Frédéric Saunier created a JIRA feature request in the Adobe bug database, asking for an open source version of Adobe Flash Player. In a blog post he has more details on what is meant by that:
A lot of things are currently moving around Flash technology, like the W3C hardly looking for royalty-free, open source solutions for HTML5. Open video player initiative. Silverlight 3 becoming now mature on Windows, Mac, and soon Linux. Google buying On2 video solution (the same video codec still in use by Flash Player). And many other things that some of you even better know than me.
Flash is not only a video and audio player. It has created a community, allowing ton of incredible developments to appear on the Internet. Its powerful capabilities to create user interfaces, Rich Internet Applications must became something that anybody can benefits by open-sourcing what at least can be open-sourced in the current player. Many things are quite over my understanding regarding marketing or legal issues under that. But I want that Adobe knows that people want an open source Flash Player.
Reading what people said on Twitter yesterday following the announce of Google buying ON2and the Ted Patrick’s blog post asking for people to log bugs and feature requests onbugs.adobe.com, I really want to tell Adobe that I want they open-source the Flash Player. I so have a look to the bugs.adobe.com website to find the appropriate issue on which to vote for. Surprisingly nobody never created an issue for it, it’s why I have created one.
I can only second Frédéric’s request and voted for it already – not that I think Adobe is going to react to this request. My experience with the FP-40 bug has showed me, that Adobe isn’t that good at communicating with us – the Flash community.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Glad you support the Flash Player open-sourcing initiative. Thank you to blog this. I also have voted for the FP-40 issue. Note that those days the more I read Twitter, technical or dev blogs on Flash future, the more I understand that bad things will happen to the Flash Player if Adobe does nothing to differentiate Flash Player from its competitors (video or RIA). I think that fully opening the player is the best thing they can actually do to create new opportunities.
I totally agree with you! I’m just not sure there are enough people at Adobe aware of that fact!