The new Apple iPad does not really have many real shortcomings. Reviewers and Pundits can complain about the lack of USB ports and a webcam, or how heavy the unit weighs. The one unquestionable aspect where most people claim the iPad fails is its inability to do display Flash.
The latest Good E-Reader news has a new company by the name of RipCode coming to the rescue with an innovative application that bypasses Apple’s blocking of Flash. What they do is transcoding Adobe Flash video to play right in Apples Safari web browser, much like you can stream various video codec’s over your home network.
Their program named “TransAct Transcoder V6″ can intercept Adobe Flash-based file or live video” and translate the video into a format compatible with both the iPhone and the iPad. As the company points out in its blog post, Flash is used in a number of settings, especially live streaming of news and sports and other video content. And while HTML5 is one solution, it is not yet widely adopted.
While Apple has not publically intervened in this application yet, and it is unknown how they will respond. Some people claim Apple will simply add a firmware update patch to block some aspects of the program. Other people say that website owners will need to install some backend programming in order to optimize this new way of video streaming. Allot of website owners may be unwilling to change the way that their backend works on a new app that may, or may not catch on.
AT&T which is the major 3G provider for the iPad in the United States sees this new development as a win-win situation. Many hold-outs that are passing on the iPad for new slates to be released later in the Year such as the HP Slate, Dell Slate, Google Slate, Microsoft Courier and others for the main reason for Interactive Web support. The more customers AT&T locks up in long term contracts the more financially viable they become and look at the new program as the final incentive people need to buy the iPad.
Michael Kozlowski is the Editor in Chief of Good e-Reader. He has been writing about audiobooks and e-readers for the past ten years. His articles have been picked up by major and local news sources and websites such as the CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and Verge.