Apple Thoughts: Flash or No Flash, That is the Question!

"Our report from yesterday must have rattled some cages at Media Arts Lab, Apple's advertising agency. As we were told by our source at the secretive organization, Apple came crashing down on them with urgent requests to change the video."

If you are curious, you can head over to YouTube and see the original version, clearly showing the web site fully functioning, Flash included. What the folks at Chiat/Day Media Arts Lab do is mock up fake web sites so they perform as intended while making the commercials. So this little mistake slipped by apparently, but has since been corrected. If you have seen the video of the presentation, Flash clearly isn't working on the iPad and you can hear chuckles from the crowd when it is displayed while Jobs surfs with the iPad. But is it really a surprise to anyone?

Not sure why it was a surprise since Jobs has a well established "dislike" for Flash and clearly doesn't want it on any of Apple's mobile devices. It has been suggested, other than being buggy per Apple, that it will have an impact on revenue (people playing games for example on websites instead of purchasing games they can play on the iPad) if they do allow it. There is also the aspect of control by Apple since they don't own Flash and can't modify or "fix" it should a problem arise. My take is that it is more about controlling the device so that it works properly and the user experience is a pleasurable one, at least I'd like to believe it is true! I'm not naive enough to think that profit never entered the discussion, I'm just saying that one of the considerations had to be the user experience. Sure, that may be a bit pollyanna-ish for some, but I think it follows how they handled the iPhone/iPod Touch. You want our device? You have to take it with our restrictions. So if you want Flash, don't buy an iPad, go get a netbook. What are your thoughts? Do you think Apple will eventually put Flash on the iPad? I'm betting they won't.