Quiet week at Microsoft? Let's talk about Adobe…

I don’t normally get drawn into what Microsoft are saying about Adobe, but it’s obviously a bit quiet in Redmond since the launch of Silverlight 2 and so it’s time for some Adobe-bashing…

Apparently we got caught out spreading FUD to get people to use Flash over Silverlight; “scaring” people by highlighting that it’s penetration not cash which is what ultimately matters to broadcasters. With 98% penetration of Flash Player 9 it makes sense to choose Flash if you want your customers to see your content on the web. Fact.

Meanwhile, we are holding press conferences solely to brief journalists “that Silverlight is unsuccessful and we’re not worried about it”. Yes, that *must* have been the full context of the briefing; nothing to do with the recent launch of Flash Player 10 and all the new capabilities that over 90% of web-connected computers will be able to run within 9 months. 

Anyway, it’s good to know that Microsoft really understand their competition and never spread FUD themselves – take this recently published interview. If you’re using the Flash platform today, then according to Microsoft all you’re doing is “building cartoons”. Nope, you certainly can’t build scalable, secure applications that are maintainable… oh, wait, you mean like Piknik, SlideRocket and blist, or those built by SAP, Intuit and Oracle. 

At least when we compare and contrast competing technologies we try do so with integrity, by comparing current versions and being open about what the strengths and weaknesses of each are.

Maybe some of the Microsoft guys should come to MAX next week and see what the Flash Platform is really capable of… there’s still time to register.

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