Windows 8 to include Flash integration?

Summary: Reports suggest that Adobe Flash will be supported in both desktop and Metro-style Internet Explorer 10 browsers in Windows 8.

According to reports, Microsoft is looking to integrate Adobe Flash capabilities into Internet Explorer 10.

Adobe Flash will function on any website when the browser is ran as a desktop application, but will be limited when used as a Metro-style browser on tablet devices.

Screenshots from WinUnleaked, released by Windows 'insider' Canouna through a tweet, show that the browser 'plugin' will have some functionality in the Metro version of Internet Explorer 10, even though previous reports have stated such plugins were to be barred from use -- as the corporation expects a radical shift towards HTML5 in the coming years, and away from plugin services.

The Flash capability of the Metro browser is reported to be limited to "trusted" websites. These include streaming sites such as Hulu, YouTube, and Vimeo, news broadcasters such as CNN and the BBC, and a number of entertainment and social media sites including Facebook.

Internet Explorer chief Dean Hachamovitch has previously called Flash and other similar plugins a "relic" of an archaic time in the development of Internet services. He said:

"Running Metro-style IE plug-in free improves battery life as well as security, reliability, and privacy for consumers. Plug-ins were important early on in the Web's history. But the Web has come a long way since then with HTML5.

Providing compatibility with legacy plug-in technologies would detract from, rather than improve, the consumer experience of browsing in the Metro-style UI."

However, as many websites are still reliant on Flash, removing the capabilities of the Metro browser from running it had the potential to damage its attractiveness to consumers. As an integrated facility, Microsoft side-steps its previous conviction -- as it will not be treated as a standard plugin, instead, as a feature of the browser itself.

Microsoft's anticipated Release Preview version of Windows 8 is to be launched in the first week of June.

Related:

Topic: Windows

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29 comments
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  • I read somewhere

    This was one of the complaints Mozilla/Opera had. IE was the only browser that would have Flash support, the others would be denied that ability. Seems Microsoft likes to pull a Tonya Harding, when ever it can ;)
    Jumpin Jack Flash
    • Mozilla should look to the future, not to the past

      [i]Microsoft has worked with Adobe to ensure the Flash code meets its own standards for reliability, compatibility, security, and performance.[/i]

      The above is from this article:

      http://microsoft-news.com/microsoft-to-integrate-adobe-flash-in-internet-explorer-10/

      MS has significant issues with browsers, because they can easily tank the user experience for users, and they are an important vector for malware. It is on account of those reasons, why MS doesn't want Mozzilla et al, to make browsers like they used to. WinRT (the new Windows API) constrains browsers, like all other apps, to be efficient and be resistant to malware. Trying to circumvent WinRT, will undermine computing's push to enhance the user experience, efficiency, and safety of computers. Mozzilla et al should look ahead to compete in the new Windows Metro environment where users will increasingly live; not scream over the fact that things have changed - for the betterment of their customers.
      P. Douglas
      • So basically

        Microsoft is going to "kneecap" the competition, and the Microsoft fans are going to cheer as they watch their choices go away? If only Microsoft programs have full access to all of the APIs, which Microsoft has already stated will happen. How can their fans cheer for lack of choice?
        Jumpin Jack Flash
      • That's not right

        If IE is the only one that can use flash in Windows 8, I see that being anti-competitive. I am not a fan of this, and nobody else should be.
        Michael Alan Goff
      • We'll just have to wait and see what happens

        @Michael Alan Goff,

        I'm not sure what's going to happen. I agree that only allowing IE 10 to run Flash in metro, is not fair.
        P. Douglas
      • Please come out and state whether this is good or bad

        Is it a good thing or a bad thing if the maker of the OS has more access than 3rd party application developers?

        For example, is it a good thing if only the browser written by the maker of the OS can run Javascript at native speeds?

        Is it a good thing or a bad thing if the only HTML renderers and Javascript engines allowed on the device are the ones supplied by the maker of the OS meaning that alternate browsers on that OS are really just crippled shells?

        Is it a good thing or a bad thing if the only camera app that you can open from the lock screen is the camera app written by the maker of the OS?

        Is it a good thing or a bad thing if the maker of the OS is allowed to give you an app to toggle bluetooth but if a 3rd party software developer uses that same API, the maker of the OS bans that app from the OS?

        Once you answer those simple questions, we can then decide if [b]every[/b] company engaging in those actions should be punished equally or if we simply acknowledge that this is the reality of the marketplace.

        I look forward to you not answering this post.
        toddbottom3
      • Say pretty please

        [i]Is it a good thing or a bad thing if the maker of the OS has more access than 3rd party application developers?[/i]

        Bad for Windows, good for Apple

        [i]For example, is it a good thing if only the browser written by the maker of the OS can run Javascript at native speeds?[/i]

        Bad for Windows, good for Apple

        [i]Is it a good thing or a bad thing if the only HTML renderers and Javascript engines allowed on the device are the ones supplied by the maker of the OS meaning that alternate browsers on that OS are really just crippled shells?[/i]

        Bad for Windows, good for Apple

        [i]Is it a good thing or a bad thing if the only camera app that you can open from the lock screen is the camera app written by the maker of the OS?[/i]

        Bad for Windows, good for Apple

        [i]Is it a good thing or a bad thing if the maker of the OS is allowed to give you an app to toggle bluetooth but if a 3rd party software developer uses that same API, the maker of the OS bans that app from the OS?[/i]

        Bad for Windows, good for Apple

        [i]Once you answer those simple questions, we can then decide if every company engaging in those actions should be punished equally or if we simply acknowledge that this is the reality of the marketplace.[/i]

        I did. But you're powerless over the situation and you can't do anything about it.

        [i]I look forward to you not answering this post.[/i]

        Well you wanted the attention so bad I felt sorry for ya. ;)
        ScorpioBlack
      • scorpioblack: plus one

        I will give you a ton of credit for being one of the most honest posters here. Other than you lying about having multiple accounts, at least you are honest about everything else. For that, you get a +1.
        toddbottom3
      • Just me, troll

        Only one account. It's not my fault a lot of people around here think you're a dick.

        Hey where's Wilie Farrell your fake vulcan sock puppet at? He's usually around while your logging into dual screens. Must be fun talking to yourself, huh?

        lol...
        ScorpioBlack
      • Oh look look... toddytroll votes himself up

        lol... :D
        ScorpioBlack
      • @Todd

        "Is it a good thing or a bad thing if the maker of the OS has more access than 3rd party application developers?"

        Bad thing. Period.
        Michael Alan Goff
      • Huh?

        @Michael Alan Goff : Not really necessary anyways as some other browsers [at least Chrome] have them built in. So gone are the days where Apple will release the Flash Player plug-in as it will be included in the app.
        Gisabun
    • FF can support flash the same way IE is by building it in. Sounds like

      Chrome is doing the same thing. Still bad for users. Even all of googles and MSs engineers wont be able to squash all the flash bugs. And since when does youtube need flash anymore. There are 10s of millions of pad users doing just fine without it. Anything that extends its life or the life of any web pages that rely on it is a bad thing. iStuff did a good thing putting a dent in it. IE10 could have put it out of our misery for good. Sad that they didnt stick to making sites using it open in the desktop browser.
      Johnny Vegas
      • I believe

        And I could be wrong, that Windows RT will have flash support, but only 1st party software will be able to access those APIs. Meaning Microsoft's own software will have access to the APIs concerning, while Firefox, Opera, Joe's mobile browser shack's offering, etc. will not be able to include any flash capabilities. This is one of the things Microsoft got in trouble over, but they seem willing to make that mistake again. There are still nearly 6 months before Window 8 launches, maybe Microsoft will see the light before then...
        Jumpin Jack Flash
      • Jack: you are wrong. again

        [i]Windows RT will have flash support, but only 1st party software will be able to access those APIs[/i]

        No, this whole article is about Windows 8. Nothing in this article is talking about Windows RT.

        This whole article has nothing to do with Mozilla or Google either. This article is about MS saying that their IE 10 browser would support Flash. There was concern that no plugins meant no Flash and that users would not like that. MS is addressing that. There will still be no plugins in IE 10 but there will be Flash.

        There is no mention of Google. There is no mention of Firefox. Those companies are unrestricted in what they can do with Windows 8 (or no more restricted than now). They can have plugins in their browsers. They can support Flash in their browsers.
        toddbottom3
  • Windows 8 to include Flash integration?

    I hope this isn't true. While I like some flash I'd rather keep it separate. Look at what happened when Google integrated flash into Chrome, the browser is a mess and always crashes when flash objects are being played. We can't have Microsoft start coding as bad as Google, they need to keep their high quality wares at their standards they are at now.
    Loverock Davidson-
  • Hope for the best

    It should be tested more carefully in windows 8 beta. Most of us have concerns about Flash integration with new browser. But i think Microsoft will do their best. The screenshot looks great and i am very much excited to experience this.

    http://www.bestsms4u.com/
    sam scisor
  • Can anyone please point this out for me?

    Where in this article does it suggest that Flash won't be allowed in any browser other than IE10 on Windows 8? I couldn't find it. All I could find is that Microsoft is going to do to IE10 what Google did to Chrome. Other browsers are free to handle Flash any way they want.
    toddbottom3
    • as long as those browser makers meet certain criteria

      that has been enforced for the Windows 8 store for Metro Apps. This blogpost is just an assumption or personal rant and I bet the author never talked to one of the Microsoft evangelist or worked with them in the App Excellence Labs for the Metro Apps run by Microsoft exclusively for Metro developers.
      Ram U
    • It's not

      It's not referenced in this article, or any others.

      What is being referenced is the issue of Mozilla and Google expressing that they will be held back from making a metro browser with Javascript speeds as fast as they can currently make with a traditional desktop browser, whereas Microsoft is allowing themselves to that that on their own Metro browser.

      Nowhere is it said that these other companies will be forbidden from integrating Flash into their browsers, like how Chrome does now. Everything else seems to either be rumor or possibly even made up. No one really knows outside of Microsoft.
      Darkninja962