The biggest story of last year was the Apple vs Adobe clash concerning Apple’s refusal to support Flash in iOS and therefore the iPad. Adobe responded with a satirical advertising campaign called We [heart] Apple but since then the arguments have died down.
As we all move towards mobile devices including tablets, the need for Flash is beginning to wane. Why should we create flash websites if we must also create an html version? In addition, why should we create flash elements for websites if we need to create a static substitute? The introduction of HTML5 and CSS3 with the inclusion of jQuery has also contributed to the demise of Flash.
Arne Bech produced some Flash vs HTML5 advert examples to see if the user could tell the difference between them. View the advert examples here and see if you can tell the difference.Google recently entered the fray by producing a tool that could quickly and easily converted your old, mobile hating, Flash elements into HTML5 and CSS3 compliant elements. Google Swiffy was produced as part of Google Labs. Although only a BETA tool, that will likely to be shut down with the closure of Google Labs, it will undoubtedly be included in some form Google advertising product in the future.
Now though, Adobe are hitting back, not with a push for Flash but with the introduction of two new tools.
- Adobe Edge
- Adobe Muse (Code name)
Both tools steer Adobe acutely away from Flash and into the direction of HTML5 and CSS3.
Adobe Edge
Adobe Edge helps you to create animations that could be used as interactive sections of a website, or as adverts to place throughout the web. They are all based on HTML5 and CSS3. This tool is only in a preview at the moment but could potentially be integrated within Adobe Muse.
Adobe Muse
Adobe Muse (code name) is a pre-release version of a complete web design tool aimed purely at designers. Judging by their promotional video, Adobe has high hopes for Adobe Muse and it could rival Dreamweaver in their range of web tools.
It allows users to create websites based on the design, you never even have to touch the code.
They hope that within five-ten years, people will be creating websites without the need for coding at all. That is a huge statement to make and it highlights the great potential that this tool has.
But where does that leave Flash? Thousands of people around the world have devoted their lives as Flash developers, will it still be relevant if even Adobe are pushing rival, more accessible methods of web design. Does this trigger the final demise of Flash?
A lot of it relies on mobile. If mobile operating systems begin to support Flash, then maybe it has a future. iOS will definitely not support it so it seems certain that the future of Flash relies heavily on the shoulders of Android.