One of the most prolific pieces of multimedia software to ever grace the internet, Adobe Flash Player, is now officially dead.
While we’ve known the fate of the obsolete browser plugin for a while now, it’s still sad to see its official support being dropped.
Adobe made the update via its website, stating that “Since Adobe no longer supports Flash Player after December 31, 2020, and blocked Flash content from running in Flash Player beginning January 12, 2021, Adobe strongly recommends all users immediately uninstall Flash Player to help protect their systems.”
Flash was once a prominent part of internet design, with many sites utilising its features in some way or another. Examples of such sites are achieved on the likes of webdesignmuseum.org, which features a staggering number of different uses of kit.
You may even remember the glory days of the likes of Newgrounds, which was host to an abundance of flash creations from a whole load of different artists. This includes the likes of Egoraptor, who you may know from the YouTube channel GameGrumps.
However, not everyone was a fan of Flash it seems, with the likes of Steve Jobs blocking the software from Apple products back in 2010. The late Apple CEO believed that there were various issues with the software, which can be summarised in this statement (via The Guardian):
“Letting a third party layer of software come between the platform and the developer ultimately results in sub-standard apps and hinders the enhancement and progress of the platform.”
This attitude isn’t surprising from Apple, considering its insistence in being a first party experience through and through. You could say that Flash’s days have been numbered since this historic shunning, with Apple gaining dominance with the iPhone and iPad throughout the 2010s.
Regardless of what you think about Flash Player, its prevalence within the world of technology will never be forgotten despite it now being dead. It’s been a great run. Rest in peace, Flash.
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Featured Image Credit: Adobe