As many readers noted, one big problem–potentially–with the plan is that Adobe (ADBE) and Apple (AAPL) generally don’t play well together. And in the case of Apple’s iPhone, they don’t play at all: Adobe’s flash platform doesn’t work in the iPhone, which is why many video sites, which depend on flash, don’t work well on the gadget.

So what if this happens again with Apple’s tablet, if and when the thing finally arrives?

I noted this yesterday, but didn’t get to talk to Adobe and Condé about it until later. Now I have their responses. The short version: They sure hope it works out.

The longer version is that both Condé and Adobe plan on running on all sorts of devices. And there’s not a lot they can do to satisfy Apple’s (AAPL) tablet requirements in advance, since Apple won’t discuss the tablet or even acknowledge that the tablet is in the works.

Here’s Adobe’s official line, provided by Senior Experience Design Manager Jeremy Clark:

Adobe has taken initial steps to prepare Adobe AIR to support mobile with performance improvements (reductions in memory usage, runtime size, JavaScript CPU consumption, and reduced CPU usage for background applications), and support multi-touch input used by mobile phones and presumably a new generation of slate devices. In fact we just announced a beta for AIR 2.0 that incorporates many of these features.

Our job at Adobe is to help create a great digital publishing platform. If publishers like Conde Nast and NY Times are delivering brand-name content via Adobe AIR, we believe that the devices that will win in the marketplace, will be the ones that support this open format. It should also be noted that Adobe recently announced plans to enable Flash applications to be brought to iPhone and indeed several are available on the iTunes store.

So we’ll continue to look for ways to enable publishers to deliver their content to the widest possible range of platforms, even on platforms that don’t yet support our runtimes.

It’s a reasonable enough response, given the alternative, which is to wait around for Apple to bring forth the wondergadget–or not. And in the meantime, the companies would miss an opportunity to help set standards for other guys’ gadgets.

On the other hand, there’s the less politic response, which you’re not going to hear from either company on the record: “Boy oh boy, are we screwed if our stuff doesn’t work with the market leader.”

But here’s one version of that take, from Time Inc.’s Josh Quittner, who is working on producing tablet-ready magazines for the Time Warner (TWX) publishing unit:

I am a hyperbolic guy, not to mention a purple writer, but I think it’s conservative to say that in the miserable publishing business, there is no greater hope for salvation that the iThing. With visions of giant iPhones dancing in our heads, all of us are working on prototypes of magazines and newspapers that will work on 9.7-inch, multi-touch screens linked wirelessly to stores. And, while there are at least a dozen manufacturers heatedly working on their own iterations, we all await the iThing because history has shown us that Steve Jobs leads the parade. Chaos will ensue, with many idiotic and competing platforms drawing precious resources from content makers who have to try just about everything until a frontrunner emerges.

Oh. One more quick item: As Quittner says, there are lots of publishers working on this stuff, and I look forward to seeing all of their efforts. And in case anyone gets the idea that I’m only paying attention to the biggest dogs, here’s what FastCompany.com’s Noah Robischon has to say about his company’s digital plans:

We’re working on delivering the magazine in several different digital formats right now, including to e-readers. Assuming the iTablet is a real product, and it uses any of these formats–and I’ve got no inside knowledge, it’s all based on rumor and guesswork–then we’ll be on the device too.

We’ve been approached by a few different companies working on e-reader formats for magazine publishers, as well as a couple that want to create digital versions of the magazine pages for online display. So we’re evaluating our options now. This space has become very active in the last 6 months, and it’s great to have so many options.

So there you go. Next?

[Image credit: clarity]

That means that instead of beating on editors at Denton’s dozen-plus blog properties, he’ll be overseeing Fastcompany.com, fastcompany.tv, and scobleizer.com; the company downsized that group just last month. He’ll report to editor/managing director Bob Safian.

The timing here is coincidental, Robischon says–he says Fast Company came to him two months ago. And he wants to make it clear that this is his move, not Denton’s. Noted.

But I’ll go ahead and draw at least one connection: On the same day that Denton calls on publishers to trim their headcount, he’s losing his highest-ranking editorial staffer. And he’s not replacing him. Going forward, all Gawker editors will report directly to Denton. Pause for shiver here.

Bonus tidbit: Robischon’s move means that he’ll be in charge of tireless videoblogger Robert Scoble, a frequent target of Denton’s Valleywag.

Is there a memo? Of course there is a memo. Two of them! It’s 2008. Excerpt from Denton’s email to his staff:

Noah’s presided over a tripling of traffic and the triumph of our tech sites such as Gizmodo and Kotaku over their competition. Obviously, the group managing editor job has sucked more recently–Noah’s been the one that’s had to deliver bad news and do much of the planning for cost cuts as the downturn has worsened. But he’s done a hard job with as much grace as one can. It’s an amicable departure.”

And here’s Safian’s introduction:

From: Robert Safian
To: Fast Company Editorial; Fast Company Ad Sales; Fast Company Marketing
Cc: John Koten; Terry McDevitt <tmcdevitt@mcdevittmedia.com>
Sent: Wed Nov 12 12:53:39 2008
Subject: New fastcompany.com executive editor

I am delighted to announce that Noah Robischon, formerly the managing editor of the Gawker Media network, will start as the new executive editor of fastcompany.com as of December 1. Noah will oversee all the digital activities of what we’re now informally calling Fast Company Media, including fastcompany.tv, scobleizer.com and our other specialty properties. He will report directly to me.

Noah is a terrific talent with significant depth of experience. He started at Gawker as editor of gadget blog Gizmodo and doubled monthly traffic to 10 million page views in less than two years. He was then tapped to oversee all 12 of the Gawker sites, which include some 80 contributors. In less than two years, page views grew to 297 million a month (up from 150 million). He also launched the fastest-growing site in the network’s history, io9, in January 2008; it is already at 7 million monthly pageviews.

But Noah is not just a digital guy. His experience extends across other media as well. He has written for print publications from the now-defunct Brill’s Content to Entertainment Weekly to The New York Times, and worked as writer and story editor at TV outlets from VH-1 to New York 1. Noah is also an even-keeled, likeable guy who should fit in well with our team.

This high-profile addition is indicative of the ambition and commitment we have to fastcompany.com. And there is no better time, we believe, to invest in ramping up our efforts–just as others are pulling back. Our digital operations have a sound foundation in the fastcompany.com community (more than 140,000 members, some 1800 member blogs, etc). Now we will layer on the additional editorial resources that will take us to the next level. Noah is committed to leveraging the editorial resources of the magazine and emphasizing the agenda that has been so successful in print: from technology to sustainability, design to entertainment. Innovation in all its forms is our hallmark. We are already at work assembling a team of influential writers to contribute to the site daily, and in anticipation of Noah’s arrival have already begun iterative tweaks to the site’s format, design and content. Page views are up sharply in recent weeks, and we expect progress to continue and accelerate when Noah is on board full time.

My deep thanks to all those on the Fast Company Media team who have contributed to the site’s surge over the past few weeks. I know these efforts did not happen without sacrifice. I also know these contributions will continue in the weeks and months ahead as we all help fastcompany.com to realize its potential. I have already shared with Noah all of the suggestions that emerged from our team-brainstorming exercise, and he expressed great enthusiasm for the ideas and ambition embedded in your work.

I’m sure you’ll all give Noah an appropriately robust Fast Company welcome when he arrives. December 1 will certainly be a banner day for all of us.

Thanks,

Bob”