We are using Flash Player for several years as a browser plug-in to watch animation and play games, but the advancement of HTML5 is questioning the future of Flash. 6 months ago, Adobe published their roadmap for 2012-2013 and that plan does not show any sign of worry for Flash lovers. You will see more versions in coming months with lots more exciting features, but on fewer platforms.

Adobe announced that they wonâ€™t support the forthcoming versions of Android and Apple was never interested in Flash. It seems like a huge blow because these two companies have the lions share in smartphone and tablet industry. However, what looks like a major mistake is actually a calculated risk.

HTML5 is growing very fast and browser makers are more interested in scripting based, plug-in free animation. Hence Adobe decided to focus on desktops. Game development and encrypted video are the two fields where Flash will play a key role and may beat the dominance of HTML5.

The future updates of Flash Player will see better hardware acceleration and script performance. It will support keyboard inputs (middle and right mouse button clicks) like a full fledged application.

In coming months you will see two more FLV Player updates- Dolores and Next. Dolores will bring multithreaded application support using a technique similar to HTML5.

Next is probably going to be the big game changer. According to Adobe, â€œNextâ€ will fulfill developersâ€™ requirements “over the next five to 10 years.” It will receive a major ActionScript update, better coding error detection system and offer enhanced performance.

Adobe is betting on Windows 8 and said â€œcurrently working closely with Microsoft to finalize details around supported configurations for Flash Player and Adobe AIR on Windows 8.â€ Windows 8 will run on both desktops and tablets, and Microsoft is not going to provide plug-in support for the touch version of Internet Explorer. However, Flash plug-in may run on x86 and x64 systems because the desktop version of IE will support plug-ins.

HTML5 is certainly the future of web based animation, but our much loved animation software is not dead yet. Donâ€™t forget that people seldom upgrade their OS. There are still millions of people out there who are using Windows XP because itâ€™s more familiar to them. Hence, itâ€™s hard to tell how many people will shift to Windows 8.

Browser support is another department where it scores very high. HTML5 is not supported in older browsers and more importantly, even the most ultramodern browsers donâ€™t offer flawless HTML5 support.

Flash may have stopped supporting mobile devices, but as long as Microsoft favors Adobe, it has a long and bright future ahead.