CYBERSPACE— Google has announced that it will integrate Flash into its chrome browser.
According to Wired.com, Google has been working to improve the security of browser plug-ins. The company wants the Internet to be the foundation for applications, but it doesn’t want the security and crash problems plug-ins can bring.
Google said it will distribute Flash with Chrome, update it automatically and eventually put Flash in Chrome’s sandbox where the risks can be better contained.
Last July, Google said that Adobe will be one of its partners for Chrome OS which is the browser-based operating system for netbooks, and tablets the company plans to release later this year.
Google’s decision to embrace Flash is one way the company can protect its turf and strengthen its Android and Chrome operating systems for mobile phones, tablets, and notebooks.
By contrast, Apple’s iPhone and iPad don’t support Flash.
Google and Adobe say that decision to integrate Flash with Chrome is for now limited to the browser for PCs. But the duo are working together to offer the latest version of the Flash player on Android mobile phones.
For Adobe, working with browser companies may be one way of preserving Flash’s dominance.
“Our goal is to make the Flash API platform-neutral,” says Paul Betlem, senior director for Flash player engineering at Adobe. “We want to pull in the participation of all browser vendors and even other plug-in vendors.”
