Steve Jobs might have ruled out the possibility of running Adobe Flash on the iPhone or iPad but it seems that the folks at Smokescreen have other ideas. Developed by Chris Smoak, Smokescreen runs entirely in the browser and is a new open-source project aimed at converting Flash to HTML5/Javascript. Smokescreen is a fantastic workaround for people [...]
Steve Jobs might have ruled out the possibility of running Adobe Flash on the iPhone or iPad but it seems that the folks at Smokescreen have other ideas. Developed by Chris Smoak, Smokescreen runs entirely in the browser and is a new open-source project aimed at converting Flash to HTML5/Javascript.
Smokescreen is a fantastic workaround for people who’ve always wanted to run Flash content on the Apple iPhone and iPad. You usually need an Adobe Flash plugin to run flash applications. Somkescreen bypasses this limitation by creating an entirely new Flash player using JavaScript. Simon Willison describes how Smokescreen works in a post on his personal blog:
“It runs entirely in the browser, reads in SWF binaries, unzips them (in native JS), extracts images and embedded audio and turns them in to base64 encoded data:uris, then stitches the vector graphics back together as animated SVG.”
Before you get too excited, I’d like to tell you that Smokescreen comes with its own limitations. Since it runs entirely in the browser, it is a major CPU hog, especially on low-powered mobile devices. When it comes to playing complex animations, its performance leaves a lot to be desired. The slow speed is understandable as JavaScript is slower than a plug-in.
While Smokescreen has some pitfalls, it’s the concept which matters more than the implementation. It illustrates that migrating Flash applications to HTML5 is feasible and augments the case for HTML5 to be the next defacto web standard. With Adobe planning to add mobile acceleration in Flash Player 10.1, Smokescreen also represents an interesting tussle between Flash and HTML5 to rule the web. Check the Smokescreen video demonstration. Inspiring, isn’t it?
To learn more about Smokescreen, check out the demo video on iPad:
While Smokescreen started off with the goal of enabling Flash-based ads on the iPad, it has massive potential to convert all kinds of Flash content to a format that’s compatible with an iPad or iPhone. What do you think?
Note: Smokescreen is still under development and is just available as a preview release.
Melissa Sagemiller
Michelle Behennah
Michelle Branch
Michelle Rodriguez
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