Microsoft Pushing H.264 HTML5 Video In IE9; Flash Has "Reliability, Security & Performance" Issues

Apple and Microsoft might not always agree, but it seems they coincide when it comes to Flash video.  After Steve Jobs posted a lengthy critique of Adobe's technology yesterday – followed by a reasonably swift rebuttal from the company themselves – Microsoft's Dean Hachamovitch, general manager for IE9, has waded in to throw some support HTML5 and H.264's way.  According to Hachamovitch, "in its HTML5 support, IE9 will support playback of H.264 video only."

Now, before you conclude that Flash is dead, it's worth reading on to where he adds "Flash remains an important part of delivering a good consumer experience on today's web."  However, the technology "does have some issues, particularly around reliability, security, and performance" he insists, and also points to the thorny matter if IP ownership for codecs as being another issue to take into account.  This decision to plump for H.264 is more because the W3C – the internet standards body – don't specify a codec for HTML5-funneled video.

[via Slashdot]