In a blog post (http://tinyurl.com/q5m98t2), Adobe announced that Flash Processional CC will be renamed Animate CC, with a focus on creating HTML 5 content starting in 2016. Adobe writes:
“While standards like HTML5 will be the web platform of the future across all devices, Flash continues to be used in key categories like web gaming and premium video, where new standards have yet to fully mature. Moving forward, Adobe is committed to working with industry partners, as we have with Microsoft and Google, to help ensure the ongoing compatibility and security of Flash content.
“In that spirit, today we are announcing that we are working together with Facebook to help ensure Flash gaming content on Facebook continues to run reliably and securely. As part of this cooperation, Facebook will report security information that helps Adobe improve the Flash Player.
“Looking ahead, we encourage content creators to build with new web standards and will continue to focus on providing the best tools and services for designers and developers to create amazing content for the web.”
Today, over a third of all content created in Flash Professional uses HTML5, reaching over one billion devices worldwide. It has also been recognized as an HTML5 ad solution that complies with the latest Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) standards.
Animate CC will continue supporting Flash (SWF) and AIR formats as first-class citizens. In addition, it will be able to output animations to virtually any format (including SVG), through its extensible architecture.
The late Steve Jobs was no fan of Flash. In a letter dubbed “Thoughts on Flash,” (http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughts-on-flash/) he had this to say: “Adobe’s Flash products are 100% proprietary. They are only available from Adobe, and Adobe has sole authority as to their future enhancement, pricing, etc. While Adobe’s Flash products are widely available, this does not mean they are open, since they are controlled entirely by Adobe and available only from Adobe. By almost any definition, Flash is a closed system.
“Apple has many proprietary products too. Though the operating system for the iPhone, iPod and iPad is proprietary, we strongly believe that all standards pertaining to the web should be open. Rather than use Flash, Apple has adopted HTML5, CSS and JavaScript – all open standards. Apple’s mobile devices all ship with high performance, low power implementations of these open standards.”