Is HTML5 the end of Adobe Flash?

There has been a lot of talk about HTML5 being the end of Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight.

What do I have to say about it? I think that Adobe Flash is here to stay. Silverlight might have to go, though...

Why? Well, Flash is easier to develop with. HTML5 might be more dynamic, but it's still controlled with things like JavaScript. As a developer, I can say that I prefer working with Flash over other alternatives, like this newfangled HTML5 stuff. Personally, I've never tried to work with HTML5, but it looks like it's a bit of a mess.

The best part about Flash? When you're done with a project, it gets exported into one simple little .swf file. (There are exceptions to this rule, but any developer who ends up with more than a single file probably knows what they're doing.) Distributing HTML5 applications will be harder to do. I'm thinking of websites like Newgrounds or Armor Games. They work because .swf files are embeddable. Embedding HTML is hard to do without server-side scripting.

And all this complaining about open specifications. Who cares? Adobe's making money doing something they're good at, and I respect that. Besides, Adobe makes professional software. Let's say that word again: pro·fes·sion·al. That means that their software is intended for use by professionals. Obviously, this doesn't usually end up being the case, but it explains the huge price tag. Straight from the horse's mouth, the entire production of Avatar was accompanied by Adobe software (but they still used Media Composer for editing which proves its ubiquitousness.) Besides, kids don't have much use for software like Illustrator or InDesign, anyway.

All in all, Flash and HTML5 both have their pros and cons. For websites like lala and YouTube, HTML5 might be the better choice. But for gaming and animation (which is a huge function of Flash), Adobe's still the way to go.

But Silverlight really needs to go away. Microsoft's wasting its time filling a niche which Adobe has taken care of already.