From the Firefox for Nokia N900 1.0 release notes themselves, stumbled upon this little gem:
Initially, Firefox for N900 does not support browser plug-ins. Due to performance problems using Adobe Flash within Firefox on many websites, especially those with multiple plug-ins on them, we have disabled plugins for Firefox for Maemo 1.0. We plan to provide a browser add-on that will enable you to selectively enable plugins on certain sites, because some sites, like YouTube, work well.
So the good folks of the Mozilla Foundation have gone and released the thing. Given the recent turn of events, it’s interesting to see the reality brick hitting the Adobe head, so to speak. Couldn’t think of a more appropriate support for the Apple iPad, really.
Even if the eventually release it with plug-in support enabled, they will probably stick with letting users enable Flash selectively… This is yet another nail in the Flash coffin.
I wonder which annoyance consumers will least prefer. Seeing the Blue Lego Block of Ambiguity or having sites with multiple Flash banners load slowly and/or crashing. Apple seems to be interested in speed and no crashes. Most of the other mobile platforms are touting users can view any site in its entirety. It’s a tough choice for low-tech consumers using smartphones.
I’d like to see sites do extra coding for both camps. Flash for those that love it and HTML5 for those that hate Flash plug-ins. I’m hoping Apple will win by way of having the lots of devices by users having the most money to spend on advertising. Hopefully advertisers will force sites to use an alternate method instead of just Flash.