It isn't only the iPhone that doesn't have flash. Many people work on different architectures than x86 or x86_64. Some of us even want to watch these cool little bits. I realize that in your world there is only the PC, the Mac, and the iPhone, but out here in the real world there are many things in between. Standards are good and you're right, gif isn't one of them, but at least it works pretty much across the spectrum.