A Plea for Developer Unity

Developer here. I don't care about flash, if it dies (along with silverlight) much better. Java should go the same way. HTML is the way to go. Everything that can be done in flash or java should be ported to HTML so nobody can have control over it.<p>So no, wrong call for unity.

I don't like the "technologies are just tools, sometimes you need one, sometimes you need another, blah blah blah" line of reasoning.<p>Sure, it makes a certain amount of sense, and it sounds all nice and reasonable. But that's just not the way it is. Technologies a ARE better or worse than eachother, and the choice of which to use does have technological, social and business ramifications.<p>The situation is actually more analogous to arguments of whether to use domestic or foreign oil, or discussions about the merits of trade unions. The options are not just handily available to pick off my workbench. They will shape the way things are done in years to come.

An interesting post, but...<p><i>Should we always use a power drill for everything... even when a regular old fashioned screwdriver might suffice? And what of a hammer?! A jigsaw?</i><p>This is not like the situation with the HTML5/Silverlight/Flash/Apple battle for developer mind share.<p>- Information is more important than physical things, because information lasts forever and is often unique.<p>- Locking information up in such a way that it <i>permanently</i> has a gate keeper or cannot be accessed by everyone is not a good thing.<p>- Through the choices developers make they directly select which technologies succeed.<p>- The technologies that succeed will change what information is available and to who. (For example, if Silverlight wins, Linux users stop being able to watch Internet video. If Apple wins then everyone has to fork over money for a H.264 license. If Flash carries on winning then that's hardly perfect either.)<p>None of these outcomes are going to be a particular roadblock to affluent westerners (particularly Americans and/or people who aren't rigid idealists), but the impact on the developing world and also the startup environment will be pretty big.<p>Therefore picking sides in this particular technology struggle seems totally justified to me.

The assumptions of Flash UI wouldn't work on the iPad. That is plenty of reason not to include it, all sinister corporate motives aside.<p>(edit: perhaps I was too brief, no mouse pointer has severe implications for Flash—think it through)

Article summary:<p>Bitch bitch moan whine can't use Flash on iPad bitch whine moan misunderstand how application development works bitch whine moan I don't know that many languages have C FFIs or even what an FFI is whine whine moan I make all of my money working on Flash sites and am afraid of a world where Flash is irrelevant because I have no confidence in my abilities to program outside of this one limited environment where all of my experience is moan whine moan Apple sucks the iPad should run OS X.