Adobe has announced Flash 11 and Adobe AIR 3, its latest salvos against the onslaught of HTML5, and is showing no signs of backing down even as the open HTML5 and a plug-in-free web base continues to grow. Flash 11 and Adobe AIR 3 provide a new level of immersive entertainment, including real time “console quality” 3D graphics in addition to Flash streaming to iOS devices. What does this mean for the future of web? And more importunity, do these new offerings mean Flash is going to be sticking around for a while longer?

Adobe promised Flash 11 and AIR 3 will be a cross-platform bonanza, living inside all major mobile devices, in addition to regular PCs and Macs. Slated for an October 2011 release, the Adobe bundle will bring the following goodies:

  • Hardware Accelerated 2D/3D Graphics: No more stuttering YouTube videos and way more immersive 3D content. When the video card is leveraged to do the heavy lifting the CPU would have to do, the computer becomes a lot more efficient and easier. Adobe is so confident with its technology and 3D capabilities, it’s pushing Flash as a full-fledged gaming platform at adobe.com/go/gaming.
  • Adobe AIR 3 Captive Runtime: AIR now can be prepackaged with a developer’s application for Android, Windows, Mac and iOS, allowing Flash-related content to play and run without the need for installing any additional plugins from Adobe.
  • iOS Love for HD Video: Adobe boasts that iOS devices can have H.264 fully deduced inside AIR applications, allowing developers and media companies pushing content out with Flash to reach a wider audience.
  • Rental and Subscriptions: Adobe Flash 11 and AIR 3 can utilize Adobe Pass so content publishers can use the retail and subscription options inside Flash-based applications.
  • 64-bit Support: Windows, Linux and Mac OS X are all now supported for 64-bit processors and 64-bit browsers for overall better efficiency.

Adobe certainly has an impressive chunk of technology behind it, and despite my reservations about Flash, 3D rendering and hardware acceleration is nothing to sneeze at. The real problem, however, will be convincing people to continue to develop on the Flash platform as HTML5 continues to garner support from Google, Apple and now even Microsoft.

Like many products in the marketplace, the consumer — and in this case the developers — are the ones who will be voting with their wallets and their developmental timeframes. But if I had a choice between building something in HTML5 and Flash 11/AIR 3, and had no real basic knowledge of either, I’d start my development with HTML5, on the sole basis that it would clearly reach the largest number of people with the least amount of hassle.

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One Comment on “Adobe Goes on HTML5 Offensive with Flash 11, Adobe AIR 3”

  1. Roger Says:
    October 27th, 2011 at 9:34 am

    HTML5 least amount of hassle?? you’ve got to be kidding, you’ll pull all your hair out with cross-browser issues

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