ZDNet: The Two Faces of Flash

Open-source software advocates, for instance, argue that
widespread reliance on Flash could slow the spread of Web
services.

“‘If the Web becomes dependent on closed standards, be they
Flash or RealAudio or Windows Media Player, then it becomes
difficult for new browsers to be created, it becomes difficult to
place the Web in embedded appliances, it becomes difficult to have
any experience outside what those companies define,’ said Bruce
Perens, a co-founder of the Open Source Initiative.

“Tight control of the Flash player is necessary to maintain the
integrity and lightweight character of the software, argues
Macromedia’s Lynch. The latest Flash player still weighs in at less
than a megabyte. Allowing outside developers to modify the Flash
player would likely result in bloated code, Lynch said…”

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