When the first iPhone released, the lack of support for Adobe Flash was a big deal. Desktop versions of website wouldn't be able to display all the content available and the experience would be "incomplete."

Android announced the operating system would support Flash, it was originally seen as an attack against Apple's closed operating system and how Android was a "step-up" against iOS.

Now with iOS at version 5.1 and Android 4.0 in the wild, does having Adobe Flash even matter?

Adobe Flash is an essential component to watch video on the web. It's not perfect - it can cause browser crashes and sometimes leave your computer vulnerable to attack but one particularly common problem is with updating it or knowing which version of Flash you are currently running

Here is a simple step-by-step guide to checking which version of Flash you are using and how to update it and change update settings if necessary.

In a shock move, Adobe has said that it plans to stop further development on the mobile version of its Flash Player.

In a leaked document sent to individuals “close to the matter” and published today by ZDNet, Adobe states that it will continue to support current versions of mobile Flash Player, but will now turn its focus to HTML 5 and embedded Flash and Air apps for mobile.

Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our source code licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations. We will continue to support the current Android and PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates.

It seems from this move that Adobe has admitted defeat in trying to push Flash content to mobile devices, and is resigned to the fact that HTML 5 is the way forward. This could even mean that it turns its attentions away from Flash on the desktop too, in order to invest more heavily on AIR and HTML 5 instead.

According to ZDNet, we can expect a detailed official announcement from Adobe today regarding the withdrawal of support for Flash on mobiles. We'll post an update with a link to the news.

Adobe Flash Player is now one of the most ubiquitous applications on the net powering everything from YouTube to ultra slick gaming apps. It's about to experience a significant transformation however according to Adobe developer John Nack who says that Flash is going to be bolstered by an entirely new graphics programming language called 'Hydra'. The language has been specifically created by Adobe for Flash and according to Nack, will allow Flash to run an unlimited number of imaging effects.

This opens up many exciting new possibilities for Flash according to Nack:

Hydra is tuned to run ridiculously fast on modern graphics cards (GPUs), and it'll be tuned for multi-core CPUs as well. The same Hydra technology is being used to power the fast filters in After Effects CS3. Therefore an AE plug-in developer could effectively also develop runtime effects for Flash, while a Flash developer could leverage her work inside AE.

For those who can't wait to experiment with the new language, you can download a preview from Adobe Labs. However, according to some developers who've already given it a test-run, it's still prone to several bugs. Manuel's Coding Blog points out that many image-type functions are not working properly and most annoyingly, it hogs your system resources whilst rendering, even when minimised. Nevertheless, this sneak peek of Flash Player 10 featuring Hydra from the MAX Chicago conference indicates that there are some exciting times ahead for Flash:

Adobe Labs, never the sort of developer to take a proper break, has released version 10 of their ubiquitous Flash Player. Although the application is still in development, you can still give it a try by downloading it from the Adobe Labs page. Flash Payer 10, code named "Astro", comes with a number of major enhancements.

In a bid to keep programmers away from Microsoft's Silverlight, Adobe have added many customization features.  For one, you can create your own filters and effects and share them on the Adobe Exchange site with other users. It's worth taking a look at this site as there are already a lot of excellent elements available. If you have the Pixel Bender Toolkit set up, you'll be glad to know that you can still use it to create your own graphics and effects.

Another way of keeping the developer crowd happy is by integrating a number of APIs for 3D effects, drawing, and sound. Adobe claims 3D effects will be "fast, lightweight and native" and that, thanks to the APIs, even more advanced effects will be easier to create by anyone. As for drawing, the most notable feature is that you'll be able to draw "sophisticated shapes" directly instead of painfully coding them. Last but not least, audio enhancements will come with the use of both Pixel Bender and ActionScript, which should let you carry out "application-level audio mixing". Looking into the release notes, I've also noticed a new Speex Audio Codec and dynamic streaming.

But enough words, the best way to really experience the new features in Flash Player 10 is to install it, and watch the demo video created by Adobe.

It's no secret that Joost hasn't been the success story its makers intended and so it seems they've decided to relaunch the TV app without the client. Yes, from now on Joost have announced they are a web-only application which doesn't require any client download like before.

The main changes are that Joost now uses Adobe Flash to play movies and streams, has increased the amount of social interaction that's possible between users and vastly increased the amount of content available on the site. This is a clear step in the direction of sites like Hulu and YouTube which are Joost's main competitors. The new site is definitely slick allowing you to slide between clips effortlessly, watch the most popular clips or shows of the day and the general mix of stuff is good - everything from Usher videos to documentaries on Bruce Lee. The only annoying thing was a recurring advert for "TheCell.tv" which seemed to be in a foreign language for some reason.

Joost Chief Executive Mike Volpi said of the changes:

In order to really enhance the viewing experience and differentiate the Internet from TV, you can't just regurgitate TV. You have to engage the community. Ultimately, the Internet is about community-building.

I'm not sure if I agree with this theory by Volpi. Internet TV apps live and die by the quality of the content they produce. I'm less interested in social interaction via P2P TV apps than I am by finding good quality content that's streamed in high image quality. However, Joost have managed to sign up some big shows such as Friends and The Daily Show so that's definitely a step in the right direction. That said, YouTube is launching its own assault on commercial programming by adding full-length shows such as "Beverly Hills 90210", "MacGyver" and "Californication" via its "Theater View" player.

Adobe yesterday announced the launch of their very own desktop internet TV application amid questions over whether the world really needs another media player. Adobe Media Player (AMP) has been built with Adobe Air - the company's flagship Web 2.0 application. At the moment, a number of content providers are on board including CBS, MTV Networks, Universal Music Group and PBS. Users can also add content from any Flash video sites that support RSS feeds. The service is already being compared to Apple's iTunes video service and Miro but unlike them, it offers users and broadcasters the chance to earn money from their footage via advertising. In their launch statement, Adobe said this commercial element is what differentiates AMP from the existing options because:

It provides exciting new ways for viewers to discover and interact with their favorite content, while offering revenue and brand-building opportunities for content publishers.

John Loiacono, senior vice president of Creative Solutions at Adobe added:

With Adobe Media Player, we’re bringing viewers and content owners closer together, with an experience that doesn’t constrain them by platform or proprietary software application. It’s a merger of TV Guide and DVR for Internet video content. Some great shows, like The Hills from MTV and CSI from CBS, are already available to view and more will be coming soon.

It's also thought that depending on the success of the service, Adobe will introduce downloads of films and shows to own or rent later this year which would certainly heat things up between the way competitors such as iTunes and YouTube regard AMP. It's clear that Adobe are trying to create a one-stop media player that will serve all needs ranging from simple video playback of DivX files to downloading and rental of movies. The worrying thing is the amount of advertising that may be necessary to keep AMP free. Launching an internet TV service supported by advertising is far from easy, as Joost has been finding, and AMP will have to prove that it can provide high quality and popular content that are not bogged down in ads if it is to succeed.

Adobe have announced that the next official release of Flash Player (version 9 - codenamed 'Moviestar') will support the H.264 video codec, meaning high definition Flash movies are finally a possibility. Adobe have confirmed that the next Flash Player, currently in beta, will support 480p, 720p and 1080p content encoded with either On2 or H.264.

The bad news is you might have to upgrade your machine to enjoy it. Performance will vary from machine to machine but Adobe estimate that a 2.0 GHz Mac or a 3GHz PC with one or more processors will be needed to deliver the best quality. Another nice little touch is that Flash Player will go beyond FLV files supporting MPEG-4 files too meaning you'll be able to watch Quicktime videos within Flash. Adobe have also announced that version 9 will support vector rendering, full screen mode with hardware scaling and support for Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA).

This is great news from Adobe although many people may be excluded if their machines are not high-spec enough. It offers some exciting possibilities though - maybe one day we'll all be watching YouTube clips in high definition.

In a big day for web application press releases, Adobe have officially announced yet another new product. Adobe Media Player (AMP) will be a desktop media player for Windows and Mac users which will allow them to view, download and rate web-based Flash content. Developed using the previously-announced Apollo runtime, AMP is designed to compete with Windows Media Player (among others) in the battle for users' desktops. So, today is the day that Microsoft has announced an incursion into Adobe territory while simultaneously, Adobe is moving to grab users from Microsoft.

While a downloadable version of Adobe Media Player has yet to surface, its features sound promising. According to Adobe:

Adobe Media Player enables higher quality Flash format playback, the ability to download and view videos offline, ways to discover interesting new shows, full screen playback, one-click viewer ratings, and a powerful Favorites feature that automatically downloads new episodes of favorite TV shows or video podcasts. The player is cross-platform, based on open standards - including RSS and SMIL...

Naturally, it remains to be seen whether Adobe can really make a success out of joining the desktop media player market which is arguably already overcrowded, especially with newcomers like Democracy and Joost. But with their web expertise and the golden standard of Flash behind them, Adobe might just be able to pull it off. Stay tuned for more.

Today's Symbian smartphones are more like digital swiss army knives. They arm you with tools for listening to music, browsing the web, watching videos, and managing your files. However, as you've probably noticed to your frustration before, not all Symbian phones support all formats. This means you can have all manner of problems opening multimedia, accessing web content, or viewing files you've transferred from your computer. Help is at hand though, and there are a few crucial add-ons you should download and install in order to improve your smartphone experience. Here's a quick run-through of what you need.

Video

If you have downloaded movies in DivX format then you might be wondering how to watch them on your phone. The answer is simple: install DivX Player Mobile. The program lets you watch DivX, AVI or MPEG movies in the player window or in full-screen mode. Control elements such as Play, Pause, Stop, Fast Forward and Rewind, as well as the volume can be controlled easily via buttons.

Another very popular video add-on is SmartMovie. It's getting a bit long in the tooth now, and the interface looks very dated. However, it's perfect for cropping and shrinking movie files to be stored and played on your phone. It also helps you install codecs onto your device that let you play video files you wouldn't otherwise be able to.

Nokia Video Converter is also a massively popular app, and is designed to take care of all your video conversion needs. The app is designed to convert movies from popular files formats and DVDs in just a few clicks, preserving picture and sound quality as best it can. The application's interface is very clearly labeled with large buttons for adding video, adding DVD, playing, and converting.

Although Microsoft's Silverlight was originally conceived as a competitor to Adobe Flash, it now finds itself competing with Abobe's web 2.0 platform, Adobe Air. The harsh truth is however, only 2 years on from its original release and Silverlight has already fallen woefully behind Adobe Air. In typical Microsoft style, the software giant surely missed the boat by aiming at a competitor for Adobe Flash when the web world was already looking towards interactive Web 2.0 platforms such as Adobe Air. It says a lot that the New York Times recently dumped Silverlight for Adobe Air to re-launch their Times Reader application.

Silverlight 3.0 has recently been released as an attempt to bridge the ever increasing chasm although it's developers rather than end-users who will notice the most new innovations.

Silverlight is a lightweight plugin that allows you to watch video content in your browser in much the same way as Adobe Flash does on sites like YouTube. It works with most major browsers including Firefox, Safari and Chrome and plays WMV, WMA and MP3 content. Although there is no prompt to restart the browser after installation, I recommend you do so as the first Silverlight content I accessed after installation simply crashed Firefox.

For end users, the most important improvements to the latest version are smoother streaming, DRM management, and an external content player. The pop-out player however is dependent on developers embracing it and as yet, there are few examples available. The smooth streaming feature will iron out many of the streaming programs that have plagued Silverlight in the past. If your bandwidth drops below 3Mbps, smooth streaming will kick-in so that your video isn't affected.

Silverlight 3 finally supports AAC audio decoding as well as hardware-accelerated H.264 video decoding which were big omissions in the previous release. Microsoft have also finally decided to open up the "native multimedia pipeline" so that other formats can be supported if the codecs are installed. Microsoft Silverlight 3.0 still maintains the ability to stream high resolution video and supports HD quality videos.

If you want to create content for Silverlight, you'll need Expression Studio and Visual Studio. In fact, this latest release is is of particular interest to developers because it adds 60 customizable controls, new layout containers, “deep linking” for page bookmarking, search engine optimization and enhanced data support. Animators are also now far better supported with "Perspective 3D" which enables transformation of 2D elements to 3D.

The signs are however that Microsoft has already realized that the battle for web content is already being won by the much slicker and stable Adobe Air platform and is therefore aiming Silverlight at business users. The Silverlight homepage boasts "Learn how Silverlight is right for your business" and companies such as Continental Airlines have adopted it for use in their reservation system indicating that Microsoft knows which side its bread is buttered on.

Silverlight 3.0 is no Adobe Flash and certainly no Adobe Air. However, there's probably no way you can avoid needing it at some point because there will always be some websites and developers that choose to base their content on Silverlight. Mobile devices are expected to be supported by 2010 although yet again, it may be a case of too little, too late for Microsoft.

Today saw the start of the GSMA Mobile World Congress here in OnSoftware's home town of Barcelona. The first day of the biggest event in the mobile technology calendar has not disappointed. We've spent the day checking out the latest innovation in mobile hardware and software as well as listening to eminent speakers from the industry. Here are some of our software highlights from the first day of the event:

Windows Mobile 6.5: Microsoft's Steve Ballmer paid a visit to the conference to make three announcements: Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft My Phone, and Windows Marketplace. The new Windows Mobile 6.5 OS was demoed at the show and it certainly looks like an improvement on the previous release. There is a new log-in screen which gives you an at-a-glance view of your missed calls, chat messages and emails. What's more, MS has revamped the homescreen with a rather strange-looking, text-based interface where you can select features such as email, calendar, pictures, music and fast access to Internet favorites. The apps menu also gets an overhaul, this time with a series of icons arranged in a kind-of honeycomb structure. The most significant change to the applications is the inclusion of the full current version of Internet Explorer on the device (i.e. with the same browsing engine as IE), along with Flash Player Lite.

I'm a big fan of online Flash games (who isn't?) and I've tested quite a few of them, but I must admit I've never seen anything like Candy Mountain Massacre before.

This impressive Flash 3D shooter offers a very different view of the Halloween celebration: instead of treating kids with candy, you have to save the Candy Mountain, home to the sweetest creatures in the world, from a deadly plague of zombie-like psycho killers.

After choosing between three different costumes and selecting your desired level of difficulty, you're good to go. Move around the town and exterminate all the evil creatures you find on your way with any of your three weapons. Don't hesitate when wiping them out because they won't show any mercy on you! Luckily there are a few health and ammo bonus scattered all over the playing area, which come in really handy after being attacked with a handful of lethal cookies or running out of bullets.

Candy Mountain Massacre requires Adobe Shockwave Player 11 and can be quite heavy on the browser's resources. On the upside, it offers amazing 3D graphics – obviously not as good as an actual shooter – but surprisingly good for an online Flash game.

Adobe have staked their claim on the Web 2.0 revolution by announcing alpha testing of its new Apollo project is due to start this week. Apollo will enable users to run and create what they call Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) on and offline although the initial release will be aimed mainly at programmers and developers. The free download will include a software development kit and runtime environment for Apollo with the first beta version expected later this year.

Programs created in the Apollo project will appear as an icon on your desktop which will light-up when an internet connection is detected. Users who wish to use the programs will need the Apollo runtime environment in the same way that you need to download Flash player to watch Flash videos.

The alpha release will be available on both Windows and Macintosh and eventually Linux. The alpha release will support HTML, Javascript, Flash and Adobe’s own PDF format. Adobe have also confirmed that the soon to be released Creative Studio 3 will be able to create content for Apollo.

There is huge anticipation over this project. While many are proclaiming Web 2.0 will kill the desktop, Apollo promises to regain ground for the desktop by synthesizing on and offline applications more closely. By merging the two, the project offers up a realm of new and exciting commercial possibilities for those who can work out how to exploit them such as Adwords on your desktop. This reduction of the barriers between the web and users desktops however does raise various security concerns that will only become apparent once its up and running.

To see a demo of Apollo in action, click here.

It was always on the cards that a software giant like Adobe would eventually launch themselves into the world of online desktop publishing, especially in view of their pioneering development of Web 2.0 in the form of Adobe Air.

Acrobat.com is a new set of office applications recently launched by Adobe to get a foothold in this rapidly expanding software field currently dominated by the likes of Google Docs and Windows Office Live (Incidentally, why do Microsoft now have to tag anything new they come up with as "Live"? Can they not be a bit more creative in the naming of their online office apps?).

When you enter the site, it's clear that Adobe have decided to base their suite on Flash which as we all know, can be very cumbersome and slow sometimes but it certainly looks slick. You are presented with a collection of online apps including Buzzword (for word processing), Adobe Share (for file sharing) and Adobe ConnectNow which allows you to share your screen with anyone. In fact, ConnectNow is a brilliant online conferencing app that assigns a room for all users to log on. On the downside, there doesn't seem to be any presentation or spreadsheet tools such as PowerPoint and Excel and so it's safe to say that Acrobat.com seems to be aiming more at helping people share and collaborate on projects rather than produce original pieces of work.

There are some definite reasons to be impressed by Acrobat.com. Buzzword gives you a generous 5GB of space for sharing documents and PDF conversions are so quick and easy that I'd never use a third party app for that again. The PDF converter can convert up to 5 files of 200MB each at the same time and it's lightning fast. If they do choose to add a presentation and spreadsheet application, Google and Microsoft may well find themselves with a major player to contend with.