QFT

This is the real issue. Adobe shouldn't have so publicly declared this drop of support for mobile - it should have just been quiet. This announcement will drive Flash many developers away. Adobe may get around it all by just buying the next set of non-Adobe HTML5 dev tools if they grow more popular than their own....but the move was poorly handled, and puts current content developers in a very difficult position.
KM

FUD: No, they're not...just the mobile web plugin.

Which is exactly his point.
KM

I ran Mercury Mail on a Windows Server box (and got my share of crap for that from the *nix crowd ;-) several years ago, for a few years, on a static DSL connection at home. Worked pretty well overall. I abandoned it when storage space became an issue with the IMAP setup and, finally, when the ISP banned outbound 25. Since my SMTP had to then forward to the ISP's SMTP...the only advantage my setup had was local (fast) delivery to the clients....but with faster connections, that also became moot....
Then there were the occasional power outages which killed all deliveries and, bah, just not worth the hassle.
And THAT was just with a family setup. Nowhere near the hassles of the corporate tales shared here.

Now I just have a reseller account on web host where I can setup websites and email for various friends and customers - all low-volume stuff. The host keeps the IPs and traffic fairly clean, SpamAssassin does fine for server filtering, and we all have Cpanel > Horde webmail (which, yes, is lame and last-decade, but works).

At work, small 25 person company, IT does host their own Exchange server at the the same DC where various other servers are hosted. Works well enough but it does take a bit of time to manage (I'm out of that grunt game now though).
KM

'cept where does the water come from at the top? Does the water at the bottom get re-pumped to the top? D'oh!
Wait, wind/solar for uphill water pumps...?

Adobe is already on this. They've just released an add-on for Dreamweaver CS5 to assist in HTML5 development.

Adobe is not just Flash. Adobe makes tools. Sure they want to see Flash remain, but if/when HTML5 becomes more refined, Adobe will provide tools for that tool (and they already are).

Be informed not biased.
KM

I don't accept your premises.

"Create a version in Flash and not support the iPhone, iPad, and several other phones."

When the Flash 10 Player is officially released, mobile phone support shouldn't be an issue, except for Apple devices. So do you re-do everything, or start new with a new HTML 5 spec, to add support for Apple Hardware? Or do you use Flash which covers pretty much all devices and let Apple users miss the experience? So 15% of the phone market misses out...is that really that big a deal? Maybe...

"Create a version in Flash and a version in HTML5 to support both regular Web browsers and the iPhone, iPad, and Mobile devices that don't do Flash?"

Surely not ideal, agreed.

"Just create an HTML5 version without Flash, and still support both all major browsers and the iPhone, iPad, and other mobile browsers, excluding some very old versions of browsers that have not installed the Google Frame plug-in?"

It's not a finalized spec, and won't be for a few more YEARS. There's no consistent browser support. A killer to much online video, there's no DRM (as 'evil' as it may be). There are no IDE tools to support the animation components (though Adobe will be the first to release one).

Finally, the Flash Player needs work, no doubt. Flash itself has been poorly used and written by many, no doubt (not Adobe/Flash's fault). So browsers which will now render all this stuff natively...won't be bloated, won't eat lots of RAM, won't be slow...
Right?
Javascript is no doubt a better language and more efficient that Actionscript...right?
Hmmm.
KM

So maybe it would be better for pizza rolls, or maybe even a calzone...
)

I read through up to here to see if anyone mentioned this aspect.
While it may be amazing that anyone still works at AOL, they do. I know some very smart and talented folks who work for AOL and have AOL email addresses.
While I generally attribute the, um, 'non-techie' stereotype to most AOL addresses...I certainly wouldn't discard resumes that list that....at least not until checking to see if they actually work/ed there.
If they never have, well, ok...maybe that resume doesn't get tossed but it may end up toward the bottom of the pile.
KM

I may be old, infrequent, and/or unhip but that's hilarious ;-)

If you believe the 'Rich' use the same or fewer government services and benefits than the 'Poor', well, I suggest you keep researching the issue.
KM