In Windows 8, Microsoft’s browser will come in two guises. There will be the traditional desktop browser, with its full support of plugins and extensions, and there will be the new Metro-style browser that will be plugin free. But that’s not quite the whole story. The browser will include an integrated and embedded version of Adobe Flash, and because this will be built in, it won’t be treated as a plugin. The result? Even the Metro-style browser will be able to use Flash. Microsoft isn’t opening the floodgates entirely. Use of Flash in the Metro-style browser will be limited to those sites included on a whitelist. The list is comprised of a mix of domains: video sites such as Hulu, YouTube, and Vimeo; news sites including CNN, the BBC, and Wired; and a number of entertainment and gaming sites, including Facebook and Zynga. Flash-based interactive content on these sites will work in the Metro-style browser. Flash content on other sites will require the use of the desktop browser. I think this is hugely surprising because we seemed poised to be moving aggressively to HTML5. Here’s where Microsoft gets it both ways. They support Flash – we complain that they aren’t moving fast enough to the future. They don’t support Flash – we complain that they are moving too fast. Microsoft and Adobe are apparently working closely together to make sure that the final product meets the security and power consumption goals for Windows 8. The plot thickens… Source]]>
It’s a kind of Doomed if you do and Doomed if you don’t situation. I look forward to flash-less browsing, but as a end user i’m dependent on the websites I visit regularly.So I’m forced to have it installed (for now)
I think this is a pretty good compromise. It is what Google, did as well. But since of course MS did it, it must be wrong. Just like locking out other browsers on tablets. Perfectly fine for Apple and Google to do, but if MS does it, everyone screams monopoly. Cant please them, so no need to try. In the meantime, MS is looking out for their customers and ensuring for safe locations they will not have problems.