The Fate of Adobe Flash in 2018
For decades, Adobe Flash has been a cornerstone of the web, with the player plug-in doing everything from helping you watch videos to playing computer games. But Flash is on its way out as a technology. Adobe made the decision to phase out the software by the end of 2020. Some browsers are already making the transition, leaving Flash behind in favor of migration to open web technologies.
Why Adobe Flash Is No Longer Working
Hopefully you won’t notice much difference, as browsers try to seamlessly migrate without disrupting your user experience. However, there are some hiccups. For example, at Virteom, we have had to make alterations to some modules (or plug-ins) that we use in our content management system (CMS); they no longer work because Chrome and Firefox are no longer supporting Flash.
How Are Browsers Transitioning Away From Flash?
Browsers have always been the primary delivery mechanism for Flash-enabled content, but today, popular browsers are definitely migrating away from Flash. Over the last several years, Flash has declined in use. Just three years ago, the majority of Chrome users visited Flash-enabled sites daily, but today, fewer than 20 percent do.
Instead, browsers are using the much faster and efficient open web technologies. These open technologies are also more secure for a safer online shopping or financial transaction experience, and they’re also better suited for both desktop and mobile applications.
The Plan for Flash
Tremendous industry collaboration among Adobe (the creator of Flash), browser developers and major web publishers has taken place for the last few years to make sure that the transition from Flash goes smoothly. It all began back in 2011, when Adobe first announced that it would not update Flash for mobile devices. The company will stop updates and distribution of the product in 2020. Adobe is giving such a long lead time so that everyone in the industry will have time to completely transition to the open technologies like HTML5 and WebGL.
Basically, Flash used to just run behind the scenes as a browser plug-in. Now, browsers like Chrome and web sites are starting to ask your permission to run Flash. Eventually, Flash will just be disabled by default and Chrome, among others, will completely remove Flash by the end of 2020.
Adobe Flash and Microsoft Edge / Internet Explorer
Microsoft has a four-step phase out plan for Flash. Edge is asking permission to run Flash for most sites, and in 2019, both Edge and Internet Explorer will have disabled Flash as the default setting; users will have to manually enable Flash site by site as needed. By 2020, Flash will not be allowed to run in either browser.
Google Chrome and Flash
Google’s approach is similar to Microsoft. Chrome already has a “Flash off” default and limits Flash use to 10 particular websites, like Amazon and Facebook.
Firefox and Flash
Firefox users now get to choose which websites to allow Flash for, and the browser remembers those Flash settings. With new Firefox releases, the browser will no longer store the Flash settings. In 2019, Mozilla will begin disabling Flash by default.
Safari and Flash
Finally, Apple has almost completely ridded Safari of Flash. The company has an easier transition since Flash was never allowed on the iOS to begin with.
If you’re experiencing any issues with your Virteom Powered website, please reach out to our help desk.
Own Your Own Content
In case you were not aware the next big buzz phrase is 'Original Content'. In fact some have come forward and claimed this to be a bigger moment than SEO. So what does it all really mean to you? Let's take a closer look at what is meant by owning your own content. Most of this movement stems from Google. Google is basically dinging websites if it finds duplicate content on the web. So if you are just borrowing someone else's content and placing it on your website you may not be doing yourself any favors. Try and place your content within a domain that YOU own and with hyperlinks that YOU control. Are you the Owner? Why did I underline and stress YOU? There is this trend or should I say movement where persons and organizations are utilizing third party blogging services to store their original content. In some cases persons or organizations are spending hundreds and even thousands a month to store this newly created
Ecommerce site Jennyspopcorn.com launches
Virteom launches new eCommerce website for Jenny's Popcorn. Not only does Jenny's sell something delicious, but they are in for a treat themselves. A website that is powered by Virteom and the eCommerce component will allow Jenny's to effectively measure their online store and marketing initiatives all in one spot. If you've ever visited Jenny's Popcorn you would instantly know that these people are very busy popping popcorn. To find the time to market their business effectively can be a struggle. Isn't that true of most medium sized businesses? Virteom will help Jennyspopcorn grow their online presence quickly and effectively. Jenny's popcorn came to Virteom because they knew that we were the experts who could create a safe PCI compliant environment for their customers. They also knew that they could offer a better service to their customers by having Virteom connect their shopping cart directly to Fedex to create real-time shipping for
