Flash War

April 6, 2010
Stacey Mason

With the release of the iPad , A List Apart’s Dan Mall predicts a looming battle that he calls the “Cold War of the Web.”

The arguments run wide, strong, and legitimate on both sides. Apple CEO Steve Jobs calls Flash Player buggy. John Gruber says that Apple wants to maintain their own ecosystem. On the other end, Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch argues that Flash is a great content delivery vehicle, and Adobe’s Mike Chambers expresses concerns over closed platforms . Interactive developer Grant Skinner reflects on the advantages of Flash.
However, the issue is larger than which one is better. It’s about preference and politics. It’s an arms race. This is the Cold War of the Web.

So if this is the Cold War of the Web, where does electronic literature fit in? For example, much of the ELO’s eLit anthology depends on Flash. Is this another occasion for archiving and adaptability?

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