Adobe Discontinues Development of Flash Player on Mobile Devices

[parseckadet]

I'm sure we'll still see posts in the iPhone forum from users whining that iOS doesn't support Flash yet.

The whole Flash debate goes back to Steve's view about why he never used focus groups. If you asked users in 2007 what they wanted a smartphone to be, they would told you they wanted a smaller, cheaper PC that made phone calls. That's where the desire for Flash on iOS comes from. But the iPhone, and later the iPad, have NEVER attempted to be smaller cheaper PCs. They've always been their own, separate device. Turns out that's what consumers actually wanted, and just didn't realize it.

 

[Mr Bigs]

Yeah, sure. The next time you download a game like RoboKill from Apple's AppStore, you might want to think about what was used to create it.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/robokill/id408858081?mt=8

This beauty was written in Flash - and I'm pretty sure none of you guys will notice it.

Here comes another awesome example for the great things that can be done with Flash when you not let a total moron use it:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/machinarium/id459189186?mt=8

Machinarium is also available in the Mac AppStore.

Jobs' real motivation to keep Flash away from his iGadgets was not the claimed poor performance and age of the technology, he simply wanted to make it as hard as possible for developers to create multi-platform content. But as these gems and the birth of tools like the Corona SDK demonstrate, that plan did not work out.

Anyway, in a year or two most of the Flash haters here will hate HTML5 with the same passion they hated Flash -- because by then, all those blockable Flash ads will have been converted to non-blockable HTML5 content. And that will be an amazing victory for users world wide. Or not.

Your correct
HTML5 is just as bad if not worse.

 

[John.B]

You don't understand what that's saying.

Before Flash Player 10.3 you had to configure some of Flash Player's settings through a tool on the Adobe site.

With Flash Player 10.3 and higher you can do this in System Preferences or Control Panel on your computer.

It's not saying that Adobe (as a company) has the power to control your settings, simply that the interface to control it was accessed by going to the adobe website (http://www.macromedia.com/support/documentation/en/flashplayer/help/settings_manager02.html#118539)


The configuration has always been stored locally. This approach was criticised because very few people knew how to access the configuration site.

In terms of HTML5, it's up to the browser how they request permission from the user for a specific feature, but I think that people could still be tricked.

I'm saying that Adobe used (misused, IMO) a Flash SWF on their site to configure local settings -- including webcam settings. I don't want to have to go to an Adobe-as-gatekeeper to configure anything related to the internet, not even simple web browsing. In part because their vulnerability from 2008 still exists today.

Adobe does some great things (e.g. Lightroom), but security ain't one of them.

 

[Daveoc64]

Why would it be unblockable? I can block anything I want on any web page with a proper filter, what would be different?

Flash is easy to block because it's an object embedded inside an HTML page.

You can simply tell your browser not to load any Flash files or to stop loading plugins.

With "HTML5" features, you'll see adverts using a feature like SVG (not technically HTML) or Canvas next to content that you want to see actually using these features.

If you're playing a game that uses Canvas, and there's a Canvas advert next to it, you can't just block all Canvas on the page.

That makes it a little harder (not impossible) to block.

 

[unsignedbyte]

Steve was right. Again. And, although he was always been right, people objected his opinion for flash. Now even adobe agrees with him. If this is not another personal victory...

pls stop this kind of bs posts

 

[samcraig]

There's already HTML5

It's proven to perform great, works flawlessly.

Really? Can you list all the things HTML5 does and all the things Flash can do? Further - can you illustrate how HTML5 is cross-browser friendly?

Look - I'm not some Flash expert or evangelist - but these ignorant posts really need to stop because it just proves how many people don't really know what the issues are.

It's not just about crappy ads or video delivery. It's not even about gaming.

Apple has apparently done a good job at, dare I say, brainwashing a lot of people who seem to think HTML5 (right now) is a 1:1 replacement.

If it was - no one (NO ONE) would be using flash. Now ask yourself. Why do you think Flash still pervades? It's not just because programmers are lazy or costs are prohibitive. It's because HTML5 is not a 1:1 replacement (yet)

 

[Mr Bigs]

this is extremely unnecessary and rude.

Get over it and stop taking things so literally & personal.

 

[Daveoc64]

I'm saying that Adobe used (misused, IMO) a Flash SWF on their site to configure local settings -- including webcam settings. I don't want to have to go to an Adobe-as-gatekeeper to configure anything related to the internet, not even simple web browsing. In part because their vulnerability from 2008 still exists today.

Adobe does some great things (e.g. Lightroom), but security ain't one of them.

That's why with Flash 10.3 and higher you don't need to do this anymore.

 

[netdog]

Today, Adobe just said "Flash sucks on mobile devices".

Did they? Or did they just raise the white flag because end-clients are demanding HTML5 so that their content can be accessed from iOS devices (along with everything else).

Don't get me wrong. I hate Flash. But still, I think this was about iOS succeeding in squeezing Flash into becoming irrelevant.

 

[John.B]

Anyway, in a year or two most of the Flash haters here will hate HTML5 with the same passion they hated Flash -- because by then, all those blockable Flash ads will have been converted to non-blockable HTML5 content. And that will be an amazing victory for users world wide. Or not.

Sorry, not true. Domain-based ad blocking will continue to work. As long as the ad content needs to phone home for tracking/billing purposes, it's easily to block.

 

[nateo200]

Good.
Flash sucks anyway regardless on any device.
And this is comming from a iPhone and Android user.

Agreed but saying it sucks doesn't make it go away. AIDs/Cancer/Evil sucks but we still have to deal with it/find a cure/etc.

 

[Winni]

Hahahahahaha Adobe....are you kidding? Then how can Samsung sell their phones anymore?

It doesn't matter. At all. Samsung already is years ahead of Apple, neither the iPhone 4S nor the toy application Siri changed that. Geez, voice assistants are an OLD feature in Android, and SpeakToIt even has a fully customizable avatar.

http://www.speaktoit.com/

I have a punk lady with a mohawk haircut on my Galaxy S2 and she is definitely cooler than the-same-FACELESS-Siri-for-EVERYONE.

The S2's camera app already had panorama shooting and full HD video modes integrated a year ago - you iPhone guys are still stuck with software betas.

Apple's gadgets limp behind in every aspect, only their massive marketing budget keeps them alive as status symbols.

 

[blackcrayon]

Apple has apparently done a good job at, dare I say, brainwashing a lot of people who seem to think HTML5 (right now) is a 1:1 replacement.

If it was - no one (NO ONE) would be using flash. Now ask yourself. Why do you think Flash still pervades? It's not just because programmers are lazy or costs are prohibitive. It's because HTML5 is not a 1:1 replacement (yet)

I'd like some stats on the sites that use Flash in ways that can not be done in HTML5. Aren't the majority of sites that use Flash using them for ads and video? I don't think most people care if HTML5 is not a 1:1 replacement, if the actual content they care about is covered by HTML5. The Flash "technology" itself is still available for all major platforms as apps anyway.

 

[acidblue]

Im sure macromedia saw their work flash before their eyes. This will create shockwaves. Many android adverts are going to become full of air.

Nice puns.

 

[JAT]

Flash is easy to block because it's an object embedded inside an HTML page.

You can simply tell your browser not to load any Flash files or to stop loading plugins.

With "HTML5" features, you'll see adverts using a feature like SVG (not technically HTML) or Canvas next to content that you want to see actually using these features.

If you're playing a game that uses Canvas, and there's a Canvas advert next to it, you can't just block all Canvas on the page.

That makes it a little harder (not impossible) to block.

To block ads, I use a plugin (the most popular in the genre, AFAIK) that goes by URLs, not file type. I'm not even going to see a blip. I once took out a specific group of gifs in a forum not unlike this one just to get rid of a certain pic, didn't affect any other pics on the pages. And I barely know what I'm doing.

 

[super michael]

This is a surprise, how come Abode won't be making mobile phone with flash support? It doesn't affect me since I don't have any mobile with flash support, but still it strange it get discontinued.

Isn't flash used to watch videos like youtube, bbc, etc.

Isn't flash used to play some flash games online?

What this about HTML5? First time hearing it.

 

[Daveoc64]

I'd like some stats on the sites that use Flash in ways that can not be done in HTML5. Aren't the majority of sites that use Flash using them for ads and video? I don't think most people care if HTML5 is not a 1:1 replacement, if the actual content they care about is covered by HTML5. The Flash "technology" itself is still available for all major platforms as apps anyway.

To some extent, but you're not going to see YouTube drop advertising so that it can drop Flash are you?

Why would companies lose millions of dollars to push forward a web standard?

There are two key issues with HTML5:

1) Compatibility - not every browser supports it and not every browser supports it fully. The standard is a work in progress.

2) Features - not everything that Flash can do works as well using "HTML5" and other standards. Some things aren't possible. Others don't perform as well. Some might work better in some browsers but not in others. IE9 can't animate SVG for example, Flash can animate vector graphics easily on any browser. This is quite important for making games. There is no standard format for video in HTML5. Flash takes care of that automatically. Sites like YouTube and Hulu don't just dump a video on the screen, they do other things: subtitles, recommendations, stat collection (for ad purposes) displaying ads, going fullscreen etc.). These things require a lot of work in HTML5/JavaScript and might not work as well as the mature Flash implementations. Security is another concern with video. HTML5 video tends to be very easy to "rip".

 

[John.B]

That's why with Flash 10.3 and higher you don't need to do this anymore.

The more interesting question was why they did it in the first place. Hubris would be my guess.

Anyone have real-world web stats that show what percentage of Flash users are still on a version prior to 10.3?

----------

It doesn't matter. At all. Samsung already is years ahead of Apple, neither the iPhone 4S nor the toy application Siri changed that. Geez, voice assistants are an OLD feature in Android, and SpeakToIt even has a fully customizable avatar.

http://www.speaktoit.com/

I have a punk lady with a mohawk haircut on my Galaxy S2 and she is definitely cooler than the-same-FACELESS-Siri-for-EVERYONE.

Custom avatars? Really? That's your killer feature? Your mom must be proud...

 

[Daveoc64]

Anyone have real-world web stats that show what percentage of Flash users are still on a version prior to 10.3?

Roughly 80% of users will be using 10.3 or higher on desktop computers in the United States.

 

[samcraig]

A "decent" article which indicates some of the limitations of HTML5 vs Flash

http://www.forbes.com/sites/fredcavazza/2011/07/17/why-opposing-html5-and-flash-is-a-non-sense/

and this is just an interesting view...

http://flowingdata.com/2011/05/10/flash-vs-html5/

----------

Custom avatars? Really? That's your killer feature? Your mom must be proud...

This being posted on a website where people are complaining they can't change the voice of Siri. Really?

 

[divinox]

If your product is established (like Flash used to be) and is the best in the world people WON'T be moving away from it. People move away when they sense that a product sucks.

It's baffling that some posters here will still defend Flash as a great platform when Adobe itself implicitly admits it's crap.

While being besides the point, history proves you wrong (cf. betamax v. vhs).

Also, i was in no way defending Flash. I was just pointing out the error in the conclusion.

 

[John.B]

To some extent, but you're not going to see YouTube drop advertising so that it can drop Flash are you?

Why not? They support HMTL5/MP4 video today, which works with basically all Webkit-based browsers. It's all about reaching an audience.

Why would companies lose millions of dollars to push forward a web standard?

The smart companies will recognize it as an investment. It's all about reaching an audience.

 

[rdrr]

You would be foolish learning Flash at this time. Might as well study COBOL

hey now don't go trashing cobol! it saved your non-y2k legacy apps from crashing 12/31/99, and it will be the savior again 12/31/9999!

 

[Glideslope]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A334 Safari/7534.48.3)

Adobe Bull****. They have been planning this. They waited till SJ was gone to deny him his righteous glory.

Screw you Adobe.

 

[deftdrummer]

Aww, now Fandroids have one less "feature" to throw in our faces when smartphone armageddon comes.