Adobe Systems has responded to Apple CEO Steve Jobs' criticisms of its software Flash by publishing a letter signed by founders Chuck Geschke and John Warnock in newspapers and on its website. In the letter, the Adobe founders said the exclusion of Adobe's Flash video software from Apple's iPad and iPhone stifles competition. Advertised in 24 newspapers and websites, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, the public missive says that Apple's actions could "undermine" the future of the internet. The letter said that open markets are necessary for developers to create the applications customers want as computing moves from traditional computers to mobile devices. The two also stated that Apple has taken a step that could undermine the next chapter of the web, the one in which mobile devices outnumber computers, any individual can be a publisher, and content is accessed anywhere and at any time. Besides refusing to support Adobe's Flash software for the iPhone and the iPad, Apple last month said app developers must use programming tools that rely on open standards, rather than software using proprietary technologies, such as Flash. Jobs followed that two weeks ago with a 29-paragraph public letter outlining six reasons why Apple chose not to use Flash on its mobile devices. Adobe complained to US antitrust enforcers, saying Apple is stifling competition by barring developers from using Flash to create apps for the iPhone and iPad, according to Bloomberg citing two people familiar with the matter. The complaint triggered discussions between the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission over which agency should review the allegations, the people said.
