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We also have iOS, Android, ChromeBooks, Tizen, macOS, GNU/Linux, games consoles, TVs, tablets, home assistants like Echo Show, and a dozen other platforms I’ve

We also have iOS, Android, ChromeBooks, Tizen, macOS, GNU/Linux, games consoles, TVs, tablets, home assistants like Echo Show, and a dozen other platforms I’ve not thought of. Whereas back in the flash days there was basically just x86 desktop Windows and the few other web enabled devices were niche and didn’t properly support Flash. The Dreamcast had a browser (based on IE) but suffered from an ancient version of flash. PDAs were uncommon, also had a browser based on IE, and also suffered from a crippled version of Flash. Smartphones were a few years off and when they did arrive also had a crippled version of Flash (or no support at all). Flash was a format for a different era. An era when Microsoft had suffocated the tech industry. The fact that we can now view basically any website on any hardware is a massive step forward. I agree that the modern era of the web has its problems too (I’m looking at you Google, Facebook, etc) but having been a developer and early adopter of the web, I’d still take modern web technologies over Flash any day of the week.

lmm 4y ago
> Whereas back in the flash days there was basically just x86 desktop Windows and the few other web enabled devices were niche and didn’t properly support Flash. It wasn't quite that bad. I was running FreeBSD at the time and Flash was fine there. In fact I remember for a few years it was easier to have working Flash than working "web video".
- hnlmorg 4y ago
  I ran FreeBSD too but FreeBSD didn’t have the official Flash plug-in. In fact for a long time Flash didn’t support anything aside IE. Not even Firefox nor Opera (remember that?). And even when Flash did eventually get ported to more platforms, half the time it still required a bunch of jacks to get working (like Firefox using Chome’s Flash plugin) And as good as the 3rd party hacks were, they didn’t work all of the time. I remember a few sites I needed for work which required me jumping onto a Windows VM just to use. There also wasn’t really such thing as “web video”. Flash was the closest we had. There were some other clients supported like Real Player but it was the same problem about having to install their software too.
  - lmm 4y ago
    > And even when Flash did eventually get ported to more platforms, half the time it still required a bunch of jacks to get working (like Firefox using Chome’s Flash plugin) I had to put some kind of wrapper in, and I think it was actually using the Linux version of the plugin, but it all worked pretty reliably once it was there. > There also wasn’t really such thing as “web video”. Flash was the closest we had. There were some other clients supported like Real Player but it was the same problem about having to install their software too. I'm talking about slightly later, when people were pushing "web video" as a replacement for Flash for e.g. YouTube. Flash was more reliable and better supported on FreeBSD for some time, is my recollection. Although honestly straight-up <embed> also worked fine and I never felt that the move away from that was really justified.
    - hnlmorg 4y ago
      I seem to recall the Linux plugin used to ramp up the CPU load. Which wasn’t so much of an issue on desktops but was extremely annoying on laptops where battery life was dependent on heavy CPU throttling and most laptop fans spinning up sounded like jet engines. As for the early days of web video, I think half the problem was that nobody could agree on what video format to support. Some wanted patented formats while others (namely Firefox) wanted open source formats. I’m not sure what the end outcome was of all that but it does feel a resolution has at least now been found.

lmm 4y ago

> Whereas back in the flash days there was basically just x86 desktop Windows and the few other web enabled devices were niche and didn’t properly support Flash. It wasn't quite that bad. I was running FreeBSD at the time and Flash was fine there. In fact I remember for a few years it was easier to have working Flash than working "web video".

hnlmorg 4y ago
I ran FreeBSD too but FreeBSD didn’t have the official Flash plug-in. In fact for a long time Flash didn’t support anything aside IE. Not even Firefox nor Opera (remember that?). And even when Flash did eventually get ported to more platforms, half the time it still required a bunch of jacks to get working (like Firefox using Chome’s Flash plugin) And as good as the 3rd party hacks were, they didn’t work all of the time. I remember a few sites I needed for work which required me jumping onto a Windows VM just to use. There also wasn’t really such thing as “web video”. Flash was the closest we had. There were some other clients supported like Real Player but it was the same problem about having to install their software too.
- lmm 4y ago
  > And even when Flash did eventually get ported to more platforms, half the time it still required a bunch of jacks to get working (like Firefox using Chome’s Flash plugin) I had to put some kind of wrapper in, and I think it was actually using the Linux version of the plugin, but it all worked pretty reliably once it was there. > There also wasn’t really such thing as “web video”. Flash was the closest we had. There were some other clients supported like Real Player but it was the same problem about having to install their software too. I'm talking about slightly later, when people were pushing "web video" as a replacement for Flash for e.g. YouTube. Flash was more reliable and better supported on FreeBSD for some time, is my recollection. Although honestly straight-up <embed> also worked fine and I never felt that the move away from that was really justified.
  - hnlmorg 4y ago
    I seem to recall the Linux plugin used to ramp up the CPU load. Which wasn’t so much of an issue on desktops but was extremely annoying on laptops where battery life was dependent on heavy CPU throttling and most laptop fans spinning up sounded like jet engines. As for the early days of web video, I think half the problem was that nobody could agree on what video format to support. Some wanted patented formats while others (namely Firefox) wanted open source formats. I’m not sure what the end outcome was of all that but it does feel a resolution has at least now been found.