Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Apple Facing Antitrust Inquiry Over Flash-to-iPhone Compiler Ban?
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I love when people argue without any clue what they are talking about
This is NOT about flash on iphone or ipad, its about using flash or flexbuilder for that matter to build native iphone apps. If an app compiles as an iphone app it should not matter what tools were used to build it. Personally i think flashbuilder is a MUCH better dev tool than apples own mess of a dev environment. I think apple is way off base on this one and hope they lose. I love my iphone, ipad and every mac I have ever owned but their attitude lately is horrible and they are my like MS than MS these days.
Finally someone gets it. If the code compiles to a native iPhone exe it shouldn't matter what tool was used to create it. It should not matter if the developer used ActionScript, MonoTouch, obj-c, or if the developer coded the binary file by hand.
You either are a monopoly or your not. You can't act like one.
I love when people argue without any clue what they are talking about
This is NOT about flash on iphone or ipad, its about using flash or flexbuilder for that matter to build native iphone apps. If an app compiles as an iphone app it should not matter what tools were used to build it. Personally i think flashbuilder is a MUCH better dev tool than apples own mess of a dev environment. I think apple is way off base on this one and hope they lose. I love my iphone, ipad and every mac I have ever owned but their attitude lately is horrible and they are my like MS than MS these days.
It certainly does matter and Steve pointed this out perfectly. As a matter of fact, Apple is not only protecting the customer but is also protecting the developer. For example, you build an app using a 3rd party development tool under iphone OS3.0. iPhone os4.0 comes out with a whole plethora of features, you as the developer are at the mercy of that middlewear company to incorporate all of these features into their software so that you can take advantage of it. Maybe they lag 6-12 months to incorporate those features, maybe they don't incorporate some features or none at all. All of which leave the developer at a disadvantage to those can can innovate at the freedom of all the platform has to offer.
And so the government is looking at forcing developers to use their tools set and exclude others is breaking the anti-trust laws.
I agree, but the problem is with performance. Even on my linux boxes flash runs horrible. My flash rotator on my website causes my Windows XP tablet (HP TC1100) to slow to a craw. I realize that this is going to take awhile to happen, but it has to begin somewhere. Working in IT, there are so many programs that don't run correctly or at all on 64 bit Windows. And how long has 64 bit Windows been out for now? 5 years (although i can understand if you want to reason with just 3) and major companies are still not getting their act together. There needs to be a push, and Apple has done just that.
I don't know about antitrust laws but apple's whole app approval process is wacky, like when they denied the pulitzer prize winner's app because his political cartoon app was well political.
No. Apple filed a police report and the police got a warrant and acted upon it. Apple is not a law enforcement agent and the Police do not obey Apple.
And a crime did take place - read the California penal code as it has been repeatedly pointed out.
But this has no bearing on this discussion.
The word "Flash" should never even be used in this story. It should basically read: Apple is preventing developers from making native iPhone apps using a particular company's product. End of story.
How can anyone defend that?
How can anyone defend that?
What a bunch of nonsense.
So reporting a possible criminal activity is "acting like a monopoly"?
And how can they be "above the law"? It's up to the justice system to decide if there was illegal activity and to act accordingly (or not). It has been made abundantly clear that Gizmodo buying the lost iPhone prototype was most likely illegal, IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T HEARD.
To be clear: I don't like how Apple has dealt with the whole issue AT ALL. However, there are other ways to express your disapproval than to make up false, ridiculous claims.
When you exercise control on the market of competitors apps, making difficult or impossible for independent developers to port their apps to another platform, in Italy is called mafia.
This cause of action sounds more like tortious interference and a needed cash settlement, not an anti-trust claim.
I suppose this hinges on if a supplier of software may or may not change features and benefits without notice. The prior contract may have had a provision developers affirmatively agreed to that covers this.
Rocketman
"Ironically this whole thing is about keeping iPOS 'snappier'.
" - Rocketman
A monopoly has a precise legal definition, aside from the everyday definition that Wikipedia gives. By the legal definition of the term Apple does not have a monopoly. End of case.
You shouldn't try to give lessons to people - and especially in such a supersmug tone - when you don't actually understand the very thing you're talking about in the first place.
Yawn. Please spare us the predictable anti-corporate liturgy.
Every day people can "stand up" against Apple by not buying their products. And believe it or not, it happens! People still buy Blackberries, Droids and Windows PCs in HUGE numbers.
Not just yet
Than Walmart, yes, but not Microsoft, at least for another quarter or two. MIcrosoft is still worth $25 billion or so more.
But even when it passes it by, in what field, exactly, is Apple a monopoly? Any other phone can set its own developer rules. Why not Apple?
Than Walmart, yes, but not Microsoft, at least for another quarter or two. MIcrosoft is still worth $25 billion or so more.
But even when it passes it by, in what field, exactly, is Apple a monopoly? Any other phone can set its own developer rules. Why not Apple?
It's been 2 entire years where the only way to make an iPhone application is to use the Apple-made SDK program running on a Mac.
Your statement describes that situation just as well as it does the one with Adobe.
So why hasn't that become a legal issue sometime over the last 2 years?
Nobody's forcing you to use Internet Explorer either, but look where that argument got Microsoft.
Apple should let you have another store and flash... just give you the ability to turn them on and off and make a deal with Adobe that it will be disabled when a new OS is released until Adobe updates it for that version.
But it is not native code...it is cross compiled. It may run at a great speed, but it won't necessarily take advantage of all the API's that are included in Apples SDK.
Again, Microsoft did not get in trouble for bundling IE. They got in trouble for illegally abusing their monopoly in order to prevent competition.
So a company makes a product, everyone ditches their current product for the new one... then App authors write apps for this product and it becomes even more popular... then the company is in trouble for maintaining the quality of it's product by deciding and managing what kinds of software could and should be running on it, also because of the apps that have already been written for it... so another company says 'Hey I want to write Apps with my software [based on market trends - it's in decline apparently]' but it will consume more battery power on my product and doesn't run well anyway on my browser... but I will lobby the feds so I can have a piece of your pie..
So Adobe want a piece of the pie but don't actually want to improve their product, simply because they just want in... so run crying to the feds.... hmm
So Adobe want a piece of the pie but don't actually want to improve their product, simply because they just want in... so run crying to the feds.... hmm