Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash, initially released in 1993, is a software application that facilitates the creation and display of multimedia content on the Internet. Originally designed for digital animators and web designers, Flash became a pioneering tool for animating online content and was widely used for multimedia applications, including games and videos. After its acquisition by Macromedia in 1997 and later by Adobe Systems in 2005, Flash evolved from primarily an animation tool to a platform for viewing multimedia content on desktop computers.
Despite its initial success, Flash's popularity waned with the rise of mobile devices, particularly after Apple’s iPhone launch in 2007, which highlighted compatibility issues. The incompatibility was exacerbated by Apple's critique of Flash's performance on mobile devices. In response, Adobe shifted its focus towards integrating newer coding technologies like HTML5, which became the preferred standard for web content due to its superior mobile compatibility. By the mid-2010s, many online services transitioned away from Flash in favor of HTML5, leading to a decline in its use. Nonetheless, as of 2016, Flash continues to operate on desktop browsers and remains relevant in certain areas of multimedia and animation, although it is no longer as dominant as it once was.
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Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash, also known as Flash, is a free software application that assists in the production and display of multimedia content on the Internet. Released in 1993, the program was created with the digital animator, videogame publisher, and website designer in mind. At the time of Flash's release, people were just beginning to create digital art and had not yet ventured into computer animation. Flash quickly became a pioneer of its time, allowing users to animate using an online application.
After Macromedia, Inc. (Macromedia) and eventually Adobe Systems, Inc. (Adobe) acquired the software, Flash operated less as an animation program and more as an assistant to viewing videos, creating websites, and playing games. Although updates to coding languages have rendered the application unusable to mobile devices, the software is periodically updated and released for Internet browsers on desktop computers. Flash was initially an animation software but has since evolved into a means to experiencing the Internet at its fullest potential.
Brief History
Jonathan Gay, Charlie Jackson, and Michelle Welsh wanted to make digital art easier to create than traditional art created with a pencil and paper. In 1993, the three programmers started a software company called FutureWave Software, Inc. (FutureWave). Unfortunately, their first application, SmartSketch, was forced to compete against the popular Adobe Illustrator and did not sell well. In 1996, FutureWave turned to digital animation with FutureSplash Animator, which received great acclaim and was soon used by popular websites such as Disney and MSN.
Because large companies were using FutureSplash, it attracted the attention of Macromedia, which purchased FutureWave, Inc., in 1997. Under new management, FutureSplash was renamed Macromedia Flash and was used almost exclusively on desktop computers. By the turn of the twenty-first century, Macromedia Flash was used across the web, making it easy for users to view multimedia content on the Internet, including music, games, videos, and websites.
Adobe purchased the Macromedia brand in 2005 and renamed the software Adobe Flash. Although Adobe was once a major competitor of Flash's original company, FutureWave, Adobe added the ground-breaking application to its lineup of creative products. Not long after the Adobe acquisition, YouTube emerged and relied on Flash to display all videos uploaded to its servers. As YouTube's popularity began to grow and Adobe Flash became more successful. The creators of Flash received the Ub Iwerks Award at the 2008 Annie Awards for their work on the program. The Ub Iwerks Award honors advancements in the animation field.
However, Adobe Flash's popularity was short-lived. The rise of Apple, Inc.'s (Apple) iPhone in 2007 led to software inconsistencies between the iPhone and Flash that left the program unusable. An iPhone's software was similar to a desktop computer's software in many ways, but it was not able to run Flash without performance glitches. Apple and Adobe attempted to fix the issue, but after the release of the iPad, Apple co-founder Steve Jobs issued a public complaint against Flash in 2011.
In an online letter titled "Thoughts on Flash," Jobs gave several reasons why Flash would not cooperate with the iPhone. First, he said the program was meant to work with personal computers and mice, not mobile devices and touchscreens. With the iPhone's touchscreen capability, features inherent to Flash would not be accessible, including the "hover feature" to access Flash-enabled web content. He explained that the battery was another problem. Because Flash was a separate program, it would drain the iPhone's battery power. Lastly, Jobs claimed that third-party developers involved in Flash games would make lesser-quality content for iPhone if allowed to design for Apple.
In Adobe's response to Jobs' letter, the company insisted that it was working on new updates for Flash despite the pushback from Apple. Additionally, Adobe vowed to work more closely with a new coding language, HTML5, to remedy Flash's issues with mobile devices. Android and Blackberry phones continued to use Flash until Adobe stopped supporting the software on all mobile devices in 2011. However, Adobe continued to work on software updates for Flash on all desktop computers, regardless of their operating systems.
Impact
At its birth, Adobe Flash was a pioneer in the field of digital creativity. However, as technology evolved and caught up with Flash's abilities, the program began to lose traction. Mobile developers stopped using Flash in their applications and hardware to increase accessibility. By the mid-2010s, Flash was exclusively used by Internet browsers as a built-in software to view videos and some websites. However, when Flash stopped updating on mobile devices, those videos and websites turned to HTML5, a coding language that operates similarly to Flash.
The majority of online advertisements and embedded videos that used Flash in the early twenty-first century began to switch to HTML5 as of 2016. While Flash was initially praised for its ability to play embedded videos, the loss of mobile compatibility necessitated the use of HTML5. YouTube began switching to the coding language in early 2015 as mobile use of its application became more widespread. To make the transition from Flash to HTML5 easier, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox made YouTube videos and online Flash advertisements automatically switch to HTML5 when viewed on mobile devices.
The rise of the mobile device endangered Adobe Flash, especially when Apple made public problems with the program. Flash was officially discontinued at the end of 2020. Many operating systems and web browers were scheduled to remove the software. Adobe replaced Flash with Adobe Animate, which supports HTML5.
Bibliography
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"Flash Professional Is Now Adobe Animate." Adobe, 24 May 2023, helpx.adobe.com/animate/kb/flash‗is‗now‗animate‗cc.html. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Gross, Doug. "Did Steve Jobs Kill Adobe Flash?." CNN, 9 Nov. 2011, http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/09/tech/mobile/flash-steve-jobs/index.html. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Jobs, Steve. "Thoughts on Flash." Apple, Apr. 2010, http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Preece, Caroline. "Google to Automatically Convert Flash Web Ads to HTML5." IT Pro, 27 Feb. 2015, http://www.itpro.co.uk/mobile/24135/google-to-automatically-convert-flash-web-ads-to-html5. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Salter, Anastasia and John Murray. Flash: Building the Interactive Web. MIT Press, 2014.
Simpson, Aaron. "Grandmasters of Flash: An Interview with the Creators of Flash." Cold Hard Flash, 12 Feb. 2008, http://www.coldhardflash.com/2008/02/grandmasters-of-flash-an-interview-with-the-creators-of-flash. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
Vanian, Jonathan. "Mozilla Joins Google and Facebook in Phasing Out Adobe Flash." Fortune.com, 21 July 2016, www.fortune.com/2016/07/21/mozilla-google-facebook-phasing-adobe-flash. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.
"Why It's a GOOD Thing That "Adobe Flash" Is Rebranding as 'Adobe Animate'." Rubber Onion, 2 Dec. 2024, www.rubberonion.com/blog/why-its-a-good-thing-that-adobe-flash-is-rebranding-as-adobe-animate. Accessed 9 Jan. 2025.