I think that the point is being missed here. Adobe's intentions probably have little to do with player development and a lot more to do with Silverlight & Canva

I think that the point is being missed here. Adobe's intentions probably have little to do with player development and a lot more to do with Silverlight & Canvas. Adobe's hope is that opening a platform with 98% penetration will further increase platform acceptance as the standard for rich media on the web. Think about it from a developers POV - let's say that you're making a choice between two rich media platforms on the web - both proprietary, closed systems that require proprietary plugins and code built on proprietary languages. Tough choice, eh? Maybe you pick the one with a language you're more familiar with, or one thats been really hyped recently. Now consider a slightly different scenario: What if you had to choose between an open, standardized platform built on an open language with open-source tools that can create applications that run on the web in any browser or your mac, windows or linux desktop. How does that compare with the proprietary choice? Adobe has consistently moved towards an open solution both for its development tools and its platform, no doubt in response to competitive threats. Microsoft is trying to inch that way as well but seems a step behind.