[bradleyland]

I think the differences are this:

* Apple has a very well documented case that Flash contributes to significant instability on their platform, hence they didn't want it on iOS

* Flash was/is a significant consumer of CPU cycles, resulting in reduced battery life, which didn't allow them to meet performance targets

Regardless of your position on Flash as a proprietary piece of software, its presence would have had a very real impact on the performance and reliability of Apple's product at launch. That's not to say there wasn't an ideological component, because Steve Jobs himself included one in his anti-Flash rant, but I find it a little easier to excuse apple for leaving Flash out in the cold on iOS than I do Google shutting the door on H.264.

[jarek]

Not disagreeing with Apple's case against Flash, but at the same time Google also has pretty strong reasons to actively try to bring H.264 down, both as a browser maker and a video site operator.

[Cadsby]

That's fine. No one faults Google for doing whatever they feel is in their strategic, long term interest.

What annoys some people to no end however, is the incessant attempts to market everything they do in the name of "openness".