To avoid Flash lock-in, Apple looks at SproutCore

Apple, continuing its reliance on open-source technologies, is using an open-source project called SproutCore to provide rich Internet applications like its new MobileMe service.

The idea is to use to keep Apple from being "locked into the browser plug-ins for...one particular standard."

What is SproutCore? From the SproutCore Web site:

SproutCore is a framework for building applications in JavaScript with remarkably little amounts of code. It can help you build full "thick" client applications in the Web browser that can create and modify data, often completely independent of your Web server, communicating with your server via Ajax only when they need to save or load data.

SproutCore gives Apple a way to enrich its Web experience without locking itself into any other vendor's technology, as the SproutCore site notes:

Nobody likes using software running in a sandbox, and no one likes to download plug-ins before they can use your software. If you want to create an application on the Web that is fast, fluid, and native, and usable by everyone, use the only technologies that come built right into every browser: HTML and JavaScript. SproutCore makes it easy to do just that.

Apple has had serious spats with Adobe Systems over Flash, particularly on the iPhone. It will be interesting to see if this gamble on a relatively unknown open-source JavaScript framework will pay off--or whether it would have been easier to just buy into Flash. Apple has the developer clout to make it pay off, but for most developers, Flash or Silverlight are likely going to be better options.

Undergirding the move is the irony of Apple looking for ways to reduce proprietary lock-in...even while it locks its own customers into its platform. But that's another post.

[gsmiller88]

I loathe Adobe Flash.

[lordeagle]

Yeah they so lock their customers into their platform...that MobileMe works with Microsoft products on Windows. That's totally disgusting!

[edgedesign]

It's open-source technology, so you aren't locked in. It's also cross-platform.

Adobe can lock you in with Flash and Microsoft can lock you in with Silverlight.

[KenG2042]

I have been looking at various open source web framework to make web 2.0 app in the past couple months and I think Apple did bet on the wrong horse here...
SpoutCore is the technology that Apple already used in the past for .Mac Web Gallery and one side they have a great look -classic Apple- but the overall performance of the implementation is slow and use a lot of memory... It's getting even worst when you notice that in order to boost the performance Apple decided to use Akamai instead of fixing the performance of the framework, and I strongly think that SproutCore on Windows has tons of performance issues overall.

If you really want to see a powerful framework in action, then take a look at :
http://280slides.com

They are going to open source their underlying framework and I think it's going to be a killer framework. It's still a brand new app, and the framework I am sure may be edgy at first but they have something that is revolutionary I believe !!

[kelmon]

I have to agree that 280slides does look very impressive, but I think we need to wait until MobileMe goes live next month before passing judgement on SproutCore. The current .mac Gallery was produced relatively soon after Apple bought into SproutCore and since then they've been pouring development resources into the project. Given this I'd like to see what the results look like next month before suggesting they've backed the wrong horse.

[Cube Over]

"Back To The Future IV":

"NOBADY locks me in!.." <serious grin>

[alegr]

Adobe Flash: "Do You Want To Crash Your Browser Today?". Die, stupid Flash, die!

[Matt Asay]

For the record, I didn't write that title for the post. CNET took editorial privilege with that one....

[saffroncapital]

The comment, "locks customers into its own platform" has got to be one of the idiot comment's of the day - every business want to lock customers into their own 'platform' for godssake!!!

Think of all the money coca-cola spends on advertising to remind people to buy Coke and not Pepsi, think of all the frequent flyer and shopper privileged cards, the hotel loyalty schemes and so on and so forth...

The whole point is to lock people into your "platform" - whatever that may be - that is how you retain and keep customers.

Matt, you may know about open source software but it is as plain as day that you know jack about business.

[cnetcensorssuck]

Learn how to read....you absolute utter moron!

[RandyShack]

Um, what your analogy describes is known as brand loyalty. Coca Cola has no means of making you drink Coke instead of Pepsi. Similarly, Apple makes products that people love and cause them to remain loyal to the brand. Microsoft uses anticompetitive and dishonest business practices to cause people to keep buying their products. That's lock in.

[doke01]

Oh, yes. Of course Apple does not lock you in. You can buy any hardware you want and you can take the iPhone to any provider that you want....they are full of sh*^ saying they are doing it to prevent lock in when they are controlling with a strict hand which applications are allowed to even be available for sale on their device. The real reason for pushing back on Adobe??? Apple wants its payola pure and simple. A javascript framework like this doesn't do what flash does. Think it does? Play a video with it. They don't have a demo of that on Sproutcore cause today you can't do it without a plugin, activex, extension, whatever. They need flash or silverlight because people know it and use it. They are just playing hardball on the $$ issues.

[RandyShack]

This is typical of people who cannot grasp a simple fact - Apple is a hardware maker. Just like Dell and HP and Gateway and so on are hardware makers. Unlike them, however, they make their own software instead of lazily licensing Microsoft's. In fact, Apple gave system software upgrades away back in the olden days, i.e. the 1980s. Suppose for a moment that Dell and HP wrote their own OSes. You think they'd want you running their OS on any ol' hardware? Unlikely.

[RandyShack]

On the iPhone exclusivity, think back to when the Moto RAZR was new. It was exclusive to Cingular, which is now AT&T. By the way, it cost $600 at the time too, kinda like the first iPhones. There's nothing new about that kind of setup. The GSM hardware limits the choices to AT&T and T-Mobile in any event.

[ballmerisanape]

Apple's lock-in works. Let me give you an example.

In 2003 I bought a "12 inch" PowerBook 1ghz G4. It has 768mb ram, a 40gb hard drive, and 32mb vram. I have never performed a "fresh install" and have upgraded to every version of OSX. Last weekend I installed 10.5 just for the heck of it. I had planned on replacing the pbook because it was so old, and wasn't running up to speed.

After the 10.5 installation (just an upgrade, not "archive and install"), the darn thing is actually running smoother.. even with the increased eye candy that comes with 10.5.

Now.. instead of dropping a grand on a new macbook, I decided to add 1gig of ram and just replace the hard drive with a bigger on (120gig for around $70).

That level of longevity is possible due to Apple's "locked in" strategy. In my opinion, I would much rather have a system that runs smoothly.. with drivers that have been truly optimized for hardware.. than have a system where the OS manufacturer has to rely on all of the various vendors out there to wright drivers that play well with the OS.

Just my humble opinion.

[edgedesign]

It's open-source technology, so you aren't locked in.

Adobe can lock you in with Flash and Microsoft can lock you in with Silverlight.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Apple, like any company, has a goal to make money. If you don't make money, then you don't have a job.

I applaud Apple for going for the locked-in model that most companies have with their products. They should and do extract as much money as they can possibly wring from their customers and partners to just the point of rebellion and hover there perfectly. This is perfectly normal in any industry and anyone expecting Apple to be different is ignoring the reality of the business world today.

You have to make money. Money comes from customers. Take that money from customers any way you can. That's the pure and simple truth of it. Apple is right up there with the oil companies- I really see no difference between them, Microsoft, or Southwest Airlines. All companies need to make money so you do what it takes- even if it isn't popular with a very small minority of end users who actually complain (tech geeks). I hate to say it folks, but the sort of people who read these news stories do NOT matter. You're a tiny minority of the customer base, so these companies can pretty much ignore you in their efforts to go for the bigger piece of the pie. Once you recognize that, it's a much easier world to live in.

[newmedia04]

I suspect Apple's problem with supporting Flash on the iPhone is more of a technical issue. Because of the iPhone's touch interface, things work a little differently than they do with a mouse/kepboard interface, which Flash supports. A mouse action such as drag-and-drop (hold down the mouse button and drag an object) is not supported under the iPhone's touch interface. Actions such as selecting from a drop-down list box or typing in a text box are supported, but they operate a bit differently on the iPhone. So to truly support Flash, they'd have to either support it all or support a limited set of features.

[catbutt5]

"If you want to create an application on the Web that is fast, fluid, and native, and usable by everyone, use the only technologies that come built right into every browser: HTML and JavaScript." --- Words of wisdom.

"...or most developers, Flash or Silverlight are likely going to be better options." --- You're joking right? Flash maybe... but pity the poor developer that hitches his bandwagon to yet another of Microsoft's soon-to-be-abandoned technologies. MS has the absolute worst record for announcing the next great thing - a year away - and then silently putting them on the trash heap two to three years later. They just did it less than 30 days ago with some other easily forgettable tech - I can't even remember the name.

",,,while [Apple] locks its own customers into its platform." --- I move my files daily between Mac, Linux and Windows without issue. Graphics files, music, web development, mail, anything. So no data lock in... Hardware? It's on the pricey side but then again, so is my BMW.
Frankly, if you can't tell the difference between the total package you get with Apple/BMW then you'll feel right at home with your PC/WIndows/Yugo/Hundai/Frankenstein-self-built-monstrosity. All Apple hardware works seamlessly with other Apple hardware and the OS or they'll replace it. It this is lock in, so be it.

[Don Key]

I've found that flash is 80% annoying ads and 20% real content. I have the flash block plug in for Firefox and love it. It doesn't start any flash unless I tell it to.

[Kontracnet]

Even if Flash could be optimized to run faster on OS X with less of an impact on the CPU and battery life, there'd still remain a huge issue of clashing UIs and interaction frameworks on the iPhone between Adobe and Apple. The iPhone is establishing the first multi-touch driven mass-market platform, Flash doesn't even have a multi-touch framework. I explore the implications of this for both Adobe and Apple in:

The new UI wars: Why there's no Flash on iPhone 2.0
http://counternotions.com/2008/06/17/flash-iphone/

[JKreditch]

Adobe has made some bold moves lately, check out the Open Screen Project annoucement.

http://www.adobe.com/openscreenproject/?promoid=CZYUQ

Even more impressive is the Qualcomm annoucement that was based on the Open Screen Project.

http://www.adobe.com/aboutadobe/pressroom/pressreleases/200805/052808AdobeQualcomm.html

I know that there are a lot of opinions about the Flash on the iphone topic but it appears that Apple does not want to see Flash on the iPhone. These announcements will make it difficult to claim vendor lockin.

[sthuysen]

I still want to hear from ActionScript developers who looked closely at SproutCore. I've studied Sproutcore, and it has an extremely elegant design and a powerful framework. I know it is not mature, but people are cleaning it up, and it has Potential. I don't know ActionScript, so I'm curious for some honest reactions from those AS developers.