Adobe campaign attacks Apple for stifling developer creativity

The war of words between Apple and Adobe Systems continues to heat up, with Adobe publishing a series of newspaper advertisements contending that Apple's decision to ban cross-compiler translation tools like its Creative Suite 5 from the iPhone platform undermines creativity and competition. "We Heart Apple" the Adobe advertisement reads. "What we don't love is anybody taking away your freedom to choose what you create, how you create it and what you experience on the web." In addition, Adobe co-founders and chairmen Chuck Geschke and John Warnock published an open letter reading in part "We believe open markets are in the best interest of developers, content owners, and consumers. Freedom of choice on the web has unleashed an explosion of content and transformed how we work, learn, communicate, and, ultimately, express ourselves... If the web fragments into closed systems, if companies put content and applications behind walls, some indeed may thrive--but their success will come at the expense of the very creativity and innovation that has made the Internet a revolutionary force."

In April, Apple rewrote its iPhone Developer Program License Agreement to mandate that all iPhone and iPod touch applications must be written to run directly on the iPhone platform, effectively banning software translation solutions like Adobe's CS5. The change was perceived in many quarters as a direct attack on Adobe--Apple CEO Steve Jobs has both publicly and privately stated his distaste for the Flash multimedia platform.

Jobs subsequently issued an open letter to outline the thinking behind his decision to block support for Flash across devices running the iPhone OS. In summary, Jobs takes issue with Adobe's contention that Flash is an open system, also criticizing security, battery life and touchscreen interaction before arriving at what he calls "the most important reason"--control. "We know from painful experience that letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform," Jobs writes. "If developers grow dependent on third party development libraries and tools, they can only take advantage of platform enhancements if and when the third party chooses to adopt the new features. We cannot be at the mercy of a third party deciding if and when they will make our enhancements available to our developers."

Earlier this month, The New York Post reported Apple now faces a federal antitrust inquiry to determine whether its actions threaten competition by forcing developers to focus on one platform to the exclusion of others. Citing a source familiar with the matter, the Post reports the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are currently in negotiations to determine which organization will initiate the antitrust probe. The report notes that a federal inquiry does not necessarily indicate regulators will take action against Apple, but serves instead to determine whether a full-scale investigation is warranted--if so, Apple likely would receive a subpoena seeking additional information on its decision to update its developer rules.

For more on the Adobe campaign:
- read this ComputerWorld article

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