Adobe Uses Porn to Make Point About Flash-less iPad

Apple hits back that Adobe is playing the 'porn card' out of desperation

SAN JOSE, Calif.—A minor controversy is brewing over Apple’s decision not to Flash-enable the iPad, and pornography is front and center in the hissy fit. In this instance, however, the decision by Adobe to use a porn site to help make its larger point is not altogether inappropriate, even if some are calling it desperate.

The iPad, as everyone knows, was only just released, but even before Steve Jobs hit the stage to reveal his new baby’s charms, Adobe was crying foul. Wednesday, on the company’s Flash Platform blog, Adrian Ludwig wrote a post about what not having Flash will mean for people who purchase the iPad.

“If I want to use the iPad to connect to Disney, Hulu, Miniclip, Farmville, ESPN, Kongregate, or JibJab—not to mention the millions of other sites on the web,” he wrote, “I'll be out of luck.”

But that is not the only online content that people will not be able to receive. Thursday, Adobe’s platform evangelist Lee Brimelow posted to theflashblog.com a group of images illustrating the types of content that will not show up on the iPad. Conspicuous in the second row of screen grabs is one for noted porn producer Bang Bros, minus the goodies.

Friday, Wired’s Brian X. Chen wrote, “Though porn is certainly relevant to many people’s web experiences, that’s kind of a desperate move.” He then provided a link to a tweet by his friend, Matt Drance, Apple’s former iPhone evangelist that said, “Adobe has resorted to playing the porn card. It’s over.”

That is a very unfortunate comment coming from an Apple evangelist, even a former one. The company makes a fortune from the adult entertainment industry and consumers of its products. Adult content has taken to the iPhone like ducks to water. That one device is almost singularly responsible for revitalizing the mobile sector of the industry. And the iPad itself, Flash or no Flash, is already being touted as “The Latest in Porn Delivery.” 

In an post by Steve Tomassetti on the TMR Zoo, “You can go to almost any major news site to find out what the Apple iPad can and cannot do…or still be confused as to whether it will have a camera or not. But what those sites will not answer is what everyone really wants to know: How can I view porn on the iPad?”

Tomassetti concludes that despite its apparent drawbacks—limited storage and lack of Flash—acceptable alternatives remain, illustrated by the fact that “Digital Playground has already announced that they will be providing iPad-optimized streaming on all of their company-owned websites such as digitalplayground.com and jessejane.com. Many other XXX sites provide mobile device-friendly streaming as well.”

So, while it is likely that Adobe sees the HTML5 writing on the wall, and is indeed “playing the porn card” in its determination to keep its product relevant, it is somewhat amusing to see all of the corporate evangelists rushing to denigrate the pertinence of adult content when they know full well that each and every one of their products has been supported—and improved—because of it.