so at the very least both versions are available. This indicates that whoever built the most recent version of the ipad website had to specifically select the new version instead of akamai or someone else inadvertantly overwriting the new version with the old one again.
 
It seems pretty odd after all the fuss with the faked video that they would slip up and put it back on.

Though given the statments Job made RE flash I can't see him doing a flip-flop and include flash on the Pad.

Perhaps someone should call Apple and ask!
 
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