One Small Step for Flash, One Decently-Sized Leap for Chrome

Chrome has been making strides over the past few months to increase its footprint on Windows computers across the world. Adobe Flash has been heading in the opposite direction as increasing pressure from tech giants such as Apple and Google have put them on the losing end of “what not to put on your website if you want it to work well now and in the future.”

With security as a primary concern regarding Flash and its vulnerabilities with hidden malicious code, the roll out of a sandbox for Adobe Flash Player on Chrome is something that will benefit them to a small extent and should add fuel to the growing adoption of Chrome as a default browser.

“Since this past March, we’ve been working closely with Adobe to allow Flash Player to take advantage of new sandboxing technology in Chrome, extending the work we’ve already done with sandboxing for HTML rendering and JavaScript execution. This week, we’re excited to roll out the initial Flash Player sandbox for our dev channel users on Windows XP, Vista and 7.”

Those who are still holding on to Windows XP will see the biggest benefit as Chrome will be the only browser on the XP platform that runs Flash Player in a sandbox. By modifying Chrome’s existing sandbox technology currently used for HTML and Javascript, Flash sandboxing will reduce malware risks.

Those on the dev channel for Windows will get the initial taste of the new technology or they can disable it in their Chrome dev experience by adding –disable-flash-sandbox to the command line.

No Flash For Windows Phone 7.. Shocking

One point I was curious about among the tidbits regarding the release of Windows Phone 7 is what kind of support Flash will receive.

Adobe and Google have been hiding in dark corners together, murmuring about how best to deal with Apple’s threat to both of their business models, but where does Microsoft stand on all that?

Turns out Windows Phone 7 contains absolutely no Flash support whatsoever.

Microsoft’s Andy Lees, president of the mobile communications division spoke out about Flash on WP7, and insisted it wasn’t a “religious thing”.

“It’s not a religious thing; we support standard H.264 video in the browser. We’re not allergic to Flash, we’re not allergic to Silverlight, we’re not allergic to HTML5 – but this [Windows Phone 7 browser] doesn’t support it,” he said.

Apparently, the browser built into WP7 is equivalent to technology existing somewhere between IE7 and IE8.

Lees is confident that the future of the web will not be plugins, and used Active-X as an example of how their phone strategy differs to their desktop strategy.

Silverlight too is currently missing on WP7, a sure sign that Microsoft is willing to eat it’s own dog food on this issue.

Microsoft is keeping quiet on the future of WP7, and rightly so – perhaps they’re finally learning from Apple’s victories.

Adobe Releases 64bit Flash Player For Mac, Windows And Linux

Hot on the heels of not releasing a successful mobile version of Flash, Adobe is turning it’s attention back to Flash for desktop computers.

A preview release of a 64bit version of Flash Player, codenamed “Square” is now available for Mac, Windows and Linux.

Adobe advises caution when installing the app which has several known issues, including video playback problems with Hulu.com, Audi.co.uk and NBC.com.

The release also adds support for hardware accelerated rendering in the recently released IE9 beta, improving performance by up to 35%.

The release notes state that the features being previewed in Square will be available in the first half of 2011.

H.264 Standardization, The Final Nail In Flash’s Coffin

The big news announcement of the day is that MPEG LA, license holder for a number of high profile video standards has declared all h.264 video will be royalty free, so long as the video is provided to the end user for free.

The technical implications of this are lengthy, dull and tedious. The short version? You can now watch porn on any device you want without any additional plugins (cough.. Flash).

With an upsurge in mobile devices, the web has been calling out for a standard movie format to call its own without having to rely on third party codecs or plugins.

With no open source formats available, each browser vendor chose their preferred format, obviously with their own agenda. Apple backed H.264, Mozilla backed the Ogg standard and Internet Explorer scratched its head and wondered why people were so excited about standards.

Regardless of fractured browser support, Google announced in May it was open-sourcing its preferred video format, VP8, assuming this would give it the edge for its own products.

This move by MPEG LA ensures that finally, a standard format can be confidently accepted by browser makers without fear that they will one day be forced to start writing checks.

Frash, The Last Best Hope For Flash on iOS In The Galaxy

The dream for many of having Flash run on their iPad or iPhone just got a little bit more real thanks to the invention of Frash, a version of Flash that runs on jailbroken iOS devices.

This renewed hope doesn’t come from the unending stream of non-Apple devices comfortably running Flash with no impact on performance or battery life. No no.

The tool comes courtesy of Comex, the same group responsible for the JailbreakMe.com tool released earlier this month.

Cnet has a pretty good rundown of how Frash performs, but I don’t think I’m spoiling anything by stating that Frash crashes frequently, does not display all Flash content and rarely provides a simple, usable experience.

Cnet does note however that you can browse automobile manufacturer sites, a well known Flash-heavy area of the web. Woo hoo.

It seems redundant to point this out, again, but since there are still so many Flash advocates yelling at Apple to stop being so mean to poor old Adobe, I’ll say it once more for the record.

If there was a way to get Flash working on a mobile device by now, Adobe would have done it, no matter what the cost or how many trade offs it required.

Adobe and Google are supposedly working together in full teams and this has yet to become a reality, so I guess Flash fans with iOS devices are stuck with Frash for now.

The Gig’s Up, Jobs: EU Law Might Force Apple to Allow Flash and Open iTunes

You’re one of the five people in the civilized world who own a Zune, right? Well, good news – you may soon be able to sync it with iTunes. Seriously. This is a thing.

In an attempt to save the world and all its inhabitants, three Mortal Kombatants have been chosen the European Union has drafted up a document it’s calling the Digital Agenda, the function of which is to serve the cause of interoperability, openness, and innovation in the tech world. I, for one, am precisely the opposite of not all for that. Behold, an excerpt:

Since not all pervasive technologies are based on standards the benefits of interoperability risk being lost in such areas. The Commission will examine the feasibility of measures that could lead significant market players to license interoperability information while at the same time promoting innovation and competition.

Basically, this means that companies created a walled-garden atmosphere could find themselves getting fingered. Particularly companies that rhyme with Snapple.

Should the document find itself approved, Apple may find itself with no choice but to among other things allow Flash onto iOS, and even the syncing of competing media players and smartphones with iTunes. Well, in Europe anyway. But should it happen there, it may quickly follow suit in North America, where we’ve been tightening the reigns on things like this for a bit now, too.

This isn’t the first time this sitch has found itself happening – Microsoft found itself waist-deep in poo awhile ago over its bundling of IE and Word with every PC sold. Apple’s just doing that. To the extreme. But this isn’t about punching Apple in the box – this is about creating competition, which some argue is what drives innovation in the tech world. Like, look at the iPad. Look at it. Seriously, look at it. Magical? Yes. Harbinger of innovation? Hardly.

Personally, I think this is an issue worth looking into, at the very least. As a purchaser of Apple products anyway, I’m already on the inside and don’t really suffer the effects, as I sit here writing from my Mac Pro, charging my iPod. I’m not fully qualified to comment. But maybe you are! Stand up! He heard! Should the EU be allowed to do this? Does Apple have the right to build its walls ever-higher? Comment box is right there. Take it for a spin, yeah? Just mind the leathers.

Adobe Flash? On MY iPad? More Likely Than You Think

Alright, alright, calm down – no, Big Steve still gets all frowny when you mention Adobe. But assuming you have a jailbroken iPad (I would), Flash can finally be yours with Frash.

From the folks that brought you the Spirit jailbreak, and running on a compatibility layer, Frash is… well, it’s Flash, with an R. Finally, that half of the internet you weren’t able to see while lazing on the couch doing that… iPad… thing… whatever people do with iPads. Tapping things? – is suddenly again rendered visible. Time to take back Robot Unicorn Attack.

The release isn’t stable yet, so if you aren’t a developer, you’re gonna have to sit tight. But go in peace, knowing that Newgrounds and streaming porn will soon be back in action on the iPad. Well, probably. Frash runs ‘most Flash programs’, so Newgrounds might be out of luck, being the Flash golem it is. But porn? I bet you’ll be fine for porn. Rad.

You like to watch things. It’s your favourite, right? Of course it is. Watching things is your favourite, and I have brought for you a video, because frankly, I think you’re awesome.

Was Apple right to dump Flash on iPhone?

Fresh in from the historical inevitability department comes news of a failed Adobe Flash demo — and an all-new video clip showing what the proprietary multimedia standard can do on an Android phone.

Last week’s FlashCamp Seattle saw Flash Platform evangelist Ryan Stewart demo Flash Player 10.1 on a Nexus One phone during his opening keynote. It didn’t go well, wrote blogger, Jeff Croft.

Here’s what happened: On his Mac, Ryan pulled up a site called Eco Zoo. It is, seemingly, a pretty intense example of Flash development — full of 3D rendering, rich interactions, and cute little characters. Then, he pulled up the same thing on his Nexus One. The site’s progress bar filled in and the 3D world appeared for a few seconds before the browser crashed. Ryan said (paraphrasing), “Whoops! Well, it’s beta, and this is an intense example — let’s try it again.” He tried it again and got the same result. So he said to the audience, “Well, this one isn’t going to work, but does anyone have a Flash site they’d like to see running?” Someone shouted out “Hulu.” Ryan said, “Hulu doesn’t work,” and then wrapped up his demo, telling people if they wanted to try more sites they could find him later and he’d let them play with his Nexus One.

Contrast that clear disaster with this latest video clip which shows Flash working on a pre-release build of Android 2.2, set to ship near May 19. Ryan again does his demo and shows it browsing CBS, games and more, and it all seems slick.

All the same, given the time this is taking, many commentators are beginning to ask, ‘Was Apple right to refuse Flash?‘

Adobe And Google = Apple.. Kinda

Adobe and Google, sitting in a tree.. Since Apple’s CEO publicly and thoughtfully destroyed Flash’s chances of ever making it to the iPhone or iPad, Adobe has been looking for a kindred spirit who will champion the need for Flash on a mobile device.

A while back we saw a demonstration of Adobe’s 10.1 Flash mobile player running on a Nexus One, but today the plot thickens considerably.

Most people now understand that the barriers to Flash on smartphones are at least genuine, legitimate concerns, but what about a tablet device?

Who else but Google could Adobe turn to? If the enemy of my enemy is my friend, then Adobe and Google are the perfect couple. Apple is suing Android-friendly handset manufacturer HTC, and Adobe is looking for someone, anyone who will help throw Flash a lifeline.

The only real news here is that there will be a number of tablet devices released this year running Android, but that was pretty obvious. As always, the big questions are, in order of importance, performance, battery life and usability.

The video above doesn’t really answer any of these questions, but one thing is certain: A device running Adobe Flash that doesn’t outperform on all three points will be the final nail in Flash’s coffin.

Source: Wired Gadget Lab

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