Smokescreen Brings Flash to the iPhone/iPad…Kinda
Smokescreen is a new open-source project that makes it possible to do Flash without the Flash plug-in. It works by converting the Flash SWF file into Javascript/HTML5 on-the-fly. This means that you can view Flash content on devices that otherwise don’t support it, like the iPhone and iPad. Because all the work is being done by the browser, the process is very resource intensive and can be a bit choppy on some content. This is still a new project, though. I think we can expect to see improvements. Especially given the current climate around Flash support and HTML5. Check out the demo for yourself. (via Engadget)
Google Ditches Windows to Improve Security
Google has decided that Windows will no longer be allowed. For most of it’s 10,000 employees, Mac and Linux are now the only options. For those who really love the Windows OS, they will need permission from a CIO or other executive to use it. This comes after the China hacking attacks back in January of this year. Some have said that this move is bogus and won’t actually protect the company from attacks like the one in January, but sources say that the China hack simply stirred up an existing movement for Google to run it’s business using it’s own products. We must also remember that Google Chrome OS will be coming later this year and competes directly with Windows.
Jobs Spills the Beans at D8
Apple CEO Steve Jobs took the stage at D8 and revealed some pretty interesting tidbits. The overall idea that he repeatedly returned to was that Apple is just trying to make a good product. This was part of his answer to a good number of questions, including whether Apple would remove Google from the iPhone/iPad (No), whether Jobs felt that Apple was in a platform war (Nope), and even in relation to the exclusion of Flash. He said Flash simply doesn’t make a good product and that’s why it was left out. He also mentioned that he never had beef with Adobe, but they kept talking and he couldn’t let it slide.
We didn’t set out to have a war over Flash. We made a technical decision. And it wasn’t until the iPad that Adobe raised a stink. They came after us….That’s why I wrote “Thoughts on Flash.”…We were getting tired of being trashed by Adobe in the press.
WWDC Begins Next Week
Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference begins next week. With everything that been going on in the tech sphere recently, it will definitely be interesting to see what Apple will announce. TNW offers up 5 Solid Bets for what we should expect. Arstechnica will be live blogging the event. All Things D suggests that we may see nothing much at all since the new iPhone was already leaked. Stay tuned here as we will be sharing highlights from the event.
Twitter Forces Password Updates
For some odd reason, Twitter has pushed out a bunch of password update emails. This was surprising to me since I rarely ever go to the site itself to login. I stick to one client and don’t give out my login/pw to third party services (they should be using OAuth anyway). This indicates to me that something more sinister than simple phishing could be going on, but it could also just be Twitter being extremely over protective. In any case, be careful out there.
“Password resets are a standard operating procedure if we see anything even close to fishy related to an account in an effort to keep people safe”.