Flash on Android, and Google dictating

Deleted User · Apr 29, 2014

Nice. I've read and heard a lot about Oppo, in various news sites and podcasts, but those get you a more clinical approach in their reviews. Glad you're happy with it.

mikedt · Apr 29, 2014

RyanB said:
Nice. I've read and heard a lot about Oppo, in various news sites and podcasts, but those get you a more clinical approach in their reviews. Glad you're happy with it.

Actually going back to Flash.

It did actually surprise me that it installed and worked with JB 4.3 on this phone, no messing around. I had previously tried to install it on the Samsung, which is JB 4.1, and Flash just wouldn't go at all. And I'm sure Adobe or Samsung weren't going to help me with it.

I was looking at various phones in the last few weeks, a Nexus 5 was ruled out because I found out there's no warranty cover in China, I'd have to send it back to the UK in the event of any problems. With an Oppo, warranty cover and local service is not a problem in China. Samsung S5 or Note 3 were ruled out really because of cost, too expensive. I did read the reviews, and done a lot of hands-on of various phones in stores, during the last few weeks.

Deleted User · Apr 29, 2014

Might that be something that is part of ColorOS?

mikedt · Apr 29, 2014

RyanB said:
Might that be something that is part of ColorOS?

Maybe, ColorOS really a China only thing at the moment, the ColorOS website is only in Chinese, ColorOS???? And from what I've seen it is Chinese websites that tend to have more Flash than Western sites these days. So it could be something Oppo have done to ensure Flash compatibly on their devices. The ColorOS ROM is available for a few other phones as well, Samsung S4, HTC One, and Xiaomi 2S

zuben el genub · Apr 29, 2014

The only problem with not having flash - if you use the browser on the phone in desktop mode. I've found big differences in certain sites between mobile and desktop. Yahoo mail is one. I have more control over it if I use desktop setting. I will not use the Yahoo app, I use the browser. I rarely use any flash sites, so not having it doesn't bother me.

funkylogik · Apr 29, 2014

Mike it's 4.4 that breaks flash mate then you need the hacked flash app and dolphin browser with jet pack :thumbup:

womb raider · Apr 30, 2014

mikedt said:
Desktop sites might still be using Flash, and some web devs are assuming you're using a desktop OS, i.e, Windows, Mac OS X, or a Linux OS like Ubuntu or Mint. It's mobile sites that shouldn't be using Flash now, and I think the vast majority have gone over to HTML5 technologies. The fact remains Adobe have discontinued mobile Flash, which is their proprietary product, and so Flash on Android is basically a hack, unsupported, and will not receive any more updates from Adobe.

If Adobe makes any enhancements or changes to Flash in the future and websites require it, Flash 11 on mobile could have problems. It's Flash 12 for desktop OSs now. If Adobe aren't spending the $$$ to support mobile Flash why should anyone else? Which could be very difficult anyway because Flash is proprietary.

Er yeah, I wasn't actually arguing any of that...more pointing out that a lot of sites still use Flash video, and if someone uses those websites it doesn't mean they're refusing to adapt or being "like grandads who refuse to move on from VHS".

Maybe the webmasters are, but not necessarily the end user.

mikedt · Apr 30, 2014

womb raider said:
Er yeah, I wasn't actually arguing any of that...more pointing out that a lot of sites still use Flash video, and if someone uses those websites it doesn't mean they're refusing to adapt or being "like grandads who refuse to move on from VHS".

Maybe the webmasters are, but not necessarily the end user.

The mainstream and legal video sites, like YouTube, Youku, Tudou, PPTV, CCTV, Hunan TV, Netflix, Hulu, iPlayer, etc. shouldn't insist on Flash now. If they detect you haven't got it they should provide an alternative you can view, like HTML5, so no Lego bricks or "Missing plug-in" nonsense.

Or frequently on Android or iOS, they'll have an app you can use instead. Don't know about Windows Phone, I've still yet to see one. LOL.

In fact the BBC got into trouble for only using Flash or Silverlight a few years ago. Basically you're a public broadcaster, funded by the public, so therefore you must use public software to stream with, or at least be viewable on all OSs by all members of the public, and not just Windows or Mac only. My Android has Flash on it, version 11, but if there's any Flash video that requires 12 or a later version, maybe because of DRM, it will have problems.

Deleted User · Apr 30, 2014

Is the BBC publicly funded? Not living there, I wouldn't know. Some of the other ones you listed are private (Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, etc), and AFAIK none of those ate publicly funded here in the States, so it would be their call on what to use. I think it would be a mistake on their parts to stick with Flash (assuming they still use it), but in the end it's their call.

Shocky · Apr 30, 2014

Flash is still widely used online, so long as they keep updating support on windows it's not going anywhere.

It sucks that Google dropped support, but it's still fairly easy to get it working again.

I have flash working on all my Android devices running kitkat.

mikedt · Apr 30, 2014

RyanB said:
Is the BBC PO publicly funded? Not living there, I wouldn't know. Some of the other ones you listed are private (Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, etc), and AFAIK none of those ate publicly funded here in the States, so it would be their call on what to use. I think it would be a mistake on their parts to stick with Flash (assuming they still use it), but in the end it's their call.

Yes it is. Anyone in the UK who watches it, even on-line, must have a TV licence.
TV Licensing - Check
"You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder."

The original stink got kicked up, because BBC was using Microsoft Silverlight only for iPlayer, which at the time was Windows only. And I believe the BBC charter says that they must be viewable to anyone who pays for a TV licence, including computers, laptops, tablets and mobile phones.

BBC in the UK doesn't have ads. BBC outside of the UK does have ads, because that's BBC Worldwide Ltd, a private subsidiary. Things like Hulu, YouTube, Netflix, ITV in the UK, are all commercial and not controlled by government charters, they can use what they like. But I think it's in their benefit to be as accessible as possible regardless of OS or device, so more people can see the ads basically.

Something a few people don't realise, that the BBC isn't actually owned by the government. Unlike something like China Central Television(CCTV), which is most definitely state owned and controlled. However there's no TV licence in China and CCTV has ads.

Deleted User · Apr 30, 2014

Shocky said:
Flash is still widely used online, so long as they keep updating support on windows it's not going anywhere.

It's also resource intensive and vulnerable to malware on a level that Adobe should be ashamed of.

Shocky said:
It sucks that Google dropped support, but it's still fairly easy to get it working again.

I used to feel that way about Apple pulling the plug on it as if they were making a mistake, but since Adobe has chosen to pull support for mobile use for their own prodcut, why should I miss it when (again) it's resource intensive and vulnerable to begin with? The same things can be accomplished with much better software. I can count on one hand (with fingers to spare) the number of times this year I've been unable to view something because it was in flash only, and frankly I didn't care enough to seek it out on a desktop. Sites can lose the number of hits before I put that kind of effort back into view something on Flash.

mikedt · Apr 30, 2014

Shocky said:
Flash is still widely used online, so long as they keep updating support on windows it's not going anywhere.

In this country especially, a majority of people are not using Windows PCs to view websites these days. They're using Android or iOS devices now. and iOS has never had Flash. I bet website devs got hammered with complaints about what's this Lego brick I'm seeing on your website.

Shocky said:
It sucks that Google dropped support, but it's still fairly easy to get it working again.

I have flash working on all my Android devices running kitkat.

Thing to remember though it's an older version, unpatched as well if(when) there's any security problems or exploits with it. And if any site does insist on 12 or later, Flash on Android will have problems. Flash on PC or Mac is automatically updated in the background usually, so most people will have the latest version without having to do anything.

funkylogik · Apr 30, 2014

TV licence..... What's that lol?? Never payed for one in my life

Shocky · May 7, 2014

mikedt said:
In this country especially, a majority of people are not using Windows PCs to view websites these days. They're using Android or iOS devices now. and iOS has never had Flash. I bet website devs got hammered with complaints about what's this Lego brick I'm seeing on your website.

Thing to remember though it's an older version, unpatched as well if(when) there's any security problems or exploits with it. And if any site does insist on 12 or later, Flash on Android will have problems. Flash on PC or Mac is automatically updated in the background usually, so most people will have the latest version without having to do anything.

Flash isn't going anywhere and neither is Windows, most of the security exploits are designed to take advantage of windows, not Android.

2013-04%20Desktop%20OS%20Market%20Share.png

mikedt · May 7, 2014

Shocky said:
Flash isn't going anywhere and neither is Windows, most of the security exploits are designed to take advantage of windows, not Android.

Flash on the desktop PC and Mac is not going anywhere for the moment. But I bet sooner or later Adobe will say, "OK this is costing us too much money, it's had a good run, time to end of life, no more support, no more updates." I have Flash on my computers, along with the NoFlash plugin, because much Flash content seems to be ads, which I'm not particularly interested in.

There's another thing, certainly around here, a majority of people people are not browsing with desktop OSs any more, it's more Android and iOS.

Talking of end of life, that "Windows 92%", here in China most of that is Windows XP.

Deleted User · May 7, 2014

They've already said that for mobile, I think it's a matter of time until they pull the plug

funpig · May 7, 2014

I have a galaxy tab 7.0 plus running 4.1.2.

I went to the Adobe website and loaded up the latest version of flash. I think the info says it was only supported up to ICS.

I use Boat Browser Mini on my tablet. I think the flash plug-in is enabled as necessary. The funny thing is that I can only view flash videos reliably when the Boat Browser user agent is set to "Safari". The other user agents cause the browser to act buggy with videos especially from yahoo which i like to use.

Rxpert83 · May 7, 2014

funpig said:
I went to the Adobe website and loaded up the latest version of flash. I think the info says it was only supported up to ICS.

Yup. That's when adobe stopped supporting flash on mobile

funkylogik · May 7, 2014

The ICS version still works though up until kitkat then you need the hacked version :thumbup:

Shocky · May 8, 2014

mikedt said:
Flash on the desktop PC and Mac is not going anywhere for the moment. But I bet sooner or later Adobe will say, "OK this is costing us too much money, it's had a good run, time to end of life, no more support, no more updates." I have Flash on my computers, along with the NoFlash plugin, because much Flash content seems to be ads, which I'm not particularly interested in.

There's another thing, certainly around here, a majority of people people are not browsing with desktop OSs any more, it's more Android and iOS.

Talking of end of life, that "Windows 92%", here in China most of that is Windows XP.

So we are in agreement now that flash is still being used widely online?

I'm not trying to argue for flash as I would also prefer sites use alternatives but that's not going to happen any time soon and if you want to view the web, as in all of the web and not just the sites optimized for mobile devices then you need flash.

One of main uses for my tablet right now is watching content on Crunchyroll as their Android app only provides SD video while with flash I can get 1080p on their website.

Last time I checked Amazon Instant also needed flash.

http://w3techs.com/technologies/details/cp-flash/all/all

Deleted User · May 8, 2014

Sure, but the web its slowly moving away from that. It won't be gone tomorrow, but the process that will end up there has already begun.

Goodspike · May 8, 2014

I wish I could get rid of Flash on the desktop. Adobe has a horrible record with security.

mikedt · May 8, 2014

Shocky said:
One of main uses for my tablet right now is watching content on Crunchyroll as their Android app only provides SD video while with flash I can get 1080p on their website.

That sounds like the company or website is not doing a proper job and needs to get with the programme, so to speak.

I regularly watch movies and sometimes anime on PPTV and Youku, however their Android and iOS apps stream 1080p just fine. Because so many people now can be using Android smart-TVs, HDMI dongles, DLNA and HDMI from phones and tablets etc. In fact more so than using PCs or Macs now. And if anything their apps really should be 1080p because of so many large screened TVs now. Not sure how well Flash 11 on Android can do 1080p, if it can handle it.

Edit:

I've just tried to view Crunchyroll on my Android phone on their site with Flash, and when trying to view full-screen it's just crashing...Flash Application Not Responding(ANR). I know Adobe won't be interested in fixing it. However I think if enough people complained about Crunchyroll's Android app not doing HD, they might want to do something about it. Especially if I wanted to view it in HD on my TV in the comfort of my living room, rather than being sat at the PC.

Shocky · May 9, 2014

mikedt said:
That sounds like the company or website is not doing a proper job and needs to get with the programme, so to speak.

I regularly watch movies and sometimes anime on PPTV and Youku, however their Android and iOS apps stream 1080p just fine. Because so many people now can be using Android smart-TVs, HDMI dongles, DLNA and HDMI from phones and tablets etc. In fact more so than using PCs or Macs now. And if anything their apps really should be 1080p because of so many large screened TVs now. Not sure how well Flash 11 on Android can do 1080p, if it can handle it.

Edit:

I've just tried to view Crunchyroll on my Android phone on their site with Flash, and when trying to view full-screen it's just crashing...Flash Application Not Responding(ANR). I know Adobe won't be interested in fixing it. However I think if enough people complained about Crunchyroll's Android app not doing HD, they might want to do something about it. Especially if I wanted to view it in HD on my TV in the comfort of my living room, rather than being sat at the PC.

Crunchyroll have been promising updates for a long time but I guess the Android app is a low priority.

1080p works fine on the website, works on both my Nexus 7 and Galaxy S4.

You need to use Dolphin Browser, Dolphin Jetpack and modified flash apk. If your not a paying customer you will get advertisements which which could cause problems.

This also works works for Amazon Instant.

Flash on Android, and Google dictating

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