A Letter to Adobe Flash: At Least Consider Open Source
Posted on 01. May, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey in Features
Dear Adobe Flash:
We’ve had some great times together. Awesome videos, time-wasting games and websites with a ton of bright colors, which I have fully enjoyed. I’ve even spent some time learning how to program you. It’s been a great relationship. But something has changed, dearest Flash. The problem is not really you, it’s more me. And perhaps the rest of the web. You see, I really don’t know how to break this to you, but things change. People change. More importantly, technology changes.
Since you’re already offered up for free and huge amounts of people readily enjoy your technology, I just no longer understand why you are not open source. Sure, you can offer up mega-expensive tools to create for yourself if you want, but if you really desire to be a part of the new rules of internet architecture you’re going to need to do yourself a favor and open yourself up to the world.
This doesn’t really have to do with Apple’s relationship with you, because once you make Steve Jobs angry, it’s over. It more has to do with the odd juxtaposition of you paired with Google’s applications in Chrome browser and Chrome OS. The idea that Google has for these platforms is to be an open source alternative to what Apple and Microsoft offer in terms of architecture, but in their battle with these two, they have decide to include you as a closed-source participant in this rivalry. Even Android is expected to enter into the fray sometime in 2010.
Your biggest competition in this regard, HTML5, is available for anyone to use. Even Microsoft’s Silverlight is working towards having their technology as an open source platform, a baffling revelation to me since you should be trying to improve yourself before its too late and you have faded into something that we think of as once relevant.
Sure, maybe you don’t care what people think about you. But there are really no drawbacks to taking the plunge. Do you really feel that you have the resources to consistently protect yourself from malicious security attacks? We know you’ve had some problems with this in the past, and it’s only a matter of time before another “issue” comes up again. The only way Google feels comfortable going forward with you is if they integrate your technology into theirs so that the vulnerabilities you have can be patched as soon as they arise.
Well, at least with all the news coming out about you, I’m sure you’re at least thinking about it.
UPDATE: Please take the time to sign an online petition to open source Flash. It will take you thirty seconds. Thanks.
8 Responses to “A Letter to Adobe Flash: At Least Consider Open Source”
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Tekool
01. May, 2010
Thank you Daniel, it’s a real pleasure to see a supporter of open-source and Chrome project at the same time writing that Adobe should open source the Flash Player. There are so many things to do by joining forces of the Adobe Flash teams developers with those of current browsers. Hope that Adobe will listen to that.
Sorry but as usual, I must tell people that they can sign now a petition to ask Adobe to open source Flash Player here http://www.openplayer.net/
Daniel Cawrey
01. May, 2010
No problem, thanks for the link. I signed it. Keep up the good work.
John
01. May, 2010
I could be wrong about this, but I believe Adobe hasn’t (and can’t) open up Flash because of all the software patents involved. So even if they wanted to, and even if they somehow could, there’d be a lot of work that needs to happen before it’s a possibility.
Steven Wei
01. May, 2010
Yup, Flash is encumbered by proprietary patents that it can’t release the source to. See: http://blogs.adobe.com/open/2010/02/following_the_open_trail.html
steve
01. May, 2010
Very good shout. Would be nice to see flash opened and it maybe the way it saves itself.
Jorge Castillo
02. May, 2010
I don’t think Adobe will ever open source flash if their past actions are any indication.
Adobe Uses DMCA On Protocol It Promised To Open
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/05/22/1254246
How do Gnash developers work with the Adobe/Macromedia EULA?
http://www.gnashdev.org/?q=node/25#eula
Tek
02. May, 2010
John, Steven, even if there’s some software patents involved in the Flash Player like H.264 (MPEG LA), VP6 (On2 technologies so now Google), MP3 (Fraunhofer) Adobe can open the whole Flash Player source excepted proprietary libraries and probably some parts of code under license which prohibits to reveal it.
They even can open the Flash Player source code and continue to use some proprietary libraries in it as long as they pay the license for it. Recently even the Mozilla Corporation hesitated to use H.264 in their open-source browser and pay the license. They finally didn’t because of their beliefs in a world without patents, but if Mozilla can why Adobe cannot?
makin257 - A Letter to Adobe Flash: At Least Consider Open Source
02. May, 2010
[...] even spent some time learning how to program you. It's been a great relationship.Source:http://www.thechromesource.com/a-letter-to-adobe-flash-at-least-consider-open-source/ var stLink = jQuery('a:last')[0]; stLink.href = 'javascript:void(0)' [...]