Flash Memory

R.I.P. © iStock.

As announced back in 2017, Flash is soon to be a mere memory: Adobe will stop supporting Flash Player on December 31 and block Flash content from running on January 12, 2021. Its days were counted, with countless security holes, poor portability on mobile phones, a backstab from Apple, increasing pushback from Web browsers and competition from newer Web standards (HTML5, Canvas 2D, WebGL…). All these cuts added up to the death of the pioneer of Web animation and interactivity. Adobe offered a brief farewell in its notes: “We want to take a moment to thank all of our customers and developers who have used and created amazing Flash Player content over the last two decades… We are proud that Flash had a crucial role in evolving web content across animation, interactivity, audio, and video. We are excited to help lead the next era of digital experiences.” While Flash was mostly used for advertising and other visual junk, it was also the basis of countless significant and memorable games and interactive content. Happily, an open-source emulator called Ruffle will enable old Flash files. The Internet Archive is using Ruffle to preserve over 1,000 games and animations on its site. And Flash portal Kongregate partnered with a museum in Rochester, NY, to preserve its library of 130,000 Flash games.

⇨ The Verge, Adi Robertson, “Adobe just released the last Flash update ever.”