Short answers, pulled from the story.
FutureSplash Animator was released in 1995 on Macintosh and PC platforms. The software originated from SmartSketch, which FutureWave Software launched in 1993 for PenPoint operating systems before pivoting to desktop computers.
Charlie Jackson and Jonathan Gay founded FutureWave Software, which developed the original vector drawing application called SmartSketch. This team built the tool before the market for pen computers collapsed and later ported their software to Microsoft Windows and Mac OS.
Steve Jobs wrote an open letter titled Thoughts on Flash criticizing the closed nature of the platform and inherent security problems. He stated he would not approve the use of Flash on iOS devices due to numerous security flaws, a decision known as the death blow to the Flash application on mobile platforms.
By January 2021, all major browsers blocked all Flash content unconditionally except IE11 and niche browser forks. A built-in kill switch prevented Flash from playing after the 12th of January 2021, excluding China variants.
Adobe Flash Player had over 1078 CVE entries, with more than 842 leading to arbitrary code execution. Past vulnerabilities enabled spying via web cameras, prompting experts to recommend blocking Flash content entirely.