A Flash Developer’s Perspective on the iPad and Flash

Ever wonder what a professional Flash developer thinks about the iPad and its lack of support for Flash? Morgan Adams lays it on the table, telling us why the iPad doesn’t, and won’t ever support Flash.

As Adams puts it, “Flash on the iPad will not (and should not) happen—and the main reason, as I see it, is one that never gets talked about: Current Flash sites could never be made work well on any touchscreen device, and this cannot be solved by Apple, Adobe, or magical new hardware…It’s because of the hover or mouseover problem.”

The situation is explained rather clearly by Adams as he discusses the use of the mouse pointer. Flash applications “are coded to rely on the difference between hovering over something (mouseover) vs. actually clicking. This distinction is not rare. It’s pervasive, fundamental to interactive design, and vital to the basic use of Flash content. New Flash content designed just for touchscreens can be done, but people want existing Flash sites to work. All of them—not just some here and there—and in a usable manner. That’s impossible no matter what.”