back to article Hack forces Flash onto iPad

Software hobbyists have defied Steve Jobs by creating a hack that allows Flash to run on iPads, albeit with limitations. Comex - the hacker responsible for the iPad "Spirit" jailbreak - has circumvented Apple's iPad Flash ban by coding an iPad port of Adobe's Flash runtime for Android, TGDaily reports. The so-called Frash is …

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  1. chivo243 Silver badge
    Headmaster

    Video?

    I see blank white space.... has GodJobs already pulled this off of the Reg?

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    ...and?

    Wooptie fuckin' do!

  3. Ritchie1987
    Thumb Up

    At Last!

    If theres one thing the iPad needs its flash! Nothing more annoying than when I'm surfing the web and get to a page that requires flash so I have to get my laptop out. Apple should have done this from the start, I imagine there will be alot more jailbroken iPads around once this is released, all of which won't be spending money at the app store: bad luck apple.

    Note that I do support HTML5, I just think its best waiting until the standard is finished and widely available before giving it a big push. Love it or hate it Flash is a very important part of the web and isn't going to go away overnight.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Stop

      RE: At Last!

      "If theres one thing the iPad needs its flash! Nothing more annoying than when I'm surfing the web and get to a page that requires flash so I have to get my laptop out."

      The alternative argument is this "If there's one thing the web doesn't need, it's Flash"

      "Note that I do support HTML5, I just think its best waiting until the standard is finished and widely available before giving it a big push. Love it or hate it Flash is a very important part of the web and isn't going to go away overnight."

      The more people who fail to bend over and take the Adobe Flash-dildo, the sooner it will go away. I've never liked it. Annoying adverts (some with noise), pointless games, extra loading times and worst of all, the fan in every single one of my laptops has made a noise like a faulty washing machine whenever Flash is doing much at all.

      I'm tempted to go out and try some Apple gear, just because they seem to be hinting at a Flash-free, non-proprietary future more than anyone else... who knows maybe they've got some other things right too!

  4. Greg J Preece

    A man with taste

    Trogdor and Alien Hominid - excellent games.

    Seems to run pretty damned well, actually. Not bad for a cross-platform hack, considering Flash is supposed to be a horrible piece of shit that would crash the iPad into the ground...

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Well, that pretty much proves it

    If you can get Flash on an iPad and make provision so that it doesn't crash the device if Flash bombs out, there is no practical reason to NOT have Flash on there.

    People would however have access to the millions of flash games that are COMPLETLEY FREE!

    That's why Jobs doesn't like people using his devices to access Flash content, because if people can play free games on the internet, they won't buy the paid for ones on the app store.

    It's one thing to offer a completley new and better service and make money out of it. It's another to put barriers in place to stop people from doing something just so you can sell them something else.

    But people go along with it like the sheep they are.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Erm...

      Oh noes! If there are free Flash games to play people will stop playing the thousands of COMPLETELY FREE games on the App Store. Or, maybe, just maybe, they won't you frakking retard.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        RE: Erm...

        From freedom to use the internet as you like to the walled garden of being an Apple consumer.

        Appletard or not, sadly the point seems lost on you anyway.

      2. Cameron Colley

        RE: Erm...

        You're right, of course, that the OP misses the point -- sing as most games that are available free on Flash sites are probably also available free from the AppStore.

        But, what people forget is that for every app writer in the store there's at least one Mac, one iPhone (if not one of each generation, and a developer's fee paid to Apple. I wonder if that's why Apple want the store used?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          RE: RE: Erm

          "sing as most games that are available free on Flash sites are probably also available free from the AppStore."

          Probably? You don't even KNOW!

          There are free games on the app store, but many of the paid for ones are just mashups of stuff that has been available for free in flash format for ages.

          It's that stuff that Jobs doesn't want people to have access to, he knows taht games are going to be big on the ipad, he doesn't want Flash games availiable because they compete, it's as simply as that.

          1. Cameron Colley

            RE: RE: RE: Erm

            ""sing as most games that are available free on Flash sites are probably also available free from the AppStore."

            Probably? You don't even KNOW!"

            No, I don't know because I don't own any Apple products or have any Apple software installed on any machine I own. I was basing that upon comments made here when people suggest that Apple devices can only install from the app store for financial reasons -- someone will always post to say that "games are all free so Steve can't be making any money". I was merely suggesting a way Steve could be making some money from those games.

            I'm sure there are other reasons for Apple devices being tied to the Apple store, but I was pointing out that even free games could make Apple some money.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        RE: Erm...

        "Oh noes! If there are free Flash games to play people will stop playing the thousands of COMPLETELY FREE games on the App Store. Or, maybe, just maybe, they won't you frakking retard."

        Obviously common sense is anaethema to many readers of El Reg, judging by the number of downvotes your post got. I think that speaks volumes about the wisdom, open-mindedness and logic being exhibited around here!

    2. ThomH

      That's not why

      It may be a factor but there's not enough evidence to conclude that wanting to make money from the App Store is the sole or primary factor. You seem to write off questions of ego, software stack support (in terms of fixing bugs, ensuring the code is kept up-to-date with new hardware and other OS developments) and ignore that the current positions were entrenched long before the iPad.

      Regardless of your opinion of Apple, boiling it down to just one issue is ridiculous.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        RE: That's not why

        "current positions were entrenched long before the iPad."

        Yes, and deliberatley so. The App Store has been around long before the iPad, besides big businesses do long term plan stuff you know.

        Besides, these "convinient reasons" to not like flash have always existed and have never proved to be massive problem generators, but only now does Apple decide to prevent it's install on a device that is primarily designed to make people buy from / use stuff from the App Store.

        Yeah, pull the other one mate.

  6. hi_robb
    Jobs Halo

    Altogether now

    "Flash ahh ah saviour of the universe"

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Coat

      I Love You Flash!

      But we've only got 14 hours to save the Earth!

    2. Lexxy

      I Love You Flash!

      He's for everyone of us,

      Stand for everyone of us,

      He'll save with a mighty hand,

      Every man every woman Every child,

      - with a mighty flash!

      1. Doshu
        Boffin

        Not world-changing perhaps

        But a really cool tech trick nonetheless, imo.

        Keep up the fine work!

  7. Thomas 18
    Flame

    hah 1 man does what apple couldnt manage in 5 years

    <3 now we don't have to buy any more crappy apps eh. Just get that keyboard working sharpish eh.

    1. Sean Timarco Baggaley
      FAIL

      WTF?

      Why the hell would Apple be involved in porting a rival company's software?

      Most of the flash crap you see embedded on websites assumes you have a WIMP UI running on your computer and has absolutely no clue how to deal with a touch-based UI.

      Besides, if you really love Flash so damned much, why aren't you using an Android device?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Jobs Horns

        @ Sean Tidemarko Bumboy

        If you love Apple so much, why don't you go live there?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Paris Hilton

        Eh

        Funny that, we do a SaaS product which uses some flash to allow for drag and drop, works perfectly on touchscreen HP and Acer desktop PC's

        One of the interesting things is when we get a tech question from a fanboi about why the drag and drop doesnt work on the iPad we tell them its a poor hardware choice that is limiting them, now thats priceless!

        Talking of Android, got the Samsung Galaxy S for the missus yesterday, was a damn good swap!

        I will be buying an iPad when its gets jailbroken to run Android 2.2

        Paris, brighter than Sean and better looking as well!

      3. Lance 3

        @Sean

        Apple handles Java on the Mac. Typically it was Sun that ported it, but Apple handles it for OS X.

        How does Flash compete with Apple? What competing software does Apple sell? If you are talking about HTML 5, that is not Apple software. All Flash does is allow developers to bypass Apple and their app store.

  8. JaitcH
    Jobs Horns

    Giving Jobs something to do other than smart arse remarks

    Jobs obviously needs something to do other than to utter flatitudes (aka verbal diarrhoea) about software fixes (which still don't fix the REAL problem), how to hold iCrap phones, etc.

    Given his apparent mental challenges to anyone challenging The Jobs Commandments with respect to verboten software and applications will likely give him real to challenge him.

    Obviously he isn't THAT smart. Apple computers were crippled shortly after the initial D-I-Y friendly models which affected their ratio to PC's; now he is repeating the effort to eventually lose the war against Android software. Tunnel visioned AND short-sighted.

    1. The Other Steve
      FAIL

      So tunnel visioned and short sighted ...

      ... that his tiny company makes no money at all and he himself is virtually a pauper. Oh, no, wait

      1. JEDIDIAH
        Linux

        Apple is still a failure at general purpose computing.

        >... that his tiny company makes no money at all and he

        > himself is virtually a pauper. Oh, no, wait

        His last attempt at a walled garden ensured that the original inventor of the consumer computer was left on he sidelines and marginalized for the next 25+ years of computing history.

        Apple is doing great now as a company that succeeds at souped up Walkmans.

        He's great at being a media monopolist too.

  9. The BigYin

    iPod

    If Frash lands on the iPhone, does that mean it will land on the iPod too? That'd be nice.

    1. Mike G

      yes

      Yep developer of this says it'll be possible to have this on all ios devices above an ipod touch 3g

  10. Ralph B
    FAIL

    Flush

    > a hack that allows Flash to run on iPads, albeit with limitations.

    Limitations, eh? So, it runs as badly on iPad as it does on Windows then, eh?

    1. some vaguely opinionated bloke

      Shirley...

      ... that means it runs just as well?

      1. Ralph B

        Roger

        Roger that ... and don't call me Shirley.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Flame

    But developers might not like this...

    Whatever they want you to think: it's not Jobs creating a walled garden, it's developers building the eco-system that love this.

    Look what Flash has done with lack of control: free games, free apps, horrible coding (it's not Flash, killing your machine, it's the developer writing horrible code). Those things are nice for a quickie or twos but do not bring neither added value to the user or to an independent software developer.

    BTW: Free games and apps are available on iTunes as well but they need to emulate (hence benefit) the overall quality of paid counterparts.

  12. Seanie Ryan
    Alert

    just to clear up and ask the relevant question

    suppose first of all, fair play to him... good effort.

    @various, its not that Apple couldnt, its that they _Wouldnt_ (their choice really, no-one elses)

    so, the big burning questions are : Does it actually kill the battery life? Does performance die? Does it crash? Can you use all the online apps, that were designed for using a keyboard, with just a touch interface?

    nothing else matters much really.

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What about my device?

    Hey, I've got a device that has full keyboard, takes SIM cards, has multiple USB ports, can get WiFi and 3G, AND supports FLASH. It's half the cost of the IPad and does everything the IPad does and more!.

    It's a laptop!!!!!

    1. Danington the Third
      Grenade

      Well La Di Da.

      BUT can you play Angry Birds on it? I THINK NOT.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Break out the Bofors

    Lawyers incoming, 9 'O' clock....

  15. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    Why?

    "Software hobbyists have defied Steve Jobs by creating a hack that allows Flash to run on iPads"

    Why bother? The only things I use Flash for on my home computer are the BBC iPlayer, 4OD and YouTube. Turning Flash off was one of the best moves I ever made!

    Now, it makes sense for me to want to visit YouTube on my iPhone from time to time but I feel no need to do any of the following:

    1, Play pointless Farmville-style games

    2, Watch entire TV shows from iPlayer, 4OD, SeeSaw etc (I have a real computer and/or Cable TV Video on demand for that)

    3, Be exposed to annoying adverts (particularly that one with the buzzing bee!)

    So I don't need it (or want it!) and I'm probably representative of a large chunk of the iPhone user base...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      FAIL

      Re: Why?

      "So I don't need it (or want it!) and I'm probably representative of a large chunk of the iPhone user base..."

      Well that's lucky, 'cos St Jobs doesn't even give you a choice in the matter.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Paris

    comes to you iPad! just make sure you don't too close

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