“Macromedia announced at its International User Conference ’99
plans to license at no charge the source code for its popular Flash
Player for inclusion in upcoming hardware and software
platforms.
“Already installed in more than 100 million Web browsers
according to a recent third party study, Flash is the Web’s most
widely distributed interactive media player and the standard format
for high impact, vector-based Web sites.”
“Because of its small code footprint, compact file size, broad
distribution, and unique scalability, the Flash Player is ideal for
displaying Web content on both desktop machines and Internet
appliances.”
“Moving to a free licensing model for the Flash Player source is
significant for both Macromedia and the industry,” said Rob
Burgess, Chairman and CEO of Macromedia. “A new Web infrastructure
is emerging as new devices and services – both broadband and
narrowband – must deliver compelling experiences to an exploding
number of Web consumers. By making the Flash Player source freely
available and working closely with our partners such as @Home, Real
Networks, and Apple, we will make it easy for everyone to view
high-impact Flash interfaces, animations and interactive
programming.”