Adobe Systems has hit back at Apple following much criticism from Steve Jobs who has very publically detailed exactly why he doesn’t like the software and the reasons it is not included in the iPad (or the iPod or iPhone for that matter).
The maker of Flash has launched an advertising campaign in retaliation to the Apple CEO’s criticism of Adobe’s Flash technology – a crucial tool for displaying video and interactive content.
The print and online ads from Adobe seek to emphasise the company’s “openness” and explain the “truth about Flash”. They cite figures that suggest three-quarters of web video is viewed using Flash.
The full page ads rare running in newspapers such as The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. The company has also launched a microsite to get its message across.
The strapline is ‘We love choice’ and the (long) ad reads:
“At Adobe, we believe that the open flow of creativity, ideas, and information should be limited only by the imagination. Innovation thrives when people are free to choose the technologies that enable them to openly express themselves and access information where and when they want. Everyone loses when technological barriers impede the exchange of ideas.
Openness is at Adobe’s core. Our first technology was an open standard that liberated publishing from proprietary printing systems, and soon afterward our PDF technology eliminated barriers to sharing documents across platforms.
Adobe Flash technology enables the delivery of content to hundreds of millions of people, regardless of platform or browser. In 2009, in partnership with Google, Research In Motion, and dozens of other companies, we formed the Open Screen Project, a coalition committed to making web experiences seamlessly available on any mobile device.
We believe open markets that allow developers, publishers, and consumers to make their own choices about how they create, distribute, and access content are essential to progress. That’s why we actively support technologies like HTML4, HTML5, CSS, and H.264, in addition to our own technologies.
As the web and mobile devices facilitate the free exchange of ideas like never before, we stand at the leading edge of an amazing revolution. We remain certain that openness is the only way forward.”
While making Apple’s point loud and clear, the company’s stance has left much web video and interactive content on the web inaccessible to iPhone and iPad users.
The public spat has become one of the most closely watched dramas in Silicon Valley as two iconic companies argue over their visions of the future of the internet.
Apple is encouraging developers to use HTML5, a new computer language, instead of Adobe software, to develop applications for the fast-growing mobile web.
Here’s a link to Chuck Geschke,and John Warnock, cofounders of Adobe and chairmen, to Apple.