Adobe says you can’t run Flash on Apple devices. Apple says you can’t run Flash on Apple devices. But Chris Smoak? Chris Smoak isn’t going to be told what he can’t do (Lost fans, now’s your chance to make a Locke/”Smoak” Monster joke). Chris has created Smokescreen, a workaround that will allow Flash content to run on the Apple iPhone and iPad regardless of Apple’s staunch refusals.
Adobe says you can’t run Flash on Apple devices. Apple says you can’t run Flash on Apple devices. But Chris Smoak? Chris Smoak isn’t going to be told what he can’t do (Lost fans, now’s your chance to make a Locke/”Smoak” Monster joke). Chris has created Smokescreen, a workaround that will allow Flash content to run on the Apple iPhone and iPad regardless of Apple’s staunch refusals.
Smokescreen was created with the intention of allowing advertisers to continue enjoying the benefits of Flash while reaching Apple’s mobile audience, but the potential for other Flash-based items is clearly there. The official Smokescreen website shows demos of the technology running web videos, and while gaming isn’t mentioned, it’s hard to imagine a world where this doesn’t lead to web-based gaming on Apple devices – be it through Smokescreen or a similar service that will one day be inspired by it.
So how does it work? All flash applications on the web require the Adobe Flash plugin to work – a plugin that Apple refuses to incorporate. Smoak has worked around this by creating an entirely new Flash player using JavaScript.
While Smoak has gotten Flash working on Apple devices, it’s also running a little sluggish in some instances. This is partly because Smokescreen is only a preview, and partly because JavaScript is slower than a plug-in would be. Still – it’s a great first step, and an impressive proof of concept.
Smokescreen may not have us enjoying web-based games on our iPad’s tomorrow, but it lets other developers know that there are ways to get around the Adobe/Apple war. Now we just have to wait and see who’ll pick up the torch and do the same for gaming.
For more information, visit Smokescreen.us.
