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Will anyone miss Flash when it's gone ? Maybe, if these internet hits spark some nostalgia
Flash is dead, long live Fl - actually, no, scartch that, Flash really is dead and it deserved to die. Flash is terrible
The killer blows to Adobe's multimedia browser plugin were delivered this week in a one-two punch. Firstly, users of Flash were left open to not one but two "zero-day" vulnerabilities in the same week, affecting users of Chrome, Internet Explorer and Firefox. Almost immediately, hackers were able to abuse these flaws to dump malware in Windows PCs, which led Mozilla to disable the plugin entirely until users had updated to a secure version
Then on Tuesday, YouTube - the biggest provider of Flash video ever - announced that it would stop serving its videos using the plugin for anyone visiting the site in a modern browser
"There were limitations that held it back from becoming our preferred platform for video delivery," wrote the site's engineering manager, Richard Leider, four years ago. "Most critically, HTML5 lacked support for Adaptive Bitrate(ABR) that lets us show you more videos with less buffering
"Over the last four years, we've worked with browser vendors and the broader community to close those gaps, and now, YouTube uses HTML5 by default in Chrome, IE11, Safari 8 and in beta versions of Firefox"
The writing has been on the wall for Flash for almost a decade - ever since the iPhone launched in 2007 with no support for the plugin. At the time, Apple was lambasted for its absence; the company worked with Google to create a standalone YouTube app, but many other sites were only partly functional until they bowed to user pressure and built "mobile friendly"
Three years later, the pressure was such that Steve Jobs wrote a rare missive publicly addressing the company's continued refusal to include the software. "Flash was created during the PC era - for PCs and mice," he argued. "Flash is a successful business for Adobe, and we can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs. But the mobile era is about low-power devices, touch interfaces and open web standards - all areas where Flash falls shorts"
A year after Jobs' letter, Adobe killed the mobile Flash player for Android devices, fully retreating from the post-PC world
WIth YouTube following suit, it doesn't look like long until the player is a relic of an internet past. But before we all uninstall it, maybe it's time to look back at the great hits of Flash gone by
The End of the World
TIme was, Flash animations ruled the internet. The End of the World wasn't the best of them, not the first, but it was one that perfectly exemplified the medium for a long time. Scatchy amateurish drawings with worse animation, bad caricatures of George Bush, and jokes which don't really make sense, it was a surefire viral hit.
Xiao Xiao
But amateurish animation doesn't necessarily mean inelegant. Xiao Xiao, a nine-part series which started in April 2001, began as just two stick fighting in a featureless room, and static pictures don't do it justice: the beauty is in motion. Over the course of the series' progression, the animation got better and better, but even from the first episode, what stood out was stylish choreography which could put Hollywood to shame. He breaks a stick and kicks it into a guy's face! Eleven-year-old me thought this was great
Created by the British cartoonist David Firth, Salad Fingers felt like one of the first flash animations that went fully viral, inhabiting normal pop culture as well as the weird internet one. That was mostly because it was relentlessly, inexplicably creepy. Salad Fingers is a green man with weird fingers and a weirder voice. He wants to stroke your rusty kettle. He likes spoons
The series is still, infrequently, being produced, with the most recent episode coming out in 2013
Weebl and Bob
Another British creation Weebl and Bob are two wobbly eggs who like pie. That set-up took the animation through over 100 episodes, onto MTV in a series of licensed indents, and a made for DVD special. The creator, Jonti Picking, was also hired by Anchor Butter to make adverts for the product featuring cows rather than eggs
The noughties were weird
Homestar Runner
The undoubted star of early Flash animations is Homestar Runner. Another comedy series, initially starring Homestar Runner himself, it soon sprawled into a whole host of linked series - and spawned an even bigger star than its lead in the form of Strong Bad, an angry Mexican wrestler who responds to readers emails and mocks typos. When a new episode was dropped without warning in October 2014, the internet freaked out - and with reason
Hedgehog launch
While YouTube killed the Flash animation star, the plugin stuck around a bit longer, thanks to online games - at least until the game development platform Unity superseded it there too. Hedgehog Launch was the breakout hit of developer John Cooney, better known as jmtb02, and tasked players with launching a hedgehog into space. Addictive, intuitive, fun and cute, it was a sure-fire hit, and propelled Cooney into a career making increasingly smart games that never lost sight of the need for pure viral magic.
The Helicopter Game
This simple flight sim, which requires you to deftly tap the mouse button to keep your chopper airborne, is one of the most played Flash games in the history of the platform. It's also surely an influence on one of the biggest smartphone gaming hits of 2013: Flappy Bird. Be warned: if you start playing it, you probably won't get anything else done today
won't get anything else done today
is also surely an influence on one of the biggest smartphone gaming hits of 2013
to keep your chopper airborne
the simple flight sim, which requires you to deftly tap the mouse button to keep your chopper airborne
never lost sight of the need for pure viral magic
propelled Cooney into a career making increasingly smart games
was a sure-fire hit
addictive, intuitive, fun and cute
tasked players with launching a hedgehog into space
was the breakout hit of developer John Cooney
superseded it there too
stuck around a bit longer
when a new episode was dropped without warning in October 2014
responds to readers emails and mocks typos
spawned an even bigger star than its lead in the form of Strong Bad.
initially starring Homestar Runner himself, it soon sprawled into a whole host of linked series
the undoubted star of early Flash animations
the noughties were weird
was also hired by Anchor Butter to make adverts for the product featuring cows rather than eggs
a made for DVD special
onto MTV in a series of licensed indents
that set-up took the animation through over 100 episodes
are two wobbly eggs who like pie
wants to stroke your rusty kettle
a weirder voice
was relentlessly, inexplicably creepy
went fully viral, inhabiting normal pop culture as well as the weird internet one
breaks a stick and kicks into a guy's face
what stood out was stylish chreography which could put Hollywood to shame
over the course of the series' progression
static pictures don't do it justice
began as just two stick fighting in a featureless room
started in April 2001
amateurish animation doesn't necessarily inelegant
viral hit
was a surefire viral hit
scatchy amateurish drawings with worse animation, bad caricatures of George Bush
was one that perfectly exemplified the medium for a long time
ruled the internet
is time to look back at the great hits of Flash gone by
doesn't look like long until the players is a relic of an internet past
fully retreating from the post-PC world
falls shorts
all areas where Flash falls shorts
the mobile era is about low-power devices
to push it beyond PCs
can understand why they want to push it beyond PCs
was such that Steve Jobs wrote a rare missive publicly addressing the company's continued refusal to include the software
were only partly functional until they bowed to user pressure and built "mobile friendly"
to create a standalone YouTube app
was lambasted for its absence
ever since the iPhone launched in 2007 with no support for the plugin
has been on the wall for Flash for almost a decade
have worked with browser vendors and the broader community to close those gaps
lacked support Adaptive Bitrate(ABR) that lets us show you more videos with less buffering
were limitations that held it back from becoming our preferred platform for video delivery
announced that it would stop serving its videos using the plugin for anyone visiting the site in a modern browser
led Mozilla to disable the plugin entirely
led Mozilla to disable the plugin entirelyt until users had updated to a secure version
were able to abuse these flaws to dump malware in Windows PCs
affecting users of Chrome
were left open to not one but two "zero-day" vulnerabilities in the same week
were delivered this week in a one-two punch
hits spark some nostalgia
dealt the killing blow