Bye Bye Flash?

[JimboDeany]

So I've just seen that Adobe are going to pull the flash plug-in from the Google Play store. What impact is that likely to have on us and our beloved Nexus 7s?

 

[steve dave]

So I've just seen that Adobe are going to pull the flash plug-in from the Google Play store. What impact is that likely to have on us and our beloved Nexus 7s?

Uh, none since flash was never available from the play store on the Nexus 7? lol

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

[jd914]

Funny, I'm not able to play flash content on Firefox anymore. Anyone else having this issue?

Edit never mind it works
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[JimboDeany]

So this won't have any effect on us then? BBC News - Adobe Flash Player exits Android Google Play store

 

[natehoy]

So this won't have any effect on us then? BBC News - Adobe Flash Player exits Android Google Play store

No. Not for the Nexus 7. Adobe never supported Flash for Jelly Bean, which is what the Nexus 7 runs. You have to sideload it from another source.

As long as the APK files are available for sideloading, Flash should work fine. Adobe is just preventing anyone (even with an older and previously-supported Android OS) from installing Flash from the Play Store.

It's a 5-minute process to download the APK files and install them.

 

[JimboDeany]

And will the sideloading method still work? Sorry, I'm about 75% N00b at this.

 

[natehoy]

And will the sideloading method still work? Sorry, I'm about 75% N00b at this.

As far as I know. The only change today will be the removal of the official APK from the Play Store. I can't think of any way Adobe could find and delete all the APKs out there on people's devices, file shares, and hard drives.

Maybe they have a remote kill switch in the app, but they have already announced that existing installs will remain in the play store (so if you have an Ice Cream Sandwich or prior device, and you think you might ever want Flash on it, INSTALL IT RIGHT NOW!), and they'll even provide security updates. So I don't think they're going to come hunting down anyone who might sideload the app after today.

They might go on a witch hunt trying to find all the APKs, but I seriously doubt they care that much. And they'll never succeed.

 

[JimboDeany]

That's reassuring then.

 

[pkcable]

And will the sideloading method still work? Sorry, I'm about 75% N00b at this.

Yes it does, this removal mainly effects those on ICS. HOWEVER as long as the flash files are available in the wild and there is no reason to believe they won't be, it will always be possible to sideload them. Or better yet to load them via alternate source, that is allow that in your settings, then use a browser other than Chrome, to directly install the apk from one of those sites. I believe there is a sticky here that explains and has links to the apk you need.

 

[natehoy]

That's reassuring then.

There may (probably will) come a day when Flash for Android will stop working entirely. If Key Lime Pie (reportedly the code name for the next Android version due out later this year) turns out to be incompatible with the sideloaded APK files, put a fork in it, we're done.

There WILL come a day when it stops working for a lot of sites. The current version of Flash is 11. As sites start migrating to 12 (or 13 or 14) over time, if web developers start using features specific to those versions and requiring those versions at a minimum, we won't be able to see those sites.

But for the foreseeable future, the majority of Flash-based sites should work just fine on the Nexus 7 and any other Jelly Bean or earlier device, for the vast majority of web sites.

The only difference tomorrow is if someone comes to you with a Gingerbread or Ice Cream Sandwich Android and asks how to put Flash on it, you'll have to enable sideloading and install two APKs that you have to download, rather than just telling them to find Flash in the Play Store. For Jelly Bean, Adobe has already pulled Flash (it never put a Jelly Bean version out there in the first place) so we already have to sideload it. That's why this announcement means absolutely nothing to Nexus 7 users. This change just makes ALL devices require sideloading, just like the Nexus has always required.

Plus, I think security updates are going to be harder to find and apply. Right now, when Adobe makes a security update available, it shows up in the App Store as an upgrade. In the future, you'll have to go looking for it, meaning people might continue running insecure/unpatched versions of Flash longer. This is going to be a problem long-term, as it is for any sideloaded apps that don't come from some sort of curated app store with update notification.

 

[natehoy]

I believe there is a sticky here that explains and has links to the apk you need.

http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...ad-before-posting-new-thread-about-flash.html

I'd urge anyone interested in Flash to go download those two APKs and stash a copy somewhere, even if you don't install it today. That way, if Adobe decides to go nuclear and complain about people "pirating" their free software or some such nonsense, you've got your own copy stashed away.

I don't think Adobe would do this, since they are still supporting existing installs and pursuing people who want to use their FREE product would be weapons-grade stupid.

But the APKs are pretty small, large companies seem to have an infinite reserve of weapons-grade stupidity, and the more copies that are sitting out in the wild the better.