Flash Player No Longer Bundled With Mac OS X?

As John Gruber of Daring Fireball notes, the idea of Apple's latest special event, "Back to the Mac," involved the giving of iOS (namely, iPad) features back to the company's Macintosh computer. We saw a series of different upcoming OS X "Lion" features being demonstrated by Steve, with many of them seeming more than just a little bit familiar. However, one thing Steve forgot to mention on stage involved Adobe's famous Flash Player; something Mr. Jobs hasn't liked for quite a while now. In short, Apple's new MacBook Air models ship without Flash Player installed. Obviously, this is another thing Apple has taken from iOS and given to the Mac. There are marked differences: iOS simply doesn't support Flash, while MacBook Air users will be able to install Flash Player by heading over to Adobe's site. I see this move as being more of a statement than anything else; something which further highlights Steve's dislike for Flash, just in case you weren't aware of it. And, what's more, this change isn't going to just hit the new MacBook Airs. As you might expect, in time, every new Macintosh model will ship without Flash. Apple spokesperson, Bill Evans, stated:

We’re happy to continue to support Flash on the Mac, and the best way for users to always have the most up to date and secure version is to download it directly from Adobe.

What do you think? Other iOS features of Mac OS X 10.7 include full-screen apps, iOS scrolling bars, and the Mac App Store. You can check out some screenshots, courtesy of AppleInsider, below. [gallery]

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