IE10 update to support Flash by default in modern UI on Windows 8 and RT
You no longer need to switch to desktop mode of IE10 to access sites with Flash content, thanks to this Microsoft update
Microsoft announced in an IEBlog post that the newest update to the Internet Explorer 10 in the modern tile-UI on Windows 8 and Windows RT will allow Adobe Flash content to run by default. Earlier, the modern UI version of the IE browser did not run interactive Flash out of the box unless the site hosting that content was on a Compatibility View whitelist. You had to open the Flash containing site in the desktop version of the IE browser in Windows 8.
According to Microsoft, most of the sites having Flash content have been under test for the last couple of months, for compatibility with the touch-based modern UI and also battery life and performance. Barring the 4 per cent of websites that are still incompatible with Windows 8’s touch experience and depend on other plug-ins whose Flash content will be blocked, all other sites having Flash on board will now run within the IE 10 browser.
“We believe having more sites “just work” in IE10 improves the experience for consumers, businesses, and developers. 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. Because some popular Web sites require Adobe Flash and do not offer HTML5 alternatives, Adobe and Microsoft continue to work together closely to deliver a Flash Player optimized for the Windows experience,” said Rob Mauceri, Group Program Manager, Internet Explorer in the blog post.
Microsoft has worked with Adobe to include a version of Flash which is optimised for touch, performance, security and battery life. They have also posted this document on MSDN for developers building sites with Flash content. It has pointers on best practises to guide and help developers, designers and content publishers. It goes into the more technical details about the criteria used to places sites on theb lock list and how developers can test their content in the immersive IE browser so as to take their site of the blocked list and make it compatible with the touch experience on Windows 8 and RT.
This new update will start rolling out tomorrow.
Source: IEBlog MSDN