¶ From the acquisition FAQs:
What are Adobe’s plans for Flash Player and Adobe Reader?
Our long-term plan is to develop a ‘universal client’ by combining PDF, Flash and HTML in a single, integrated runtime. Of course, we will continue delivering the Flash Player as a small, efficient runtime for content and applications on the web, and Adobe Reader for viewing and interacting with PDF documents and forms. The integration of these technologies into a unified framework creates a ubiquitous platform that runs on virtually every device, and dramatically expands the opportunities to create compelling solutions.
Now why doesn’t that fill me with joy? Although thinking about it, surely ‘a universal client combining PDF, Flash and HTML in a single, integrated runtime’ is just a browser with Flash and Reader plugins pre-installed? Why develop that over the long-term when there’s already one on everybody’s desktop?
Comments
1
I think it’s because of the phrases “unified framework”, “ubiquitous platform” and “compelling solutions” :)
Yeah, it does kinda sound like they want to make a proprietary Macrodobeia Browser application or summat. Can’t reeeely see it taking off, it’s been enough of an effort to get 8-odd percent of people to switch away from IE.
Funny chaps, Adobe.
2
They added, By combining technologies such as PDF and Flash, we hope to eliminate any remnant of efficiency for the end user. Were not gonna stop until the whole Internet is one big microfiche!
A representative from WaSP responded by throwing up in her mouth.
3
I think what they mean is that they want to make Flash Player slower than Adobe Reader is. Hoo-ray for consumers!
4
Combining PDF and Flash is pointless enough but adding HTML to that mix seems so redundant I cannot believe anybody at Adobe really read this before publishing it.
Absurd. It wasn’t until MacOS X Preview that PDFs became useful to me again…
5
Well… Guys I think you are missing a big picture item here… You certainly don’t strike me as developers or you would rejoice.
The point is not to make an integrated “Flash, PDF and HTML” just for that jolly sake, but from a developer perspective don’t you think that granting smoother integration of such assets as HTML and PDF in Flash for example would make life easier for many a programmer?
As it stands, Flash 8 still does not allow us to parse HTML other than using a few meager tags. Take the instance where you would develop a Flash app used as an external projector – tell me how are you going to read pdf and html files now?
Otherwise, what if you wished to manipulate PDF assets at runtime – and save a PDF to a server as a result of this…
I see many great possibilities… not too many constraints. And BTW – I am sure Adobe advisors would recommend against a “new browser” concept – this is more along the lines of a smarter plugin.
6
Let’s imagine for a second that the HTML rendering doesn’t suck, but actually supports CSS as well as Safari, then maybe you’re looking at a solution to MS continuing refusal to support standards.
Equally ‘the browser’ isn’t the right tool for the type of internet applications that are appearing now – you get web designers complaining that Flash and certain Ajax applications are evil because ‘they break the back button’. There’s some truth in that, but trying to force applications into the page/request paradigm also sucks.
Some sort of ‘application player’ that didn’t confuse people with also trying to be a navigational tool could be a really good thing (and yes, I know what Java WebStart is but Adobe and Macromedia have been rather more successful in getting their software installed).
You also need to put this into the context of tools like Adobe Flex, which are beginning to turn Flash into a viable alternative to .NET WIN/FX and Java Applets, and being targetted at software developers rather than graphics professionals.
Want to deliver a Mac-like GUI, with shadows and transparency, over the Internet, to Windows users today? It’s feasible.
Mind you you’ve got to hope that the Acrobat team learn something from the Flash team. Users don’t want a 20 second splash screen or even know WHAT program they’re running.
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