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Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

blogs.adobe.com

61–70 of 192 posts

Re: Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

#61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Google has a nasty habit of developing some technology in a dark room, then dropping it on the web community and being confused when no one is that interested (Dart is the other big example). It makes me wonder if they really want these projects to be cross-platform successful or not.

Adobe is dropping linux support after 11.2. With the except of Chrome due to a new API that "aims to provide a layer between the plugin and browser that abstracts away differences between browser and operating system implementations." Given that linux really hasn't been a priority for them and they are dropping flash all together; this isn't really news. The press release says Adobe worked with Google on Pepper. So f…

With the except of Chrome due to a new API

This is what's hard to understand: they are not dropping NPAPI on Windows, so it's not like the Chrome API is the enabler here.

Re: Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

#62
post #40

I can't make much sense of this. Adobe declared Flash dead. Apple declared Flash dead. Google declared Flash dead in Chrome for Android. Now, they're going to continue working on Flash, but only on a new API that is implemented only in a single browser in Linux (and from statements from Apple and Mozilla, will stay that way), but keeping it compatible with the old NPAPI on Windows? What I don't even.... Edit: Could i…

Adobe never declared desktop Flash dead, they're just hedging their bets with HTML5 tools.

Re: Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

#63
post #48
post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I watch plenty of videos and I've never had a problem with the big streaming sites delivering h264 versions. The only flash videos I still encounter are on older, lightly, maintained sites or sites that just download flv files. And if iPad sales are any indication I don't think it's as big a deal as you make it out to be.

The iPad includes H264 support, as does Chrome. Firefox doesn't (and neither does Chromium, does it?). So this does screw anyone over who wants to watch H264, which really is the majority of video on the web.

nobody wany yo watch h264, they want to watch video, its up to the site to accomodate them

Re: Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

#64
post #24
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adobe killing AIR for Linux didn't impact/slow AIR's growth in the slightest, so I would have to assume this change will also have zero impact.

Can't tell if you are serious. Who uses AIR? I've never seen it.

League of Legends still uses AIR I believe.

Re: Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

#65
post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adobe is dropping linux support after 11.2. With the except of Chrome due to a new API that "aims to provide a layer between the plugin and browser that abstracts away differences between browser and operating system implementations." Given that linux really hasn't been a priority for them and they are dropping flash all together; this isn't really news. The press release says Adobe worked with Google on Pepper. So f…

With the except of Chrome due to a new API This is what's hard to understand: they are not dropping NPAPI on Windows, so it's not like the Chrome API is the enabler here.

My assumption is that among {NPAPI/Windows, NPAPI/Linux, PPAPI/Windows, PPAPI/Linux}, NPAPI/Linux provides the least value for the work required.

Re: Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

#66
post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The iPad includes H264 support, as does Chrome. Firefox doesn't (and neither does Chromium, does it?). So this does screw anyone over who wants to watch H264, which really is the majority of video on the web.

nobody wany yo watch h264, they want to watch video, its up to the site to accomodate them

Yeah right, websites really care for the Linux user on Firefox and are willing to go to extra lengths to accommodate him.

Re: Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

#67
post #44
post #3

In that case I realy hope to see this site change soon: https://wiki.mozilla.org/NPAPI:Pepper

Apple and Mozilla have already stated that Pepper is entirely redundant with ongoing standardization efforts and even counterproductive to them. So why is Google pushing it? Answer for yourself.

Apple's initial third-party app system in the iPhone was web-based.

While WebOS stuck with the open technologies, the next Apple phone introduced closed-source binary application as the main third party extension platform. If WebOS could make the open web technologies work as primary development method on a phone, why did Apple go back to the installable programs of the last century?

Google's Pepper is at least open standard with an open implementation, while I don't have any way to run iOS apps on any other platform than those tightly controlled by Apple themselves.

Strangely, we can look to Microsoft for providing an open standards HTML5 based version of an app like "Cut the Rope": http://www.cuttherope.ie/ -- imagine if iOS devices ran HTML5 apps well and this game (which sold 3 million copies on iOS!) was HTML5 from the start. You could run it on the iPhone or any Android device or your desktop right from the start.

Re: Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

#68
post #6

I get the feeling this isn't going to be that much of a problem. I've not got the flash plugin installed in Firefox and I'm not finding any great hardship these days. Perhaps it'll kill Flash a bit quicker considering the amount of Kiosks and Internet cafes running Firefox+Flash on Linux.

The real reason it'll not be much of a problem is that the current Flash 11.2 plugins won't spontaneously disappear when the next version gets released. Indeed they'll have 5 more years of security updates.

So the only thing non-Chrome-using Linux users will miss out on are things that use the new features of Flash introduced after that date.

Re: Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

#69
post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Think licensing. If the Adobe blog post is correct and the pepper plugin is only distributed with Chrome and isn't open source and part of Chromium then how is another browser going to support it? They'd have to tell you to install Chrome and then open the plugin from within Chrome's installed directory. Pretty ugly solution. If it's open source and part of Chromium then they can at least take the source out and ship…

I'm betting the distro packagers like Canonical will solve the problem for end users. Meanwhile, Flash continues to circle the drain, and this might hasten its inevitable, but slow demise.

I'm betting the distro packagers like Canonical will solve the problem for end users.

They might simply shift to Chrome as their default browser.

Re: Flash For Linux Will Only Be Available For Chrome

#70
post #24
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Adobe killing AIR for Linux didn't impact/slow AIR's growth in the slightest, so I would have to assume this change will also have zero impact.

Can't tell if you are serious. Who uses AIR? I've never seen it.

tweetdeck was hugely popular and written with AIR, but I believe they went native some time ago.
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