...flash competes with the App store. I don't think that's at all the case. Flash is mostly used for rich content on web pages. If it competes with anything, i

...flash competes with the App store. I don't think that's at all the case. Flash is mostly used for rich content on web pages. If it competes with anything, it's new browser features like HTML5. One could make the argument that Apple is trying to discourage the use of flash-based competitors to iTunes such as Amazon VOD and Hulu. Though that's a bit of a stretch. It is no coincidence that flash gets dropped from the MBA at the same time that the app store for the Mac gets launched. I think the coincidence is more mundane. According to Jobs, Apple made a more realistic battery benchmark for the Air. It now involves browsing 25 popular websites over wifi. Killing flash would almost certainly improve battery life in that benchmark.