flash alternative for iPad/iPhone

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hello all -

pls. forgive this PC person for asking this question, but i need advice:

what is the best alternative for adobe-flash for making websites more iPad/iPhone friendly?

i am considering just filtering out iPhone/iPad requests and using a static image instead, but i am hoping for a better solution.

thank you!
 

vansmith

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How much Flash are we talking here and perhaps more importantly, how are you using it? HTML5, combined with some fancy CSS and JS might get the job done but could be a pain. It also won't work if you're using Flash as an application platform that makes connections to certain databases (for instance, let's say that this is a Flex application).
 
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Considering there was a report released that something in the neighborhood of 40% of mobile broadband traffic are iOS devices, I would not just filter out the iOS devices just because you dont want to program in something other than Flash. You would be losing a lot of exposure.

HTML 5 is a great place to start. It also depends on what you are using flash for. Like Van said, for video there are plenty of other solutions besides flash, but for applications, it can get complicated.
 
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chas_m

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Deckyon: that's more like 100% of mobile broadband traffic. True, 40+ percent is iOS -- but the rest is ALL OTHER mobile devices. There isn't any Flash on mobile phones of any platform anymore, Adobe killed it because they couldn't make it work.

To Mark: even Adobe has gotten the memo, you should too. Check out Adobe Edge and other HTML5+CSS+JavaScript tools.
 

vansmith

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There isn't any Flash on mobile phones of any platform anymore, Adobe killed it because they couldn't make it work.
Not true. Flash is still available for just about every other major mobile platform. In fact, I had Flash just update on my Android devices. You might be thinking of new versions which will no longer be released but the plugins are still actively maintained, given patches and bug fixes when needed. So, for now, Flash is still very much alive in certain parts of the mobile world.
 
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Mark Edwards
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hey - since i started this thread, i should keep it on-track ;-)

specifically i have a purchased java-applet that does voice-audio recording and uploads the recorded voice file to my server.

i have found the same thing using a flash-based solution, but i would really find something that works in the mac world.

i am ready to buy an IOS book and figure out how to write an app, but i would like to think there is an easier way.
 
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there's always something that will mimic what flash can do, but often it can be a real pain in some cases.

There was good reasons why flash became so popular. And good reasons for it being taken down a few notches.

The interesting thing if you watch carefully, is even though edge has some promises, you should check out what;s occurring with flash, and have a peek at this initiative by Grant Skinner working with Adobe on creatJS CreateJS | A suite of Javascript libraries and tools for building rich, interactive experiences with HTML5.

It seems things are moving just as I thought they would.

Flash with continue to be flash PRO, and edge will be the flash lite.
 
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Mark Edwards
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thanks groove-tube.

i was hoping for some drop-in replacement for flash (and java) that will work on iPad, iPhone, and all new(er) mac computers.

i am ready to figure out how to use IOS and face that daunting learning curve, but i had hoped for something easier.

i realize that HTML5 is coming on strong, but i doubt HTML5 will ever have the ability to make voice-audio recordings and upload them.
 
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chas_m

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Not true. Flash is still available for just about every other major mobile platform. In fact, I had Flash just update on my Android devices. You might be thinking of new versions which will no longer be released

This does not contradict what I said. I said Adobe killed it.

Apple killed iWeb but that doesn't mean old versions have stopped functioning.


So, for now, Flash is still very much alive in certain parts of the mobile world.

I (and Apple) have yet to see a Flash demonstration on Android or any other mobile platform where its functionality was either a) poor compared to the desktop version or b) a battery-sucking resource hog. This is WHY Adobe killed it. Again, what I said before.

You can get OS 9 to run on Intel Macs if you try hard. Doesn't mean it's supported.
 
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Actually those aren't the reasons why adobe killed the flash plugin on mobile. They had achieved a plugin that matched the battery drain of similar html5/js/ games/interactives, and achieved good performance. But the truth is, it didn't matter anymore, and they realized it.

My guess is Steve Jobs tried to get them focus the outputs on something new and Adobe (likely macromedia people) said FU because they felt they had the strength to control the market. They were wrong.

There are lots of rights in wrongs in the arguments, and unfortunately people believe a lot of things incorrectly because of the heated rhetoric pushed by apple sites and bloggers, as well as android fans, and of course adobe fans.

I see things starting to go where should have 5 years ago, I have said long ago, that there's no coincidence that us AS3 developers were writing in a language practically identical to javascript (and by extension query) it's about time things went that direction. Adobe's strength is having a very mature and great development environment to create all of these things, it's really up to them to take advantage of where things are going and leverage that.

Looks like that's happening now.
 

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