Windows 8 Update: The End of Adobe Flash?

Microsoft appears to be taking a page out of Apple's play book saying it will dump plug-ins such as Adobe Flash from Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 8. Well, sort of.

You'll still be able to view content requiring plug-ins in Windows 8, but you'll have to switch to the old fashioned Windows desktop to see it. Users who prefer to remain in the touch-centric, Metro-style interface, however, will have a plug-in free (and presumably Flash-free) experience. Instead, the new touch-centric IE 10 will rely on HTML5 technologies for online video and other functions.

"For the web to move forward and for consumers to get the most out of touch-first browsing, the Metro style browser in Windows 8 is as HTML5-only as possible, and plug-in free," said Dean Hachamovtich, who leads Microsoft's Internet Explorer team. "The experience that plug-ins provide today is not a good match with Metro style browsing and the modern HTML5 web."

The good news is that thanks to Apple's anti-Flash trailblazing with the iPhone and iPad, many websites now offer HTML5 video when the Flash plug-in is not present. YouTube, for example, will still run without Flash as will many other video sites.

Microsoft said it examined the plug-in requirements for the top 97,000 sites worldwide and discovered that 62 percent can already offer HTML5 video to non-Flash devices. Many of these sites can also serve non-Flash ads as well.

If you visit a site that still relies on ActiveX controls or other plug-in content, you will be prompted to tap a "Use Desktop View" notification. This will take you to the traditional desktop where you can view the content requiring a plug-in.

What Microsoft didn't mention is where this leaves the company's own Flash competitor, Silverlight. Will Silverlight compatibility be built into the Metro version of Internet Explorer 10 or is Silverlight on the Web gone too? The technology still has a life as a tool for developers, so Silverlight on the Web may not be a big loss for the Windows maker. Microsoft was unavailable for comment at the time of this writing.

Adobe FlashThere's also the question of whether Metro-style IE 10 will support add-ons (also known as extensions) or toolbars. Microsoft wasn't clear on this point. "In Windows 8, IE 10 is available as a Metro style app and as a desktop app," said Steven Sinofksy, president of Windows and Windows Live, on the Building Windows 8 blog. "The desktop app continues to fully support all plug-ins and extensions." Sinofsky didn't explicitly say that extensions won't be supported in the Metro interface, but his comments do suggest that extensions are out for Metro-style IE 10.

Admittedly, a lot of these add-ons wouldn't be missed (especially toolbars packaged with other downloads), and IE was never big on add-ons compared to competing browsers such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. But some extensions might be missed in the touchable version of IE 10 such as identity managers that help you save passwords and automatically fill out Web forms.

Nevertheless, the lack of plug-ins and possibly extensions should make IE more responsive and faster when using the Metro UI.

This could also be a huge blow to Adobe since the Metro-style interface will be the first thing home users see when they fire up Windows 8 on their laptops and desktops. It's possible that Microsoft could adopt Google's strategy and build Flash right into IE, but that would technically be using a plug-in and thus not be as plug-in free as Microsoft is promising.

Microsoft's comments, while they don't explicitly say this, suggest that Flash will not be included in the Metro-style version of Windows 8. So unless PC users at home reject the Metro-style interface and stick with the traditional desktop in Windows 8 or Windows 7, Microsoft may effectively finish what Apple started and kill Flash on the Web.

Adobe was unavailable for comment at the time of this writing.

Windows 8 Preview Version Downloads rise over 500,000 copies

Microsoft Corp. said developers have downloaded 500,000 copies of the preview version of Windows 8 since its debut yesterday, evidence of interest in an operating system that will vie with Apple Inc. software.

“While it's clear we have a long way to go still with Windows 8, we've been gratified by the reactions and the interest,” Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said today at a conference for developers in Anaheim, California. One area needing more work: a Windows 8 version that runs on chips with technology from ARM Holdings Plc, which is “very, very important to us,” Ballmer said.

Microsoft is rushing to complete Windows 8 because the company wants an operating system capable of running thinner, lighter tablet machines with battery power that can rival Apple's iPad. That need has led the world's largest software maker to make its Windows personal-computer operating system compatible with ARM-based chips for the first time. ARM processors typically run smartphones and other mobile gadgets.

At the conference, Microsoft gave attendees a prototype machine running an Intel Corp. chip rather than an ARM model, a sign that version is farther along. Microsoft hasn't said when Windows 8 devices will go on sale.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, rose 46 cents to $26.50 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have lost 5.1 percent of their value this year.

While Microsoft Windows President Steven Sinofsky yesterday said that Windows 8 “re-imagines” what Windows can do, Ballmer today said that the effort -- as well as Microsoft's push into Internet-based cloud services and new types of hardware -- represent a “re-imagining” of the entire company.

Even as it focuses on tablets, phones and cloud computing, the company will keep Windows at the heart of its strategy, Ballmer said.

“Windows is at the center,” he said. “People question whether that is a good idea. I think it's an exceptionally good idea.”

Windows Phone, the mobile-phone software that Microsoft released last year, hasn't performed as well as Ballmer would have liked, he said. Still, positive reception from those who have bought the devices, as well as the support from handset makers, gives him hope for the future, he said.

“I'm not saying I love where we are, but I am very optimistic on where we can be,” Ballmer said.

When asked if Microsoft's Internet-search partnership with Yahoo was at risk, given the company's ouster of CEO Carol Bartz, Ballmer said he's not worried.

“The partnership will remain strong no matter where they want to take their business or whoever they happen to install next as CEO,” he said.

Windows 8 tablets to have 15% market share by 2014 says analyst

What a difference an “8” makes: Microsoft’s Windows 8 only broke cover properly earlier this week, and analysts are already declaring it a future sales success. RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Breza is predicting Microsoft will hold a 15-percent share in the tablet segment by 2014, the Financial Post reports, praising the new OS’ Metro UI as borrowed from Windows Phone.

“Unlike traditional Windows 7, ‘Smart Tiles’ leverages multi-touch for a clever way to conveniently access most frequently used files and data” Breza points out, suggesting that this “leverages both desktop and mobile.” Microsoft’s existing installation base and strong position among enterprise users should also help it along the way, it’s predicted, although the company will need to focus on application momentum if it wants to challenge the iPad’s market lead.

The impact Windows 8 on tablets has on Microsoft’s stock price could mark an end to periodic calls for CEO Steve Ballmer to be toppled, something the company’s board has always resisted while denying that the outspoken exec is “stuck in the past.” Earlier this week, Ballmer admitted dissatisfaction with Windows Phone sales but argued that the platform would receive a significant boost once the first Nokia devices to run the OS went on sale.

“Windows 8 tablets could be a valuation catalyst for the stock if investors begin to see Microsoft regaining leadership in the post-PC era” Breza concludes. The company’s share price climbed to a high of 26.785 in the aftermath of BUILD, though with Windows 8 slates not expected to go on sale until next year the market is apparently still cautious.