Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

European Commission Joins Investigation of Apple's Flash Exclusion Policies

SkippyThorson said:
I can't decide if this is Apple being clever, and blaming issues on Flash, or if Flash truly does suck.

Flash CONSTANTLY crashes Safari on my iBook, and it blames Flash 10. I could be here browsing MacRumors, and a banner causes a slow script.

It never used to do this before the big feud. Interesting timing? Not sure...
Click to expand...

Sometimes I feel that the EC is becoming dictatorial.
Click to expand...

Flash is terrible. It is a dying standard that needs to be replaced. The EC is very dictatorial but I don't believe that it will matter all that much. Flash won't be around much longer.
 
AlexisV said:
Cue thousands of people returning their phones. Wouldn't do Apple much good if the guys at the stores had to say "Oh yeah, Flash will screw up your phone. But we put in a slider to turn it off."
Click to expand...

Flash runs fine on my EVO though... and people talk about the iPhone Antennae being over blown.
 
beltzak said:
I am European and don't know why you all haters of flash are so mind closed. The EC is just goint to investigate if there is any harm competition and some of you are just blind with what Steve says.

Adobe wrote some software for the iphone and Apple banned because they wanted. Opera wrote a mobile browser for the iphone and they banned it as well.
Click to expand...

You're just completely wrong... that's why. EC investigating any monopole... and forcing to use a proprietary system such Flash (owned and developed only by Adobe) wouldn't help in any way for the competition.

At least, even if Apple is behind the HTML5 and then they have a personal interest, HTML5 uses worldwide open standards.

Forcing Apple to put Flash on iOS devices would feed the Adobe monopole...

And as far I know, Opera is available for iPhone for several months now...
http://www.opera.com/press/releases/2010/04/13/

Get your facts right buddy :)
 
kenypowa said:
All some people are asking is to have the option of viewing flash content on their devices. Who are you to deny what others want on their devices, paid by their hard earned money?
Click to expand...

I kinda like the hardware of some of the recent HTC handsets, but I don't like the selection on the Android marketplace, and I can't watch movies I bought on iTunes on it, which gives me seething, unending rage. It's completely ridiculous that HTC won't license iOS and let me run what I want, and view the content that I want. Therefor, HTC should drop whatever it's doing, and pay to license iOS, and the HTC users who don't want to use it will pay extra and suffer from diminished support. But who are they to deny what I want on my device, paid for by my hard earned money?
 
Xavier said:
Flash is terrible. It is a dying standard that needs to be replaced. The EC is very dictatorial but I don't believe that it will matter all that much. Flash won't be around much longer.
Click to expand...

+1

It took several years for the EC to force MS to have several web browser in Windows... so, several years from now, Flash will be long gone :)
 
Anuba said:
They just have a thing against anti-competitive behavior, and it goes both ways. In cases where EU member states have old government monopolies dating back to the socialist days (e.g. "Apoteket", the Swedish farmacy chain), they crack down on it and try to wrestle the member states into dropping the monopolies and opening up for the free market. If a company is found to have a dominant market share, they crack down on that too. They've been at Microsoft's throat for years and forced them to add a browser ballot screen in Win7 so that Safari, Firefox and the others get a fair chance against IE.

I can't really think of a case where it hasn't been to the benefit of the consumer. It leads to more choice and lower prices, the things that a completely free market are supposed to bring but only does so on paper, when in reality it leads to a Soviet-style market with the only difference being that the monopolists are enterprises.

All this watchdog activity has had a major impact on keeping competition healthy, keeping prices down and keeping companies on their toes. They can't rest on their laurels, they have to invest, invest and invest to keep up with the competition. Compare the EU cell telephony market to the US, look at the prices, the coverage and the services and you'll find that the EU is at least 5 years ahead of old dinosaurs like AT&T. We're on 4G here now while AT&T is struggling to complete the rollout of 3G. Well, not so much struggling really. They could if they wanted, but they prefer to feast on a much higher profit margin than EU carriers will ever have.
Click to expand...

I hear your points but what is Anti-competitive about not supporting Flash? It's a technology they don't want to support. It's not like HTML5 is making Apple any money. I see this no different than an auto maker saying they don't want to support Satellite Radio and only provide standard radio. Their choice... and our choice as a consumer to buy it or not.

That is a truly free market. Not the EU or any government agency telling us what features need to be there in a product unless there is a safety or health issue.

It would be different if Apple was eliminating all web technologies and only allowing Apple technologies. THis is what MS was doing with IE... but again, even that ruling I find to be on the edge of too much control.
 
Salacion said:
What's the monopoly on?
Click to expand...

Some threat to web browsers and media players because Microsoft packaged theirs with the OS. The truth is that it was just an attack on Microsoft because of their dominance in the OS software market.
 
hwhalers said:
I kinda like the hardware of some of the recent HTC handsets, but I don't like the selection on the Android marketplace, and I can't watch movies I bought on iTunes on it, which gives me seething, unending rage. It's completely ridiculous that HTC won't license iOS and let me run what I want, and view the content that I want. Therefor, HTC should drop whatever it's doing, and pay to license iOS, and the HTC users who don't want to use it will pay extra and suffer from diminished support. But who are they to deny what I want on my device, paid for by my hard earned money?
Click to expand...


Bad comparison.
If you dont like the apps that are on android market talk to the developers and ask them to make something you like.
Like them or not, Google has no intervention here.
 
beltzak said:
And I don't like flash, but damn my friend does like it. Should I kill him? Obey him no to use it? That's what you "mind closed" call freedom?
Click to expand...


Flip side of the coin... You don't like Flash, your friend does. Should your friend have the power to compel you to put Flash on all your devices because he thinks it should be installed? Or should he just make the case why you should willingly install Flash?

This "investigation" is met w/ such eye rolling because it's a farce. The EU just wants to dig into Apple's pockets. It has zero to do with consumer protection. Apple is supporting HTML5, which is an open standard, and of which it receives no royalties. Where is Apple "screwing" consumers? How it is being anti-competitive when Android devices w/ Flash are flourishing?
 
Full of Win said:
Good. Someone needs to stand up to them. However, since iOS is the AOL of 2002, then I don't think it really matters. Apple has lost the fight against Android, and will be a marginal player in the mobile field, so as others have said it really does not matter.

All the matter is the winner in the mobile OS field, Android, has access to Flash.
Click to expand...

What are you smoking?
 
SiPat said:
BBBs -- Brussels Busy Bodies.

These guys have nothing better to do than dictate the size, curvature, shape and colour of bananas. Yes, that's right!

And everything, even public services, have had to be opened up to Compulsory Competitive Tendering. Since the (mainly mainland European) private contractors moved in to the NHS-run hospitals in the UK, you are now more likely to get hospital-based illnesses (MRSA, etc) than be cured of whatever you were admitted for in the first place.

Sometimes, someone has to tell the EU to **** and deal with the more serious issues, like the blood-sucking (w)bankers who caused the economic recession.

Disclosure: I live n the UK and am generally pro-EU/EC.
Click to expand...

I understand you are just trying to illustrate a point, but speaking asa nurse, that's utter BS propagated by tabloid newspapers.
 
P.S. Chalk my vote up as "negative" for this article since the vote function doesn't work for me. (Safari 4.0.3 and yes, I refreshed the page afterwards to check)

Classic HTML fail. Flash poll would likely have worked fine for every browser, every platform.
 
What!?

investegation... INVESTIGATION OVER APPLE NOT SUPPORTING FLASH? uh oh apple and adobe arent getting along that well. I guess they need a timeout. WTF IS THIS KINDERGARDED? APPLE CAN SUPPORT WHATEVER THEY WANT WHAT THE **** DO THEY THINK THERE INVESTIGATING? :apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple::apple:
 
Stella said:
apple do not license out fairplay.
Click to expand...
I expected so.


hwhalers said:
That was my point. Companies are not forced to license technologies they don't want to, and they similarly don't have to adopt any if they don't want to, no matter the popularity.
Click to expand...
Isn't that a flawed argument tho?

Apple don't licence iOS or FairPlay - Apple's fault.
Apple don't allow Adobe flash on its devices - Apple's fault.
 
hwhalers said:
That was my point. Companies are not forced to license technologies they don't want to, and they similarly don't have to adopt any if they don't want to, no matter the popularity.
Click to expand...

If they become "monopolies" they might have to. Thats what the discussion is about.

Ever heard of generic drugs?
 
MikhailT said:
Companies do not have to do whatever their customers "demand". It's their right to say NO. People are whining because Apple has the balls to say NO to their customers.
Click to expand...


And customers do not have to be quiet about their desires either.

Mac users have the right to complain when software is Windows only. And its nice when companies oblige.

Too many people argue issues as being mutually exclusive. Apple doesn't have to do a thing. But that doesn't mean that users have to shut up about it. There is a give and take. Perhaps in the dialog a compromise will be reached. I think if you go back and look at the context of the post I was responding to and my response this is more clear.
 
Zunjine said:
Big difference - MS were and still are in a monopoly position. Monopoly is bad for consumers. Apple isn't a monopoly by any stretch of the imagination. You're comparing two things that aren't at all alike.
Click to expand...

A monopoly is not required to abuse market power.
Apple has a huge market power on the iOS when you add up all the devices that run it (iPod, iPad and iPhone) and that could easily put them in top position of the mobile plat form on the web.

It is huge market power and easily abuse of it. Remember the rules for the top players are different than the rules for the under dogs. Top players can abuse their position to keep competitors out of the market. Apple is using it position to push some one else out the market. Not by offering a better product by just dis allowing them to play in the market. Very different there.
 
Zunjine said:
You're not serious are you?

The ownership of the operating system on the vast majority of all computers sold on Earth. Ring any bells?
Click to expand...

That's not a monopoly. A monopoly is when you close out other businesses that intend to prosper on your monopolized trait, such as television/internet companies throughout America (single providers existing in certain areas). See, Microsoft created Windows, but they didn't shut out any other OS business, which is why Apple exists. Just because a thing is widespread, does not make it a monopoly. Make sense?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back