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.
4. Flash drains battery life by needing to decode video in software, not in the hardware like many of the chips used in modern mobile devices.
5. Flash was designed for PCs that use a mouse, not for touch screens that use fingers.
6. Adobe wants developers to adopt Flash to create apps. Apple does not want developers to be hindered by a third party layer of software…ultimately resulting in sub-standard apps.

These seem like convincing reasons. Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen doesn’t think so. In an April 29 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Narayen says that this debate has “nothing to do with technology” and is “really a smokescreen.” More than 11,000 Facebook users agree with Mr. Narayen.

Sure, there are positives and negatives to both products, and there are secondary issues at play. I asked one of our Web designers at Maxus Creative, Nick Sayre, who designed Saxum’s website and here’s his perspective:

“As a Web designer, my goal is to build websites with the most accessibility possible that look and work great, too. Flash has allowed designers to do things on the Web that were not possible before, but there are definite drawbacks to using it. For example, many Flash developers don’t provide an accessible alternative to their Flash content. This means that search engines like Google then can’t index information on the site, which hurts a site’s findability, or SEO. People with visual impairments that require the use of screen-reading software will also not be able to access such content. Ultimately, the Web is based on access to information, and Apple’s decision to not allow Flash will force designers to develop websites and applications that everyone can enjoy.”

In the end, both Apple and Adobe make great products, and innovation will continue to improve technology for the companies, as well as end users.

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.

I predict that public relations professionals will have to adapt as well, because the Tablet, over time, will create new audiences who currently are not participating in the exchange of information. Also, I predict motion graphic HD video has an opportunity to become a mainstream news product.

I’ve never considered myself an early adopter. I got my first iPod in 2003. Saxum’s philosophy is much more aligned with practical use of new technologies. However, I may splurge and get a Tablet. I’m just too excited about the possibilities of this new tool.