Make me an app that would auto-sync the URLs of all my currently open tabs to a shortened URL that I could syndicate at will.

For example

http://tabs.to/mercurious would redirect to the 11 browser tabs that I have open right now, in your browser.

I suppose it could be built as a Firefox plugin and companion website that syndicates vanity URLs and offers a social API to disseminate into other services.

It would contribute towards the notion of MEMEX, by putting the live trail of my research in front of a “camera” — a social feed, in actuality.

It would serve the function and purpose of this MEMEX accessory, illustrated in the figure:

Steve Jobs “just says no” to Flash on iPhone. Well, on first glance, that’s just what he says now, and we all know, like a good episode of Lost, there’s always more to unpack and nothing is what it seems. Considering Adobe’s product line, the so-called “missing middle Flash product” suitable for the iPhone doesn’t yet exist. The middle product refers to something between Flash Player for the desktop and Flash Lite for mobile devices. But, considering the pipeline, it’s only a matter of time before Adobe AIR Mobile hits iPhone and just about every other mobile device, smack dab in the middle of the entire mainstream interactive media ecosystem.¹

Despite all the nay-saying, Adobe seems determined to get Flash on OS X Touch.

The brilliance of both Apple and Adobe waiting for Adobe AIR Mobile to launch is that it addresses all issues and pleases both parties politically:

• AIR Mobile is likely to be built upon AJAX, WebKit and Flash Player with the ActionScript 3.0 VM, as it is on the desktop, so it will be robust, efficient, modern and support both Apple’s and Adobe’s standards. It will please developers, designers, open standards proponents, lovers of proprietary goodness, and every other regular user who just wants everything to just work.
• AIR Mobile will solve the installation and distribution problem inherent in Flash Lite. Flash Player for the desktop has never been about standalone application installation. AIR on the desktop bridges this gap. It’s only a matter of time before Adobe sends AIR into the mobile device space and allows creators to put mobile app icons on standby screens with a few clicks. Just think Apple AppStore, or jailbreak AppTapp for Adobe Mobile AIR.
• AIR Mobile will bridge the fading distinction between web – desktop – mobile by allowing creators to write software in one environment (eg. Flex Builder) and distribute codebase to all three of these crucial platforms in a truly hybrid sense.
• It’s really no coincidence that Apple and Adobe are both investing heavily in products named “Air” — the notion of the data-cloud, cloud-sourcing, everyware, and webware is nascent. Narrow-minded jargon-lovers will call it Web 3.0, but intelligent folks will hopefully leave this lame version number moniker behind and use the appropriately visionary language espoused here.

Multi-touch API is the key

The central unresolved issue that remains is a multi-touch API. Any version of Flash for iPhone will need to have its intrinsic APIs updated for multi-touch and that will need to translate to a higher-level ActionScript object so that designers and developers can trap events related to multi-touch gestures. Without gestures like pinch, flick, zoom and others, it’s really pointless to put Flash on iPhone.

At the end of the day, talk about politics, performance and battery life are probably just the red-herrings that both Apple and Adobe need to work out the vexing issue of multi-touch APIs. In fact, it will probably take a few years before all platforms (Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android and iPhone) all reckon with multi-touch on all levels of hardware and software.

The alleged YouTube Mobile Safari plugin in OS X Touch 2.0 beta is probably all the beehive needs to chill out and give Apple and Adobe the breathing room they need to get multi-touch worked out, and deploy Mobile AIR on a dizzying and divergent array of devices, platforms and crotchety carriers.

Previously:

• YouTube plugin for Mobile Safari Suggests No Flash in iPhone 2.0←
• Will iPhone Ever Run Flash?←

Footnotes

1. This is based only pure postulation and not informed by any confidential Adobe insight.

Specula-palooza

Risking iPhone coverage overexposure, today we ponder one of the most interesting questions about the future of Flash, iPhone and web standards. Despite assurances by Uncle Walt that Apple and Adobe are hard at work on a Flash Player for iPhone, plenty of naysayers, skeptics, and player-haters have voiced strong speculations that Flash will never appear on the iPhone for strategic, practical and technical reasons. A quick scan of comments on various iPhone related entries across the web reveals an almost universal plea amongst everyday users indicating that a dearly missed feature from Mobile Safari is the presence of a mainstream multimedia plugin. In fact, the world’s most popular piece of software in history, is well known to be absent from iPhone.¹

Mobilizing the Means of Production

Those who have written about why iPhone should not have a Flash Player don’t mask their agendas. These voices are usually programmers and developers who have always been hostile to Flash, mostly because it threatens their grip on the means of production, by bringing software and interface design to the masses. Indeed, we’ve seen the worst and the best of the web, as a result. Furthermore, because Flash has always been a mainstream, populist, albeit proprietary media format, it has been deployed for reach and ease of creation, rather than robust performance. When imagining a Flash Player for iPhone, its high-octane thirst for processor cycles does not bode well for battery life.

Monopolizing Web Standards

The second significant argument against iPhone Flash is Apple’s strategy to deploy its WebKit “web standards” platform for all third-party application development. Indeed, the recently redesigned Apple.com site has reduced its use of Flash significantly, in favor of JavaScript and browser based features, so-called AJAX. The argument goes that Apple doesn’t want to forsake its influence on the consumer-level interface design market by inserting Adobe’s trojan horse into the battlefield.² This perspective does make a lot of sense, but leaves out a tremendous amount of nuance, that we’ll investigate here.

A Muted Voice

The assumption that web standards based technology, such as JavaScript, can wholly replace Flash functionality is only somewhat true, especially on iPhone.³ Certainly, the support of JavaScript and its embrace by the web developer community over the past three to five years has changed the face of the web, earning the popular title of version 2.0. However, Flash offers some essential multimedia capabilities that JavaScript alone cannot yet offer. This includes audio support. It’s no coincidence that Bejeweled for iPhone is mute. Especially considering that many iPhone users may have stereo headsets plugged in during use, there are unimaginable uses for audio based applications, especially when combined with locative media technologies. Imagine a sort of audiopedia. The differences don’t start and end with audio support, however. Even Apple’s newly touted Web Gallery feature, part of a .Mac subscription with the iLife personal media suite needs to use Flash for its carousel photo browsing interface.⁴ Indeed, only the Flash Player offers the multimedia engine to manipulate the images as a responsive interface with the reach required on this consumer grade product.

I Want My MTV

Certainly, the most common deployment of Flash Player on the web recently is for web video. It was almost shocking to watch the FLV video format surpass RealPlayer, Windows Media and QuickTime as the most important, influential web video format, in what seemed like a matter of months, with much thanks to YouTube and others. A recent Adobe Flash Player 9 public beta featured H.264 video support, which seems part of its strategy to preserve the dominance of Flash video, especially as Apple and Google migrate towards this non-Flash based video standard. However, until the myriad of embedded SWF FLV players on perhaps billions of web pages get updated to auto-detect the client and deliver the appropriate video by codec, the web will still appear to be littered with missing plugins on Mobile Safari.

Assumptions and Speculations

Let’s proceed with the assumption that Walt Mossberg was correct, and indeed, Apple and Adobe have reached an agreement to release Flash Player iPhone in some manifestation, at some time. Of course, he could be blindly speculating like the rest of us, just running on the fact that it feels crazy for Flash not to be there. But, let’s hope he’s as well-connected and respected as they say he is.⁵ There are several scenarios for the future of Flash iPhone, which should only contribute to the over-saturated discourse by further complicating the biased opinions with an understanding of Adobe’s perspective, previously, and conveniently left out of the discussion.

A Straight Port of Flash Player 9

In this scenario, Adobe compiles the current version of the desktop Flash Player 9 for the ARM processor of iPhone. This scenario would allow all of the existing web-based Flash content to function within Mobile Safari. Authors who create content in ActionScript 3 would enjoy a noticeable improvement of performance and energy efficiency on the iPhone, since this type of content would play in the more recent Flash Virtual Machine, a marked improvement over previous runtime environments, across Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. However, the vast majority of Flash content on the web right now was created in ActionScript 1.0 and 2.0, and so does not take advantage of the improvements to the runtime. Indeed, the skeptics are correct when they assume that running web pages with Flash content, even animated banners, would put an unfortunate drain on the battery.However, what’s crucially missing from a simple straight-on port of Flash Player 9 for iPhone is a substantial confrontation with the multi-touch interface. This is likely the deal-breaker for this scenario. Although, ActionScript and Flash button symbols might offer some means of developing and designing for the iPhone’s multi-touch interface, it’s more than likely that despite the best efforts of Flash coders, the existing means to respond to mouse-based interactions will fall short of the requirements needed to respond to multi-touch. Gestures like pinch, tap-zoom, and flick are difficult to imagine as ActionScript events. Indeed, Adobe probably needs to reckon with the reality that ActionScript needs a true multi-touch API. This could be one of the many reasons why we can only assume that iPhone Flash is in development now, and may be for quite some time, especially based on Apple’s delay in releasing an official iPhone SDK.

Probability: Very Low

Flash Player 10

Looking into 2008, perhaps third or fourth quarter, we have to assume that Adobe will continue to release improved versions of the Flash Player. Version 10 is likely to provide Adobe with the required release cycle needed to fully contend with Apple’s native iPhone application API and SDK release schedule. It’s much more likely that ActionScript libraries will be written that allow true response to the multi-touch gestures, such as pinching, flicking and zoom-tapping. It’s really difficult to imagine a Flash Player on iPhone without this crucial ActionScript API.Furthermore, this allows Adobe to potentially release new versions of the Flash and Flex authoring tools that will compile in Flash Player 10, and subsequently, support a runtime environment that is tuned to the needs of the ARM architecture and precious battery life. It’s been frustrating to read the Flash iPhone haters and their blatant neglect for Adobe’s expertise in the area of building a Flash Player for mobile devices. There has simply been no mention of the possibility of Flash Lite for iPhone.

Probability: Medium

Flash Lite 2.1

Flash Lite is a very special version of the Flash Player for mobile devices, such as Symbian Series 60, Windows Mobile and others. It is not the Flash Player that typically sits in an embedded browser, like the vast majority of Flash content out there. Instead, Flash Lite content exists as standalone, full-screen, mobile applications, or more appropriate mobile media implementations such as a standby screens, wallpapers, screen-savers, and even the device’s native UI.Not only is Flash Lite compiled to the particular device, and so is limited by its processing and memory capabilities, but it also has proven to be very energy efficient, accordingly. Indeed, authors must specifically design and code for Flash Lite. It is in no way, a conversion from desktop Flash content. In this manner, designers and developers alike, are rightly forced to contend with the requirements of mobile media, in terms of interface, content and use-case considerations.It’s possible that Adobe could port Flash Lite to iPhone instead of the expected desktop Flash Player. In this regard, Flash Player would exists as a widget on the SpringBoard home-screen of iPhone, and not as a Mobile Safari plugin. Although it would not fix countless broken plugins in pages that use Flash Player, it would offer mobile media design opportunities for Flash on iPhone. Specifically, Flash Lite already offers APIs to interact with mobile phone specific features, such as triggering the vibrate, detecting battery life, and cell network signal strength. These capabilities are not offered on the desktop version of Flash Player, and may or may not be available in Apple’s official native iPhone application API or SDK. Only time will tell.In this scenario, Flash Lite becomes an avenue for designers and developers familiar with Adobe’s toolsets to create applications that exist as standalone native experiences, rather than embedded modules of Mobile Safari. In many ways, this supports the special needs of mobile media more appropriately than simply making the familiar Flash just work. Imagining a port of Flash Lite for iPhone could mean the opening of a vast market for native iPhone widget applications, designed by designers, and not restricted to hard-core Objective C programmers. Indeed, this is a threatening prospect for those that are eager to carve out a niche in iPhone application development. However, Flash Lite 2.1 probably does not offer the means to react to multi-touch gestures like pinch, flick and tap-zoom, and so it’s probably not the version we will eventually see.

Probability: Low

Flash Lite 3

Just as the desktop Flash Player is constantly updated, the mobile Flash Lite player is also expected to be evolving. It is said, that a forthcoming version of the Flash Lite player, perhaps 3, will bridge the gap between the embedded browser Flash content and the standalone mobile specific Flash Lite content.⁶ In other words, Flash Lite 3 could play not just in the mobile device’s web browser, but could also run within its native operating system environment. This jives with Adobe’s efforts to seed the use of Flash outside of the browser and distribute a desktop based native runtime, called AIR, the Adobe Integrated Runtime. In addition, a Flash Lite 3 would address the concerns of a multi-touch API, and the required energy efficiencies for battery life, memory usage and processor cycling, as well as provide ActionScript to trigger mobile device specific features intrinsic to Flash Lite.In this case, Flash would exist in two manifestations on iPhone: as standalone native applications on the SpringBoard home screen, and as a Mobile Safari plugin, playing the usual desktop based content. This gives developers, designers and end-users the best of all worlds. Flash content can be created with mobile use in mind, considering the unique user interface and energy efficiency required. Everyday users will enjoy not only the full multimedia web they’ve grown accustomed to on the desktop, but also will enjoy a market of native mobile applications that arguably, the Objective C programmers of the world, simply cannot singlehandedly service.

Probability: Medium-High

Conclusions

Flash will appear on iPhone eventually. There is no doubt that Adobe will roadmap this device into its strategy for Flash Player, Flash Lite, or both.Yes, there are significant performance, interface and user considerations that must be addressed as Flash appears on iPhone. Adobe has already demonstrated an accomplished ability to service the mobile media market. It’s only a matter of when, and what form iPhone Flash takes as it appears beneath our beloved glass multi-touch screens.One can only imagine the pressure Adobe’s product planners are putting on its Flash Player team to fit iPhone into the needs of the short-term and long-term strategy. In the short term, Adobe needs to get Flash on iPhone within the next three to six months to capture the required developer and designer audience, and compete with the ascendancy of Mobile Safari and native iPhone applications. In the long term, Adobe needs to get it right, and release a iPhone Flash Player that addresses the specific needs of both mobile media and the vast legacy of desktop Flash content out there. A premature release could spell long term disaster for Flash, as it needs to compete with the rapidly expanding Open Source and Web Standards movement. We haven’t mentioned Microsoft’s entry into the web media space with its recently launched Silverlight platform, but until we stumble upon a site that actually uses it, it’s irrelevant.Although there are many who would like Flash to just go away, because it’s not open source, not free, and tends to be used to bombard us with annoying banner ads and horrible interface design models, Flash is not going away anytime soon. However, how Apple and Adobe navigate the uncharted territory of merging mobile and desktop user experiences along with multi-touch interfaces, will certainly determine the relevance of Flash in the years to come.

Footnotes

1. See Adobe statistics on Flash Player downloads.
2. See Roughly Drafted’s analysis.
3. See A List Apart’s analysis.
4. See Cabel Sasser’s Twitter which claims dibs on this observation.
5. See the profile of Walt Mossberg in the New Yorker.
6. Speculative, but based on reliable, but undisclosed interactions with Adobe. Also, see Bill Perry’s entry on the subject.

Update – August 21, 2007

iPhone 1.0.2 has just been released through iTunes, again, apparently just a bug fix maintenance release. The enthusiast community is scrambling to determine if any new features have appeared. Indeed, it is recommended that you restore your iPhone back to its factory state if you’ve applied any mods, as the update may fail otherwise. No word yet on compatibility with mods. Perhaps this update is an attempt by Apple to throttle the modification scene?

Update – August 3, 2007

iPhone 1.0.1 addresses the Audi Bluetooth connection problem as well as resolve the dealer installed iPod connector integration issues both reported here←. Now the phone remains reliably connected to the car system, plugged in or wireless. Furthermore, the audio signal now properly flows into the factory head unit, rather than through the iPhone’s speakers, when plugged in. Bravo Apple for fixing these crucial bugs first.

Update – August 2, 2007

Now that iPhone users have had a day or two to report on the undisclosed updates included in 1.0.1, according to AppleInsider→, this update does include some important fixes and improvements including:

• Call volume adjustment, making calls slightly louder
• Battery charge indicator graphic now properly indicates a fully charged battery
• Safari feels more stable, especially while listening to music in the background
• IMAP email accounts display subfolders
• Passcode lock limits increased
• VPN client improvements

So this update wasn’t as insignificant as we thought. Now, why doesn’t Apple just disclose these features rather than leave it up to the enthusiast community to painstakingly discover them?

Update – August 1, 2007

Indeed, a free software update emerged, iPhone 1.0.1, which is only a security patch and bug fix. The version numbering system is very consistent with Apple’s system of differentiating maintainance and security releases from feature updates. The only reported “feature” included in 1.0.1 seems to be the ability to automatically Bcc: oneself on outgoing mail. I’ve never understood why people do this. Because of this high-priority 1.0.1 update, we’re more cautiously expecting a 1.1 feature update in early Fall, to coincide with the release of Leopard. }

Original Post – July 31, 2007

According to Apple’s VP of iPod Product Marketing, Greg Joswiak, via AppleInsider→, the first free software update for the iPhone should be available shortly. Analyst Mike Abramsky of RBC Capital Markets speculates that the update will include the following features (our further speculations in parenthesis):

1. Chat (iChat?)
2. Picture Messaging (MMS support!)
3. Social Networking (Bluetooth local-area connectivity? MySpace or Facebook applications? SMS-based social tools?)
4. Location-based services (More Google applications?)
5. Home Networking (AirTunes or Apple TV support?)
6. OS X Leopard Integration (More flexible sync services? Disk mode? Dock remote?)

In addition, the predictions continue to express skepticism that 3G network services will arrive anytime soon, with the GSM/EDGE capabilities targeted towards the European launch of the device, despite the far greater prevalence of wireless broadband services and features across the pond. Battery life and form factor issues are cited for the implementation delay. Indeed, Apple is loathe to do anything less than perfectly, as the iPhone itself epitomizes: better to wait and shock the market with product excellence rather than peddle to the mediocracy.

Most notably absent from this prediction is an announcement of a Flash Player for the iPhone’s Safari browser. As any user who frequently browses the web can attest, there is simply too much Flash content out there to consider iPhone a complete web device until the Flash Player arrives.

Impressions.

Although Gizmodo→ is recommending that those who haven’t already early-adopted should wait for the first software update, the iPhone is a stunning achievement. Really the only salient reason offered by Gizmodo for waiting applies to users who constantly MMS and/or SMS to multiple recipients. Despite owning many phones capable of both these features, we must admit that we rarely, if ever, use these features. Otherwise, the iPhone offers a feature set where we find ourselves using it instead of our laptop, perhaps because the elegance of the multi-touch interface makes the conventional OS seem blasé by comparison. Or, maybe it’s that we truly enjoy the personal nature of using the device, and marvel at its ability to overcome the limitations of the screen size, input methods and network capabilities.

Problems.

Update, August 2, 2007: iPhone Sofware Update 1.0.1 delivers the goods→ 

Unresolved issues that are real disappointments.

1. Issue Resolved→  The iPhone Car Bluetooth interface is not working well with my Audi A3 factory Bluetooth integration. Although it pairs beautifully and offers a terrific integration with the navigation system’s interface, the Bluetooth connection does not remain connected, and periodically drops and inconsistently reconnects. Perhaps the polling frequency of the Bluetooth software implementation needs to be adjusted in the forthcoming software updates to more reliably maintain the headset profile connection?
2. Issue Resolved→ The iPod Car integration kit is not working. This extremely expensive, official dealer-installed accessory that allows an iPod connected through the glove box to offer audio playback through the factory unit and charging does not seem compatible with the iPhone. The compatibility warning appears, suggesting the Airplane Mode to be activated. In either setting, the audio does not playback through the system. It is reduced to an inconvenient car charger. This is perhaps our greatest disappointment and we do hope that Apple improves compatibility with various Dock Connector accessories in the future updates.
3. I hate to write about this, but indeed, my first iPhone was a lemon. It froze, crashed and resisted the restore process. AppleCare customer service and my local Apple Retail store offered stellar customer service, however, and gladly replaced my unit, without much hassle. The replaced unit runs flawlessly, and clearly, there was a hardware issue, probably a faulty NAND RAM unit with my first one.

Wish List.

The Top Ten features that we’d love to see in the forthcoming software updates.

1. Junk Mail filter. It’s a shame that junk mail filters have truly become an essential aspect to any usable email client, and anyone who uses a standard POP or IMAP account can attest to the difficulty of using the iPhone email client without spam filtering.
2. Improved Bluetooth implementation. We’re talking full A2DP wireless stereo headset support, more aggressive polling to maintain headset or car kit connections, and full disk mode access via Bluetooth. Basically, a non-crippled, optimized implementation, and that’s not too much to ask.
3. Improved Dock Connector accessory compatibility. Obviously, Apple is worried about the interference caused by the AT&T cellular network frequencies. You’ve heard that distinctive ‘dih-dih-dih-dih’ that interferes with speakers nearby your phone as a call comes in. It would be better if you could accept this interference and enable full compatibility mode for legacy dock connector devices.
4. Disk Mode. You should be able to mount the iPhone as a USB drive and through Bluetooth to exchange files. This should also enable the file based editing of wallpapers and ringtones. In addition, manual media management should be allowed through drag-and-drop control in iTunes, as supported in iPod connections.
5. iChat. Surely, AT&T strong-armed Apple into not including iChat on the initial 1.0 release to swindle customers into opting for biggest SMS account features. It’s no coincidence that even the most expensive plans limit text messaging to 200 per month. However, an iChat client offered by Apple is badly needed.
6. Games. The multi-touch interface, motion sensors and brilliant screen are begging for games. You simply need something to enjoy on this device while you’re in the subway or in other network dead-zones. Not to mention, games are, uh, well, fun.
7. Nike+ compatibility. The Nike Plus system should work on the iPhone. It is not recognized as a compatible accessory.
8. Dock Remote Control. This is perhaps the most elaborate request, that will likely be enabled by a third-party and then absorbed by Apple into a Leopard upgrade release. We’re talking an SMS interface on your laptop/desktop, call control with caller ID, brightness/backlight control, iTunes remote access (so you can play off your iPhone instead of off your main device), and the ability to configure certain settings.
9. iSync Bluetooth synchronization support for Contacts, Calendars, Notes, non-media data. Obviously, Bluetooth is too slow to sync media files. But that feature could be achieved over WiFi, as is implemented on the Apple TV product.
10. iTunes Music Store. We’d like to buy music, movies, TV shows, games and subscribe to Podcasts directly on the device. Maybe it would only work while on a WiFi network until the 3G iPhone arrives, someday.