A crow's mile

The Controversy: Simply put - Cash Money vs. Freedom.

Adobe Flash doesn’t want to give up the market share and control of being the most popular WEB based video program out there. HTML5 cost nothing and is the newest standard in web-based media. You don’t have to have anything extra installed on your computer to view video. (exception: A current web browser that supports HTML5 is needed- see link below.)

What each is and does.

Flash: Is a closed platform software. (foot note) that you have to pay Adobe money to use. Flash is heavy and a CPU (central processing unit) hog. The good thing about flash is; you get a standard player built into every browser, on every platform, so no matter what you create, it will look and act the same. Flash is installed on 98.7% of all online computers.

HTML5: Is the 5^th update for HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and uses “H.264” Advanced Video Coding. The new standard incorporates features like video playback and drag-and-drop that have been previously dependent on third-party browser plug-ins (such as Adobe Flash). With the newest version of HTML5 the video is embedded in the code. No need for any additional programs or plug-in to run the video and it is less of a CPU hog. HTML5 is an open platform software.*

My Thoughts: It is all about MONEY.

Flash is a preparatory product. What I would call a “Piggy-back Program”. Meaning your computer has to have it installed in order to watch video and play games on the web. At the moment Flash has a nice monopoly on the web video market, bring in allot of money. In addition, Adobe benefits from the purchase of one of their other products (Creative Suite, PhotoShop, Illustrator) to design for Flash.

HTML5 is a “no-jacket-required” kind of software. It is free and anyone can write code in it, with a simple text editor. There is no special software to purchase and it works with current browsers**. Much like browsers can already display images without any help.

HTML5 isn’t without limitations. The old web pages, video and web games will all have to be converted to operate on HTML5. (Additional code may have to be written in to ensure your web pages will read correctly on all browsers.)

Technology for the web is changing very fast. No one is sure what the right answer is for designing a sustainable web page. Frankly you can’t - standards will keep changing as advances in code writing evolve.

HTML5 is more like what I want the future of the web to be. None-restrictive participation.

Evolution affects jobs and profits. Adobe will feel the effects of these advancements much like other “mediums” have. The changes we see with the web are no different then the growing pains we have seen in all forms of media to-date. Music, Newspapers, Books and Magazines have all gone through some very painful “advancements” over the years.

We must encourage an atmosphere of openness, of creativity, of change. If we do not, we will continue to carry the burden of the past and stifle the potential of the web.

Here is a brief history on the Internet you might enjoy. My favorite part of the article is in the “Mid 1990s - The New Internet” section, the last two paragraphs in the “soupbox” blockquote.

Viva la change!

*Understand the terms “closed platform” and “open platform”.

Closed Platform - This stands for the basic technology of a computer system’s hardware and software. It defines how a computer operates and determines what other kinds of software can be used on that computer. Additional software or hardware must be compatible with the platform in order to work.

Open Platform - An open platform means that the software developer allows (and sometimes supports) the ability to add or change the original software. Another developer could add features or functionality that the platform developer hadn’t considered.

A new question.

Does HTML5 really have a free video player encoded?

If you are so inclined, feel free to dig deeper with some of the link I have below.

One posters states: “H.264 will not remain free and if you read the EULA , it specifies it can`t be used for commercial use. You must buy an expensive license for that.”

Here is a post talking about the use of h.264

http://www.browser-watch.com/2010/08/27/h-264-declared-royalty-free/
Read the first reply comment.

**Can you view HTML5?

Here is a chart list all the bells and whistle that come with HTML5 and how the current browsers handle them. (scroll down to see them all)

http://findmebyip.com/litmus#target-selector

Flash alternative.

Apple is working on a Flash alternative.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20004509-37.html

HTML5 Demos:

I did find a few cool HTML5 demo site you might enjoy. (If your Browser can handle it)

http://www.designer-daily.com/5-awesome-html5-demos-6715

http://www.canvasdemos.com//