Adobe Flash disabled in latest Safari Technology Preview

Comments

• Reply 1 of 26

  jd_in_sb Posts: 1,600member

  January 23, 2020 3:14AM

  Flash had its day. It was revolutionary but ultimately just an interim step to HTML5. Now if we could just get rid of JavaScript...

  
• Reply 2 of 26

  MplsP Posts: 3,925member

  January 23, 2020 3:28AM

  I agree that Flash should die, but there are unfortunately there are still some sites that use it. We use an outside vendor at work with such a site; while they do have a non-Flash version, it is technically limited and is missing some critical features. Before people say ‘they need to get with the times’ or ‘you should just switch vendors,’ they need to realize that while we have told them about the issues, we do not control them, and ‘just switching vendors’ is not so easy.
  
  Also, Steve Jobs was right about Flash!

  
• Reply 3 of 26

  applesauce007 Posts: 1,698member

  January 23, 2020 3:33AM

  Thank God.
  I wish everyone would stop using flash already.

  
• Reply 4 of 26

  Soli Posts: 10,035member

  January 23, 2020 5:11AM

  Remember when there was Adobe Flash splash pages on websites?
  
  

  MplsP said:

  I agree that Flash should die, but there are unfortunately there are still some sites that use it. We use an outside vendor at work with such a site; while they do have a non-Flash version, it is technically limited and is missing some critical features. Before people say ‘they need to get with the times’ or ‘you should just switch vendors,’ they need to realize that while we have told them about the issues, we do not control them, and ‘just switching vendors’ is not so easy.
  
  Also, Steve Jobs was right about Flash!

  Where are they using Adobe Flash that couldn't be done with HTML5 and JS? Even Apple used Adobe Flash in MobileMe.

  edited January 2020
• Reply 5 of 26

  chasm Posts: 3,294member

  January 23, 2020 7:06AM

  MplsP said:

  I agree that Flash should die, but there are unfortunately there are still some sites that use it. We use an outside vendor at work with such a site; while they do have a non-Flash version, it is technically limited and is missing some critical features.

  Have you pointed out to them that this means nobody on mobile devices (either platform) can see the site properly?

  
• Reply 6 of 26

  gordon1420 Posts: 19member

  January 23, 2020 8:47AM

  The web interface for the Arlo line of security cameras as of now still requires Flash in order to function. This is the very last place I have any use for it. 

  
• Reply 7 of 26

  bageljoey Posts: 2,004member

  January 23, 2020 10:48AM

  chasm said:

  MplsP said:

  I agree that Flash should die, but there are unfortunately there are still some sites that use it. We use an outside vendor at work with such a site; while they do have a non-Flash version, it is technically limited and is missing some critical features.

  Have you pointed out to them that this means nobody on mobile devices (either platform) can see the site properly?

  I do the yearbook for the school where I teach. The yearbook website (Jostens) needs flash to run. I don’t mind clicking to allow it, but not being able to use my Mac to lay out the yearbook would be a major pain. 

  I’m hoping that Jostens is ready to go with a new (non-flash) version, but if not...

  
• Reply 8 of 26

  EsquireCats Posts: 1,268member

  January 23, 2020 12:05PM

  MplsP said:

  I agree that Flash should die, but there are unfortunately there are still some sites that use it. We use an outside vendor at work with such a site; while they do have a non-Flash version, it is technically limited and is missing some critical features. Before people say ‘they need to get with the times’ or ‘you should just switch vendors,’ they need to realize that while we have told them about the issues, we do not control them, and ‘just switching vendors’ is not so easy.
  
  Also, Steve Jobs was right about Flash!

  It's a case of companies persisting because there was still a way of using it. I fully expect that your vendor will require one of the remaining browsers to use their site. (That said Adobe themselves are discontinuing Flash this year, so something will have to change.)

  
• Reply 9 of 26

  macxpress Posts: 5,808member

  January 23, 2020 12:41PM

  bageljoey said:

  chasm said:

  MplsP said:

  I agree that Flash should die, but there are unfortunately there are still some sites that use it. We use an outside vendor at work with such a site; while they do have a non-Flash version, it is technically limited and is missing some critical features.

  Have you pointed out to them that this means nobody on mobile devices (either platform) can see the site properly?

  I do the yearbook for the school where I teach. The yearbook website (Jostens) needs flash to run. I don’t mind clicking to allow it, but not being able to use my Mac to lay out the yearbook would be a major pain. 

  I’m hoping that Jostens is ready to go with a new (non-flash) version, but if not...

  You could just not use Jostons....its not like its the only choice out there. The school I used to work in switched away from Jostons because they didn't like it. 

  
• Reply 10 of 26

  davidw Posts: 2,050member

  January 23, 2020 1:28PM

  jd_in_sb said:

  Flash had its day. It was revolutionary but ultimately just an interim step to HTML5. Now if we could just get rid of JavaScript...

  Nooooooooooooooo!
  
  With Safari and the Developer menu on the top menu bar, javascript can be easily disabled with a just a few clicks ( or a user programed key stroke). This makes it easy to view a lot of websites, without loading any of their ads, pop ups and videos. It works better than any ad blockers and even gets rid of those pop ups that prevents you from reading the articles, unless you disable your ad blockers or whitelist the site.
  
  Of course javascript can not be disabled for all the sites I visit but many of the news sites where I just want to read an article to two, without all their annoying pop ups and ads, just disabling javascript is the easiest way to get rid of those ads. Plus doing so, my old MacBook with a core2duo feels like it has an i7 chip in it and without my fan going into high speed on certain sites. It's the same with my 2nd generation iPad. I can easily disable javascript in the Safari setting and the iPad feels like one of the newer ones, when visiting websites that mainly uses javascript for ads. 
  
  Now this is from a consumer using the internet point of view and not that of a developer or software engineer, where there might be other issues with javascript.   

  edited January 2020
• Reply 11 of 26

  bageljoey Posts: 2,004member

  January 23, 2020 1:53PM

  macxpress said:

  You could just not use Jostons....its not like its the only choice out there. The school I used to work in switched away from Jostons because they didn't like it. 

  There are 17 schools in my district all on the same contract.  I do not have a choice...
• Reply 12 of 26

  neilm Posts: 987member

  January 23, 2020 2:04PM

  Flash — just take it out behind the barn and shoot it!
  
  For anyone still needing Flash to access legacy web sites, use Google's Chrome browser instead of Safari. It has Flash baked in, and updates itself in a secure fashion so that you don't have to figure out whether a Flash update alert is genuine or malware. (Our payroll processor still uses Flash...yeah, what could possibly go wrong with that?)

  edited January 2020
• Reply 13 of 26

  gatorguy Posts: 24,213member

  January 23, 2020 2:07PM

  neilm said:

  Flash — just take it out behind the barn and shoot it!
  
  For anyone still needing to use Flash to access legacy web sites, use Google's Chrome browser. It has Flash baked in, and updates itself in a secure fashion so that you don't have to figure out whether a Flash update alert is genuine or malware. (Our payroll processor still uses Flash...yeah, what could possibly go wrong with that?)

  Only until the end of this year Neil. They began deprecating it a few years ago and 2020 puts an end to it. With the western world's major browser dropping all support Adobe themselves have also announced Flash will come to a development end this year too. 

  edited January 2020
• Reply 14 of 26

  taugust04_ai Posts: 106member

  January 23, 2020 2:12PM

  Yes, as much of an inconvenience getting rid of Flash might be, it’s needed. And the only way to fully get rid of it is to have browser vendors disable the support of their usage.

  
• Reply 15 of 26

  spice-boy Posts: 1,450member

  January 23, 2020 2:46PM

  Funny I thought I attended Flash's funeral a few years ago, guess it must have been another bad Adobe software. 

  
• Reply 16 of 26

  dysamoria Posts: 3,430member

  January 23, 2020 3:06PM

  I thought this had already happened years ago. What did I miss that it’s still been available to use as a web plugin?
  
  As for Adobe ending support for it themselves, that just means the web plugin, right? They’re not actually abandoning the animation tool are they?
• Reply 17 of 26

  StrangeDays Posts: 12,877member

  January 23, 2020 3:19PM

  Soli said:

  Remember when there was Adobe Flash splash pages on websites?
  

  Or Flash-based top nav menus?
• Reply 18 of 26

  neilm Posts: 987member

  January 23, 2020 4:37PM

  gatorguy said:

  neilm said:

  Flash — just take it out behind the barn and shoot it!
  
  For anyone still needing to use Flash to access legacy web sites, use Google's Chrome browser. It has Flash baked in, and updates itself in a secure fashion so that you don't have to figure out whether a Flash update alert is genuine or malware. (Our payroll processor still uses Flash...yeah, what could possibly go wrong with that?)

  Only until the end of this year Neil. They began deprecating it a few years ago and 2020 puts an end to it. With the western world's major browser dropping all support Adobe themselves have also announced Flash will come to a development end this year too. 

  Oh I'm well aware of that.
  
  The problem is for legacy users until October 2020 when Flash support comes to an end. But don't imagine for a minute that the remaining Flash sites, or games, or whatevers, will suddenly, err, flash out of existence. There's nothing to stop them from continuing to exist.

  
• Reply 19 of 26

  AnotherBrick Posts: 43member

  January 23, 2020 6:43PM

  There are sports streaming sites that I know recently and probably still require Flash to show video clips. This may not technically be Apple’s fault that a website quits working but they are going to be blamed anyway. 
• Reply 20 of 26

  tumantorak Posts: 3member

  January 23, 2020 7:34PM

  At every level, most businesses won't spend money if they don't immediately need to. That's how we ended up in this situation in a nutshell. The thinner the profit margins are, the more likely a company is to put off that decision and costs associated with retiring Flash-dependent processes. As long as the browsers supported Flash, even in increasingly inconvenient, annoying ways, that was an expense that could be left on the back burner. As an IT person, I'm concerned that some of the systems we use have management tools that are accessible only through a Flash webpage. We can (and do) pressure those companies to provide an HTML5 or some other non-Flash alternative. Nothing purchased in the past few years has Flash dependency. Unfortunately there are some systems, processes, production workflows, apps, etc., that are dependent on something running 24/7 that requires Flash to manage it. Sometimes a company or department ends up inheriting the Flash mess from an acquisition or circumstance beyond their control. It's not just commerce sites, although that is the way most people will experience or be aware of the issue. If it involves the spending of money, many (most?) businesses will put off the cost of switching from a dead technology until they absolutely must.

  edited January 2020