Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update (Work Around Available)

[MalachyNG]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

Not this again. Adobe had continued to support Android until September of this year, long after Google officially abandoned it. It had not worked in Chrome, but continued to work in the aosp browser, until now. Google has switched the web rootkit it uses in Android to Chromium, with does not support flash at all.

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Well, if Adobe were to stop supporting flash for windows how long would Microsoft hold on to old code in its product before making a change that would break flash completely?

Sure Google might of removed certain APIs, but again, Adobe hadn't updated the app to work on new versions of Android. If anything we're lucky if worked this long.

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[fernandezhjr]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

Well, if Adobe were to stop supporting flash for windows how long would Microsoft hold on to old code in its product before making a change that would break flash completely?

Sure Google might of removed certain APIs, but again, Adobe hadn't updated the app to work on new versions of Android. If anything we're lucky if worked this long.

Posted via Android Central App

No, you are wrong. Adobe continually updated it until September of this year. I installed several updates on my N4 from the Adobe website.

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[someguy01234]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

No, you are wrong. Adobe continually updated it until September of this year. I installed several updates on my N4 from the Adobe website.

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That's true, but doesn't mean they are intending to make it compatible with KitKat, or putting as much resources into it like before.

 

[Greg C]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

No, you are wrong. Adobe continually updated it until September of this year. I installed several updates on my N4 from the Adobe website.

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He said Adobe didn't update Flash to work with NEW VERSIONS of Android which is correct. Yes... Adobe continued to update up to September, but it wasn't to support the newer versions of Android. 4.0 is the last Android version to be supported by Adobe. That's a fact.

 

[fernandezhjr]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

He said Adobe didn't update Flash to work with NEW VERSIONS of Android which is correct. Yes... Adobe continued to update up to September, but it wasn't to support the newer versions of Android. 4.0 is the last Android version to be supported by Adobe. That's a fact.

So I guess updates up until September of this year was not inclusive of Jellybean? The fact remains that they were still pushing updates until September of this year and I was able to apply everyone of them. Those updates were not just for people using ICS 4.0 and it was not old code, otherwise their would be no need to supply updates. The fact that Google refused to acknowledge those updates does not mean they did not exist. I understand what you are saying, but my point is that the updates worked for newer versions and Adobe would have stated that the newer versions were inclusive had it not been for the fact that Google abandoned support of Flash. This would not allow Adobe to provide support for Flash on newer versions, so obviously they would not list the newer versions as supported. Which is my point, the updates were there, they were just not officially supported.

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[paintdrinkingpete]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

So I guess updates up until September of this year was not inclusive of Jellybean? The fact remains that they were still pushing updates until September of this year and I was able to apply everyone of them. Those updates were not just for people using ICS 4.0 and it was not old code, otherwise their would be no need to supply updates. The fact that Google refused to acknowledge those updates does not mean they did not exist. I understand what you are saying, but my point is that the updates worked for newer versions and Adobe would have stated that the newer versions were inclusive had it not been for the fact that Google abandoned support of Flash. This would not allow Adobe to provide support for Flash on newer versions, so obviously they would not list the newer versions as supported. Which is my point, the updates were there, they were just not officially supported.

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Any updates that were provided were security fixes only. All development ceased on Flash for Android quite some time ago, and any Android versions 4.1 and higher were never officially supported by Adobe. They provided the updates as is, and if you could get them to work, more power to you, but as far as Adobe was concerned, they were not providing any support for Android compatibility past Gingerbread. (EDIT: Apparently ICS was last supported version, not that it makes a difference at this point)

The simple fact is that Flash was a failed experiment. I'm not going to take the time to Google all the references out there as to why it was discontinued, but in short it was a combination of the fact that it was (1) a resource hog, (2) was always a bit clunky in actual real world use, and (3) was becoming less and less necessary to support as alternatives such as HTML5 were being more widely used.

It made no sense for Flash support to be built into Chrome browser for mobile because that was deployed with Android 4.0, where Adobe's support for the product ended. I'm sure if Adobe was still supporting Flash for Android, they would be working with Google/Android to get it working with the changes in 4.4...but that simply isn't going to happen, and it's not Google's fault either. I make this statement without regard for whom actually ceased support for whom, because at this point it's more or less irrelevant.

EDIT: Ok, so I did Google this one blog post by Adobe on the subject.
http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/11/flash-focus.html
Regardless of who you blame, it seems obvious that Adobe was the one that decided to cease support for the product, not Google.

 

[fernandezhjr]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

Any updates that were provided were security fixes only. All development ceased on Flash for Android quite some time ago, and any Android versions 4.1 and higher were never officially supported by Adobe. They provided the updates as is, and if you could get them to work, more power to you, but as far as Adobe was concerned, they were not providing any support for Android compatibility past Gingerbread. (EDIT: Apparently ICS was last supported version, not that it makes a difference at this point)

The simple fact is that Flash was a failed experiment. I'm not going to take the time to Google all the references out there as to why it was discontinued, but in short it was a combination of the fact that it was (1) a resource hog, (2) was always a bit clunky in actual real world use, and (3) was becoming less and less necessary to support as alternatives such as HTML5 were being more widely used.

It made no sense for Flash support to be built into Chrome browser for mobile because that was deployed with Android 4.0, where Adobe's support for the product ended. I'm sure if Adobe was still supporting Flash for Android, they would be working with Google/Android to get it working with the changes in 4.4...but that simply isn't going to happen, and it's not Google's fault either. I make this statement without regard for whom actually ceased support for whom, because at this point it's more or less irrelevant.

EDIT: Ok, so I did Google this one blog post by Adobe on the subject.
http://blogs.adobe.com/conversations/2011/11/flash-focus.html
Regardless of who you blame, it seems obvious that Adobe was the one that decided to cease support for the product, not Google.

And now you bring deployment in to the fray, which was irrelevant to the discussion on hand. The discussion is about updates, updates that did exist, regardless of what they brought to the table. And didn't I say they were non supported? That is the basis of this whole argument. Some are trying to say that it was Adobe that abandoned Flash support for Android, when it is in fact the other away around. Google abandoned Flash. If Google has no intention of having Flash support in Chrome, why should Adobe continue to develop it for Android?

As far as your assessment of Flash, I'm not gonna argue that. My assessment is it was good in it's time, but something better always comes along. Many website builders continue to use Flash and it still seems to be popular with many.

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[jimrebello]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

I never installed Flash on my N4 and honestly I don't miss it. The only thing that seems to still only load in flash is ads. Most other content can load without it.

Also, my phone doesn't crash like every other device I've used that has flash installed.

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[fernandezhjr]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

I never installed Flash on my N4 and honestly I don't miss it. The only thing that seems to still only load in flash is ads. Most other content can load without it.

Also, my phone doesn't crash like every other device I've used that has flash installed.

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I agree. Lately it seemed to be mostly annoying adds. I never had a problem with my phone crashing due to Flash, but I have had my PC browser freeze up many times.

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[paintdrinkingpete]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

And now you bring deployment in to the fray, which was irrelevant to the discussion on hand. The discussion is about updates, updates that did exist, regardless of what they brought to the table. And didn't I say they were non supported? That is the basis of this whole argument. Some are trying to say that it was Adobe that abandoned Flash support for Android, when it is in fact the other away around. Google abandoned Flash. If Google has no intention of having Flash support in Chrome, why should Adobe continue to develop it for Android?

As far as your assessment of Flash, I'm not gonna argue that. My assessment is it was good in it's time, but something better always comes along. Many website builders continue to use Flash and it still seems to be popular with many.

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"That is the basis of this whole argument. Some are trying to say that it was Adobe that abandoned Flash support for Android"
But that was kinda the point I was trying to make, Adobe DID abandon support for Flash. Perhaps this is more of a semantics argument, based on whether we're talking about "development" or "support" I guess, but it was Adobe that decided to cease support for the product. As part of that decision, they did state that they would continue to provide SECURITY fixes for existing users (a common practice) for a certain amount of time, which turned out to be just over a year. None of the updates provided between August 2012 and September 2013 provided any new features, bug fixes or support for newer Android versions, they were simply to patch known security flaws in the existing product.

"If Google has no intention of having Flash support in Chrome, why should Adobe continue to develop it for Android?"
This part may be a chicken or the egg type of discussion...did Google not support Flash in Chrome for mobile because they knew Adobe was ending support, or did Google's lack of Flash support in Chrome prompt them to end their support of the product? My guess is that it's probably a little bit of both, to be honest. The thing is though, just because Google decided not to include Flash support with Chrome, certainly doesn't mean that there wasn't reason to continue support for Android [EDIT: if, that is, Adobe still felt the product was viable for the platform], as there are many other supported Browsers which can be used (most of which still continue to support it), so it's not like Flash would have become irrelevant just because Chrome choose not to include support for Flash. In fact, I'd wager that IF Adobe had continued active support for Flash for Android that either (1) Chrome would have been a flop and no one would have used it or (2) Google would have been forced to eventually include support for Flash.

Again, that's just my take.

 

[ntice_521]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

Like it or not, the vast majority of web video still uses flash.

 

[anon(5719825)]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

I installed flash for one reason only. I don't pay for cable or satellite so I have no way to watch TV at my house. My local news channel has an excellent app for the iOS side that enables users to watch the news cast right in the app. On the Android app, the app is missing that capability. In order to watch the news on my Nexus 4 or 7, I had to go to the website and watch it there but that requires flash.

This is the second reason that I have to remain on 4.3. Tethering was the first and most important reason. I've disabled the annoying kitKat update notification so I can ignore it forever if I want to now. It pays to not rush into these updates until you find out from others about the changes. It is nice though that for some who have 4.4 now, they can always go back to 4.3 with some work unlike devices on the iOS side of things.

 

[Kelly Burby]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

Awww, but recently i ran onto a forum may be phandroid or something i don't know about it but they have said that adobe will now support android or some thing please correct me if i am wrong !

 

[jimrebello]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

http://forums.androidcentral.com/an...king-flash-player-dolphin-browser-kitkat.html

You can get it to work in dolphin by using a modified flash app. Instructions are at the link above.

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[Greg C]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

http://forums.androidcentral.com/an...king-flash-player-dolphin-browser-kitkat.html

You can get it to work in dolphin by using a modified flash app. Instructions are at the link above.

Posted via Android Central App

This method works perfectly!

 

[rht34]

Re: Flash Player Is NO MORE After 4.4 Update

Now if only we could get ad block on dolphin. Or get flash to work on Firefox.

 

[anon(55900)]

Re: Flash Player Is No More After 4.4 Update

wugfresh app virtually automates reverting back to jellybean,its the best option for non techys.

 

[Greg C]

Re: Flash Player Is No More After 4.4 Update

wugfresh app virtually automates reverting back to jellybean,its the best option for non techys.

Why revert back to 4.3?

 

[anon(55900)]

Re: Flash Player Is No More After 4.4 Update

Why revert back to 4.3?

I did because I lost Amazon Prime function, and ATT Uverse function, and other wen flash function thru Firefox, I don't like me freedom of choice being usurped. I chose android over iPhone for that reason but kitkat makes me feel Google is leaning that way.

 

[anon(5719825)]

Re: Flash Player Is No More After 4.4 Update

I like Firefox and not Dolphin. I'll stay on 4.3 for this and that I can tether without having to change anything.