Home
entries friends calendar user info Goode Trouble Previous Previous Next Next
I Am My Avatar - Apple ad banned in UK, Tom sides with Apple
Big Warm Fuzzy Public Heart
12:24 pm August 29th, 2008
boutell
[info]boutell
Add to Memories
Tell a Friend
Apple ad banned in UK, Tom sides with Apple
An Apple iPhone ad has been banned in the UK for claiming that "all the parts of the Internet are on the iPhone." The big beef here is that Flash and Java applets don't play on the iPhone.

I'm with Apple on this one. Gee, Adobe, I don't see your proprietary format defined in any W3C standards documents. And Sun took forever and a day to fully open Java and did a horrible job of addressing the many, many, many, many bugs that made Java in web browsers so deeply disappointing. Java applets appear in about 0.00005% of pages... those that have hardly been touched in the last ten years (yes, including my own Fracster).

I don't see why you should be able to define your product as one of the essential "parts of the Internet" and keep it closed up tight at the same time.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

11 comments or Leave a comment
Comments
Thread started by warmbodyreally
warmbodyreally From: [info]warmbodyreally Date: August 29th, 2008 04:43 pm (UTC) (Link)

It's still a part of the internet.
And so is Flash.

if the iPhone doesn't support Flash and Java, "All parts of the internet" are not on the iPhone. So, the ad is misrepresenting the product, whether you like Java or Flash.
(Reply) (Thread)
boutell From: [info]boutell Date: August 29th, 2008 04:57 pm (UTC) (Link)

Re: It's still a part of the internet.
Yeah, but there's a point here where silliness is achieved. If I invent a protocol for finding out if I'm eating cheese, and write a client and server for it, and three people use it, should Apple's ad be held up on my behalf?

...

Okay, so Flash is ubiquitous and my cheese server is not. But I still think it sucks.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
warmbodyreally From: [info]warmbodyreally Date: August 29th, 2008 05:07 pm (UTC) (Link)

Re: It's still a part of the internet.
Steve Wozniak is a true genius. Steve Jobs is an asshole - that's why Woz ain't with Apple. Just because Apple ain't Micropenis, doesn't mean that I should feel pity for them.

That having been said, if there are laws regarding truth in advertising, then they should be enforced. Apple's ad is misleading. Hence, it's banned in the UK. It's apparent you have a bug up your ass about Java - but the phone doesn't support Flash - which is everywhere - , either. Apple has to play by the rules that have been established to protect the consumers from, well, from Apple and Microsoft (& BigOil, GMFordMoCoSmithKlineGlaxo, et al.)
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
boutell From: [info]boutell Date: August 29th, 2008 05:11 pm (UTC) (Link)

Re: It's still a part of the internet.
I suppose. But I couldn't resist taking a poke at the idea that Adobe's proprietary product somehow gets to be considered a crucial part of the Internets. It should at least be questioned.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
sambushell From: [info]sambushell Date: August 29th, 2008 05:38 pm (UTC) (Link)

Re: It's still a part of the internet.
Following this logic, one could not claim macs are fully featured Internet browsing machines, because they don't support ActiveX plugins, which are part of the IE/win browser experience.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
boutell From: [info]boutell Date: August 29th, 2008 05:47 pm (UTC) (Link)

Re: It's still a part of the internet.
VERY good point sir, thank you.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
warmbodyreally From: [info]warmbodyreally Date: August 29th, 2008 06:44 pm (UTC) (Link)

Wish I still had my Linux userpic...
I agree. Fortunately, ActiveX isn't a part of the experience I wish to experience.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
iamo From: [info]iamo Date: August 29th, 2008 09:30 pm (UTC) (Link)

Re: It's still a part of the internet.
Except for the part where no one but Microsoft uses it?

Sorry, Flash is ubiquitous enough that its place as an integral part of the web experience pretty much can't be questioned. Shitty as it is.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
boutell From: [info]boutell Date: August 29th, 2008 10:41 pm (UTC) (Link)

Re: It's still a part of the internet.
Well, yes. I was making a cranky old man argument to call attention to the shittiness of having a quasi-semi-whatever-closed standard for something that is an integral part of the web experience. But yeah, it is.
(Reply) (Parent) (Thread)
Comment by catbear
catbear From: [info]catbear Date: August 29th, 2008 05:20 pm (UTC) (Link)
Standards are not /dictated/ by rubber stamps, but by marketplace acceptance and penetration. Flash and to a lesser but still valid degree Java are absolutely part of the "internet as we know it" experience. The marketing campaign is dead wrong in its claims.
(Reply) (Thread)
Comment by neoliminal
neoliminal From: [info]neoliminal Date: August 29th, 2008 07:30 pm (UTC) (Link)
It doesn't support bit-torrent, which is arguable the most traffic on the internet.
(Reply) (Thread)
11 comments or Leave a comment
profile
Tom Boutell
User: [info]boutell
Name: Tom Boutell
Website: Goode Trouble
calendar
Back November 2009
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
2930
page summary
tags