How To Prepare For The End Of The Flash
Change is inevitable in any and every field. But with technology, the change happens faster than the speed of light. This is nowhere more visible than with the 2020 mandate to end flash support.For edtech companies and ed publishers, it’s a case of “objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”
These organizations have been developing Flash content for education since Macromedia offered Flash 1.0 in 1996. In 2017, Adobe formally announced that it would no longer support the Flash player plug-in. Google and Microsoft have since announced their intention to disable the plug-in in their browsers by early next year, thus bringing the curtains down for Flash.
So does that mean all the content generated so far by them will not be fit for this new era?
The answer is yes and no.
Yes! Companies will not be able to use it in its Flash form and No! content will be usable if the Flash content is converted to some other technology..
Those who fail to innovate will fail
Just a quick Google search will demonstrate the fate of companies, such as Eastman Kodak, Borders, and Blockbuster, that ended up in bankruptcy because they didn’t innovate rapidly enough.We have reached a midpoint in 2019, so companies have a mere six months to convert all Flash content.
Instead of waiting until 2020, it’s important that companies quickly step up to the plate and start converting now if they have the in-house resources to do so. And that’s a big IF.
What exactly is Flash? In a former life as a product of FutureWave Software, Flash was known as SmartSketch, graphics editor pen computing on the Mac. Its next iteration was as FutureSplash where it attracted the attention of larger technology companies, such as Microsoft, Netscape, and Adobe. In 1996, Macromedia bought FutureSplash and renamed it Flash. Developers first discovered how to use Flash to build interactive websites and then the program evolved to using it to build games, movies, and experiences. During its heyday, Flash was the “be all and end all” for web interactivity and it was at this time that Adobe bought Macromedia.
However, when the iPhone came out in 2007, it was without Flash support. In 2010, Steve Jobs authored an anti-Flash diatribe called Thoughts on Flash, He cited a handful of key issues: full web, openness, battery life requirements, touch capability, poor quality third-party development tools, reliability, security, and performance. His article in essence sounded its death knell.
2020 is the year that browsers will stop supporting Flash players., rendering Flash an anachronism.
The Technology Solution: HTML5
HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language. It is a markup language used by the World Wide Web, and the “5” that follows signifies that it is the fifth generation of the HTML standard. HTML5 is coding language that allows us to create responsive content and view it online on all types of reader platforms.
HTML5 has now emerged as the language of choice to create courses, animations, ads, apps and other types of content that can be viewed on all platforms including desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.
When Flash-based content is converted into HTML5, it becomes mobile-ready and more responsive, automatically adjusting to different mobile devices in terms of size and usability.
The full blog can be read at — https://www.magicedtech.com/blog/flash-to-html5/
