Steve Jobs explains why there's no FarmVille on the iPad

While the Apple iPad, along with the iPhone and iPod Touch, are great gaming devices, there are a ton of popular social and casual games, from FarmVille to Cafe World, that you can't play on any of those handhelds. Or, if you can, they're a version of the game that's not quite like the one on Facebook.

The reason is Adobe's Flash technology, which is used by Facebook and many other Web sites to run interactive games, play movies and music, or just create cool-looking interfaces. Because the Apple mobile operating system won't play Flash content, even if you used the iPad's built-in Web browser to visit FaceBook.com, you still wouldn't be able to play FarmVille (or most other FaceBook games).

Apple claims that Flash support would degrade the user experience, kill battery life, and leave devices vulnerable to security flaws.

After much sniping in the press and from fans on both sides, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has issued an extremely rare open letter, explain in his take on the controversy. He makes several good points, noting that Flash is not really a true "open" a platform, and playing Flash video can be a battery killer.