Microsoft says Windows Mobile will Support Flash - Non-Touchscreen Windows Mobile Other

There's no doubt, Windows Mobile will support Adobe Flash and become a "desktop like" multimedia experience. The question is when.
Skyfire had better release their browser or there will be no use for it.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/apr08/04-01WM61PR.mspx

Big_O said:
There's no doubt, Windows Mobile will support Adobe Flash and become a "desktop like" multimedia experience. The question is when.
Skyfire had better release their browser or there will be no use for it.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/apr08/04-01WM61PR.mspx
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Based on the performance of past Internet Explorer versions--I'd say that Skyfire might still out-perform it. From various comments and reviews, I understand that Skyfire is remarkably fast despite the added Flash-support. Let's hope Microsoft gives them run for their money!

yea..i wouldnt be too worried if i was skyfire..microsoft hasnt gotten it right yet...what makes me think they will start to now?

The only thing missing from the smartphone/internet experience is adobe flash support. That accounts for a tremendous amount of web page viewing. People are tired of looking at text or empty boxes while viewing web pages from their phones. Microsoft already has their new browser, which was unveilled at CITA last April. It would seem logical to release an update by the first quarter of 2009. This is also the time for CES in Vegas 2009.
Some company will eventually offer adobe flash based viewing for windows mobile -- that's the good news.
Rim (blackberry) and apple (iphone) will probably not support adobe flash, even though apple is talking about adding it.

Big_O said:
There's no doubt, Windows Mobile will support Adobe Flash and become a "desktop like" multimedia experience. The question is when.
Skyfire had better release their browser or there will be no use for it.
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/apr08/04-01WM61PR.mspx
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Click to collapse
microsoft always said stupidities

Related

Flash Lite 3

Is there a version of flash i should be using with the 6.1 build? Sorry i am pretty new to this, and the only post i found was from oct. of last year. Has anything changed since?
Thank you
Flash is not required for windows mobile, so its not a question of should you, its personal preference. The latest version of Flash lite is 2.1, which is pretty old. Flash lite 3 is out, but not available for windows, and unfortunately it doesn't look like adobe will be releasing it for windows mobile.
thanks ... thats what i have been reading, but i guess i was hoping i was wrong
Nope, I've had & posted several of my communications with the folks at adobe. They are NOT planning on a windows mobile release. I wonder if that has anything with the fact that MS is developing a rival technology, hmm?
forget about flash lite 3. We'll be using SilverLight mobile soon
the_passenger said:
forget about flash lite 3. We'll be using SilverLight mobile soon
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Click to collapse
That was what was I referencing...However, this is MS so I think "Soon" can be taken out of the equation. Think "Deepfish", could've just named that one "Deep Sixed".
i found the macromedia flah player on their site for windows mobile.. its even allowing youtube vids to come thru like pc.. it move slow at time, but i have many programs running on my tilt
gary
mazdarati220 said:
i found the macromedia flah player on their site for windows mobile.. its even allowing youtube vids to come thru like pc.. it move slow at time, but i have many programs running on my tilt
gary
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http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9894639-37.html
March 16, 2008 9:01 PM PDT
Microsoft to license Adobe's Flash Lite
Posted by Tom Krazit | 6 comments
Even though it has plans to release a competing technology, Microsoft has agreed to license Adobe's Flash Lite technology for its Windows Mobile operating system and browser.
The two companies are expected to announce Monday that Microsoft has signed a license to use Flash Lite and Reader LE in future Windows Mobile handsets as plug-ins for Internet Explorer Mobile. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, such as what the companies plan to do when Microsoft releases Silverlight for Mobile, a competing technology.
Flash Lite is a stripped-down version of the ubiquitous Flash video player that allows mobile handsets to view Web sites created with the Flash technology. Think of Flash Lite as a slightly older version of Flash; the most current version of Flash Lite can't properly display Web sites created with the newest version of Flash, Flash 9, but it works with sites created using older versions of the technology.
As smartphones become more and more common, people are starting to get fed up with the basic Web surfing experience offered by many phones. They want something that looks more like a PC experience, with rich graphics and video. But that's hard to duplicate on a device with a smaller screen, less memory, a slower processor, and battery life requirements.
Enter Flash Lite. "Past technologies have failed trying to get into mobile by cramming a desktop experience into a mobile device," said Anup Murkaka, director of technical marketing for mobile and devices at Adobe. "The technology has to bend to the use cases, rather than the use cases bending to the technology."
Microsoft's Derek Snyder agreed. "One of the hallmark experiences on any smartphone is the Web browsing experience," said Snyder, a product manager with Microsoft's mobile-communications business. Strengthening that experience, as well as adding support for PDF documents through the Reader LE license, was the motivation for Microsoft to make the deal, he said.
Flash Lite has several limitations compared with regular Flash, beyond the inability to support much of Flash 9. Apple CEO Steve Jobs rather emphatically declared his disdain for Flash Lite at Apple's annual shareholder meeting, saying Flash Lite was "not capable of being used with the Web." Murkaka declined to comment specifically on Jobs' put-down, but noted that Flash Lite ships on 500 million mobile devices.
He did acknowledge that developers using Adobe's Flex tools can't build Flash Lite Web pages, although the newer CS3 suite of tools does support Flash Lite.
But one huge advantage of Flash Lite is that it's currently available for mobile devices. Microsoft's Silverlight for Mobile is not.
Silverlight is Microsoft's attempt to rein in on Adobe's position in the Web development market with Flash. Microsoft is fighting an uphill battle, though, in trying to get Web developers to build sites using its technology as opposed to Adobe's.
Earlier this month Microsoft said it wouldn't have a mobile version of Silverlight out until later this year. A technical preview is expected to arrive in the second quarter, but no other details have been released. Snyder declined to elaborate on the time frame for a production version of Silverlight for Mobile.
With Microsoft's Windows Mobile team now having to meet a surge in demand for Web-friendly mobile phones, led by the iPhone, licensing Flash Lite makes sense as a "for now" solution, at least until the company's own dog food is ready. The iPhone has been able to capture mobile Web surfers without any support for Flash technologies, something that other mobile devices running IE Mobile or Opera's mobile browser will likely try to exploit later this year.
Eventually, Microsoft expects to support both Flash Lite and Silverlight on its Windows Mobile handsets. "Flash is, for a lot of people, something they've already invested in," Snyder said. Having support for the incumbent while it tries to get Web developers on the Silverlight team makes sense; "it's good to have both," he said.
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Thank you for the scoop, neilson.
so, are we expecting WM7's interface will be Flashlite 3 based ?
WM7 will more likley WPF (silverlight) based. Everything M$ .net looks to be going this way (for now).
Ta,
Dave
marm0lade said:
Flash is not required for windows mobile, so its not a question of should you, its personal preference. The latest version of Flash lite is 2.1, which is pretty old. Flash lite 3 is out, but not available for windows, and unfortunately it doesn't look like adobe will be releasing it for windows mobile.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
according to engadget and a couple other sites m$ licensed adobe for flash lite
woo hoo right.
duswdav said:
according to engadget and a couple other sites m$ licensed adobe for flash lite
woo hoo right.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not directly.
They licensed the Flash Lite 3 Browser Plug In
The old flash 7 Plug in is still available somewwhere.
On Skysports website the scorecenter is setup that you need a flash player so is there any way round it?.
Nick
nick0 said:
On Skysports website the scorecenter is setup that you need a flash player so is there any way round it?.
Nick
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Use either Opera 8.65 or NetFront 3.5

Would you like Opera Mini on WP7?

We all know that the IE version in WP7 is based of Internet Explorer 7, and we all know that IE7 sucks.
But, do you think that it would be possible for the Opera team to make a browser for it? Spotify got native access, would Microsoft grant the to Opera too?
i hope they bring opera over to wp7 but initially they said there would not be any other browsers for wp7
but from the youtube videos ive seen the browser on wp7 looks pretty good tabbed browsing and everything loads were pretty speedy we'll have to see how it workks
Don't really care. I would love FireFox though. the beta for Android is pretty nice.
Yeah, Firefox would also be nice, but from earlier actions I don't think that Mozilla will even consider porting Firefox to a non open platform.
The problem with the built in IE is that the rendering engine is outdated, and this can cause problems with websites not rendering correctly.
love the expert opinion in this thread which claims that IE is based entirely on IE7 and that IE on wp7 sucks. sounds like OP has used a real wp7 hardware and IE sucked.
funny it didn't suck for me when opening website's and yet to see rendering problems.
ps - IE on wp7 is based on IE7 and IE8.
It's based on IE7 and IE7 and it sucks indeed.
Sir. Haxalot said:
Yeah, Firefox would also be nice, but from earlier actions I don't think that Mozilla will even consider porting Firefox to a non open platform.
The problem with the built in IE is that the rendering engine is outdated, and this can cause problems with websites not rendering correctly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess you've used the browser in WP7 and know this for a fact, right?
Many different hands-on experiences with developer phones, say that the browser is actually performing very very well.
Pocketnow.com has made a video comparison with android and iOS, and I gotta say, it removed all of my doubts. Whether it's the best, not sure, but it definitely suffices. Especially once Adobe launches Flash for WP7 and Microsoft fixed Silverlight in the browser - two things we know are going to happen.
Also, from a job opening posted by Microsoft, you can tell that HTML5 is on its way too. However, HTML5 is not important yet as it's not being used for mobile ends yet.
crow26 said:
It's based on IE7 and IE7 and it sucks indeed.
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Way to bash something you haven't used yet.
Opera Mini is a must.
Even if IE7 will perform great on WP7, I don't imagine using full page rendering browser
all the time.
Because of battery and because of bad signal areas!!!
Opera Mobile opens pages always fast no matter what kind of connection you use.
Because it's server rendering machine.
Plus loads 1/10 of actual page size, so saves A LOT of data and energy.
I thought it was based on IE7 and IE8 which is why all the reviews I've seen have actually said its pretty decent.
Not fussed about HTML5 at the mo as even the standards committee has said its not ready for prime time yet
BTW I would like to have BOTH.
doministry said:
BTW I would like to have BOTH.
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Click to collapse
I'd like to have both for the reasons doministry said before.
9 time out of 10 I don't care if a page renders correctly, my preference is for pages to render quickly, and such that I can still make sense out of it.
I like text to be one columned so I don't have to scroll left and right to read it. I also like that it's server rendered so it's loads fast. Also I don't have to reload a page when I hit the back button.
For those rare occasions I need a page to render correctly I'd open Opera Mobile, or PIE.
gom99 said:
I'd like to have both for the reasons doministry said before.
9 time out of 10 I don't care if a page renders correctly, my preference is for pages to render quickly, and such that I can still make sense out of it.
I like text to be one columned so I don't have to scroll left and right to read it. I also like that it's server rendered so it's loads fast. Also I don't have to reload a page when I hit the back button.
For those rare occasions I need a page to render correctly I'd open Opera Mobile, or PIE.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes.
BTW on my WM 6.5.3 SE X2 Flash support works much nicer on PIE than Opera Mobile..
Is this still being looked at? Opera mini for WP7?
I would like to have Opera in WP7 and voted that way, but on a second thought I would better have both.
Honestly the only problem I have with IE on WP7 is no text reflow and it's pretty hard to read forums in the phone with no text reflow.
I love opera and its odd having Opera Link Without an Opera Browser they need to get on this.
Interesting if that would ever appear.
I assume Opera will make the move when WP7 will gain any real marketshare.
I don't think Opera will come until there is access to native code. There is no way they could write a browser in silverlight that would even come near the performance of the native browser. Not to mention, they would need to rewrite from scratch instead of utilizing their existing code base.
So yeah, not happening anytime soon.
i don't really cảe since they put IE9 in Mango.
Maybe IE10 too with Appolo or Tango.

[Q] Adobe Flash 10.1 on windows phone 7

Will adobe flash 10 be released for windows phone 7 browser later on? Can anyone confirm it
Google it.
Adobe themselves confirmed that it was coming.
Both Flash and HTML5 should be coming to WP7.
I am hoping that they improve it as the Android version I think was pretty bad.
Going by Microsoft's currently speedy reaction to the market/devs I would be surprised if Flash is not part of the early 2011 OS update that brings copy & paste and, hopefully, turn-by-turn navigation.
Adobe dependent obviously.
JEEtoP said:
Going by Microsoft's currently speedy reaction to the market/devs I would be surprised if Flash is not part of the early 2011 OS update that brings copy & paste and, hopefully, turn-by-turn navigation.
Adobe dependent obviously.
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Click to collapse
Nope it is not Adobe dependent, it depends on the MS whether they will implement Active-X plug-in support into IE or not.
I think one of the wisest decisions MS have made with the mobile platform is do away from Active-X, even though I am not a fan of M$ by any means , however they have no other plug-in mechanism at the moment to support Adobe flash.
lqaddict said:
Nope it is not Adobe dependent, it depends on the MS whether they will implement Active-X plug-in support into IE or not.
I think one of the wisest decisions MS have made with the mobile platform is do away from Active-X, even though I am not a fan of M$ by any means , however they have no other plug-in mechanism at the moment to support Adobe flash.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The ability is definitely there for Adobe to implement Flash be it ActiveX or not - that's not the issue.
Getting the plugin out by the early 2011 update deadline is Adobe dependent because they are the ones developing it, not entirely I agree but it is there technology primarily here so a large part of the project depends on them and their roadmap.
JEEtoP said:
The ability is definitely there for Adobe to implement Flash be it ActiveX or not - that's not the issue.
Getting the plugin out by the early 2011 update deadline is Adobe dependent because they are the ones developing it, not entirely I agree but it is there technology primarily here so a large part of the project depends on them and their roadmap.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Once again, the Adobe Flash support as it is provided in the current non mobile IE is Active-X plug-in, there is no other mechanism, unless Microsoft tells Adobe that they will re-introduce Active-X support or develop a new API Adobe can do nothing.
lqaddict said:
Once again, the Adobe Flash support as it is provided in the current non mobile IE is Active-X plug-in, there is no other mechanism, unless Microsoft tells Adobe that they will re-introduce Active-X support or develop a new API Adobe can do nothing.
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Click to collapse
Not wishing to be rude but I don't think I see your point.
Yes the current non-mobile IE is an ActiveX plugin, I don't see how this directly pertains to Windows Phone 7's situation.
Flash for WP7 is in development, confirmed by Adobe themselves. Whether Microsoft have implemented a version of ActiveX into the new mobile browser or there is another method for Adobe to utilise it is all academic, it is in development. The mechanism is there.
People please tell me if I'm missing something...
Adobe has already said that the reason WinMo6.5 wasn't getting Flash 10.1 was because it was missing needed APIs that WP7 has. So however they are implementing it that sounds like the resources they need are already included in the OS.
JEEtoP said:
Not wishing to be rude but I don't think I see your point.
Yes the current non-mobile IE is an ActiveX plugin, I don't see how this directly pertains to Windows Phone 7's situation.
Flash for WP7 is in development, confirmed by Adobe themselves. Whether Microsoft have implemented a version of ActiveX into the new mobile browser or there is another method for Adobe to utilise it is all academic, it is in development. The mechanism is there.
People please tell me if I'm missing something...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you know what mechanism is there please share
lqaddict said:
If you know what mechanism is there please share
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have no idea
still no hope for this soon?
Flash Mobile has been killed by Adobe...
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-11-09/mark-smith-adobe-flash-mobile/51135466/1
No hope, and i don't really want either... just look android, and how laggy the Flash is...
We are all hoping for a future of HTML5.
Microsoft said last year that they fully concertrate on plug GREE internet browsing, thats HTML5. adobe flash makes thing slower, ok it looks better but slower. they have stated that they will bring up an alternative with silverlight in the future... but that was at the end of last year. now we have march...
Strike_Eagle said:
Flash Mobile has been killed by Adobe...
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2011-11-09/mark-smith-adobe-flash-mobile/51135466/1
No hope, and i don't really want either... just look android, and how laggy the Flash is...
We are all hoping for a future of HTML5.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I always hear this but I've never experienced problems with flash being laggy on Android, although Android as a whole is laggy
But I agree, it's unnecessary for WP7...HTML5 already is pretty good to me.
Yup it's all HTML5 from here. Even the Metro-style IE10 in Windows 8 won't support it.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App
there is an adobe flash app in the marketplace, it doesn't look real though. Can anyone confirm that?
japmeet said:
there is an adobe flash app in the marketplace, it doesn't look real though. Can anyone confirm that?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
the app in the marketplace does the thing and goes around, it "ports" some websites, to wp7 but it is still not flash! and i can only port some websites not every you want that the silly thing. but with silverlight and html5 we must find another way to "flash" because microsoft abandoned flash some time ago... they have full rights to silverlight, to flash they only can have some licenses. silverlight is the homemade alternative from microsoft. and it fits the needs, just look at some games on windows 8 consumer preview, cut the rope and some other as example, they all look like "flash" but have other functions, and suites more to the "low spec" windows 8 metro design. microsoft will that everything goes smooth, if you have to load an flash game 10 seconds or 20. in silverlight you could be allready in the game. my personal website is in flash but i think of moving to html5 and some other elements, that look like flash.
and i dont think flash will ever be on the future windows versions... on mozzila firefox (desktop) maybe, google chrome (desktop) maybe, but on the metro mozzila that is in work they can not build it in.

[Q] WP7 IE browser on NoDo - can't comment on Disqus-enabled blogs and other issues

I'm using a WP7 NoDo ROM on an HTC HD2 that I was previously running Android on. I really like WP7 (the music player especially) and am looking forward to getting more apps in the Marketplace.
BUT, I've been disappointed with the web browser. I visit a number of technology blogs, most of which use the Disqus system for posting comments. When using the WP7 browser, I regularly see messages saying "you are using an older browser, please upgrade your Flash version or upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 in order to comment". This is on Boy Genius Report (mobile version).
I get that WP7 doesn't have Flash, so it must be the IE version that's not letting me comment. On some sites, I can't even view the comments when accessing the mobile version of the site like Engadget. I can view it when accessing the desktop version of the site, though like before, I can't post comments. I never had these problems on the Dolphin Browser Mini on Android.
Also, I've set the user agent on the WP7 browser to "desktop" a number of times, but it keeps defaulting to the mobile website on sites like Gawker (and its associated sites like Gizmodo,etc), Boy Genius Report and Ars Technica. Any way to solve this?
Last problem: on the Gawker network sites, when accessing the mobile site, I can't expand replies. I click the link that says "Show 2 replies" or something, nothing happens. The link gets highlighted once i touch it, but it doesn't expand. The fonts in the comment section look jagged and pixelated as well, which doesn't happen on other sites.
Try a Mango beta ROM for the HD2 as mango have IE which might fix some of your problems. As for the desktop/mobile view, some site supersede what ever setting you have set in your browser. I know, it's annoying, but it's the site, not IE. Facebook, Youtube, Google, & a few other sites do this. Some have a link to click to change that setting via a cookie, others, you have to manually type in the "www.".
I tried a Mango ROM but it's a laggy right now (not much, but the NoDo has zero lag, so it's noticeable). any way, the problems were there as well. You're right, some sites do force a redirect to the mobile site. It just sucks that the WP7 browser is still primitive compared to those available on Android or iOS.
some people who post here are misinformed, I don't get redirected on any sites I goto except for google and their sister sites. the fact that the wp7 browser is primitive compared to android and iOS is also wrong because I've gotten redirected to mobile sites much more on those browsers than on wp7 NoDo and mango beta. those browsers don't even have an option to toggle between mobile and desktop.the wp7 mango browser which is based off IE9 scores 97/100 on the acid3 test while the android and iOS browsers are in the low 90s. the IE in mango also renders html5 at a higher framerate than the competition.this has been proven as well. and as for the fact of the disqus comment system not working in NoDo this is because the IE in NoDo is based off IE7 and those sites require IE8 to comment. it could also be due to the fact that like IE7 the IE in nodo only clocks a score of 15 on the acid3 test. the disqus comment system is also known for having issues as well.
Disqus i have problems on. But i can read comments and switch between mobile or desktop without problems on the sites i wisit. I even save bookmarks in various formats since some places is better in mobile view. I can however on sites as pocketnow not read comments in mobile view, i cant do that on my currently borrowed Android phone ether.
Heard users having no problems on Mango thou.
eric12341 said:
some people who post here are misinformed, I don't get redirected on any sites I goto except for google and their sister sites. the fact that the wp7 browser is primitive compared to android and iOS is also wrong because I've gotten redirected to mobile sites much more on those browsers than on wp7 NoDo and mango beta. those browsers don't even have an option to toggle between mobile and desktop.the wp7 mango browser which is based off IE9 scores 97/100 on the acid3 test while the android and iOS browsers are in the low 90s. the IE in mango also renders html5 at a higher framerate than the competition.this has been proven as well. and as for the fact of the disqus comment system not working in NoDo this is because the IE in NoDo is based off IE7 and those sites require IE8 to comment. it could also be due to the fact that like IE7 the IE in nodo only clocks a score of 15 on the acid3 test. the disqus comment system is also known for having issues as well.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am just speaking from day-to-day usage experience. I mentioned that I was using Dolphin Browser Mini on Android, which certainly does have a user agent option, so you are mistaken.
On Mango Beta I was having the same browser problems as I did in my OP (NoDo). Disqus would display OK on desktop sites (and on some mobile sites) but wouldn't let me log in or post. On Gawker Media sites, I couldn't expand replies on their proprietary comment system, which displays fine on DBMini. THe fonts are also messed up on WP7. You can see for yourself by checking the fonts on comments on your computer and then looking at them again through WP7.
Scrolling through forums like Crackberry or NotebookReview is also a little sluggish, whereas there isn't any lag on DBMini. The desktop version of the Staples site also lagged, and showed typing delays in the search bar. I don't get what those benchmarks are supposed to mean, by the way. I don't go to graphics intensive websites on my phone or anything, just simple news and shopping websites.
Nakazul said:
Disqus i have problems on. But i can read comments and switch between mobile or desktop without problems on the sites i wisit. I even save bookmarks in various formats since some places is better in mobile view. I can however on sites as pocketnow not read comments in mobile view, i cant do that on my currently borrowed Android phone ether.
Heard users having no problems on Mango thou.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So maybe this is a case of web designers optimizing site display for iOS and Android browsers, but not WP7? I thought there were standards in place so that they'd all display the same in all browsers.
aniym said:
I am just speaking from day-to-day usage experience. I mentioned that I was using Dolphin Browser Mini on Android, which certainly does have a user agent option, so you are mistaken.
On Mango Beta I was having the same browser problems as I did in my OP (NoDo). Disqus would display OK on desktop sites (and on some mobile sites) but wouldn't let me log in or post. On Gawker Media sites, I couldn't expand replies on their proprietary comment system, which displays fine on DBMini. THe fonts are also messed up on WP7. You can see for yourself by checking the fonts on comments on your computer and then looking at them again through WP7.
Scrolling through forums like Crackberry or NotebookReview is also a little sluggish, whereas there isn't any lag on DBMini. The desktop version of the Staples site also lagged, and showed typing delays in the search bar. I don't get what those benchmarks are supposed to mean, by the way. I don't go to graphics intensive websites on my phone or anything, just simple news and shopping websites.
So maybe this is a case of web designers optimizing site display for iOS and Android browsers, but not WP7? I thought there were standards in place so that they'd all display the same in all browsers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea I didn't experience issues with commenting in NoDo before they made the IE8 requirement,haven't tried in mango yet. it may all he due to the fact that disqus uses popups and IEM9 doesn't support pop UPS. I don't know about the 3rd party browsers because I dont use them. provide links to the sites ur experiencingthese "problems" on so we can test.

Bye-Bye Adobe Mobile Flash

In an abrupt about-face in its mobile software strategy, Adobe will soon cease developing its Flash Player plug-in for mobile browsers, according to an e-mail sent to Adobe partners on Tuesday evening.
And with that e-mail flash, Adobe has signaled that it knows, as Steve Jobs predicted, the end of the Flash era on the web is coming soon.
The e-mail, obtained and first reported on by ZDNet, says that Adobe will no longer continue to “adapt Flash Player for mobile devices to new browser, OS version or device configurations,” instead focusing on alternative application packaging programs and the HTML5 protocol.
“Our future work with Flash on mobile devices will be focused on enabling Flash developers to package native apps with Adobe AIR for all the major app stores,” the quoted e-mail says.
In the past, Adobe has released software tools for mobile developers that create a single platform programmers can use to make applications that work across three major mobile platforms: Android, iOS and the BlackBerry OS. While it’s seemingly easier than learning all of the native languages for each operating system, some developers have claimed a loss in app performance when coding in a non-native language that then gets translated into other languages.
The move indicates a massive backpedaling on Adobe’s part, a company who championed its Flash platform in the face of years of naysaying about its use on mobile devices. Despite Flash’s near ubiquity across desktop PCs, many in the greater computing industry, including, famously, Apple Computer, have denounced the platform as fundamentally unstable on mobile browsers, and an intense battery drain. In effect, Flash’s drawbacks outweigh the benefits on mobile devices.
Flash became a dominant desktop platform by allowing developers to code interactive games, create animated advertisements and deliver video to any browser that had the plugin installed, without having to take into account the particulars of any given browser. However, with the development of Javascript, CSS, and HTML5, which has native support for video, many web developers are turning away from Flash, which can be a resource hog even on the most advanced browsers.
Apple made its biggest waves in the case against Flash in April of last year, when Steve Jobs penned a 1,500-word screed against the controversial platform, describing it as a technology of the past. Jobs and Apple disliked the platform so intensely, it has since been barred from use on all iOS devices.
Despite attempts to breathe life into Flash on other mobile devices — namely, Android and BlackBerry OS — Adobe has failed to deliver a consistently stable version of the platform on a smartphone or tablet. In WIRED’s testing of the BlackBerry PlayBook in April, Flash use caused the browser to crash on a consistent basis. And when Flash was supposed to come to tablets with Motorola’s Xoom, Adobe was only able to provide an highly unstable Beta version of Flash to ship with the flagship Android device.
“Adobe has lost so much credibility with the community that I’m hoping they are bought by someone else that can bring some stability and eventually some credibility back to the Flash Platform,” wrote software developer Dan Florio in a blog post on Wednesday morning.
The drastic reversal in Adobe’s mobile plans comes in the wake of the company cutting 750 jobs on Tuesday, a move prompted by what Adobe labeled “corporate restructuring.”
An Adobe representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/11/adobe-kills-mobile-flash/
As a end user as long as all the current flash sites convert to HTML5 , nobody will care?
metaldood said:
As a end user as long as all the current flash sites convert to HTML5 , nobody will care?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is true. But I haven't seen anything about them discontinuing flash altogether, just mobile. In which case developers will still be using flash for desktop browsing, putting mobile users SOL. So is mobile flash discontinuation enough for developers to convert all of their flash content to HTML5? Guess we'll have to wait and see..

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