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You missed Web 2.0, around 2004, the rise of AJAX.

True. I also left out Frames. Web 2.0 for me was too much about aesthetics, but AJAX is very close to JS. Both deserve a spot in an extended version of the history though!

It's about design.

The post also states that Flash was "freedom", which it was only in a design sens.

It was a freedom in programming too, JavaScript was/is still buggy from browser to browser and with Flash using ActionScript you could code once and run confidently in any browser with the plugin.

"Web 2.0" was a lot less about aesthetics than "flat design" (the emergence of custom font solutions that didn't require Flash or graphics was the real revolution; the "flat"-ness itself is just a fad, and for that matter HN has been pretty flat looking for a while now!)

The browser wars deserved a mention, probably in the Javascript section too, and the death of the "web safe" palette.

Embedded video everywhere is probably the biggest boon to designers in recent years, even if it's been theoretically achievable since Flash came onto the scene. Or earlier if you count animated gifs

Designers don't care about that...it's dangerously like code.

Note also the omission of SVG support, WebGL, or any of a number of similar technologies that actually make the loss of Flash compelling.

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