[DougB541#CB]

Microsoft enabling Flash by default in Internet Explorer 10 starting March 12th | The Verge

Microsoft has just announced that it will permit Flash content to run "by default" in both Windows RT and Windows 8 beginning tomorrow, March 12th. Until now, compatibility in Internet Explorer 10 has been limited to a select number of sites whitelisted by Microsoft. (Windows 8's traditional desktop mode has offered full Flash support from the start.) But moving forward — and after users apply a software update — the inverse will be true. Microsoft has apparently concluded that web developers have made sufficient progress in bringing touch interactivity to Flash content. "As we have seen through testing over the past several months, the vast majority of sites with Flash content are now compatible with the Windows experience for touch, performance, and battery life."
The company says a small number of Flash-based sites that don't meet its criteria will continue to be blocked. Those websites will be included in a "Compatibility View (CV)" list, but Microsoft says users shouldn't encounter many issues in the grand scheme of things. "We believe having more sites 'just work' in IE10 improves the experience for consumers, businesses, and developers," reads a blog post on the change. "As a practical matter, the primary device you walk around with should give you access to all the Web content on the sites you rely on. Otherwise, the device is just a companion to a PC." That last tidbit seems like a clear shot directed at the iPad, which has lacked support for Flash since its release in 2010. Apple has long maintained that Flash isn't a good fit for post-PC devices, but Microsoft just gained a differentiator for anyone still relying on Adobe's platform.

[iosub]

What about Silverlight? I can't believe how bad is Microsoft doing with windowsRT...

[HeyCori]

Flash on a phone? Meh

Flash on a tablet?

[DougB541#CB]

Since they halted development in Silverlight for the web i'm assuming they are going to let it die.

[GSOgymrat]

Excellent! This distinguishes Windows RT and 8 tablets from Apple and Android.

[prlundberg]

Good news, although it should have been this way from the start.

[raul_junior]

nice! but i wish this came to my lumia 920... still love it though!

[89caps]

Very relieved that they have made this decision. I've been eyeing the Pro for that reason alone. I go to many random flash enabled sites that having to white-list became annoying.

[stephen_az]

What about Silverlight? I can't believe how bad is Microsoft doing with windowsRT...

I can't believe how bad some people continue to be about checking basic facts. Silverlight is no longer being developed so it is never coming to RT. The only continued development is in certain enterprise environments. On the consumer front Silverlight implementation never exceeded low single digit percentages, has been targeted for Sunset/EOL by the developer, and amounts to throwing money at a dead end battery vampire. Surface RT is also not an enterprise device - about the only way left that Microsoft has not explained this is in semaphore. If Silverlight is so vital to you, switch to a Windows 8 tablet. Asking for legacy support to be added to the ARM powered OS is just wasting time, bandwidth, and energy. I am sorry but just because Microsoft was the developer behind Silverlight, does not mean they need to support it on all platforms in perpetuity. Their position on abandonment is well reasoned and fundamentally sound from a business perspective. Looking at the tiny numbers of complaints from RT users across the various forums further supports the reality that no imperative exists for Silverlight on RT.

[abel920]

Lord Microsoft-sus-ssiah, Gods of technology, YAS!

Thank you.

[SeeVuPlay]

I hope it doesnt kill my battery

[ninjaap]

Wow!!!

[justop26]

Yes, I have been checking Windows Update for a few hours now, trying to get the update and seeing if I can go to many sites that use flash over here (mainly restaurants, the 'why' beats me). Thanks, Microsoft!

[89caps]

Can someone post when their update is live?

[sportex]

Does this mean we can do away with the whitelist tool?

[ninjaap]

I'm installing now. I got a total of 13 updates for my RT and 15 for my VAIO W8 Pro.

[abel920]

I'm installing now. I got a total of 13 updates for my RT and 15 for my VAIO W8 Pro.

I got 13 in my ASUS RT.

[testement]

At last I can watch Megashare.info on my Surface Rt and no random mutes when using my touch cover.
Microsoft I salute you.

[HeyCori]

I think it's awesome that Microsoft has released several firmware updates for the Surface. Continued and guaranteed support is one of the main reasons I choose the Surface. I don't see other OEMs releasing firmware updates for their devices (though that could just be because nothing's wrong, lol). Microsoft may be slow but at least I know they're still working to make the Surface better. That's the sort of support you don't always get with other OEMs like Samsung or HP. ****, HP drowns their computers in so much bloatware that they're almost beyond saving. I mean, seriously, who adds additional software to manage WiFi connections when Windows already comes with fully functional WiFi software?!?! /rant

[unstoppablekem]

I can't believe how bad some people continue to be about checking basic facts. Silverlight is no longer being developed so it is never coming to RT. The only continued development is in certain enterprise environments. On the consumer front Silverlight implementation never exceeded low single digit percentages, has been targeted for Sunset/EOL by the developer, and amounts to throwing money at a dead end battery vampire. Surface RT is also not an enterprise device - about the only way left that Microsoft has not explained this is in semaphore. If Silverlight is so vital to you, switch to a Windows 8 tablet. Asking for legacy support to be added to the ARM powered OS is just wasting time, bandwidth, and energy. I am sorry but just because Microsoft was the developer behind Silverlight, does not mean they need to support it on all platforms in perpetuity. Their position on abandonment is well reasoned and fundamentally sound from a business perspective. Looking at the tiny numbers of complaints from RT users across the various forums further supports the reality that no imperative exists for Silverlight on RT.

What about Netflix?

[ninjaap]

What about Netflix?

Don't they pretty much have an app on every single smartphone, tablet, game console and TV?

[HeyCori]

Either I'm crazy or sites load faster

[DougB541#CB]

What about Netflix?

That's Netflix decision to keep using it. They use Microsoft Smooth Stream technology for all their apps im pretty sure.

[justop26]

Either I'm crazy or sites load faster

+1 Either we're both crazy or... I came here to say precisely that.

[inteller]

here is what I've noticed, firmware flashes seem to "flush" out the system, and not in the same way a simple restart does. I wish Microsoft would give us the option to do whatever that is instead of a "refresh" which is a little drastic to me.

Enabling Flash by default is probably the best "feature" Microsoft has given us. I don't agree with them that most flash sites are "ok" now, I visited one random place and it ran like crap -on the desktop no less- I'm glas they have resorted to a blacklist now, but I'd like to be able to add sites to the blacklist from a button in IE.