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Apple to Make All New Mac Shipments Adobe Flash-Free

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Apr 12, 2001
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As we previously noted, Apple's new MacBook Air is shipping without Adobe's Flash plugin pre-installed, requiring users to manually install the software if they wish to view Flash content. Engadget now reports that Apple has issued an official statement on the matter, noting that it prefers that users download the software themselves in order to ensure that they are running the most up-to-date version.
We're happy to continue to support Flash on the Mac, and the best way for users to always have the most up to date and secure version is to download it directly from Adobe.
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Apple spokesman Bill Evans also noted that the company is transitioning all of its Macs to ship without the Flash plugin pre-installed, although obviously plenty of units with Flash included remain in the company's distribution channels.

Apple has occasionally taken some flak for shipping outdated versions of Flash with its operating system updates and new hardware, and thus seems to believe that putting the onus of initial installation on the user will ensure that they receive the latest version and make Adobe responsible for alerting users to future updates.

The perspective is very similar to that shared by Steve Jobs just yesterday regarding the discontinuation of Apple's own Java distribution, in which he pointed to Apple always being "a version behind" the official releases from Sun/Oracle. By shifting the burden for updates back to Oracle, users can be sure to receive the most up-to-date versions.

Article Link: Apple to Make All New Mac Shipments Adobe Flash-Free
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/10/22/apple-to-make-all-new-mac-shipments-adobe-flash-free/
Undecided said:
Has Oracle given any indication that they're going to provide Java for the Mac going forward?
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Of course they will. Java is only useful to Oracle if it's ubiquitous. And ain't no one not going to buy a Mac because it doesn't have java, so Oracle can't sit back and let market forces solve their problem.
 
So now the uninformed are going to wonder "Why the hell is my new mac isn't working on Webkinz" etc
Great going Apple, Prepare to be inundated with calls and extra work for people who set up macs for schools and colleges.
 
I know people are gonna whine over this, like they did in the Java thread.

However, once again, this is a good move. Apple should have decoupled Flash from the OS long ago.

Otherwise you have situations where the new Mac would contain a slightly older version than the latest Flash version, and would expose the user to extremely nasty bugs, without them ever realizing it.

Flash being so pervasive (and unfortunately, bug ridden) its absolutely critical users stay updated with the latest version. And since any new Mac would have a version at least a few weeks old, if a new Flash bugfix was released in that intervening period the user would be vulnerable to the bug.
 
MCIowaRulz said:
So now the uninformed are going to wonder "Why the hell is my new mac isn't working on Webkinz" etc
Great going Apple, Prepare to be inundated with calls and extra work for people who set up macs for schools and colleges.
Click to expand...

Well, this never seemed to have been a problem for Windows, which has many times the install base of Macs.

Not sure why it should be an issue for Apple.
 
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addicted44 said:
Well, this never seemed to have been a problem for Windows, which has many times the install base of Macs.

Not sure why it should be an issue for Apple.
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On the other hand, every pc i've ever bought has had flash on it (along with a ginormous mountain of other unwanted crippleware and performance-sapping crap), installed by the OEMs.
 
This shouldn't be a problem both with Flash and Java. The other OSes have you go to the vendors website (Adobe, Oracle) to install the software, so doing it with a Mac shouldn't be any different.

Maybe at the time, Apple thought they should provide them because they weren't sure what those companies support would be. Now that Apple's Mac share is increasing, those vendors most likely will continue to support the MacOS platform.
 
Seems that Apple has decided to no longer ship and support these third party products.

I take this as a good sign that Apple feels they have enough market share that Oracle and Adobe will dedicate resources to support OS X themselves.
 
Let me think back...

Flash, aside from everything else, has been (along with Adobe Reader and Acrobat) a major vector of malware attacks over the last couple of years, needing various updates from Adobe, and security fixes from Apple. (No malware that I know of has resulted on the Mac, but being able to crash the buffer leaves the Mac vulnerable.) Once this year, my Mac got very unstable, a problem I was able to trace to Flash.

And I seem to recall that a recent hardware release by Apple was derided because, between the sealing of GM and the release date, an older, vulnerable version of Flash was installed. Apple drew a lot of criticism for that.

If you want Flash, you'll have to install it. Sounds fine to me.
 
I don't see having to download Flash as a problem - you'll get the latest and greatest rather than having an ancient version that will never be updated.


cmaier said:
Good. No flash, no Java. Now I'm happy.
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A typical fan boy response - "if I don't need it or want it - then one no else should".


Undecided said:
Has Oracle given any indication that they're going to provide Java for the Mac going forward?
Click to expand...

None.

Someone did post this link in a Java discussion topic:
http://twitter.com/oracle#

oracletechnet To peeps asking me if Oracle will supply a JVM for Mac OS X - when I have the answer, I'll share it"
 
This was one of those many little things I liked about Macs. Everything is there out of the box.

I don't care if it takes a minute to get it, it was a nice touch. They might as well not ship Safari/iTunes, as they might not be latest & secure version.
 
Apple can't handle the Flash Player.

As a Flash developer, I'm thrilled about this. Every time Apple pushes out a security update, they include the latest (or sometimes almost latest) version of the Flash Player. This overwrites the Flash Debug Player, and I have to and reinstall it. It's annoying that the installer script can't detect the debug player like Adobe's does.

(BTW, I do not make banner ads or Facebook games - I only use Flash for good, not evil.)
 
But what about those of us who want outdated software on our computers? Why can't we have more bloatware to increase installation and boot times? :rolleyes:
 
Also a good way to distance the new Airs from the overheating/poor battery life issues that are sure to come with the use of Flash.

Not in the box for a reason. Not Apple's problem.
 
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