Adobe, Apple and Technology

This week I watched a feature on Nightly Business Report about Adobe, which is soon releasing a new version of Creative Suite. The aspect of this report that intrigued me is the tussle between Adobe and Apple over the Flash program. Flash, created by Adobe used to run animation and video on Websites, cannot be run on Apple products. Apple representatives claim that Flash slows down mobile device. The result is that areas of Websites are blank when viewed on the I-Pad and I-Phone. Adobe, as would be expected, claims that Apple is wrong about Flash. It basically comes down to business considerations, for Apple is a competitor of Adobe.



This example reminds me that users of technology are at the mercy of the companies that create it. Those who own an I-Phone cannot view Website features using Flash. The people who bought certain e-books on Amazon one day found those books were missing on their Kindles. Amazon was having a dispute with a publisher and stopped providing access to that company's e-books. These are perhaps extreme examples of how access to technology or digital products can be withdrawn when companies decide to engage in business conflicts. They are illustrations, however, of how much consumers depend on the goodwill of businesses. The belief that technology companies will make decisions that benefit consumers may be a little misplaced.