Adobe kills Flash for mobile, or: Flash is dead(ish)
Adobe is Stopping development on Flash Player for browsers on mobile.
More elaboration:
Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores. We will no longer adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations. Some of our source code licensees may opt to continue working on and releasing their own implementations. We will continue to support the current Android and PlayBook configurations with critical bug fixes and security updates.
In case no-one realises, this is Adobe throwing in the towel for Flash being a viable general web technology. With this announcement, Flash just became Director: an authoring environment for apps and—until native web tech catches up—elaborate interactive desktop embedded web-page components (including games). Anyone who argues otherwise is deluded, given that browsing is rapidly transitioning to mobile and yet Adobe’s now exiting this market when it comes to Flash.
Still, Apple and its stupid decision to not support Flash on the iPhone and iPad, eh?
Update: Adobe Featured Blogs now has a post up on the company’s decision to quit making Mobile Flash.
I saw a tweet today that sums up this post, Craig:
“Some people are being so smug and dumping all over Flash, ignoring all the good it’s done for the web.”
..without flash the last 10 years would have been pretty boring?