I totally agree. My first tech job at a startup, around the time of the dotcom boom, was for an early streaming radio application that used Flash to deliver ads

I totally agree. My first tech job at a startup, around the time of the dotcom boom, was for an early streaming radio application that used Flash to deliver ads in a local desktop player. Flash was a simple, but empowering, tool. The ubiquity of the Flash player transformed the Internet into a true entertainment platform. Prior to Flash, technologies like RealAudio/Video, Quicktime, and animated gifs were clunky and couldn't compete with traditional media. With Flash came the first high-quality, streaming, web cartoons/animations; web games; and eventually Youtube (after the release of the FLV format). Flash should be recognized as a true innovation that paved the way for the modern web. The modern web stack of JS, HTML5 Video/Audio, SVG has finally caught up, but I don't think we'll ever see such seamless integration and power in one tool (for better or worse).