iPad vs. Flash

Are Adobe and Apple at war? I doubt it. However, it is an annoyance to work on an iPad and find myself unable to join a Web conference or view an illustration that uses Adobe Flash because the dreaded negative message appears; it becomes suddenly clear that the iPad has limitations.

One might think that the solution is to move to some other tablet that does run Flash. However, my understanding is that Flash does not always work well on tablets. (Apparently, the Flash on phones and tablets isn't the Flash we are used to on desktops and laptops; in other words, it's not so flashy). Besides, if you move to another tablet, you might not be able to run Cut the Rope or the ubiquitous Angry Birds. (Actually, if anyone is interested, my game poison is Scrabble, and, yes, I have it on my iPad, iPhone and home computer. At home, I beat the computer-generated Expert about 1 out of 20 times, and I think she — I can tell she's female from the cartoonish picture — may be cheating. Cheating how? By ensuring that I get crappy letters, that's how. A step down to the level below Expert reverses the trend, and I win 19 of 20. Frankly, I'm chicken to play Master, a step above Expert.)

I visited with an investment wholesaler last week who said he has a large Nissan van, so he may carry various offerings around to give to his constituents. He thought he may not need such a large vehicle any longer, since he has everything on his iPad. He can email virtually any company publication or prospectus on the spot, or he can show and tell. So, short large vans and go long on print cartridges. (By the way, my office recently switched from cartridge-based printers to a laser. We got the per-page cost down — w-a-a-y down — by using black and white.)