Why Does Flash on OS X Suck?

Anyone who uses a Mac and surfs the web is aware of a pretty serious and annoying problem:

Whether you use an ancient iMac or a new MacBook Pro, if you visit sites that use Flash your CPU usage will spike, your fans will spin like a turboprop, and (if using a laptop) your crotch will be set ablaze.

Here is the task manager on my MBP;  i’ve got Safari open with one window on a Flash cartoon that’s got simpler animation than Magilla Gorilla.

57%? seriously??

This would not be a huge issue if it only happened on web cartoons or porn sites.  The problem is that Flash is ubiquitous — it is even used by many banner ad rotator packages.   So just by visiting, say, your local newspaper’s web site, you are loading Flash into memory.

Thus, if you browse many sites and keep several  windows open in Safari, the probability that you’ll  hit sites with Flash approaches 1.    Your shiny new $2500.00 machine suddenly performs worse than a Windows machine that’s 1/10th the cost.

But Why?
This isn’t just some small bug with the latest version of Flash;  this problem has existed since Flash has been available on OS X.  It simply is inefficient in a way that the Windows version is not.

Why it remains so is a matter of open speculation.  Some say Adobe simply doesn’t care about OS X because of its small market share.  Others say it is a pissing contest between Adobe and Apple —  recall that Apple refuses to allow Flash to run on the iPhone, ostensibly because they want greater control over the apps that run on the device.  (In Apple’s defense, I wouldn’t allow Flash on the iPhone either, at least as it is currently implemented;  I can only imagine how quickly it would drain the phone’s battery!)

Will this ever be fixed?
This thread about the OS X issue on Adobe’s ticket tracker makes it very clear that:

1) Adobe is aware of the issue

2) They aren’t devoting enough resources to fixing the problem, focusing instead on getting Flash onto cell phones (!)

3) Because this problem impacts all Macs, and Macs are becoming more popular, Adobe is needlessly causing a huge amount of electricity to be wasted.

One person in the thread did a back-of-the-envelope calculation that the amount of electricity that’s  turned into waste heat because of Flash’s poor implementation is the equivalent of the output of a small nuclear power plant.  Ironic, as Adobe fancies itself  a green organization.

A Work-Around: ClickToFlash

If you use Safari, the best thing to do is to install ClickToFlash ASAP — this will prevent Flash from automatically loading on a page.  With one click you can then load the blocked Flash app.

This has made a huge difference in my system’s performance and battery life.  As a bonus, it also blocked a bunch of annoying ads.

Of course, it doesn’t fix the underlying problem of Flash being a total pig on OS X.  We can only hope that Adobe does the right thing and makes OS X a higher priority going forward.