Adobe worker changes FlashTime name, which sounds a lot like Apple’s FaceTime

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A developer at Adobe Systems figuratively dislodged his tongue from his cheek on Tuesday after demonstrating a video calling system that carried a name strikingly similar to Apple’s FaceTime.

The software prepared by Mark Doherty, Adobe’s Flash platform evangelist, was called FlashTime. The name is a combination of the Adobe’s Flash multimedia system and Apple’s proprietary video conferencing program for the iPhone 4.

Doherty has since changed the name of his concept software to the less amusing P2P Video Calls on Android.

An Adobe spokeswoman said the app is not officially supported by the company and is rather a demonstration to developers that Adobe’s AIR platform for Google’s Android can be used to make video calls. Existing apps not associated with Adobe, such as Fring and Skype, already allow some Android phones to video chat.

‘Mark initially used the name ‘FlashTime’ for his demo so developers would understand that his app had similar functionality to other video applications,’ an Adobe spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail. ‘Mark changed the name of his demo because this was causing confusion.’

Apple and Adobe have had a very public battle over the last year. Despite pleas from Adobe, Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch products do not support websites using Flash or apps programmed on Adobe’s platform.

Apple says it intends to open its FaceTime framework to outside developers in the hopes of allowing iPhone owners to connect with users of non-Apple devices.

-- Mark Milian
twitter.com/markmilian