When you read browser plugin you think immediately about Flash. But there are many more browser plugins like:
- Flash Player
- Java
- Silverlight
- RealPlayer
- Adobe Reader
- Unity 3D
- Google Earth Plug-in
- ActiveX
They are all plugins for the browser you hardly use and replaceable by HTML5. Adobe Reader is replaceable by built-in pdf readers from browsers.
In the last few years all big players on the internet, started adopting HTML5 for video streaming. Like YouTube, Netflix and all kinds of news websites. So there is no need for plugins anymore. All big players are adopting new technologies. But we also need the small players on board.
I used Netflix for one hour on Silverlight. It was horrible. My laptop was like an heavy attack helicopter. Luckily I could use Netflix without Silverlight again :-)
It usages a lot of energy. Final but not least security, plugins needs to update for known and unknown security breaches. And that’s a freaking slow process. Without plugins the browser vendor is responsible for security updates. And making the browser run as smoothly as possible on the devices they support.
In 2010 Steve Jobs already told the world why there would never be any browser plugins supported on iOS devices. Since then there popularity and usages also declined. This year there was a big security issue in flash.
So bad even Mozilla Firefox blocked the current and all past versions of flash. Only an updated flash would work in Firefox again.
The chief security officer of Facebook suggested all browser vendors should introduce killbits. After killbits are activated by a specific date for example the code stops working. That way the small players are forced to update their products to work without any browser plugins.
My favorite news website ‘BBC’ still has videos only in flash. The day they stop with flash videos is a good day for the Internet. And there are for sure many more news website who only have flash videos right now. They really should adopt HTML5 video technology now. No more excuses, the technology is proven. The biggest video website is working without plugins!
There are also a lot of web applications still use plugins. It’s a shame some developers (or better there managers) don’t look forward. It is possible to build beautiful web applications without the need of plugins!
We the people of the Internet should send them a message. We like our browsers plugin free. No more security issues because of plugins. No more overheated devices without any reason. No more drained batteries. Upgrade your website or web application so we don’t have to use browser plugins anymore.
A advances for you is. Your website or web application is also accessible on mobile devices. And all other devices with a browser like watches, televisions, smart mirrors etc it’s also future proof. Webbrowers and Internet will always exist. Only the technology behind it will change. You need to adapt and embrace those technologies.
When you see a website or web application that makes you use browser plugins please contact, email, tweet, or call them. They need to know you don’t want any browser plugins any more. You want your browser secure and optimized for your device.