Last splash for Flash support on elderly PowerPC G3s

Adobe will end Flash Player support for Apple’s aged PowerPC-based G3 machines after the release of version 10.1 of the software, which isn’t expected to land until early next year.

Beyond Flash Player 10.1, Mac G3 fans will no longer be able to run the software on their computers.

"The Adobe Flash Player 10.1 release, expected in the first half of 2010, will be the last version to support Macintosh PowerPC-based G3 computers," Adobe quietly announced in a security bulletin on Thursday.

"Adobe will be discontinuing support of PowerPC-based G3 computers and will no longer provide security updates after the Flash Player 10.1 release. This unavailability is due to performance enhancements that cannot be supported on the older PowerPC architecture."

But in some ways it’s perhaps more surprising that Flash 10.1 will be compatible with G3 machines. After all, Apple ditched PowerPC in 2006, and - with the arrival of its Intel-only Snow Leopard OS - officially hammered the nail into the processors' coffin.

Presumably successive versions of Adobe’s Flash Player will continue to support later PowerPC models such as the PowerBook G4 and the PowerMac G5. For how long is anyone’s guess, however. ®