Adobe Gives Up On Apple, Works Around iOS’ Flash Video Limitations

Chris Velazco is a mobile enthusiast and writer who studied English and Marketing at Rutgers University. Once upon a time, he was the news intern for MobileCrunch, and in between posts, he worked in wireless sales at Best Buy. After graduating, he returned to the new TechCrunch to as a full-time mobile writer. He counts advertising, running, musical theater,... ? Learn More

Ardent iOS supporters have been clamoring for true Flash support for years, and with the announcement of their new version of Flash Media Server, Adobe completely fails to deliver. Instead, they’ve managed to update their media server with a way to get streaming Flash video running on Apple’s myriad iOS devices.

Alas, while you can’t start working through your backlog of artsy Flash games, Flash Media Server 4.5 allows content producers to easily to get their Flash content onto iOS devices without any additional headache.

While older versions of the media server served up video streams in the F4F format, the update has added support for the HTTP Live Streaming format, which iPads and the like can handle just fine.

The media server system, according to ZDNet, detects the device’s level of Flash-capability and will switch over to using the HLS format when it sees an iOS device. It’s actually pretty ironic: in order to make Flash video streaming work, the new version of Media Server actually has to un-Flash the content and wrap it in another, more iOS-friendly container.

While it isn’t the Holy Grail of iOS Flash support, it’s a solution that works, and will make life easier for those in the unenviable position of managing live video streams. Hopefully Adobe has a team sequestered in a bunker working getting actual Flash support working now that they’ve managed to cross “streaming video” off the list.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.

Google Abandons “Maps API For Flash”

In more news of Flash’s impending decline, Google is announcing that it’s “deprecating” the Google Maps API (application programming interface) for Flash. This API previously allowed developers to add Google Maps functionality within their Flash-based applications.

However, as of today, use of the API is limited, says Google, with only a small number of applications taking advantage of features unique to the Google Maps API for Flash alone.

The API, which originally launched in May 2008, is similar to the JavaScript version, but designed for use within Flash apps. Developers could use the API for manipulating and adding content to maps through a variety of services, which enabled them to embed interactive maps applications on websites.

The Maps for Flash API isn’t actually being killed off entirely – it’s being deprecated. That means that it will continue to function according to the Maps API Terms of Service, but no new features will be developed, and only “critical bugs, regressions and security issues” will be fixed.

In other words, the API is basically being abandoned.

Flash developers are instead encouraged to migrate applications over the Maps API v3, which offers other benefits like Street View, Fusion Tables integration, Places search, and full support for mobile browsers, says Google. And help is being made available on the Google Maps JavaScript API v3 forum.

The move is not surprising, given the limited interest in the API’s unique features, as noted above. However, in some way, the decision seemingly stands in contradiction to other moves Google has made in recent months in support of Flash. For example, last summer, Adobe and Google jointly announced that the Flash Player would soon be built into the Chrome Web browser going forward, thus eliminating users’ need to download, install and update the plugin separately.

Plus, Google’s mobile operating system is known for its support for Adobe Flash, and Flash-based apps.

In today’s blog post, Google also adds that it continues to support Flash as a development platform in Chrome, too, but the link for more details goes to a dead URL.

Maybe that page got deprecated too?

Update: Google fixed the link. The correct URL is http://www.google.com/support/chrome/bin/answer.py?answer=108086.

View the original article here

This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.