Adobe's Flash Player will soon be fused with the Google Chrome Web browser, in a move that looks like an affront to Apple's Flash-hating ways.
Flash Player will be automatically included with Chrome, so it doesn't need to be installed separately. Whenever there's an update for the player, it will install automatically, as Chrome does.
Google announced the partnership with Adobe on the Official Chromium Blog. The developer version of Chrome will get Flash integration first, activated through a command line for now, and Google says it will bring Flash integration to all Chrome users "as quickly as we can".
The goal is to make Flash a more integral part of the Web browser, in the way that HTML and Javascript are now, and Google hopes that its browser will be faster, more stable and more secure as a result. Ultimately, Adobe, Google, Mozilla and "the broader community," as they call it, want to change the browser plug-in model to improve compatibility across operating systems and browsers.
But for now, this just looks like a love letter from Google to Flash at a time when Apple is ignoring the platform. Adobe and Apple have indirectly butted heads over the lack of Flash support for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, and the whole ordeal has raised questions of whether Flash can stay relevant. Apple's unwillingness to bend, combined with the popularity of its products, has caused some Web developers to create Flash alternatives, only raising the threat level for Flash. Chrome's share of the browser market is small, but growing, and it could be a valuable ally in this fight.
Nonetheless, this move is going to provoke mixed reactions from developers and users alike. Not everyone in either group will want Flash, and Google will alienate them if there's no way to opt out of Flash integration. I'm just hoping the collaboration between Adobe and Google makes both Flash and the Chrome browser better.
