Adobe to Resume Work on Flash-to-iPhone Compiler

[Don Kosak]

Apple has opened up the floodgates now.

There's no doubt in my mind that "Amateur Hour" is about to overrun the App Store.

So, how do we keep things sane?

I think the BEST thing Apple could do is make a 1 hour App return policy.

Basically, just defer billing for 1 hour and 10 minutes or so... If the customer deletes the app - prompt them for a reason (wouldn't run, misleading, poor performance, etc.)

Apple could ding developers that have high return rates, especially for defects or misleading apps. Maybe even hit them up for the 30% revenue cut by deducting it from future sales.

That would clean up the app store very quickly. Especially if the return rate was made public in the store.

One hour won't impact revenue at all. (in fact, Apple will probably save money, as it might roll up additional purchases into a single transaction.)

One hour won't impact good apps. A decent game should amuse you for more than an hour. (What are you going to do? Race to finish it to get your 99 cents back?). Productivity apps and the like certainly take less than an hour to determine if they're good - and then you want to hang onto them to get stuff done...

The apps that will get hurt are:
* Useless "Fad" apps (pull my finger) that you instantly regret buying
* Poorly tested apps that crash constantly or never even start
* Poorly performing apps, that take forever to do simple stuff
* Misleading apps that promise to browse like IE, or solve equations but don't

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this issue.

Don't get me wrong, I've seen some good Flash applications on PCs, (and some bad ones). I think if people work to understand the platform, read books like Tapworthy, etc, they may create some good stuff. What I fear are a bunch of crappy ports of software that violate UI conventions, run horribly slow, or just don't work right because the porter left in Mouse Hover/arrow-key style logic.

 

[techapocalypse]

With the amount of app stores that are gonna be around this is kind of a good thing...

 

[iDrinkKoolAid]

Sorry if someone else has already mentioned this, but shouldn't Adobe be working on making Flash work in Safari first?

 

[myca]

The whole point of having an app review process is to screen apps that violate Apple's guidelines (sensibilities, security, run arbitrary code from sites, etc.). Part of this is the stability and overall performance of the app- if Apple is going to make a curated app store where a dev has to pay before they can even have their apps reviewed, it's their burden to review the app properly and reject it if it's buggy or slow.

I think having Apple introduce a tariff to have apps reviewed for approval would be very interesting, but one of the reasons developers have flooded to the app store is that it's free to submit (excluding the yearly fee).

Heck the main console makers charge for having games submitted, but I still don't think it would work on the app store, unless a sort of third strike rule was implemented, i.e if it fails three times in a row (or maybe two) you're gonna have to pay for the next, and any consecutive attempts at submission.

Maybe an approach like this could improve what is submitted, and at the same time the approval process could be improved with the possible revenue stream.

 

[DesmoPilot]

Sorry if someone else has already mentioned this, but shouldn't Adobe be working on making Flash work in Safari first?

Why use Safari though? Chrome has (basically) always been better (recently released Chrome 6 is amazing) and Firefox 4 is around the corner.

 

[iZac]

i'm going to get ready for a flood of poorly made games then

Sounds like a chance to brush up on my actionscript 'skillzors'!

 

[batchtaster]

I think this is pretty devious on Apple's part, and I love it. And I say let the two sides duke it out. Let Adobe put out their compiler, and let Apple assess apps compiled from Flash into CocoaTouch the same as they assess apps written in a real language, and let the cards fall where they may.

This has nothing to do with "Flash on iPhone" and there's no reason why apps which originated as Flash should actually behave like Flash (eg: as we know, Flash doesn't even support multi-touch, so there's no way it can be just a wrapper for a Flash file), or be ham-strung by Flash's monstrous, well-documented shortcomings - it's just a pathway to generated native code. When compiled, the shortcomings will be CocoaTouch's (or a subset thereof, depending on how thoroughly Adobe's compiler spans the API set) or the way the compiler manages to cobble them together. Apple published their guidelines, and all the same requirements apply to all apps, regardless of their origin.

If Adobe's compiler can't meet those standards, even if Apple has to reject every single Flash-originating app, one-by-one on their individual failings, then it's Adobe's fault, not Apple's. If Adobe is willing to tread into the shark-infested waters of App Store rejection blame now that everything's out in the open, who are we to stop them?

Why use Safari though? Chrome has (basically) always been better (recently released Chrome 6 is amazing) and Firefox 4 is around the corner.

You just completely missed the point. Flash sucks on the Mac, whether it's in Safari or your beloved Chrome or Firefox. Those new versions don't/won't/can't make it any better. The point being made had nothing to do with Safari, and everything to do with Flash.

 

[baryon]

Awesome, can't wait to see the stuff they come up with!

 

[nelmat]

This doesn't mean flash is coming to iOS

Just to make clear everyone - the iOS compiler from Flash CS5 (a creative tool, not a browser plug-in, don't confuse the two) will export a version of a flash created application that doesn't use the flash plug-in.

The Flash plug-in is NOT coming to iOS.

 

[nelmat]

Sorry if someone else has already mentioned this, but shouldn't Adobe be working on making Flash work in Safari first?

Yes, and I'm sure someone else is also working on an update to illustrator. There is more than one team of developers at Adobe, and this flash compiler has nothing to do with the flash plug-in.

For the record, I don't get people's issue with flash performance on Mac - it's fine here - not great - but not the dog some people report.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Well if they ever make a decent version of flash, they can thank Apple for making them a better company.

 

[ranReloaded]

Attack of the Killer Tweens!!!

 

[ouimetnick]

Unsurprising! Now get ready for a flood of crappy “native” (AIR) apps on the App Store.

We already have a lot of crappy apps in the App Store.... this will only add more.

 

[amorya]

Apple could ding developers that have high return rates, especially for defects or misleading apps. Maybe even hit them up for the 30% revenue cut by deducting it from future sales.

If Apple were to advertise it as a try-before-you-buy feature, I don't like the idea of having developers foot the cost.

If an app is getting lots of people trying it but deciding not to keep and pay for it, then possibly send it back to the reviewers to see whether it works as described. But if the app does what it says it's doing, and isn't filled with bugs, then the developer shouldn't be penalised for someone using the trial functionality.

Other than that, great idea and I'm all for it

 

[BillyBobBongo]

Nice to see lots of narrow minded individuals in the MacRumors forums, as usual.

I think it's great news that Apple is relaxing their rules allowing developers to use other tools in the creation of code designed to run on Apple devices. This doesn't simply apply to Adobe. There are very few Apps in the app store that interest me. I'm hoping that allowing people a bit more freedom will result in better creativity.

 

[nelmat]

As if Apple would give you a choice on what to install on your iPhone. You can only install what they approve for you to install. In this case it's a good thing i guess to weed out the crappy apps. And this is what in my opinion what will keep the App store on top of the Droid Marketplace when it starts getting big.

It's always a good thing. An approval process isn't some sort of dictatorship, the rules are there, follow them and your app will be approved. I for one am very, very glad the submissions are monitored and checked. The android market is a nightmare of crap-ware and rubbish that makes my HTC crash. Quality is important and all distributors have a responsibility to ensure the product they distribute is of a certain quality. All sensible companies do it, not just Apple.

 

[freeny]

Don't have to wait for crappy apps; plenty there right now in real native code.

This^^^

 

[nelmat]

Well if they ever make a decent version of flash, they can thank Apple for making them a better company.

Why? You think it's only the tiny minority of us who are Apple users who complain about flash or who are important clients to Adobe?

I also think something needs to be done to distinguish Flash (the creation tool) from Flash (the browser plug on). One is great, one not so great on certain platforms.

 

[nelmat]

You just completely missed the point. Flash sucks on the Mac, whether it's in Safari or your beloved Chrome or Firefox. Those new versions don't/won't/can't make it any better. The point being made had nothing to do with Safari, and everything to do with Flash.

Flash works great on Chrome on Mac, it's also good on Firefox on Mac, it's just a dog in Safari on Mac.

 

[Journojulz]

"We have lots of kids downloading lots of apps, and parental controls don't work unless the parents set them up (many don't). So know that we're keeping an eye out for the kids."
"We have over 250,000 apps in the App Store. We don't need any more Fart apps."
"We have lots of serious developers who don't want their quality Apps to be surrounded by amateur hour."
"If your app is rejected, we have a Review Board that you can appeal to. If you run to the press and trash us, it never helps."
"This is a living document, and new apps presenting new questions may result in new rules at any time. Perhaps your app will trigger this."
"If it sounds like we're control freaks, well, maybe it's because we're so committed to our users and making sure they have a quality experience with our products."


In other words - "This is not a democracy - its a meritocracy. Impress us!"

 

[leroypants]

Exactly. Those apps should be labelled as "made with flash" so smart people can avoid them.

Sad, pathetic, fanboys could also make the decision to buy a game on how it was made rather than the game itself with this labeling too. I for one would not buy a game no matter how much fun it is if it was made with flash. You see my enjoyment of a game depends on if it is at all related to adobe, if it is my butt starts to hurt.

 

[finalcut]

while others are complaining about poor designed games that will be released based on flash, this is great news for myself. Flash was the only reason why I've never bought an ipad.

The reason why I'd buy an ipad is to watch flash based TV from where I live. Read illicoweb and tou.tv here

 

[backdraft]

Apple should buy Adobe.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Why? You think it's only the tiny minority of us who are Apple users who complain about flash or who are important clients to Adobe?

I also think something needs to be done to distinguish Flash (the creation tool) from Flash (the browser plug on). One is great, one not so great on certain platforms.

Why? Because Apple put the spotlight on how poor flash is. Adobe needs to make it better or drop it.

 

[ten-oak-druid]

Sorry if someone else has already mentioned this, but shouldn't Adobe be working on making Flash work in Safari first?

I hate the performance of sites that use flash. I was on the NFL site last week and it was so slow to load the flash portions of the site. It reminding me of how surfing the web was 10 years ago.