Mozilla warns on Adobe, Microsoft hidden Web agenda

Mozilla’s Tristan Nitot warns of possible hidden agendas Adobe and Microsoft may have in regards to their Flash and Silverlight technologies, and “the dangers of the proprietary Web”.

“So far there has not been a problem,” Nitot said. “Both Adobe and Microsoft have been willing to give [Flash and Silverlight away] for free. But maybe they have an agenda. They’re not here for the glory - they’re here for the money.” Currently both Microsoft and Adobe make money from their respective Web multimedia software by selling developer kits, but there are now a number of open source projects for developing Flash and less mature, but still active, efforts to create open-source Silverlight development software.

Apparently Adobe’s Flash Player is installed on 98 per cent of all PCs worldwide.

“Freedom to innovate” was something browser manufacturers used to say back in the bad old days of the Browser Wars, as and when when they gained a significant share of the browser market, and was a way of saying “we can call the shots now”.

I don’t think any of them ever enjoyed almost 100 per cent dominance though.

I am a proponent of standards and open source technologies but when a technology has an almost 100 per cent up-take, I can see why it could be considered a de-facto standard of sorts. Albeit a closed source or proprietary technology.

Of course Flash is dominant on PCs (which I assume in this instance solely means the Windows platform), and not Apple, Linux, or other platforms… hence of course the need for open technology and standards.

Especially when proprietary technology may only be available for certain operating systems.