Steve Jobs prevails over Adobe's Flash

week in review Steve Jobs apparently was right about Adobe Systems' Flash.

The company this week announced it is abandoning its work on a mobile version of the Flash Player and will now concentrate its mobile software development efforts on HTML5. The move breaks with what had been Adobe's defiant embrace of its venerable Flash technology, a symbol of its strength on desktop PCs, in the face of the surging adoption of a wide variety of powerful mobile devices, from the iPad to countless smartphones.

But the cancellation wasn't a complete surprise. Flash has plenty of opponents, and the biggest one, Apple, also happens to the single most powerful player in mobile computing. By banning Flash on the browser responsible for 62 percent of mobile Web usage, the late Steve Jobs effectively exercised third-party veto power over Adobe's ambitions.

Flash criticisms are myriad. Practical criticisms focus on its direct drawbacks--overworked processors, squandered battery power, and security risks that sometimes went unpatched for too long. Another camp saw Flash--proprietary technology controlled by Adobe--as anathema to the Web standards that at least theoretically stand to benefit a much larger group.
•  Adobe abandons Flash for TVs too
•  Why Adobe would abandon Flash mobile plug-in
•  Take that, Adobe! Jobs gets the last laugh on Flash
•  Adobe to ax 750 jobs in restructuring

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Senate upholds FCC's Net neutrality regulations

By 46-52 vote, GOP effort to overturn FCC's Net neutrality rules fails. It would have needed a two-thirds supermajority to overcome a presidential veto threat.
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iOS 5.0.1 arrives with battery fix in tow

Apple releases new version of its latest mobile OS ahead of schedule. The update fixes a bug that gave iPhone users poor battery life and adds new features for iPad users.
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•  Controversial iPhone app security bug fixed in iOS 5.0.1

Hard-disk shortage hits consumer outlets

Online resellers are showing strong signs of a constraint on supplies of hard-disk drives: prices are going up as inventory goes down.
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Supreme Court invokes '1984' fears with GPS car tracking

A government lawyer argues that Fourth Amendment expectations of privacy do not automatically extend to cars on public roadways, in a case stemming from the police tracking of a suspected drug dealer.

Senate bill reignites Internet sales tax debate

New Internet tax bill would force Amazon.com, Overstock.com, Blue Nile, and other online retailers to collect sales taxes if they do more than $500,000 in "remote sales."

FTC, Facebook reportedly settling 2009 privacy complaint

Facebook agrees to opt-in practice for major privacy changes, as well as 20 years of privacy audits, according to The Wall Street Journal.
•  Facebook faces lawsuit over facial-recognition feature
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HP still mulling fate of WebOS

CEO Meg Whitman says a decision regarding the troubled mobile operating system will be delayed for at least a few more weeks.
•  Investigators charged in connection with HP spying case
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Apple muting Siri on older devices?

Company has no current plans to make the voice assistant app available on older iPhones and iPods, according to correspondence with Apple engineers.
•  Why Siri doesn't like older iPhones
•  Voice behind British Siri goes public despite Apple warning
•  Schmidt sees Siri as a 'threat' to Google's search business

Apple boots security guru who exposed iPhone exploit

A prominent security researcher has been ousted from Apple's development programs after publishing research that demonstrated vulnerabilities in the company's mobile app software.
•  Hidden panorama mode uncovered in iOS camera
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Former colleagues share memories of Steve Jobs

Event to mark the late Apple co-founder's legacy includes anecdotes from former Apple and Pixar employees.
•  New Yorker on Steve Jobs: More tweaker than inventor
•  Steve Jobs nominated for Time Person of the Year

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