document_title: Adobe Flash Player

question_text: what is the current version of adobe flash player

text: Adobe Flash Player

text: Features[edit]

text: Adobe Flash Player is a runtime that executes and displays content from a provided SWF file, although it has no in-built features to modify the SWF file at runtime. It can execute software written in the ActionScript programming language which enables the runtime manipulation of text, data, vector graphics, raster graphics, sound and video. The player can also access certain connected hardware devices, including web cameras and microphones, after permission for the same has been granted by the user.

text: Flash Player is used internally by the Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR), to provide a cross-platform runtime environment for desktop applications and mobile applications. AIR supports installable applications on Windows, Linux, macOS, and some mobile operating systems such as iOS and Android. Flash applications must specifically be built for the AIR runtime to use additional features provided, such as file system integration, native client extensions, native window/screen integration, taskbar/dock integration, and hardware integration with connected Accelerometer and GPS devices.[23]

text: Data formats[edit]

text: Flash Player includes native support for many different data formats, some of which can only be accessed through the ActionScript scripting interface.

text:
XML: Flash Player has included native support for XML parsing and generation since version 8. XML data is held in memory as an XML Document Object Model, and can be manipulated using ActionScript. ActionScript 3 also supports ECMAScript for XML (E4X), which allows XML data to be manipulated more easily.
JSON: Flash Player 11 includes native support for importing and exporting data in the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) format, which allows interoperability with web services and JavaScript programs.
AMF: Flash Player allows application data to be stored on users computers, in the form of Local Shared Objects, the Flash equivalent to browser cookies.[24] Flash Player can also natively read and write files in the Action Message Format, the default data format for Local Shared Objects. Since the AMF format specification is published, data can be transferred to and from Flash applications using AMF datasets instead of JSON or XML, reducing the need for parsing and validating such data.
SWF: The specification for the SWF file format was published by Adobe, enabling the development of the SWX Format project, which used the SWF file format and AMF as a means for Flash applications to exchange data with server side applications.[25][26] The SWX system stores data as standard SWF bytecode which is automatically interpreted by Flash Player.[27] Another open-source project, SWXml allows Flash applications to load XML files as native ActionScript objects without any client-side XML parsing, by converting XML files to SWF/AMF on the server.[28][29]

text: Multimedia formats[edit]

text: Flash Player is primarily a graphics and multimedia platform, and has supported raster graphics and vector graphics since its earliest version. It supports the following different multimedia formats which it can natively decode and playback.

text:
MP3: Support for decoding and playback of streaming MPEG-2 Audio Layer III (MP3) audio was introduced in Flash Player 4. MP3 files can be accessed and played back from a server via HTTP, or embedded inside an SWF file, which is also a streaming format.
FLV: Support for decoding and playing back video and audio inside Flash Video (FLV and F4V) files, a format developed by Adobe Systems and Macromedia. Flash Video is only a container format and supports multiple different video codecs, such as Sorenson Spark, VP6 and more recently H.264.[30] Flash Player uses hardware acceleration to display video where present, using technologies such as DirectX Video Acceleration and OpenGL to do so. Flash Video is used by YouTube,[31] Hulu,[32] Yahoo! Video, BBC Online[33] and other news providers. FLV files can be played back from a server using HTTP progressive download, and can also be embedded inside an SWF file. Flash Video can also be streamed via RTMP using the Adobe Flash Media Server or other such server-side software.
PNG: Support for decoding and rendering Portable Network Graphics (PNG) images, in both its 24-bit (opaque) and 32-bit (semi-transparent) variants. Flash Player 11 can also encode a PNG bitmap via ActionScript.
JPEG: Support for decoding and rendering compressed JPEG images. Flash Player 10 added support for the JPEG-XR advanced image compression standard developed by Microsoft Corporation, which results in better compression and quality than JPEG. JPEG-XR enables lossy and lossless compression with or without alpha channel transparency. Flash Player 11 can also encode a JPEG or JPEG-XR bitmap via ActionScript.
GIF: Support for decoding and rendering compressed Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) images, in its single-frame variants only. Loading a multi-frame GIF will display only the first image frame.

text: Streaming protocols[edit]

text:
HTTP: Support for communicating with web servers using HTTP requests and POST data.[34] However, only websites that explicitly allow Flash to connect to them can be accessed via HTTP or sockets, to prevent Flash being used as a tool for cross-site request forgery,[35] cross-site scripting, DNS rebinding[36] and denial-of-service attacks. Websites must host a certain XML file termed a cross domain policy,[36] allowing or denying Flash content from specific websites to connect to them. Certain websites, such as Digg, Flickr, Photobucket already host a cross domain policy that permits Flash content to access their website via HTTP.[37]
RTMP: Support for live audio and video streaming using the Real Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) developed by Macromedia. RTMP supports a non-encrypted version over the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) or an encrypted version over a secure Transport Layer Security (SSL) connection. RTMPT can also be encapsulated within HTTP requests to traverse firewalls that only allow HTTP traffic.
TCP: Support for Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) Internet socket communication to communicate with any type of server, using stream sockets. Sockets can be used only via ActionScript, and can transfer plain text, XML or binary data (ActionScript 3.0 and later).[38][39] To prevent security issues, web servers that permit Flash content to communicate with them using sockets must host an XML-based cross domain policy file, served on Port 843.[40] Sockets enable AS3 programs to interface with any kind of server software, such as MySQL.[41]

text: Performance[edit]

text: Hardware acceleration[edit]

text: Until version 10 of the Flash player, there was no support for GPU acceleration. Version 10 added a limited form of support for shaders on materials in the form of the Pixel Bender API, but still did not have GPU-accelerated 3D vertex processing.[42] A significant change came in version 11, which added a new low-level API called Stage3D (initially codenamed Molehill), which provides full GPU acceleration, similar to WebGL.[43][44] (The partial support for GPU acceleration in Pixel Bender was completely removed in Flash 11.8, resulting in the disruption of some projects like MIT's Scratch, which lacked the manpower to recode their applications quickly enough.[45][46])

text: Current versions of Flash Player are optimized to use hardware acceleration for video playback and 3D graphics rendering on many devices, including desktop computers. Performance is similar to HTML5 video playback.[47][48] Also, Flash Player has been used on multiple mobile devices as a primary user interface renderer.[49]

text: Compilation[edit]

text: Although code written in ActionScript 3 executes up to 10 times faster than the prior ActionScript 2,[50] the Adobe ActionScript 3 compiler is a non-optimizing compiler, and produces inefficient bytecode in the resulting SWF, when compared to toolkits such as CrossBridge.[51][52][53][54][55]

text: CrossBridge, a toolkit that targets C++ code to run within the Flash Player, uses the LLVM compiler to produce bytecode that runs up to 10 times faster than code the ActionScript 3 compiler produces, only because the LLVM compiler uses more aggressive optimization.[53][54][55]

text: Adobe has released ActionScript Compiler 2 (ASC2) in Flex 4.7 and onwards, which improves compilation times and optimizes the generated bytecode and supports method inlining, improving its performance at runtime.[56]

text: As of 2012, the Haxe multiplatform language can build programs for Flash Player that perform faster than the same application built with the Adobe Flex SDK compiler.[57][unreliable source?]

text: Development methods[edit]

text: Flash Player applications and games can be built in two significantly different methods:

text:
"Flex" applications: The Adobe Flex Framework is an integrated collection of stylable Graphical User Interface, data manipulation and networking components, and applications built upon it are termed "Flex" applications. Startup time is reduced since the Flex framework must be downloaded before the application begins, and weighs in at approximately 500 KB. Editors include Adobe Flash Builder and FlashDevelop.
"Pure ActionScript" applications: Applications built without the Flex framework allow greater flexibility and performance.[58][59][60] Video games built for Flash Player are typically pure-Actionscript projects. Various open-source component frameworks are available for pure ActionScript projects, such as MadComponents, that provide UI Components at significantly smaller SWF file sizes.[61][62]

text: In both methods, developers can access the full Flash Player set of functions, including text, vector graphics, bitmap graphics, video, audio, camera, microphone, and others. AIR also includes added features such as file system integration, native extensions, native desktop integration, and hardware integration with connected devices.

text: Development tools[edit]

text: Adobe provides five ways of developing applications for Flash Player:

text:
Adobe Flash Builder: enterprise application development and debugging
Adobe Animate: graphic design, animation and scripting toolset
Adobe Scout: visual profiler for performance optimization
Apache Flex: a free SDK to compile Flash and Adobe AIR applications from source code; developed by Adobe and donated to the Apache Foundation[63]
CrossBridge: a free SDK to cross-compile C++ code to run in Flash Player

text: Third-party development environments are also available:

text:
FlashDevelop: an open-source Flash ActionScript IDE, which includes a debugger for AIR applications
Powerflasher FDT: a commercial ActionScript IDE
CodeDrive: an extension to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 for ActionScript 3 development and debugging
MTASC: a compiler
Haxe: a multi-platform language[64]

text: Game development[edit]

text: Adobe offers the free Adobe Gaming SDK, consisting (as of August 2014[update]) of several open-source AS3 libraries built on the Flash Player Stage3D APIs for GPU-accelerated graphics:[65]

text:
Away3D: GPU-accelerated 3D graphics and animation engine
Starling: GPU-accelerated 2D graphics that mimics the Flash display list API
Feathers: GPU-accelerated skinnable GUI library built on top of Starling
Dragon Bones: GPU-accelerated 2D skeletal animation library

text: A few commercial game engines target Flash Player (Stage3D) as run-time environment, such as Unity 3D[66] and Unreal Engine 3.[66][67] Before the introduction of Stage3D, a number of older 2D engines or isometric engines like Flixel saw their heyday.[68]

text: Adobe also developed the CrossBridge toolkit which cross-compiles C/C++ code to run within the Flash Player, using LLVM and GCC as compiler backends, and high-performance memory-access opcodes in the Flash Player (termed "Domain Memory") to work with in-memory data quickly.[69] CrossBridge is targeted toward the game development industry,[70] and includes tools for building, testing, and debugging C/C++ projects in Flash Player.

text: Notable online video games developed in Flash include Angry Birds, FarmVille and FarmVille 2, and AdventureQuest (started in 2002, and still active as of 2011).[71]

text: Availability[edit]

text: Desktop platforms[edit]

text: The latest version of Flash Player is available for Windows XP and later, Mac OS X 10.6 and later and Linux.

text: Adobe Flash Player is available in four flavors:

text:
The "Internet Explorer – ActiveX" version is an ActiveX control for use in Internet Explorer, its shells, and other Windows applications that support ActiveX technology. This plugin cannot be installed on Windows 8 and later, because these OSes come with their own integrated Flash Player ActiveX.
The "Firefox – NPAPI" version is available for Firefox as well as other applications that support NPAPI technology.
The "Opera and Chromium – PPAPI" version is available for Chromium and browsers based on Chromium (such as Opera) as well as other applications that support PPAPI technology. This plugin cannot be installed on Google Chrome as it comes with its own built-in Flash component.
The "projector" version is a standalone player that can open SWF files directly.[72]

tag: ol

text: On February 22, 2012, Adobe announced that it would no longer release new versions of NPAPI Flash plugins for Linux, although Flash Player 11.2 would continue to receive security updates.[73][74][75] In August 2016 Adobe announced that, beginning with version 24, it will resume offering of Flash Player for Linux for other browsers.[76]

text: The Extended Support Release (ESR) of Flash Player on macOS and Windows was a version of Flash Player kept up to date with security updates, but none of the new features or bug fixes available in later versions. It has been on version 11.7 as of July 9, 2013,[77] version 13 as of May 13, 2014,[78] and version 18 as of August 11, 2015.[79] Adobe has decided to discontinue the ESR branch and instead focus solely on the standard release as of August 2016.[80]

text:
Availability on desktop operating systems

Platform
Latest version
Browser support

Windows XP and later
Windows Server 2003 and later[81]
27.0.0.183[81]
Firefox, Chrome, Chromium, Safari, Opera,[81] Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge[1]

Windows 2000
11.1.102.55[82]
?

Windows 98 and ME
9.0.115.0[82]
?

Windows 95 and NT 4
7.0.14.0[82]
?

Mac OS X 10.6 or later
27.0.0.183[81]
Firefox, Chrome, Chromium, Safari, Opera[81]

Mac OS X 10.5
10.3.183.90[82]
?

Classic Mac OS, PowerPC
7.0.14.0[82]
?

Classic Mac OS, 68k
5.0[83]
?

Linux
27.0.0.183[81]
Firefox, Chrome, Chromium, Opera[1]

text: Mobile platforms[edit]

text: In 2011, Flash Player had emerged as the de facto standard for online video publishing on the desktop, with adaptive bitrate video streaming, DRM, and fullscreen support.[31][32] On mobile devices however, after Apple refused to allow the Flash Player within the inbuilt iOS web browser, Adobe changed strategy, enabling Flash content to be delivered as native mobile applications using the Adobe Integrated Runtime.

text: Up until 2012, Flash Player 11 was available for the Android (ARM Cortex-A8 and above),[84][85] although in June 2012, Google announced that Android 4.1 (codenamed Jelly Bean) would not support Flash by default. Starting in August 2012, Adobe no longer updates Flash for Android.[86] In spite of this, Adobe Flash is still available to install on Android devices via Adobe's update archives (up to Android 4.3).

text: Flash Player is certified to be supported on a select range of mobile and tablet devices, from Acer, BlackBerry 10, Dell, HTC, Lenovo, Logitech, LG, Motorola, Samsung, Sharp, SoftBank, Sony (and Sony Ericsson), and Toshiba.[87][88][89] As of 2012, Adobe has stopped browser-based Flash Player development for mobile browsers in favor of HTML5,[90][91] however Adobe continues to support Flash content on mobile devices with the Adobe Integrated Runtime, which allows developers to publish content that runs as native applications on certain supported mobile phone platforms.

text: Version 9 is the most recent version currently available for the Linux/ARM-based Nokia 770/N800/N810 Internet tablets running Maemo OS2008, classic Mac OS and Windows 95/NT.[92] Version 10 can be run under Windows 98/Me using KernelEx. HP offers Version 6 of the player for HP-UX.[93] Other versions of the player have been available at some point for OS/2, Symbian OS, Palm OS, BeOS and IRIX.[94] The Kodak Easyshare One includes Flash Player.[95]

text: Adobe said it will optimize Flash for use on ARM architecture (ARMv7 and ARMv6 architectures used in the Cortex-A series of processors and in the ARM11 family) and release it in the second half of 2009. The company also stated it wants to enable Flash on NVIDIA Tegra, Texas Instruments OMAP 3 and Samsung ARMs.[96][97] Beginning 2009, it was announced that Adobe would be bringing Flash to TV sets via Intel Media Processor CE 3100 before mid-2009.[98] ARM Holdings later said it welcomes the move of Flash, because "it will transform mobile applications and it removes the claim that the desktop controls the Internet."[99] However, as of May 2009, the expected ARM/Linux netbook devices had poor support for Web video and fragmented software base.[100]

text: Among other devices, LeapFrog Enterprises provides Flash Player with their Leapster Multimedia Learning System and extended the Flash Player with touch-screen support.[101] Sony has integrated Flash Player 6 into the PlayStation Portable's web browser via firmware version 2.70 and Flash Player 9 into the PlayStation 3's web browser in firmware version 2.50.[102] Nintendo has integrated Flash Lite 3.1, equivalent to Flash 8, in the Internet Channel on the Wii.

text: The following table documents Flash Player and AIR support on mobile operating systems:

text:
Platform
Latest version

Android 2.2–4.1, ARM Cortex-A8+[103]
Flash Player 11.1, AIR 3.1[85][104][105]

Android 2.1
Flash Lite 3.0

iOS
Flash Player 11.1, AIR 3.1[84][104]

BlackBerry 10.0–10.3.1
Flash Player 11.1, AIR 3.1

BlackBerry Tablet OS
Flash Player 11.1, AIR 3.1[104][106]

Maemo
Flash Player 9.4[107]

PlayStation 3 with Firmware 2.50, NetFront 2.81
Flash Player 9.1 (update 3)

PSP with Firmware 2.70
Flash Player 6[108]

Symbian OS
Flash Lite 4.0[109]

Wii (Internet Channel)
Flash Lite 3.1[110]

Pocket PC 2003[111]
Flash Player 7[112][113]

Windows Mobile 5[111]
Flash Player 7[112]

text: Other hardware[edit]

text: Some CPU emulators have been created for Flash Player, including Chip8,[114] Commodore 64,[115] ZX Spectrum[116] and the Nintendo Entertainment System.[117] They enable video games created for such platforms to run within Flash Player.

text: Open source[edit]

text: Adobe has taken steps to reduce or eliminate Flash licensing costs. For instance, the SWF file format documentation is provided free of charge[118] after they relaxed the requirement of accepting a non-disclosure agreement to view it in 2008.[119] Adobe also created the Open Screen Project which removes licensing fees and opens data protocols for Flash.

text: Adobe has also open-sourced many components relating to Flash.

text:
In 2006, the ActionScript Virtual Machine 2 (AVM2) which implements ActionScript 3 was donated as open-source to Mozilla Foundation, to begin work on the Tamarin virtual machine that will finally implement the ECMAScript 4 language standard with the help of the Mozilla community.[120] It was released under the terms of a MPL/GPL/LGPL tri-license and includes the specification for the ActionScript bytecode format; Tamarin Project jointly managed by Mozilla and Adobe Systems[121] It is now considered obsolete by Mozilla.
In 2011, the Adobe Flex Framework was donated as open-source to the Apache Software Foundation and rebranded as Apache Flex.[63] Some saw this move as Adobe abandoning Flex, and stepping away from the Flash Platform as a whole.[122][123] Sources from Apache say that "Enterprise application development is no longer a focus at Adobe. At least as Flash is concerned, Adobe is concentrating on games and video.",[122][124] and they conclude that "Flex Innovation is Exploding!".[124] The donated source code included a partly developed AS3 compiler (dubbed "Falcon") and the BlazeDS set of technologies.[123][124]
In 2013, the CrossBridge C++ cross-compilation toolset was open sourced by Adobe and released on GitHub.[125][126] The project was formerly termed "Alchemy" and "Flash Runtime C++ Compiler", and targeted the game development market to enable C++ video games to run in Adobe Flash Player.[127]

text: However, Adobe has not been willing to make complete source code of the Flash Player available for free software development. Free and open source alternatives to the Adobe Flash Player such as Shumway and Gnash have been built, but are no longer under active development[128] and therefore not a viable alternative. The only fully functional open-source third-party Flash Player is the commercially available Scaleform GFx Player, which is game development middleware designed for integration into non-Flash video games.

text: Criticism[edit]

text: Usability[edit]

text: In some browsers, prior Flash versions have had to be uninstalled before an updated version could be installed.[129][130] However, as of version 11.2 for Windows, there are now automatic updater options.[131] Linux is partially supported, as Adobe is cooperating with Google to implement it via Chrome web browser on all Linux platforms.[132]

text: Mixing Flash applications with HTML leads to inconsistent behavior with respect to input handling (keyboard and mouse not working as they would in an HTML-only document). This is often done in web sites[133] and can lead to poor user experience with the site.

text: The February 20, 2014 update to 12.0.0.70 introduced a reported bug, producing green video with sound only. This defect is related to hardware acceleration and may be overcome by disabling hardware acceleration via the Adobe settings in Firefox (accessed by right clicking within the video) or in Internet Explorer (within the Tools settings).[134] This defect may be related to widely used graphics hardware, AMD Radeon HD video cards, and similar visual defects have occurred in earlier Flash updates, with the same workaround.

text: Privacy[edit]

text: Flash Player supports persistent local storage of data (also referred to as Local Shared Objects), which can be used similarly to HTTP cookies or Web Storage in web applications. Local storage in Flash Player allows websites to store non-executable data on a user's computer, such as authentication information, game high scores or saved games, server-based session identifiers, site preferences, saved work, or temporary files. Flash Player will only allow content originating from exactly the same website domain to access data saved in local storage.[135]

text: Because local storage can be used to save information on a computer that is later retrieved by the same site, a site can use it to gather user statistics, similar to how HTTP cookies and Web Storage can be used. With such technologies, the possibility of building a profile based on user statistics is considered by some a potential privacy concern. Users can disable or restrict use of local storage in Flash Player through a "Settings Manager" page.[136][137] These settings can be accessed from the Adobe website or by right-clicking on Flash-based content and selecting "Global Settings".

text: Local storage can be disabled entirely or on a site-by-site basis. Disabling local storage will block any content from saving local user information using Flash Player, but this may disable or reduce the functionality of some websites, such as saved preferences or high scores and saved progress in games.

text: Flash Player 10.1 and upward honor the privacy mode settings in the latest versions of the Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari web browsers, such that no local storage data is saved when the browser's privacy mode is in use.[138]

text: Security[edit]

text: Adobe security bulletins and advisories announce security updates, but Adobe Flash Player release notes do not disclose the security issues addressed when a release closes security holes, making it difficult to evaluate the urgency of a particular update. A version test page allows the user to check if the latest version is installed, and uninstallers may be used to ensure that old-version plugins have been uninstalled from all installed browsers.

text: In February 2010, Adobe officially apologized[139] for not fixing a known vulnerability for over a year. In June 2010 Adobe announced a "critical vulnerability" in recent versions, saying there are reports that this vulnerability is being actively exploited in the wild against both Adobe Flash Player, and Adobe Reader and Acrobat.[140][141] Later, in October 2010, Adobe announced[142] another critical vulnerability, this time also affecting Android-based mobile devices. Android users have been recommended to disable Flash or make it only on demand.[143] Subsequent security vulnerabilities also exposed Android users, such as the two critical vulnerabilities published in February 2013[144] or the four critical vulnerabilities published in March 2013,[145] all of which could lead to arbitrary code execution.

text: Symantec's Internet Security Threat Report[146] states that a remote code execution in Adobe Reader and Flash Player[147] was the second most attacked vulnerability in 2009. The same report also recommended using browser extensions to disable Flash Player usage on untrusted websites. McAfee predicted that Adobe software, especially Reader and Flash, would be primary target for attacks in 2010.[148] Adobe applications had become, at least at some point, the most popular client-software targets for attackers during the last quarter of 2009.[149] The Kaspersky Security Network published statistics for the third quarter of 2012 showing that 47.5% of its users were affected by one or more critical vulnerabilities.[150] The report also highlighted that "Flash Player vulnerabilities enable cybercriminals to bypass security systems integrated into the application."[150]

text: Steve Jobs criticized the security of Flash Player, noting that "Symantec recently highlighted Flash for having one of the worst security records in 2009".[151] Adobe responded by pointing out that "the Symantec Global Internet Threat Report for 2009, found that Flash Player had the second lowest number of vulnerabilities of all Internet technologies listed (which included both web plug-ins and browsers)."[152][153]

text: April 7, 2016, Adobe released a Flash Player patch for a zero-day memory corruption vulnerability CVE-2016-1019 that could be used to deliver malware via the Magnitude exploit kit. The vulnerability could be exploited for remote code execution.[154][155]

text: Vendor lock-in[edit]

text: Flash Player 11.2 does not play certain kinds of content unless it has been digitally signed by Adobe, following a license obtained by the publisher directly from Adobe.[156]

text: This move by Adobe, together with the abandonment of Flex to Apache was criticized as a way to lock out independent tool developers, in favor of Adobe's commercial tools.[157][158][159]

text: This has been resolved as of January 2013, after Adobe no longer requires a license or royalty from the developer. All premium features are now classified as general availability, and can be freely used by Flash applications.[160]

text: Apple controversy[edit]

text: In April 2010, Steve Jobs, at the time CEO of Apple Inc. published an open letter explaining why Apple would not support Flash on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.[151] In the letter he blamed problems with the "openness", stability, security, performance, and touchscreen integration of the Flash Player as reasons for refusing to support it. He also claimed that when one of Apple's Macintosh computers crashes, "more often than not" the cause can be attributed to Flash, and described Flash as "buggy".[161] Adobe's CEO Shantanu Narayen responded by saying, "If Flash [is] the number one reason that Macs crash, which I'm not aware of, it has as much to do with the Apple operating system."[162]

text: Steve Jobs also claimed that a large percentage of the video on the Internet is supported on iOS, since many popular video sharing websites such as YouTube have published video content in an HTML5 compatible format, enabling videos to playback in mobile web browsers even without Flash Player.[163]

text: Release history[edit]

text:
Macromedia Flash Player 2 (June 17, 1997)

Mostly vectors and motion, some bitmaps, limited audio
Support of stereo sound, enhanced bitmap integration, buttons, the Library, and the ability to tween color changes

Macromedia Flash Player 3 (May 31, 1998)

Added alpha transparency, licensed MP3 compression
Brought improvements to animation, playback, and publishing, as well as the introduction of simple script commands for interactivity

Macromedia Flash Player 4 (June 15, 1999)

Saw the introduction of streaming MP3s and the Motion Tween. Initially, the Flash Player plug-in was not bundled with popular web browsers and users had to visit Macromedia website to download it; As of 2000, however, the Flash Player was already being distributed with all AOL, Netscape and Internet Explorer browsers. Two years later it shipped with all releases of Windows XP. The install-base of the Flash Player reached 92 percent of all Internet users.

Macromedia Flash Player 5 (August 24, 2000)

A major advance in ability, with the evolution of Flash's scripting abilities as released as ActionScript
Saw the ability to customize the authoring environment's interface
Macromedia Generator was the first initiative from Macromedia to separate design from content in Flash files. Generator 2.0 was released in April 2001, and featured real-time server-side generation of Flash content in its Enterprise Edition. Generator was discontinued in 2002, in favor of new technologies such as Flash Remoting, which allows for seamless transmission of data between the server and the client, and ColdFusion Server.
In October 2000, usability guru Jakob Nielsen wrote a polemic article regarding usability of Flash content entitled "Flash: 99% Bad". (Macromedia later hired Nielsen to help them improve Flash usability.)

text:
Macromedia Flash Player 6 (version 6.0.21.0, codenamed Exorcist) (March 15, 2002)

Support for the consuming Flash Remoting (AMF) and Web Service (SOAP)
Supports ondemand/live audio and video streaming (RTMP)
Support for screenreaders via Microsoft Active Accessibility
Added Sorenson Spark video codec for Flash Video[164]
Support for video, application components, shared libraries, and accessibility
Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX, also released in 2002, allowed video to be streamed to Flash Player 6 (otherwise the video could be embedded into the Flash movie).

Macromedia Flash Player 7 (version 7.0.14.0, codenamed Mojo) (September 10, 2003)

Supports progressive audio and video streaming (HTTP)
Supports ActionScript 2.0, an object-oriented programming language for developers
Ability to create charts, graphs and additional text effects with the new support for extensions (sold separately), high fidelity import of PDF and Adobe Illustrator 10 files, mobile and device development and a forms-based development environment. ActionScript 2.0 was also introduced, giving developers a formal object-oriented approach to ActionScript. V2 Components replaced Flash MX's components, being rewritten from the ground up to take advantage of ActionScript 2.0 and object-oriented principles.
In 2004, the "Flash Platform" was introduced. This expanded Flash to more than the Flash authoring tool. Flex 1.0 and Breeze 1.0 were released, both of which used the Flash Player as a delivery method but relied on tools other than the Flash authoring program to create Flash applications and presentations. Flash Lite 1.1 was also released, enabling mobile phones to play Flash content.
Last version for Windows 95/NT4 and Mac Classic[82]

Macromedia Flash Player 8 (version 8.0.22.0, codenamed Maelstrom) (September 13, 2005)

Support for runtime loading of GIF and PNG images
New video codec (On2 VP6)
Improved runtime performance and runtime bitmap caching
Live filters and blendmodes
File upload and download abilities
New text-rendering engine, the Saffron Type System
ExternalAPI subsystem introduced to replace fscommand
On December 3, 2005, Adobe Systems acquired Macromedia and its product portfolio (including Flash).[165]

Macromedia Flash Player 8 (version 8.0.24.0) (April 23, 2006)
Adobe Flash Player 9 (version 9.0.15.0, codenamed Zaphod and formerly named Flash Player 8.5) (June 22, 2006)

Introduction of ActionScript Virtual Machine 2 (AVM2) with AVM1 retained for compatibility
ActionScript 3 (a superset of ECMAScript 3) via AVM2
E4X, which is a new approach to parsing XML
Support for binary sockets
Support for regular expressions and namespaces
AVM2 donated to Mozilla Foundation as open-source virtual machine named Tamarin

Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 1 (version 9.0.28.0, codenamed Marvin) (November 9, 2006)[166]

Support for fullscreen mode[167]

Adobe Flash Player 9 (version 9.0.45.0) (March 27, 2007)

Support for Creative Suite 3.

Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 2 (version Mac/Windows 9.0.47.0 and Linux 9.0.48.0, codenamed Hotblack) (June 11, 2007)

Security Update

Adobe Flash Player 9 Update 3 (version 9.0.115.0, codenamed Moviestar or Frogstar) (December 2007)[168]

H.264[169]
AAC (HE-AAC, AAC Main Profile, and AAC-LC)
New Flash Video file format F4V based on the ISO base media file format (MPEG-4 Part 12)
Support for container formats based on the ISO base media file format[170]
Last version for Windows 98/ME and other platforms[82]

Adobe Flash Player 10 (version 10.0.12.36, codenamed Astro) (October 15, 2008)

New Features

3D object transformations
Custom filters via Pixel Bender
Advanced text support
Speex audio codec
Real Time Media Flow Protocol (RTMFP)
Dynamic sound generation
Vector data type

Enhanced Features

Larger bitmap support
Graphics drawing API
Context menu
Hardware acceleration
Anti-aliasing engine (Saffron 3.1)
Read/write clipboard access
WMODE

Adobe Flash Player 10 (version 10.0.32.18) (July 27, 2009)
Adobe Flash Player 10 (version 10.0.42.34) (November 16, 2009)
Adobe Flash Player 10 (version 10.0.45.2) (February 21, 2010)
Adobe Flash Player 10.1 (version 10.1.53.64, codenamed Argo) (June 10, 2010)[171]

Reuse of bitmap data copies for better memory management
Improved garbage collector
Hardware-based H.264 video decoding
HTTP Dynamic Streaming
Peer-assisted networking and multicast
Support for browser privacy modes
Multi-touch APIs
For Macs/OSX 10.4 ppc or later

Using Cocoa UI for Macs
Use of double-buffered OpenGL context for fullscreen
Use of Core Animation

Adobe Flash Player 10.2 (version 10.2.152.26, codenamed Spicy) (February 8, 2011)

Stage Video, a full hardware-accelerated video pipeline
Internet Explorer 9 hardware-accelerated rendering support
Custom native mouse cursors
Multiple monitor fullscreen support
Enhanced subpixel rendering for text

Adobe Flash Player 10.2 (version 10.2.152.32) (February 28, 2011)
Adobe Flash Player 10.2 (version 10.2.153.1) (March 21, 2011)
Adobe Flash Player 10.2 (version 10.2.159.1) (April 15, 2011)
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (version 10.3.181.14, codenamed Wasabi) (May 12, 2011)[172]

Media measurement (video analytics for websites; desktop only)
Acoustic Echo Cancellation (acoustic echo cancellation, noise suppression, voice activity detection, automatic compensation for microphone input levels; desktop only)
Integration with browser privacy controls for managing local storage (ClearSiteData NPAPI)
Native control panel
Auto-update notification for Mac OS X
Last version for Mac OS X 10.5[82] and Windows 2000 (unofficially bypassing the XP installer)
Adobe replaced Extended Support Release 10.3 by 11.7 on July 9, 2013.[77]

Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (version 10.3.181.23) (June 5, 2011)
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (version 10.3.181.26) (June 14, 2011)
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (version 10.3.181.34) (June 29, 2011)
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (version 10.3.183.5) (August 14, 2011)
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (version 10.3.183.7) (August 24, 2011)
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (version 10.3.183.10) (September 21, 2011)
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (version 10.3.183.11) (November 11, 2011)
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (version 10.3.183.25) (September 18, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 (version 10.3.183.29) (October 8, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11 (version 11.0.1.152, codenamed Serrano) (October 4, 2011)[173]

Desktop only

Stage 3D accelerated graphics rendering[174]

Desktop: Windows (DirectX 9), OS X (Intel processor only) and Linux (OpenGL 1.3), SwiftShader fallback
Mobile: Android and iOS (OpenGL ES 2)

H.264/AVC software encoding for cameras
Native 64-bit
Asynchronous bitmap decoding
TLS secure sockets

Desktop and mobile

Stage Video hardware acceleration
Native extension libraries[175]

Desktop: Windows (.dll), OS X (.framework)
Mobile: Android (.jar, .so), iOS (.a)

JPEG XR decoding
G.711 audio compression for telephony
Protected HTTP Dynamic Streaming (HDS)
Unlimited bitmap size
LZMA SWF compression

Mobile only

H.264/AAC playback
Front-facing camera
Background audio playback
Device speaker control
16- and 32-bit color depth

Adobe Flash Player 11.1 (version 11.1.102.55, codenamed Anza) (November 10, 2011)[176]

Last version of the web browser plug-in for mobile devices (made for Android 2.2 to 4.0.3)
iOS 5 native extensions for AIR
StageText: Native text input UI for Android
Security enhancements, last official version for Windows 2000[82]

Adobe Flash Player 11.1 (version 11.1.102.62) (March 5, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.2 (version 11.2.202.228) (March 28, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.2 (version 11.2.202.233) (April 12, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.2 (version 11.2.202.235, codenamed Brannan) (May 3, 2012)[177]

The Windows version offers automatic updater options[131]
Dropped support of the browser plug-in for mobile devices (Android). Android app developers are encouraged to use Adobe Air and Android web developers should switch to HTML5.
Extended support for Flash player 11.2 on Solaris as it is the last version to be supported.[82]
Adobe replaced Extended Support Release 11.2 on Linux with 24.0 on December 13, 2016.

Adobe Flash Player 11.3 (version 11.3.300.257) (June 8, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.3 (version 11.3.300.262) (June 21, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.3 (version 11.3.300.265) (July 11, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.3 (version 11.3.300.268) (July 26, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.3 (version 11.3.300.270) (August 4, 2012)

Desktop and mobile

Fullscreen interactive mode (keyboard input during fullscreen)
Native bitmap encoding and compression (PNG, JPEG, JPEG-XR)
Draw bitmaps with quality (low, medium, high, best)
Texture streaming for Stage3D
Dropped support for Linux and Solaris

Mobile-only

Auto-orientation on specific devices
USB debugging for AIR on iOS

Adobe Flash Player 11.3 (version 11.3.300.271) (September 18, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.3 (version 11.3.300.273) (October 3, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.4 (version 11.4.402.259) (August 10, 2012)

Flash Player only

ActionScript workers
SandboxBridge support
Licensing support: Flash Player Premium features for gaming

Flash Player and AIR

Stage3D "constrained" profile for increased GPU reach
LZMA support for ByteArray
StageVideo attachCamera/Camera improvements
Compressed texture with alpha support for Stage3D
DXT encoding

AIR only

Deprecated Carbon APIs for AIR
Direct AIR deployment using ADT
Push notifications for iOS
Ambient AudioPlaybackMode
Exception support in Native Extensions for iOS

Adobe Flash Player 11.4 (version 11.4.402.265) (August 21, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.4 (version 11.4.402.278) (September 18, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.4 (version 11.4.402.287) (October 8, 2012)
Adobe Flash Player 11.5[178]

Shared ByteArray
Invoke Event enhancement (for openurl)
Packaging multiple libraries in an ANE (iOS)
Debug stack trace in release builds of Flash Player
Statically link DRM (desktop only)

Adobe Flash Player 11.6 (codenamed Folsom)[178]

Lossless video export from standalone and authplay.dll
Support for flash.display.graphics.readGraphicsData() that returns a Vector of IGraphicsData
Improve permissions UI related to full screen keyboard access
Prevent ActiveX abuse in Office documents
Support file access in cloud on Windows
Enhance multi-SWF support
Migration certification for ANEs
RectangleTexture
File API update so AIR apps conform to Apple data storage guidelines
Separate sampler state for Stage3D
Set device specific Retina Display resolution (iOS)

Adobe Flash Player 11.7 (version 11.7.700.169, codenamed Geary) (April 9, 2013)[178]

SharedObject.preventBackup property
forceCPURenderModeForDevices
Remote hosting of SWF files in case of multiple SWFs
Support for uploading 16-bit texture formats
GameInput updates
Android – create captive runtime apps
Adobe replaced Extended Support Release 11.7 on Mac and Windows with 13.0 on May 13, 2014.[78]

Adobe Flash Player 11.8 (codenamed Harrison)[178]

Stage3D baselineExtended profile
Recursive stop on MovieClip
Flash Player & AIR Desktop Game Pad Support
Support for large textures (extendedBaseline, 4096)
Rectangle texture
DatagramSocket
ServerSocket
Substitute a redirected URL from a source URLRequest for part of the URL in a new URLRequest

Adobe Flash Player 11.9 (codenamed Irving)[178]

OS X Mavericks Support
Mac .pkg Installation Support

Adobe Flash Player 12 (codenamed Jones)[179]

Improved Mac .pkg Installation Support for the work flow and UI
Support for Internet Explorer 11 on Windows 7
Support for Safe Mode in Safari 6.1 and higher
64-bit PPAPI Flash Player for Google Chrome
Graphics: Buffer Usage flag for Stage3D

Adobe Flash Player 13 (codenamed King)[180][181]

Supplementary Characters Enhancement Support for Text Field
Full Screen video message tweak
As of 13 May 2014[update] this is the Extended Support Release.[78]

Adobe Flash Player 14 (version 14.0.0.125) (June 10, 2014)[182]

Stage 3D Standard profile

Adobe Flash Player 14 (version 14.0.0.145) (July 8, 2014)
Adobe Flash Player 14 (version 14.0.0.179) (August 12, 2014)
Adobe Flash Player 15 (version 15.0.0.152) (September 9, 2014)[183]

Improved support for browser zoom levels

Adobe Flash Player 15 (version 15.0.0.167) (September 24, 2014)
Adobe Flash Player 15 (version 15.0.0.223) (November 11, 2014)
Adobe Flash Player 15 (version 15.0.0.239) (November 25, 2014)
Adobe Flash Player 16 (version 16.0.0.235) (December 12, 2014)[184]

Stage3D – Standard Constrained Profile
PPAPI Installers for Windows and Mac

Adobe Flash Player 16 (version 16.0.0.257) (January 13, 2015)
Adobe Flash Player 16 (version 16.0.0.287) (January 22, 2015)
Adobe Flash Player 17 (version 17.0.0.134, codenamed Octavia) (March 12, 2015)[185]

Control Panel improvements
Installer improvements for Mac

Adobe Flash Player 18 (version 18.0.0.160) (June 9, 2015)

Contains fixes for Adobe Security Bulletin APSB 15–11[186]

Adobe Flash Player 19 (version 19.0.0.185) (September 21, 2015)
Adobe Flash Player 20 (version 20.0.0.228) (December 8, 2015)
Adobe Flash Player 21 (version 21.0.0.182) (March 10, 2016)
Adobe Flash Player 22 (version 22.0.0.192) (June 16, 2016)
Adobe Flash Player 23 (version 23.0.0.164) (September 13, 2016)
Adobe Flash Player 24 (version 24.0.0.186) (December 13, 2016)
Adobe Flash Player 24 (version 24.0.0.194) (January 10, 2017)
Adobe Flash Player 25 (version 25.0.0.127) (March 14, 2017)
Adobe Flash Player 25 (version 25.0.0.148) (April 11, 2017)
Adobe Flash Player 25 (version 25.0.0.163) (April 20, 2017)
Adobe Flash Player 26 (version 26.0.0.131) (June 13, 2017)
Adobe Flash Player 27 (version 27.0.0.130, codenamed Zoe) (September 12, 2017)
Adobe Flash Player 27 (version 27.0.0.159) (October 10, 2017)


document_title: Mahabharat (1988 TV series)

question_text: who played the role of dhritarashtra in mahabharat

question_tokens: who played the role of dhritarashtra in mahabharat

root

text: Mahabharat (1988 TV series)

text: Cast[edit]

text: Kuru Clan[edit]

text:
Raj Babbar as Bharat/ ancestor of Kauravas and Pandavas
Ashalata as Shakuntala, Bharata's mother/ King Dushyanta's wife

tag: ul

text:
Rishabh Shukla as Shantanu
Kiran Juneja as Ganga, Shantanu's first wife/ Bhisma's mother
Debashree Roy as Satyavati, Shantanu's second wife/ Vichitravirya and Chitrangada's mother/ Bhisma's step-mother

text:
Mukesh Khanna as Bhishma, Shantanu- Ganga's eighth son/ eighth Vasu/ Satyavati's step-son
Sudesh Berry as Vichitravirya, Shantanu-Satyavati's second son after Chitrangada, Bhisma's step brother
Meena Chakrabarty as Ambika, 2nd princess of Kashi/ Vichitravirya's first queen
Menaka Babbar as Ambalika, 3rd princess of Kashi/ Vichitravirya's second queen

text:
Girija Shankar as Dhritrashtra, Vichitravirya's son from Ambika(eldest)/ later king of Hastinapur/ father of Kauravas
Renuka Israni as Gandhari, wife of Dhritrashtra/ Queen of Hastinapur/ mother of Kauravas/ princess of Gandhara
Tarakesh Chauhan as Pandu, Vichitravirya's son from Ambalika(youngest)/ King of Hastinapur/ father of Pandavas
Nazneen as Kunti, Pandu's first wife/ mother of Yudhisthira, Bhim and Arjun/ Daughter of Shoorsen hence Vasudev's sister andYadava princess
Roma Manik as Madri, Padu's second wife/ Matsya princess/ mother of Nakul and Sahadev
Virendra Razdan as Vidur, the Mahaa Mantri of Hastinapur / son of Ambika's head maid, Parishrami/ half-brother to the kings Dhritarashtra and Pandu of Hastinapura and also the uncle of Pandavas and Kauravas
Kamlesh Maan as Sulabha, Vidur's wife

text:
Pankaj Dheer as Karna / Adhiratha-Radha's foster son, King of Anga Desh
Gajendra Chouhan as Yudhishthir, 1st Pandav/ Eldest son of Kuru Clan/ King of Indraprastha
Praveen Kumar as Bhim, 2nd Pandav/ Second eldest son of Kuru clan/ Yuvraaj(crown Prince) of Indraprastha
Arjun (Firoz Khan) as Arjun, 3rd Pandava
Sameer as Nakul, 4th Pandav
Sanjeev as Sahadeva, 5th Pandav
Roopa Ganguly as Draupadi, Wife of all Pandav/Also called as Panchali/ Yagyaseni/ Younger daughter of Drupad/ Princess of Panchala
Aloka Mukherjee as Subhadra, Arjuna's 2nd wife/ Abhimanyu's mother/ Vasudev's daughter hence Krishna-Balaram's sister and Yadava princess

text:
Puneet Issar as Duryodhan
Vinod Kapoor as Dushasan
Dinesh Anand as Vikarna
Deep Dhillon as Jayadratha, Dussala's husband, Kaurava's brother-in-law

text:
Razak Khan as Ghatotkach
Mayur Verma (Master Mayur) as Abhimanyu
Varsha Usgaonkar as Uttara, Abhimanyu's wife/ Virata princess

text: Ayub Khan as Parikshit, son of Abhimanyu and Uttara/ Grandson of Arjuna Subhadra

text:
Dharmesh Tiwari as Kripacharya, Kulguru, Family Teacher
Surendra Pal as Dronacharya, Guru of Kauravas and Pandavas
Om Katare as Adhiratha, Charioteer/Karna's foster father
Saroj Sharma as Radha, Adhiratha's wife,/Karna's foster mother
Pradeep Rawat as Ashwatthama, son of Dronacharya
Ram Mohan as Raj Purohit, Head Priest
Rafique Mukkadam as Minister
Vinod Raut as Purochana, Royal architect
Pramod Kumar as Dwarpal
Abha Mishra as Maid Servant to Ganga
Lalit Tiwari as Sanjaya, Dhritarashtra's advisor and also his charioteer

text:
Nitish Bhardwaj as Lord Krishna, Vasudev's younger son
Ramlal Gupta as Ugrasen, King of Mathura
Goga Kapoor as Kans, son of Ugrasen
Devidas as Kans's Minister
Ashok Banthia as Senapati Kritvarma
Ajay Sinha as Akroor, Vrishni Chief
Bashir Khan as Satyaki, General
Vishnu Sharma as Vasudev, Son of Shoorsen, prince of Vrishni tribe
Kshama Raj as Rohini, Vasudev's elder wife
Sheela Sharma as Devaki, Vasudev's younger wife
Rasik Dave as Nand Raj, Chief of Gokul
Manju Vyas as Yashoda, Nand's wife
Sagar Salunke as Balram, Vasudev's elder son
Channa Ruparel as Rukmini, Krishna's chief wife
Parijat as Radha, Krishna's consort

text:
Pradeep Sharma as Drupada
Arun Bakshi as Dhrishtadyumna
Paintal as Shikhandi / Sudama

text:
Ashok Sharma as Virata, King of Virata
Chandni Sharma as Sudeshna, Queen of Virata
Sameer Rajda as Uttar, crown prince of Virata
Sharat Saxena as Kichak, Army General of Virata

text: Kapil Kumar as Shalya

text:
Rakesh Bidua as Kashya, King Of Kashi
Jahnavi as Amba, 1st princess of Kashi

text:
Vikrant Mathur as Shakuni's Father, King of Gandhara
Gufi Paintal as Shakuni, Gandhari's brother/ later King of Gandhara

text:
Shivendra Mahal as Parshuram / Lord Shiva
Dara Singh as Hanuman (cameo)
Satish Kaul as Indra
Gopi Krishna as Chitrasena

text: Rana Jung Bahadur as Jarasandh, King of Magadha, Father-in-law of Kans

text: Karunakar Pathak as Shishupala, King of Chedi, Cousin of Krishna and Balaram

text: Pawan Shukla as Shalv Kumar, Prince of Salwa Kingdom

text:
Prem Sagar as Rishi Kanva
Pankaj Berry as Rishi Kindama, sage who cursed Pandu
Rajesh Vivek as Maharishi Ved Vyas

text:
Vikas Prasad as Ekalavya
Randhir Singh as Hidimba / Bhootana (Putana)
Sabrina as Bhootana, (Putana)
Paramjeet Chima as Dashraj, Satyavati's Father
Harish Bhimani as Samay/ Narrator

text: Cast (Children)[edit]

text: Shampa as Child Krishna

text:
Kewal Shah as Adolescent Krishna
Chetan Hansraj as Young Balram
Krish Mallik as Young Bhishma
Harendra Paintal as Young Karna
Sonu as Young Yudhishthir
Mallik as Young Bhim
Ankur Javeri as Young Arjun
Amit Shukla as Young Duryodhan
Kaushal Shah as Young Dushasan
Babbu as Young Ashwatthama
Sumeet Raghavan as Young Sudama

text: Episodes[edit]

text: Episode 1 - Introduction of Kuru Family, Raja Bharat and Raja Shantanu

tag: p

text: Episode 2 - Ganga Kills Her Sons

text: Episode 3 - Bhishma Is Grown-up

text: Episode 4 - Bhisma Pratigya/Iccha Mrityu Vardaan

text: Episode 5 - Amba, Ambika and Ambalika's Introduction

text: Episode 6 - Birth of Pandu, Dhritarashtra and Vidhur

text: Episode 7 - Karna's Birth-story, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari Get Married and Pandu and Kunti Get Married

text: Episode 8 - Madri is gifted to Pandu, Pandu is resting and Sage Kindama's curse on Pandu

text: Episode 9 - Dhritarashtra is king his sanyas and Kansa is king and Akashwani about Krishna

text: Episode 10 - Birth of Balarama and Five Pandavas

text: Episode 11 - Krishna Janma

text: Episode 12 - Pootna's Death

text: Episode 13 - Krishna brahmand darshan and Krishna gets caught while stealing makhan

text: Episode 14 - Maiya Mori Mai nahi makhan khayo and Kaliya Nag Tandav

text: Episode 15 - Radha and Gopikas, protest against Mathura, Devakasur and Trulambasur Vadh

text: Episode 16 - Kansa invites Krishna to Mathura

text: Episode 17 - Kansa vadh

text: Episode 18 - Pandu's Death

text: Episode 19 - Satyavati, Ambika, Ambalika take sanyas with Rishi Vyas

text: Episode 20 - Duryodhan Poisons Bhim and Bhim Gets Strength of 1000 Elephants

text: Episode 21 - Sudama's chivda and Dron arrives to Hastinapur

text: Episode 22 - Shastra Pooja, Drona insults Karna and Arjun's Test

text: Episode 23 - Ekalavya, Karna's Education, Arjun's Test of Bird's Eye

text: Episode 24 - All grown up, prince is to be nominated and everyone exhibit their skills in Rangbhoomi, Karna challenges Arjun and Duryodhan gives Anga desh to Karna

text: Episode 25 - Drona's guru dakshina to capture Dhrupad

text: Episode 26 - Krishna gets Sudarshan chakra from Parshuram, defeats Jarasandh and orders building Dwarika

text: Episode 27 - Yudhishthir Is Crowned as Prince. Rukmini Is Being Forced to Marry Shishupal

text: Episode 28 - Krishna Kidnaps Rukmini

text: Episode 29 - Lakshagraha Is Built in Varnavar by Purochan

text: Episode 30 - Tunneling in Varnavat Begins

text: Episode 31 - Escape from Lakshagraha

text: Episode 32 - Hidimb Vadh and Bhima's marriage

text: Episode 33 - Bakasur Vadh

text: Episode 34 - Dristadyumna & Draupadi Birth and Draupadi Swayamvar

text: Episode 35 - Arjun Wins Draupadi and Later She Became the Wives of 5 Pandavas

text: Episode 36 - Pandav Leave from Panchal to Hastinapur

text: Episode 37 - Pandavas Arrives at Hastinapur and Kingdom Is Divided

text: Episode 38 - Pandav Get Khandavprastha

text: Episode 39 - Coronation of Yudhirsthir, Khandavprastha Becomes Indraprastha

text: Episode 40 - Arjun runs away with Subhadra

text: Episode 41 - Arjun Weds Subhadra. Arjun Gets Devdatta Conch and Gandiv and Bhim Gets His Gada

text: Episode 42 - Jarasandh Vadh, Rajsuya Yagnya begins, Shishupals Story

text: Episode 43 - Rajsuya Yagya, Shishupal Vadh

text: Episode 44 - Vyas Predicts War, Draupadi Laughs at Duryodhan

text: Episode 45 - Pandavas Go to Hastinapur to Gamble

text: Episode 46 - Yudhirshthir Loses Everything

text: Episode 47 - Vastraharan of Draupadi

text: Episode 48 - Pandavas Get Back Everything

text: Episode 49 - Re-match of Dyut

text: Episode 50 - Vanvas Begins

text: Episode 51 - Gandharvas Catch Duryodhan

text: Episode 52 - Arjun Worships Lord Indra and Lord Shiva for Divyastra and Gets Pashupatastra

text: Episode 53 - Krishna's story of one grain of rice, Bhim meets Ghatotkach and Hanuman, Arjun learns dance from Chitrasen

text: Episode 54 - Arjun gets curse of impotency from Urvashi, Abhimanyus as a kid, Jayadraths head is shaved

text: Episode 55 - Story of Poisoned Water and Yaksha, Abhimanyu Is Grown-up

text: Episode 56 - Agyatvas in Matsya Desh

text: Episode 57 - Karna's curse, Draupadi as Maid Sairandhri rejects Keechak

text: Episode 58 - Keechak Vadh by Bheema

text: Episode 59 - Kaurav Attack Matsya Desh

text: Episode 60 - Viraat yudh and clothes for Uttaras dolls

text: Episode 61 - Abhimanyu's Marriage and Pandavs Decide to Send a Doot to Hastinapur

text: Episode 62 - Dhritarashtra Does Not Agree and Sends Sanjay

text: Episode 63 - Duryodhan gets Narayani Sena from Krishna

text: Episode 64 - Krishna Goes to Hastinapur as Shanti Doot

text: Episode 65 - Krishna tooks Virat Avtar and Indra takes Karna's kawach kundala

text: Episode 66 - Karna's Identity Is Disclosed

text: Episode 67 - Vidur resigns as a prime minister, Kunti meets Karna

text: Episode 68 - Sanjay gets divya drishti, Ulluk goes to Pandavs

text: Episode 69 - Duryodhan tricks Shalya to join Kauravas

text: Episode 70 - Shikhandi's Story

text: Episode 71 - Arjun Worships Goddess Durga, Rules of War Laid

text: Episode 72 - Kurukshetra War Begins and Arjun Drops His Weapons, Geeta Saar Begins

text: Episode 73 - Geeta Saar Continues

text: Episode 74 - Geeta Saar Continues and Krishna Shows His Maha-Avtaar

text: Episode 75 - Yudhishthir Gets Blessings, Yuyutsu Changes Side and War Begins, Abhimanyu Faces Bhishma

text: Episode 76 - Uttar dies, Arjun faces Bhishma and day 2 begins

text: Episode 77 - Arjun is unstoppable, 3rd is over, 4th day begins, Bhim is surrounded, 10 Kauravs are killed, Krishna takes out his sudarshan

text: Episode 78 - 9th Day Is Over and 16 Kauravs Are Dead, Bhisma Tells Arjun How to Take Him Out of the War

text: Episode 79 - Bhishma lies on the Bed of Arrows, Karna meets Bhisma

text: Episode 80 - Day 11, Dron tries to capture Yudhishthir but is unsuccessful, Shantanu comes to Bhishma

text: Episode 81 - Chakra Vyuh Planned, Duryodhan Promises Susharma

text: Episode 82 - Abhimanyu Vadh

text: Episode 83 - Arjun Vows to Kill Jayadrath and Story About Jayadraths Curse

text: Episode 84 - Arjun Breaks Kamal Vyuh to Get to Jayadrath

text: Episode 85 - Jayadrath Vadh

text: Episode 86 - Ghatotkach dies

text: Episode 87 - Drona Dies

text: Episode 88 - Dushasana dies and Karna fights with Arjun, Krishna puts the rath in the land so that Arjun is saved

text: Episode 89 - Karna's curse, Karna Dies

text: Episode 90 - Shakuni Dies, Yudhishthir Curses All Woman Kind and Duryodhan Becomes Iron Bodied

text: Episode 91 - Balaram arrives, Bhim-Duryodhan Gada Yudh

text: Episode 92 - Duryodhan Dies, Ashwathama, Krip and Kritvarma Remain, Parikshit's Story

text: Episode 93 - Dhritarashtra Tries to Kill Bhim

text: Episode 94 - Yudhisthir Becomes King of Hastinapur, Bhishma Dies

text: Production[edit]

text: According to production team member Kishore Malhotra, the total cost of producing the series was ₹9 crore (US$1.4 million).[5] Firoz Khan was chosen to portray the character of Arjun (which he later adopted as his screen name) despite being rejected in auditions.[6] Praveen Kumar was selected to portray Bheem after Chopra was looking for someone "who could look the robust mythological character".[7] Around six actors were shortlisted for the role of Draupadi, including Juhi Chawla, who opted out of the show as she had bagged a film. Ramya Krishnan and Roopa Ganguly were the final names, and at last Roopa Ganguly was chosen, as her Hindi was good. Govinda (actor) and Chunky Pandey were signed for the role of Abhimanyu, but they opted out when they bagged films. Later, Master Mayur played the role.[8] Raj Babbar and Debashree Roy were the only two star actors of that time, who agreed to be parts of this venture.[9]

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: It was shown in the United Kingdom by the BBC,[10] where it achieved audience figures of 5 million.[11][12] It was also the first programme broadcast on BBC2 after its 1991 revamp,[13] but had also been shown late at night on BBC 1 the previous year.[14] It has also been shown on FBC TV in Fiji and Star Utsav.It also aired on Epic. Dubbed versions were aired in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and also in Indonesia in the early 1990s on TPI (now MNCTV) and in the early 2000s on ANteve (now antv).

text: Reception[edit]

text: Lavanya Mohan of The Hindu on her article "Retelling of Mahabharata on Television over the years" wrote "The version that left the maximum impact on me is BR Chopra’s. Yes, the sets were gaudy, the effects comical, and the acting got a little too dramatic at times, but the writing and the way the episodes were paced ensured that the series was ahead of its time."[15]

text: Home media[edit]

text: The series was uploaded on the website "Rajshri.com" along with its dubbed Tamil version.[16] Home video of Bengali dubbed version of its series has been released by Heart Video.[17]

text: Legacy[edit]

text: Mahabharat along with Ramayana (1987) became one of the successful mythological television series in Indian television. Many actors went on to become popular through the series. Mukesh Khanna shot to fame as Bhishma and went on to name his production company after the character's name and Roopa Ganguly went on to become a successful actress in Bengali cinema.[18][19]


document_title: Social Security number

question_text: when is a social security number issued at birth

text: Social Security number

text: History[edit]

text: Social Security numbers were first issued by the Social Security Administration in November 1935 as part of the New Deal Social Security program. Within three months, 25 million numbers were issued.[4]

text: On November 24, 1936, 1,074 of the nation's 45,000 post offices were designated "typing centers" to type up Social Security cards that were then sent to Washington, D.C. On December 1, 1936, as part of the publicity campaign for the new program, Joseph L. Fay of the Social Security Administration selected a record from the top of the first stack of 1,000 records and announced that the first Social Security number in history was assigned to John David Sweeney, Jr., of New Rochelle, New York.[5][6]

text: Before 1986, people often did not obtain a Social Security number until the age of about 14,[7] since the numbers were used for income tracking purposes, and those under that age seldom had substantial income.[8] The Tax Reform Act of 1986 required parents to list Social Security numbers for each dependent over the age of 5 for whom the parent wanted to claim a tax deduction.[9] Before this act, parents claiming tax deductions were simply trusted not to lie about the number of children they supported. During the first year of the Tax Reform Act, this anti-fraud change resulted in seven million fewer minor dependents being claimed. The disappearance of these dependents is believed to have involved either children who never existed or tax deductions improperly claimed by non-custodial parents.[10] In 1988, the threshold was lowered to 2 years old, and in 1990, the threshold was lowered yet again to 1 year old.[11] Today, an SSN is required regardless of the child's age to receive an exemption.[citation needed] Since then, parents have often applied for Social Security numbers for their children soon after birth; today, it can be done on the application for a birth certificate.[12]

text: Purpose and use[edit]

text: The original purpose of this number was to track individuals' accounts within the Social Security program. It has since come to be used as an identifier for individuals within the United States, although rare errors occur where duplicates do exist. As numbers are now assigned by the central issuing office of the SSA, it is unlikely that duplication will ever occur again. A few duplications did occur when prenumbered cards were sent out to regional SSA offices and (originally) Post Offices.

text: Employee, patient, student, and credit records are sometimes indexed by Social Security number.

text: The U.S. Armed Forces has used the Social Security number as an identification number for Army and Air Force personnel since July 1, 1969, the Navy and Marine Corps for their personnel since January 1, 1972, and the Coast Guard for their personnel since October 1, 1974.[13] Previously, the United States military used a much more complicated system of service numbers that varied by service.

text: Beginning in June 2011, DOD began removing the Social Security number from military identification cards. It is replaced by a unique DOD identification number, formerly known as the EDIPI.[14]

text: Non-universal status[edit]

text: Social Security was originally a universal tax, but when Medicare was passed in 1965, objecting religious groups in existence prior to 1951 were allowed to opt out of the system.[15] Because of this, not every American is part of the Social Security program, and not everyone has a number. However, a social security number is required for parents to claim their children as dependents for federal income tax purposes,[12] and the Internal Revenue Service requires all corporations to obtain SSNs (or alternative identifying numbers) from their employees, as described below. The Old Order Amish have fought to prevent universal Social Security by overturning rules such as a requirement to provide a Social Security number for a hunting license.[16]

text: Social Security cards printed from January 1946 until January 1972 expressly stated that people should not use the number and card for identification.[17] Since nearly everyone in the United States now has an SSN, it became convenient to use it anyway and the message was removed.[18]

text: Since then, Social Security numbers have become de facto national identification numbers.[2] Although some people do not have an SSN assigned to them, it is becoming increasingly difficult to engage in legitimate financial activities such as applying for a loan or a bank account without one.[19] While the government cannot require an individual to disclose their SSN without a legal basis, companies may refuse to provide service to an individual who does not provide an SSN.[20][21] The card on which an SSN is issued is still not suitable for primary identification as it has no photograph, no physical description and no birth date. All it does is confirm that a particular number has been issued to a particular name. Instead, a driver's license or state ID card is used as an identification for adults.

text: Use required for federal tax purposes[edit]

text: Internal Revenue Code section 6109(d) provides: "The social security account number issued to an individual for purposes of section 205(c)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act [codified as 42 U.S.C. § 405(c)(2)(A)] shall, except as shall otherwise be specified under regulations of the Secretary [of the Treasury or his delegate], be used as the identifying number for such individual for purposes of this title [the Internal Revenue Code, title 26 of the United States Code]."[22]

text: The Internal Revenue Code also provides, when required by regulations prescribed by the Secretary [of the Treasury or his delegate]:

text:
Inclusion in returns: Any person required under the authority of this title to make a return, statement, or other document shall include in such return, statement, or other document such identifying number as may be prescribed for securing proper identification of such person.
Furnishing number to other persons: Any person with respect to whom a return, statement, or other document is required under the authority of this title to be made by another person or whose identifying number is required to be shown on a return of another person shall furnish to such other person such identifying number as may be prescribed for securing his proper identification.[23]

text: According to U.S. Treasury regulations, any person who, after October 31, 1962, works as an employee for wages subject to Social Security taxes, Medicare taxes, or U.S. federal income tax withholdings is required to apply for "an account number" using "Form SS-5."[24]

text: A taxpayer who is not eligible to have a Social Security number must obtain an alternative Taxpayer Identification Number.

text: Types of Social Security cards[edit]

text: Three different types of Social Security cards are issued. The most common type contains the cardholder's name and number. Such cards are issued to U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. There are also two restricted types of Social Security cards:

text:
One reads "not valid for employment." Such cards cannot be used as proof of work authorization, and are not acceptable as a List C document on the I-9 form.
The other reads "valid for work only with DHS authorization", or the older, "valid for work only with INS authorization." These cards are issued to people who have temporary work authorization in the U.S. They can satisfy the I-9 requirement, if they are accompanied by a work authorization card.

text: In 2004 Congress passed The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act; parts of which mandated that the Social Security Administration redesign the Social Security Number (SSN) Card to prevent forgery. From April 2006 through August 2007, Social Security Administration (SSA) and Government Printing Office (GPO) employees were assigned to redesign the Social Security Number Card to the specifications of the Interagency Task Force created by the Commissioner of Social Security in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security.

text: The new SSN card design utilizes both covert and overt security features created by the SSA and GPO design teams.

text: Identity theft[edit]

text: Many citizens and privacy advocates are concerned about the disclosure and processing of Social Security numbers. Furthermore, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have demonstrated an algorithm that uses publicly available personal information to reconstruct a given SSN.[25]

text: The SSN is frequently used by those involved in identity theft, since it is interconnected with many other forms of identification, and because people asking for it treat it as an authenticator. Financial institutions generally require an SSN to set up bank accounts, credit cards, and loans—partly because they assume that no one except the person it was issued to knows it.

text: Exacerbating the problem of using the social security number as an identifier is the fact that the social security card contains no biometric identifiers of any sort, making it essentially impossible to tell whether a person using a certain SSN truly belongs to someone without relying on other documentation (which may itself have been falsely procured through use of the fraudulent SSN). Congress has proposed federal laws that restrict the use of SSNs for identification and bans their use for a number of commercial purposes—e.g., rental applications.[26]

text: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers alternatives to SSNs in some places where providing untrusted parties with identification numbers is essential. Tax return preparers must obtain and use a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) to include on their client's tax returns (as part of signature requirements). Day care services have tax benefits, and even a sole proprietor should give parents an EIN (employer identification number) to use on their tax return.

text: The Social Security Administration has suggested that, if asked to provide his or her Social Security number, a citizen should ask which law requires its use.[27] In accordance with §7213 of the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act of 2004 and 20 C.F.R. 422.103(e)(2), the number of replacement Social Security cards per person is generally limited to three per calendar year and ten in a lifetime.[27]

text: Identity confusion has also occurred because of the use of local Social Security numbers by the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau, whose numbers overlap with those of residents of New Hampshire and Maine.[28]

text: Replacement numbers[edit]

text: A person can request a new Social Security number, but only under certain conditions;[29]

text:
Where sequential numbers assigned to members of the same family are causing problems.
In the event of duplicates having been issued.
In cases where the person has been a victim of domestic violence or harassment, and there is a clear need to change their number for their personal safety.[30]
When a person has been a victim of identity theft, and their Social Security number continues to be problematic.
Where a person has a demonstrable religious objection to a number (such as certain Christians being averse to the number 666).

text: For all of these conditions, credible third-party evidence such as a restraining order or police report, is required.

text: Structure[edit]

text: The Social Security number is a nine-digit number in the format "AAA-GG-SSSS".[31] The number is divided into three parts: the first three digits, known as the area number because they were formerly assigned by geographical region; the middle two digits, known as the group number; and the final four digits, known as the serial number.

text: On June 25, 2011, the SSA changed the SSN assignment process to "SSN randomization".[32] SSN randomization affected the SSN assignment process in the following ways:

text:
It eliminated the geographical significance of the first three digits of the SSN, referred to as the area number, by no longer allocating specific numbers by state for assignment to individuals.
It eliminated the significance of the highest group number assigned for each area number, and, as a result, the High Group List is frozen in time and can be used for validation of only those SSNs issued prior to the randomization implementation date (see section “Valid SSNs”).
Previously unassigned area numbers have been introduced for assignment, excluding area numbers 000, 666 and 900–99.

text: Because Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers (ITINs) are issued by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), they were not affected by this SSA change.

text: Historical structure[edit]

text: Prior to 2011, the first three digits or area number were assigned by geographical region. Prior to 1973, cards were issued in local Social Security offices around the country and the area number represented the office code where the card was issued. This did not necessarily have to be in the area where the applicant lived, since a person could apply for their card in any Social Security office. Beginning in 1973, when the SSA began assigning SSNs and issuing cards centrally from Baltimore, the area number was assigned based on the ZIP Code in the mailing address provided on the application for the original Social Security card. The applicant's mailing address did not have to be the same as their place of residence. Thus, the area number did not necessarily represent the state of residence of the applicant regardless of whether the card was issued prior to, or after, 1973. Wikipedia has a list of Social Security Area Numbers used in each state before the 2011 randomization process.

text: Generally, numbers were assigned beginning in the northeast and moving south and westward, so that people applying from addresses on the east coast had the lowest numbers and those on the west coast had the highest numbers. As the areas assigned to a locality were exhausted, new areas from the pool were assigned, so some states had noncontiguous groups of numbers.

text: The middle two digits or group number range from 01 to 99. Even before SSN randomization, the group numbers were not assigned consecutively within an area. Instead, for administrative reasons, group numbers were issued in the following order:[33]

text:
odd numbers from 01 through 09.
even numbers from 10 through 98.
even numbers from 02 through 08.
odd numbers from 11 through 99.

text: As an example, group number 98 would be issued before 11.

text: The last four digits are serial numbers. Before SSN randomization took effect, they represented a straight numerical sequence of digits from 0001 to 9999 within the group.

text: Valid SSNs[edit]

text: Prior to June 25, 2011, a valid SSN could not have an area number between 734 and 749, or above 772, the highest area number the Social Security Administration had allocated. Effective June 25, 2011, the SSA assigns SSNs randomly and allows for the assignment of area numbers between 734 and 749 and above 772 through the 800s.[34] This should not be confused with Tax Identification Numbers (TINs), which include additional area numbers.[35]

text: Some special numbers are never allocated:

text:
Numbers with all zeros in any digit group (000-##-####, ###-00-####, ###-##-0000).[36][37]
Numbers with 666 or 900-999 (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) in the first digit group.[36]

text: Until 2011, the SSA published the last group number used for each area number.[38] Since group numbers were allocated in a regular pattern, it was possible to identify an unissued SSN that contained an invalid group number. Now numbers are assigned randomly, and fraudulent SSNs are not easily detectable with publicly available information. Many online services, however, provide SSN validation.

text: Unlike many similar numbers, no check digit is included.

text: Exhaustion and re-use[edit]

text: The Social Security Administration does not reuse Social Security numbers. It has issued over 450 million since the start of the program, and at a use rate of about 5.5 million per year it says it has enough to last several generations without reuse or changing the number of digits.[39] However, there have been instances where multiple individuals have been inadvertently assigned the same Social Security number.[40]

text: SSNs used in advertising[edit]

text: Some SSNs used in advertising have rendered those numbers invalid. One famous instance of this occurred in 1938 when the E. H. Ferree Company in Lockport, New York, decided to promote its product by showing how a Social Security card would fit into its wallets. A sample card, used for display purposes, was placed in each wallet, which was sold by Woolworth and other department stores across the country; the wallet manufacturer's vice president and treasurer Douglas Patterson used the actual SSN of his secretary, Hilda Schrader Whitcher.

text: Even though the card was printed in red (the real card is printed in blue) and had "Specimen" printed across the front, many people used Whitcher's SSN as their own. The Social Security Administration's account of the incident also claims that the fake card was half the size of a real card, despite a miniature card's being useless for its purpose and despite Whitcher's holding two cards of apparently identical size in the accompanying photograph. Over time, the number that appeared (078-05-1120) has been claimed by a total of over 40,000 people as their own.[41] The SSA initiated an advertising campaign stating that it was incorrect to use the number (Hilda Whitcher was issued a new SSN). However, the number was found to be in use by 12 individuals as late as 1977.[41]

text: More recently, Todd Davis distributed his SSN in advertisements for his company's LifeLock identity theft protection service, which allowed his identity to be stolen over a dozen times.[42][43]