• Key point: It’s not getting on the iPhone due to technology reasons. Steve Jobs’ 1,657-word manifesto on Flash is a really interesting document on the nature of one of Silicon Valley’s biggest fights. We don’t think Jobs has ever been this open. We’d like to see him keep this up in the future. It really makes his points seem reasonable. Here’s a summary that’s about a fifth of the size.

First: Let’s get this out of the way

• no Steve doesn’t mention the
  kerfuffle between Apple and Gizmodo over the leaked iPhone
• no Flash won’t be getting on the
  iPhone anytime soon, so lose
  those dreams now, guys

Cutting his six points to three

• one Flash is a closed, proprietary standard, and Apple’s goals for the Web are to use open standards such as HTML5. And lots of sites use these already.
• two Flash is another thing that has to run on a device that needs to be as lightweight as possible. This affects phone performance as well as battery life.
• three Flash is a technology that’s designed for PCs, not touchscreens. Plus, Adobe has been bad about supporting our platforms in the past, and could repeat here.

Key quote from his Steveness

• Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice. Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards – all areas where Flash falls short.
• Steve Jobs • Sticking the dagger into the company’s technology. His main point? Flash isn’t a platform designed for mobile phones, and as he’s trying to push for the strongest app development on the platform he can, he wants to avoid putting a technology on his phones that adds one more thing to the load. But he’s clear that it’s not because of competitive reasons, like everyone thinks it is. We’re still not convinced. source

• one Apple sits on the steering committee of the task force that raided Jason Chen’s house.
• two Jason Chen, as you might imagine, owns a lot of computers; here’s what got taken away.
• three It’s still inconclusive as to whether the search warrant was legal. Some say yes; some no.

• NO customs came to their senses, approved the tablet source

• yes There is an investigation regarding the lost iPhone that showed up on Gizmodo earlier this week.
• no Gizmodo has yet to be contacted in the case. But there could be criminal action in the case. source

• It’s okay. The scenarios aren’t that clear. But it’s good looking. [Steve Jobs] does good design, and [the iPad] is absolutely a good example of that.
• Bill Gates • Discussing the iPad yesterday, in blunt terms. The former Microsoft CEO and Chairman has a history of being a straight-shooter when he needs to be, but has also praised Steve Jobs in the past for his ability to save Apple (and then some). But dude doesn’t think the iPad is gonna change the world. source

• 8.75
  million the number of iPhones (including one prototype) that sold last quarter
• 133%
  boost the year-over-year increase from
  last year source

• Faced with this surprisingly strong U.S. demand, we have made the difficult decision to postpone the international launch of iPad by one month, until the end of May.
• A statement from Apple • Regarding the company’s decision to delay the international release of the tablet which we’re currently using to read tweets while blogging (Twitterrific for the win). The company says that they’ve already shipped half a million iPads but it appeared demand in the U.S. would top expectations for at least the next several weeks. We blame the awesome Reuters app. source