Apple Adobe JavaFX Conspiracy Theory

I recently ran across this article discussing the burgeoning war of the roses between Apple and Adobe.

The recent comments from Steve Jobs regarding Adobe might well be the first sign of a “cold war” between the two companies. Apple would be already preparing and developing applications to compete directly with Adobe’s solutions, leading to open warfare. Cupertino would also be developing a software that could compete with Flash and Dreamweaver, entirely based on HTML 5.0. Beside Aperture X which should be released soon, Apple might also be working to develop a solution similar to Photoshop, a high-end Pro-oriented solution. We do not know further details about those applications being developed as it is either hidden from view or just starting.

link: Hardmac.com : Le “Macbidouille” in English – Apple and Adobe: The Roots and Reasons Behind Today’s Situation

The article goes into great depth about the souring relationship between the two companies and how that has taken place over time. I found myself wondering if that is what happened to Java on the Mac. At one point, Steve embraced Java. He proclaimed that it was going to be a center piece of Apple’s strategy. Given the lack of client side focus (at the time), I would imagine that Steve grew impatient with Sun’s inability to improve the client side story for Java. In fact, he has made similar statements about Java that he is now making about Flash. The Java releases on Mac got slower and slower. I wonder if Flash is headed down the same path.

So, Apple could be developing tools to try to supplant Adobe’s dominance. They could even be developing tools to convert existing Flash products to HTML5. However, they could also embrace a competitor. Now, I don’t think that Mr. Jobs would work with Sun again (slow java fixes, preannouncing zfs, etc). However, he might be willing to work with his best buddy Larry.

I have a lot of confidence that the JavaFX designer tool will be very good. However, it is not likely to be Apple good. Apple could make it apple good, though. What if, though, Apple were to throw support behind those tools and technologies as a balance to Adobe? They could work toward HTML5, but empower a Flash competitor on their platform in the mean time. They could even build in some support for JavaFX into their own development tools. The cost is low. JavaFX is an open platform. Given the change in ownership, Larry might be able to make that pitch to Apple.

Maybe this is conjecture, but I finally see a way that JavaFX could succeed.