Saxum|PR

What Steve Jobs’ Flash Letter Means for the Web

May 4th, 2010 by Anthony Triana. Posted in Industry Expertise

I’m what most would categorize in the “early majority” when it comes to adopting new technology – not an innovator, but not a laggard either. So when I first saw that Steve Jobs’ letter about Adobe Flash was the number one trending topic on Mashable a few days ago, I didn’t think much of it. But then I considered that, since I’m one of more than 20 million users of the iPhone, I took another look.

Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform popular for adding animation and interactivity to Web pages. According to Adobe, the Flash Player is the world’s most pervasive software platform, used by more than two million professionals and reaching 99 percent of Internet-enabled desktops and devices.

So, why doesn’t Mr. Jobs like Flash, and why doesn’t Apple use Flash on any of their products including the iPhone, iPod and iPad? Here’s the letter in a nutshell:

1. Adobe Flash is a proprietary system and not ‘open’ like other Web standards, including HTML 5, CSS and JavaScript.
2. Even though 75 percent of video on the Web is developed in Flash, most of this video is also available in a more modern format, H.264, and viewable on iPhones, iPods and iPads.
3. Adobe Flash was recently rated by Symantec for having one of the worst security records in 2009. Flash is the No. 1 reason Macs crash.

   Read the full story »

Apple Tablet May Change Journalism the Way iPod Changed Music

January 27th, 2010 by Renzi Stone. Posted in Entertainment, Industry Expertise

If you ever rode on a subway in America before Apple’s iPod debuted in October 2001, then you remember that people were listening to Sony Walkmans or (gasp!) nothing at all. Go to any bus station or train station today, and a huge percentage of riders will have the little white Apple ear buds protruding from their ears. The iPod is a very popular gadget for the top socioeconomic classes. Studies show penetration still has a way to go with lower groups, but we haven’t heard anyone at Apple complaining.

Now, think about today. If you travel to any airport, ride public transportation or have spent the night at a hotel before, then you have seen printed newspapers in use. Today marks a major change for printed news as we know it.

Apple introduces their Tablet to the world today, aka the Kindle Killer (much to Amazon’s dismay), at an exclusive event in San Francisco. We’ll know more as reviews come in, but book publishers have been scrambling in recent weeks to make sure their electronic books are available, and I’m sure newspaper publishers will be next in line to sign up. Finally, journalism has a tool that could make paid content the new normal.

Whether you live in Tulsa, Oklahoma or Timbuktu, the Tablet is being billed as the electronic tool that will change how consumers receive their news, interact with social media channels and change how we all read books.

Read the full story »