Adobe Systems bid goodbye to Flash, the software that for years delivered video, games and ads to internet browsers. Some say that "Adobe is finally ready to say goodbye to Adobe Flash" and that the "Adobe Flash is finally dead."
It would be more accurate to say Adobe is closing Flash's coffin, and it may take some other time before saying it is dead.
Many found some reasons to get rid of Flash. Browser makers say there's a sore spot for security, performance and a shorter battery life.
"There are hundreds of thousands of developers and designers that continue to use Flash, which means the technology will be there for some time," IDC analyst, Al Hilwa, said. "That HTML5 is not yet up to every capability of Flash is clearly a factor," the analyst continued, as quoted by CNET news.
Flash became popular in the late 1990s for some good reason. The software injected interactivity and polished design into the internet. Browser makers and programmers have worked hard in the last decade to improve the core Web technologies of HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and to wean the Web from Flash reliance.
Adobe brought Flash Player to smartphones in 2009. In 2010, it found a place on Android phones, but Apple's Chief Executive Steve Jobs, banished Flash from iPhones, demolishing any hopes of Flash developers to see their creations on the influential hardware.
Omnifeed said that though the usage of Flash has steadily declined, the technology is still common. As of mid-November, on the 482,000 websites the HTTP Archive monitors, 21 percent still use Flash.
It would be easy to remove Flash support from Firefox, but many users still want it, Mozilla's senior vice president Mark Mayo said in an October interview. "It feels a bit academic to say take it out," he said, expressing for a gradual phase-out. "We're on a path of responsible disarmament that slowly decreases the number of Flash activations."
