The Obituary
For over a decade Adobe Flash was how the web came alive. Born as FutureSplash in 1996 and later owned by Macromedia and Adobe, it powered animated banners, browser games, restaurant menus, and the early years of YouTube, reaching well over 90% of desktops. Its weaknesses were chronic: security holes, battery drain, and a closed, proprietary core. Steve Jobs banned it from the iPhone in 2010, and open standards like HTML5 absorbed its tricks. Adobe ended support on December 31, 2020, and a built-in time bomb stopped Flash from playing anything after January 12, 2021.
Worth remembering
- Steve Jobs's 2010 'Thoughts on Flash' barred it from the iPhone and sealed its decline.
- Adobe built a 'kill switch' so Flash refused to play content after January 12, 2021.
Sources
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.