[kbz1960]

I agree. I want my devices to have flash support now because it still exists. I am confused by devices that don't support flash because it is on the way out. Yes, on the way out, as in not totally out yet. By the time it is totally gone, the devices that didn't support it because it is being phased out will be obsolete and replaced anyway.

I guess I understand preparing a device for the future but I don't understand doing it at possible expense of function in the present.

Quoted for yes I agree esp the last sentence.

[FreeJACLive]

I don't know if the OP is going to be completely correct on this. If you have been playing with Windows 8 CP, IE 10 the "Windows 8 styled" version supports flash. This may mean Windows RT tablets will have flash support as well. We won't know for sure until the new Windows RT devices surface. (pun intended)

[Gooseberry Falls]

This may mean Windows RT tablets will have flash support as well. We won't know for sure until the new Windows RT devices surface. (pun intended)

I wouldn't count on RT supporting flash as Windows Phone 8 won't either. I think you will have to buy the Win 8 Surface (Ultrabook price range).

[Xopher]

Until the sites I go to no longer have Flash-enabled media, I'll keep using devices that support Flash. Besides, many of the Android devices people have right now already have Flash installed and will work fine as long as they use them.

One of the big ones I use is Amazon Prime video streaming. I watch videos on my PlayBook, on my Galaxy S, and on my Android tablet. The Kindle Fire has a streaming video app, and the iOS version came out recently. Other Android devices have to rely on Flash still. Hopefully Amazon either switches to HTML5, or they release their Fire app accessible for all Android devices.

[ralfyguy]

That is exactly the point. Flash is still everywhere, and as long as it is I'm glad my PB can do it. Whether it lacks certain apps or not, fact is I can surf the Web without being crippled and that is the main reason I bought a PB in the first place. That is what I use mine for anyways. So far I have not missed the laptop I had before at all, and my home PC is mostly collecting dust. It serves me well for getting the info I want. I could never be happy with a artificially crippled browser. The PB browser does everything I want it to do.

[SnoozerBold]

in three years time Flash will be as relevant as the RealPlayer and Shockwave browser plugins are now.

Funny you mention realplayer. I read somewhere today they were releasing a version for Android today. I was shocked they were still in business or that any site would use their codec requiring someone to actually use realplayer........buffering......buffering.......

[Andrew4life]

Ahh. So they won't support it on any Mobile platforms anymore?

Yeah, it's pretty old news. They announced it last year if I remember correctly. Back then everyone was touting how Playbook has flash and no one else does, and then news hit, and people were like: "oh noes, no flash for playbook anymore?". But luckily RIM is staying on top of things to keep Flash updated.

I think flash is becoming less important for the web, which is why Adobe have dropped the mobile development. Streaming media sites seem to be moving to HTML5, and I'll imagine those that are currently using Flash or Silverlight will migrate as the desktop development for those slows down in time. Do your daily browsing with flash turned off and all you'll miss are a few animated ads, which seem to get replaced with static gif/jpg versions anyway.

In three years time Flash will be as relevant as the RealPlayer and Shockwave browser plugins are now.

You forget that if you use the youtube website, everything is flash, and without flash, you can't watch videos. Unless of course you have an ipad and they had create a custom app to video youtube videos.

[Tre Lawrence]

If you asked me a year ago, I would have said having a flash-enabled browser is a necessity. Heck, if you asked me three months ago, I would have said the same.

On my latest device, I had the opportunity to use flash-less Chrome browser alongside the flash-enabled stock ICS browser. I liked Chrome so much I made it the default browser and disabled the stock one.

I can live without mobile flash, but like the option of having it. Comes in handy for Amazon Prime Video, for instance.

[cgk]

Yeah, it's pretty old news. They announced it last year if I remember correctly. Back then everyone was touting how Playbook has flash and no one else does, and then news hit, and people were like: "oh noes, no flash for playbook anymore?". But luckily RIM is staying on top of things to keep Flash updated.





You forget that if you use the youtube website, everything is flash, and without flash, you can't watch videos. Unless of course you have an ipad and they had create a custom app to video youtube videos.

This is false.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

[varunsain]

Just makes it even better for the PlayBook and BlackBerry platform. Flash is the most underrated thing..

Some further reading..

Best Video Encoding Software - Something to do with Flash encoding stuff

HTML5 vs. Flash comparison finds a few surprises, settles few debates -- Engadget - Small write up on how Mac does not support Flash but same on Windows shows 58% higher efficiency as compared to HTML5 because of GUI acceleration which the PlayBook just enabled even for Android runtime..

Adobe got 7 million iPhone and iPod touch download requests for Flash in December -- Engadget - I guess a good number of people do care about Flash.

Adobe employee ups passive aggressive stance on iPad while Apple promo forgets its limits -- Engadget - False advertising by Apple iPad displaying Flash objects

The Future of Web Video, Part 1

I admit that the nexus is a bit tenuous, but if you're an Apple Final Cut Pro producer, you're undoubtedly producing for the Web. Over the past few months, you've been hearing that Flash is going away, H.264 is going away, and soon you'll have to produce all your video in an open-source video codec called Ogg Theora (of all things). Well I'm here to tell you why that won't happen, so you can push away all those scary, vicious rumors and go back to what you do all day.

Tech.view: Flash in the pan | The Economist

No surprise, then, that Mr Jobs has banned programmers from writing iPhone apps using cross-platform programming tools like Adobe's Flash and Microsoft's .NET, which make it easy to write an app for many different devices and operating systems at once. Flash plug-ins, running inside web browsers, can be found in Macintosh computers, but in none of Apple's mobile toys.

Adobe Ships FMS 4 (HTML5 Falls Even Further Behind)

On the web, the purpose of Silverlight has never been to replace HTML; it's to do the things that HTML (and other technologies) couldn't in a way that was easy for developers to tap into. Microsoft remains committed to using Silverlight to extend the web by enabling scenarios that HTML doesn't cover. From simple �islands of richness� in HTML pages to full desktop-like applications in the browser and beyond, Silverlight enables applications that deliver the kinds of rich experiences users want. We group these into three broad categories: premium media experiences, consumer apps and games, and business/enterprise apps.

HTML5, the iPad, and What You Need to Know by Jan Ozer

To HTML5 proponents, providing any alternative to Flash, even one that requires more work and offers less features, is good because Flash = air pollution, and air pollution is BAD. Following this "logic," HTML5 proponents don't seem to feel the need to prove that HTML5 has any real advantages, other than displacing Flash. In other words, very little time and effort has been spent establishing features that HTML5 can provide that Flash (or Silverlight) can't.

To others, Flash = a plug-in that enables lots of games, or Flash = a ubiquitous platform that enables simple cross-browser and cross platform publishing. To most of these folks, HTML5 seems like a polluted idea, and Flash a breath of fresh air.

Comparison of HTML5 and Flash - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Less than 1% of Websites Fully HTML5 Compatible

The facts are these. HTML5 video support is confusing mess. What we do know, however is that to be fully HTML5 compatible, and support all current HTML5 compatible browsers, your site would have to include video encoded in three codecs, Ogg, H.264 and WebM. Citing video encoded in any one of these formats - particularly H.264 - as proof that HTML5 is gaining ground is a complete fiction.

Lot of stuff is old.. but very important points.. Above quotes are biased towards video streaming and not HTML5 as a whole.. However, I find it interesting to point out that HTML5 in general is being targeted as a Flash replacement rather than achieving anything extra..

My views might be limited in this case..

[pacoman03]

Funny you mention realplayer. I read somewhere today they were releasing a version for Android today. I was shocked they were still in business or that any site would use their codec requiring someone to actually use realplayer........buffering......buffering.......

Real Player is a full blown media player that I use regularly. Included with the player's installation package is a browser plug in that lets you easily download web based flash video (from YouTube and other sources) and will also playback flash videos, sometimes better than any other player, including VLC. It would be nice to see the android app converted for use on the PB.

[reeneebob]

Just makes it even better for the PlayBook and BlackBerry platform. Flash is the most underrated thing..

Which you can still download for free from the android store, and can still use on android devices and apple devices in alternate browsers. Strangely, I've always ended up uninstalling them as I've never needed to use them.

Flash isn't the end all be all. I wish people would stop harping on it like it is.

Sent from mah brainzzzzz via Galaxy S III and Tapatalk 2

[varunsain]

Which you can still download for free from the android store, and can still use on android devices and apple devices in alternate browsers. Strangely, I've always ended up uninstalling them as I've never needed to use them.

Flash isn't the end all be all. I wish people would stop harping on it like it is.

Sent from mah brainzzzzz via Galaxy S III and Tapatalk 2

Your comment would entirely mean the same if 'Flash' was replaced with 'HTML5'

The problem is Android and Apple users see Flash just as advertisement enabler on websites.. However, Applications, video streaming and web-based games heavily depend on Flash.

I don't have much insights on Adobe Flash, but I really believe that they are completely closing the system to Android and Apple (even though it may seem as though Android and Apple are shunning Flash) because they are realizing that they can gain more popularity and response if they turn into a closed system.

They have always been on good terms with Microsoft (largest pc market share) and now with BlackBerry (mobile computing).. They will streamline the processes on PC and Mobile so bad that every HTML5 supporter is going to cry out when they have 100s of chaotic objects, patents, codecs and all to think about when developing for 'everyone'..

Look Adobe is on a constant incline and they will not stop because Steve Jobs said something about them. All the crap is taken to the grave.

[rich_a]

You forget that if you use the youtube website, everything is flash, and without flash, you can't watch videos. Unless of course you have an ipad and they had create a custom app to video youtube videos.

Sorry, but you're talking rubbish. Try the following:

Launch the browser
Swipe down > Settings
Content > Enable Flash - Set to OFF

Now go to Youtube.com and watch some videos.

It works, right? Yet you've disabled Flash.... You can prove that it isn't using flash by double tapping the video - it doesn't go full screen like Flash does. Or make the video fullscreen in youtube and notice the "Swipe down to exit fullscreen" notifications doesn't pop up.

[varunsain]

So we are basically losing out on all those features which is apparently progressive?

[rich_a]

The problem is Android and Apple users see Flash just as advertisement enabler on websites.. However, Applications, video streaming and web-based games heavily depend on Flash.

I don't think anyone would disagree that there are still websites out there which use Flash. I just believe that flash is becoming less relevant as content producers want their websites to be viewed by more people - as people increasingly use tablets, mobiles and smart TV's it's prudent to make sure your content can reach these devices where Flash isn't available, but open standards are, right?

The PlayBook having flash is a bonus, I don't disagree, but these days it's not a deal breaker for most people. Popular streaming websites work without Flash now, and some others are in the process of moving.

And let's not kid ourselves - the Flash implementation on the PlayBook isn't perfect, either. Go to the 4OD website (a popular streaming website for Channel 4 here in the UK) on your desktop and everything works fine, on the PlayBook it's hit and miss whether the show you're watching will return after the ad break (4OD inserts ads into the breaks of TV shows, and it seems to tax the CPU somewhat. Sometimes you'll wait a long time for the show to return from the ad break, sometimes you need to reload the page). Go and try to play some random flash games and you'll find similar resource issues with quite a lot of them - they were developed to be played on 3GHz desktops back in 2005 and sometimes the PlayBook just can't cope.

[omniusovermind]

Sorry, but you're talking rubbish. Try the following:

Launch the browser
Swipe down > Settings
Content > Enable Flash - Set to OFF

Now go to Youtube.com and watch some videos.

It works, right? Yet you've disabled Flash.... You can prove that it isn't using flash by double tapping the video - it doesn't go full screen like Flash does. Or make the video fullscreen in youtube and notice the "Swipe down to exit fullscreen" notifications doesn't pop up.

I have tried that and while some videos still play, many others wouldn't. Why not?

[pacoman03]

I have tried that and while some videos still play, many others wouldn't. Why not?

The newer stuff on YouTube is all available in either flash or mp4 formats. It's only some of the older vids that are flash only.

[joshua_sx1]

If "flash" is really still important as it used to be, and RIM will keep it, they can use this as an advantage in marketing PlayBook...

[rich_a]

I have tried that and while some videos still play, many others wouldn't. Why not?

I didn't realise that there were videos which wouldn't play, I have to admit. When I tested this morning all of the youtube front page videos worked fine. It would be interesting to know the stats of how many videos are only available in FLV, I suspect Google only re-encodes videos which are in the top x% of requests.

[texazzpete]

If "flash" is really still important as it used to be, and RIM will keep it, they can use this as an advantage in marketing PlayBook...

This 'advantage' hasn't done wonders for Android tablets. Why would it do anything for the PlayBook?

If anything, the notion that RIM is still soldiering on with Flash support in the playbook - even after mobile flash has been left for dead by Adobe - only re-inforces the opinion in the minds of millions of consumers that RIM is still a company stuck in the dinosaur age.

Slowly but surely, the popular opinion is turning against flash as a buggy, security risk plugin that's fast becoming outdated.

[varunsain]

I didn't realise that there were videos which wouldn't play, I have to admit. When I tested this morning all of the youtube front page videos worked fine. It would be interesting to know the stats of how many videos are only available in FLV, I suspect Google only re-encodes videos which are in the top x% of requests.

YouTube HTML5 - Broadcast Yourself.

Notes
- Fullscreen support is partially implemented. Pressing the fullscreen button will expand the player to fill your browser. If your browser supports a fullscreen option, you can then use that to truly fill the screen
- If you want to find videos with WebM formats available, you can use the Advanced Search options to look for them (or just add &webm=1 to any search URL)

Additional Restrictions (we are working on these!)
- Videos with ads are not supported (they will play in the Flash player)
- On Firefox and Opera, only videos with WebM transcodes will play in HTML5
- If you've opted in to other testtube experiments, you may not get the HTML5 player (Feather is supported, though)

This 'advantage' hasn't done wonders for Android tablets. Why would it do anything for the PlayBook?

If anything, the notion that RIM is still soldiering on with Flash support in the playbook - even after mobile flash has been left for dead by Adobe - only re-inforces the opinion in the minds of millions of consumers that RIM is still a company stuck in the dinosaur age.

Slowly but surely, the popular opinion is turning against flash as a buggy, security risk plugin that's fast becoming outdated.

You learnt that from Jobs right? haha fool.

[reeneebob]

But again, you can still download Flash for android from the play store and if one really really reeeeeeeaallyyyyyyy wants flash in a browser, use an alternate browser, which most do anyway. Yes. Even on BB. Opera is still one of the most popular downloads for BBOS.

This is a moot point.

Sent from mah brainzzzzz via Galaxy S III and Tapatalk 2

[Anonymous9286410]

Adobe's flash's priority was always dragging attention to ads.
without Flashblocker and AdBlock visiting certain sites rather causes seizures.
despite almost weekly updates since the 90ties still lousy resolution, lousy sound.

should share the second place with Real Player as one of the 25 worst products ever made:
The 25 Worst Tech Products of All Time | PCWorld


Damian

[anon3969612]

Atari - Battlezone

Fullscreen PB screenshot running vintage Battlezone from the 80's, HDMI out to my theatre, game control through my mini-keyboard. Buddy sent me the link for vintage Atari games playable online... haven't had this much fun since 1981...

Can't do it without Flash.