You would have to be living under a rock the past few months not to hear about the war between Apple and Adobe raging across the internet. Just take a look at wired.com’s featured ad at the top, which displays Adobe’s newest attempt to alleviate the situation by stating, “We [heart] Apple, We [heart] choice. “Choice” referring to Apple’s decision to exclude Flash player on all the mobile devices they produce. (Steve Jobs even took the time to explain why in a rare memo). This choice has sparked fierce debate in the tech world stemming from feeling that Flash player is losing relevance. I feel that the real conflict is not between Apple and Adobe, but rather their standards, Flash and HTML5 video.
-What makes HTML5 different from Flash?
At the moment there is no standard for video playback. We have all seen it before, our computers demanding that we install software in order to watch online video. Plug-ins like Flash, RealPlayer, or QuickTime are used by many different browsers and devices and it can be a hassle (downright annoying) because at the moment, there is no video standard. In many cases, users on web devices like iPhones, or iPads, can’t play videos at all when Flash is required, and because these devices are so popular, Adobe isn’t too happy about it. HTML5 is the first code that allows videos to be played without the use of plug-ins, which will lead to a standard. HTML5 makes use of new structural tags like <head> <footer> <section> and even <video> which will allow web designers to better define their content, subsequently allowing search engines to index and find your content more easily.
If you would like to learn more about how HTML5 will effect video be sure to check out the links below!
http://www.webmonkey.com/2010/05/where-on-the-web-is-html5/ – A good overview of HTML5
http://www.webmonkey.com/2010/05/who-needs-flash/ – An article discussing the Apple vs. Adobe battle
You can also check out my presentation about HTML5! (Which ironically requires Flash to play!)