Issues with Flash player

I really need this Flash player to watch some "movies" on YouTube, but every time I download it and hit install, it tells me I've got Firefox running and I need to close it. So, I do exactly what it says, but then the same message just pops up again and again, and now the installation won't even start. 😕

Give "VLC Media Player" a shot

Sean Kern19 said:I really need this Flash player to watch some "movies" on YouTube, but every time I download it and hit install, it tells me I've got Firefox running and I need to close it. So, I do exactly what it says, but then the same message just pops up again and again, and now the installation won't even start. 😕

Maybe you could try using Windows Media Player or perhaps the Zoe player instead.

Flash Player will no longer be supported after December 31, 2020

Can someone break this down in plain English? What’s actually going to happen on January 1, 2021?

You don't even need Flash for YouTube anymore. I don't have it installed and YouTube works just fine...
Everything's just moving over to HTML5 and stuff instead of using Flash.

quietfox38 said:Flash Player will no longer be supported after December 31, 2020

Can someone break this down in plain English? What’s actually going to happen on January 1, 2021?

How about the more technical version? 🙂

Flash Player is a runtime application that was originally developed by Macromedia back in the 90s, and then about ten years later, Adobe Systems bought them out entirely and kept developing it because it looked like the future of the internet.

Back in the day, everyone from casual users to web admins and developers loved Flash because it was such an efficient runtime solution for low-bandwidth needs, easily integrated into standard HTML and other coding languages to handle all sorts of dynamic visuals—usually for websites, but also for plenty of online games and apps. Some sites were even built entirely using Flash.

Later on, if I remember correctly, around 2008, the software evolved into a tool that was almost too powerful, which meant it could potentially infect or inject code into user computers through the host and client relationship, causing its popularity to tank. Web admins started dropping Flash applets first, then it disappeared from Android, leaving Flash mostly tied to desktop computers as a sort of legacy exclusive for the very machines where its career first took off. But the real kicker was that regular users started moving away from it too, largely because HTML5 and CSS3 (which allows for great dynamic design) became so successful within modern browsers.

Sadly, twenty years later, we won't be able to install Adobe Flash Player on our computers anymore, and it isn't expected that any websites will keep supporting Flash applets past 2022. So, to put it simply: this notice is basically the final curtain call for an application that was once incredibly exciting and revolutionary for the internet.

I was just wondering, will I still be able to watch adult content after January 1, 2021?

It seems like all my favorite sites are still relying on Flash 🙂

😁

swiftowl7 said:How about the more technical version? 🙂

Flash Player is a runtime application that was originally developed by Macromedia back in the 90s, and then about ten years later, Adobe Systems bought them out entirely and kept developing it because it looked like the future of the internet.

Back in the day, everyone from casual users to web admins and developers loved Flash because it was such an efficient runtime solution for low-bandwidth needs, easily integrated into standard HTML and other coding languages to handle all sorts of dynamic visuals—usually for websites, but also for plenty of online games and apps. Some sites were even built entirely using Flash.

Later on, if I remember correctly, around 2008, the software evolved into a tool that was almost too powerful, which meant it could potentially infect or inject code into user computers through the host and client relationship, causing its popularity to tank. Web admins started dropping Flash applets first, then it disappeared from Android, leaving Flash mostly tied to desktop computers as a sort of legacy exclusive for the very machines where its career first took off. But the real kicker was that regular users started moving away from it too, largely because HTML5 and CSS3 (which allows for great dynamic design) became so successful within modern browsers.

Sadly, twenty years later, we won't be able to install Adobe Flash Player on our computers anymore, and it isn't expected that any websites will keep supporting Flash applets past 2022. So, to put it simply: this notice is basically the final curtain call for an application that was once incredibly exciting and revolutionary for the internet.

Thanks for the deep dive. I think I get it now. 🙂

But what happens to those silly little online video games that always ran on Flash? Are they going to move to a different player?

Like this one, for example?

http://www.freeinvaders.org/

You can still install the latest version (or even an older one) of Flash. You’ll probably still be able to play games and open everything you used to, though your browser might nag you about it being outdated, or you might have to find some workaround to get it running in the browser.

But honestly, pretty much nobody (except maybe a few optimists) is going to be making Flash content anymore. There won't be any more updates, neither functional ones nor security patches. To put it simply: some hacker could figure out a way to break into your computer through malicious Flash content, and Adobe isn't ever going to patch that "hole in the system."

It's kind of like using Windows XP—I guess you can still install it and use it, but there's zero support. No patching holes, no upgrades, nothing...

As for whether certain games will move to a different player—well, someone actually has to convert them, which basically means rebuilding them from scratch using a different technology. So, yeah—it's a long shot.

The big question is how Twitch is going to handle things once they ditch Flash. It’ll probably keep running mostly the same way, just without all that old support.
Honestly, Twitch can be a total pain if you're still messing around with an outdated version of Flash.

fadedorca66 said:You can still install the latest version (or even an older one) of Flash. You’ll probably still be able to play games and open everything you used to, though your browser might nag you about it being outdated, or you might have to find some workaround to get it running in the browser.

But honestly, pretty much nobody (except maybe a few optimists) is going to be making Flash content anymore. There won't be any more updates, neither functional ones nor security patches. To put it simply: some hacker could figure out a way to break into your computer through malicious Flash content, and Adobe isn't ever going to patch that "hole in the system."

It's kind of like using Windows XP—I guess you can still install it and use it, but there's zero support. No patching holes, no upgrades, nothing...

As for whether certain games will move to a different player—well, someone actually has to convert them, which basically means rebuilding them from scratch using a different technology. So, yeah—it's a long shot.

The catch is you'll have to hunt it down on some sketchy third-party sites, which means you're basically playing Russian roulette with malware. Once Adobe pulls the plug, they aren't making it easy to find...

Honestly, you might as well just stick with Chrome. It’ll use HTML5 by default anyway, which is basically the successor to Flash.

Every modern browser out there supports HTML5 now.

Drew Sanchez82 said:Honestly, you might as well just stick with Chrome. It’ll use HTML5 by default anyway, which is basically the successor to Flash.

But there isn't really a replacement for Flash unless someone actually goes through the trouble of rewriting everything in HTML5.😁

Kenneth Cruz67 said:I was just wondering, will I still be able to watch adult content after January 1, 2021?

It seems like all my favorite sites are still relying on Flash 🙂

😁

Most of the major or high-quality porn sites😁 have already transitioned over to HTML5 by default—just try googling Chaturbate to see for yourself. Basically, if you're looking at the stuff you actually enjoy, it's likely either outdated junk or just poorly designed websites.☕

fadedorca66 said:But there isn't really a replacement for Flash unless someone actually goes through the trouble of rewriting everything in HTML5.😁

The folks over at Google probably saw this coming and got ready for it 😁

Andrew Miller102 said:Most of the major or high-quality porn sites😁 have already transitioned over to HTML5 by default—just try googling Chaturbate to see for yourself. Basically, if you're looking at the stuff you actually enjoy, it's likely either outdated junk or just poorly designed websites.☕

Oh, come on now. I bet you've got all the usual suspects saved in your bookmarks 🤣
I still remember watching that Sex Tape movie with Cameron Diaz back when she actually looked good; I think Jack Black rattled off like thirty different porn sites in one scene 🙏

Drew Sanchez82 said:The folks over at Google probably saw this coming and got ready for it 😁

Oh, come on now. I bet you've got all the usual suspects saved in your bookmarks 🤣
I still remember watching that Sex Tape movie with Cameron Diaz back when she actually looked good; I think Jack Black rattled off like thirty different porn sites in one scene 🙏

I haven't even had Flash enabled for two years now.😁 When you check your Task Manager and see just how much CPU power Flash devours, the whole argument ends right there. As for those various trashy Flash porn sites, my Norton marks them as Blocked regardless. For some reason, Norton claims they're being blocked because there aren't enough Russians on them, which is pretty strange.🙂

quietfox38 said:Thanks for the deep dive. I think I get it now. 🙂

But what happens to those silly little online video games that always ran on Flash? Are they going to move to a different player?

Like this one, for example?

http://www.freeinvaders.org/

LOL, which game?😁

Well, I guess what happens next really just depends on the folks running those websites. They might decide to just leave everything as is and offer a direct download for the latest version of Flash player right from their own servers... or maybe they'll just shut them down entirely, or rebuild all those games using JSu; it's totally up to them. For instance, if you look at flyordie.com, it's a great example of how incredibly fun games can be when they're made in JSu.

Honestly, though, it seems like Adobe realized there isn't much point in keeping things going since you can't even find new creators for it anymore, so they're phasing it out. There's always a chance some third party might buy it and try to bring Flash back to life, but usually, once the developer calls it quits, users tend to follow suit pretty quickly. Only the real nostalgics stay behind.

Flash was such a massive, dominant application back in the day that it's actually kind of a miracle it ever fell apart. If you ask me, the biggest blow came when mobile devices exploded onto the scene and Flash just couldn't quite find its footing there. But hey, plenty of people share the blame for that.

Just to give you an example, Flash is basically what built YouTube. It was really the first and only application that could reliably handle cross-browser video webcasts for as long as it has.

***
ps: You can actually try downloading those kinds of games with a Flash downloader, save them into a folder on your hard drive, and just play them like any regular file. That works especially well if the game doesn't rely on some big server-side database.

Andrew Miller102 said:I haven't even had Flash enabled for two years now.😁 When you check your Task Manager and see just how much CPU power Flash devours, the whole argument ends right there. As for those various trashy Flash porn sites, my Norton marks them as Blocked regardless. For some reason, Norton claims they're being blocked because there aren't enough Russians on them, which is pretty strange.🙂

Norton is out here trying to tell you not to order a bride from Ukraine.

swiftowl7 said:LOL, which game?😁

Well, I guess what happens next really just depends on the folks running those websites. They might decide to just leave everything as is and offer a direct download for the latest version of Flash player right from their own servers... or maybe they'll just shut them down entirely, or rebuild all those games using JSu; it's totally up to them. For instance, if you look at flyordie.com, it's a great example of how incredibly fun games can be when they're made in JSu.

Honestly, though, it seems like Adobe realized there isn't much point in keeping things going since you can't even find new creators for it anymore, so they're phasing it out. There's always a chance some third party might buy it and try to bring Flash back to life, but usually, once the developer calls it quits, users tend to follow suit pretty quickly. Only the real nostalgics stay behind.

Flash was such a massive, dominant application back in the day that it's actually kind of a miracle it ever fell apart. If you ask me, the biggest blow came when mobile devices exploded onto the scene and Flash just couldn't quite find its footing there. But hey, plenty of people share the blame for that.

Just to give you an example, Flash is basically what built YouTube. It was really the first and only application that could reliably handle cross-browser video webcasts for as long as it has.

***
ps: You can actually try downloading those kinds of games with a Flash downloader, save them into a folder on your hard drive, and just play them like any regular file. That works especially well if the game doesn't rely on some big server-side database.

hey, Space Invaders is a total classic 👍

Thanks for clearing things up, everyone. I get it much better now.