Adobe boasts record download and installation numbers for Flash and Air, and Venturebeat claims they are winning the platform race.
But are they really “winning”? Some of the software Adobe makes is a MUST have on any computer, no matter how often you use it, just to allow basic browsing.
The first time you can’t display a site, you’ll click the option to download Flash Player. It’s not a choice you make, you simply don’t want to get stuck while browsing, and whether you visit one Flash-based site or hundreds makes no difference. Adobe says 55% of Internet users installed Flash Player 10 within two months after its release, which is faster adoption then ever before – true, but they forgot to mention the Firefox 3 / Flash bug which literally forced users to upgrade.
Air has gotten 100 Million installs – great number. I think I myself contributed at least 20-25 to that number, how about you? Not because I am so in love with Air, but for one single application – Twhirl, the Twitter client. Want to use Twhirl, need Air, it’s that simple. If you read my Twhirl & Adobe Air: Catch-22 situation, I must have recorded 6-8 installs just in that nightmare, let alone the other PCs I use – hence my estimate of 20. (Btw, I got close to ditching Air, but *chirp failed on me.)
I am not trying to knock Flash or Air, just saying that those big numbers may not mean a whole lot without looking at the facts behind.
not to mention all the old sites that get you to install different versions of flash…
In my experience, whilst quick and small to install, flash and air consistently require re-installation of one kind or another
/rant
Weird, I haven’t had to reinstall flash or air once with daily internet and app use.
The question is, how many of these 100 Million installations are really using AIR Apps.
[..] Adobe’s Hot Air(cloudave.com) [..]