topbanner_forum
  *

avatar image

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
  • Thursday March 28, 2024, 5:58 pm
  • Proudly celebrating 15+ years online.
  • Donate now to become a lifetime supporting member of the site and get a non-expiring license key for all of our programs.
  • donate

Author Topic: No more native Flash for Linux  (Read 5929 times)

40hz

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 11,857
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
No more native Flash for Linux
« on: February 22, 2012, 02:05 PM »
wtf.gif

Looks like the gradual retreat from open platforms continues apace. This just in from the folks over at ghacks - full article here. (emphasis added)

No More Flash Updates For Linux, Unless You Use Chrome

Breaking News: Adobe just made an announcement on the official Air and Flash Player Team Blog that changes are coming to Flash Player on Linux. The company has partnered up with Google to “develop a single modern API for hosting plugins within the browser”. PPAPI (code-named Pepper), adds a layer between the browser and underlying operating system that “abstracts away differences between browser and operating system implementations”.

Google will provide a PPAPI implementation later this year for all 32-bit and 64-bit platforms that are supported by the company’s Chrome web browser. All Chrome version on all operating systems, and not only Linux, will receive an update that implements the PPAPI-based Flash Player.

Changes do not end here though for Linux users. Adobe notes that the Flash Player browser plugin for Linux will only be available via the PPAPI plugin that is part of the Google Chrome browser distribution. Adobe will not provide direct Flash Player browser plugin downloads anymore on their site, nor will it update Flash Player on Linux anymore with non-security related updates.

This basically means that Flash Player 11.2 is the latest cross-browser version of the browser plugin for Linux. While it is theoretically possible that other browser developers will implement Pepper, it could also mean the beginning of the end for Flash on Linux. Mozilla for instance states on MozillaWiki that it “s not interested in or working on Pepper at this time”.

This is such a blatant marginalizing move to further push the adoption rate of Chrome that my blood is boiling over right now. Makes me incredibly sorry I defended Adobe and Flash so much when Apple decided not to support it on the iPhone via Safari.

Oh well! :-\  Microsoft and Apple have both indicated they wouldn't mind seeing Flash disappear from websites in general. With a little luck maybe this dumbass move will hasten the day when it finally happens.

worstje

  • Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2009
  • **
  • Posts: 588
  • The Gent with the White Hat
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: No more native Flash for Linux
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2012, 02:15 PM »
I fully agree. Even tho I don't use Linux for my desktop, I can wholeheartedly stand behind the 'get rid of flash' mentality. HTML5 may cause some really laggy pages when it gets too much dynamic shit, but Flash does that with even simple ads, or messed up youtube videos. It pisses me off good on a near-daily basis. :(

eleman

  • Spam Killer
  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2009
  • **
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 413
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: No more native Flash for Linux
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2012, 02:30 PM »
One can only say good riddance about the demise of flash. I'm not sure if anyone will miss it.

lanux128

  • Global Moderator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 6,277
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: No more native Flash for Linux
« Reply #3 on: February 23, 2012, 05:41 AM »
Linux community should be glad about this kamikaze move by Adobe. if anything it will prove to be a catalyst for an alternative framework to come into prominence.

mahesh2k

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 1,426
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: No more native Flash for Linux
« Reply #4 on: February 23, 2012, 07:39 AM »
I am just waiting for the day when web developers around the world learn to design website without flash. Youtube found a way to add HTML5 but it seems far from complete, atleast it is a start.

Edvard

  • Coding Snacks Author
  • Charter Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,017
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: No more native Flash for Linux
« Reply #5 on: February 24, 2012, 10:01 AM »
What.
The.
Hell.

Oh well, back to Firefox Nightly (for 64-bit deliciousness) for me.
I'd use Chromium, but the Chrome extensions don't work on it.

BTW -
http://alternativeto...ayer/?platform=linux

eleman

  • Spam Killer
  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2009
  • **
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 413
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: No more native Flash for Linux
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2012, 10:03 AM »
Yeah, as if original flash is not buggy enough, let's all head for open source alternatives :)

40hz

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 11,857
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: No more native Flash for Linux
« Reply #7 on: February 24, 2012, 10:25 AM »
Yeah, as if original flash is not buggy enough, let's all head for open source alternatives :)

The only reason Flash is as big a problem as it is - and poses security problems - is because Adobe couldn't just let it be a streaming media format. They also had to load it with a bunch of hooks for interactive business uses in order to make some money off it. That's where the problem is. If they could just let it be used for animation (which is what 90% of the market uses it for) instead of attempting to compete with Java by turning it into an interactive multimedia platform, there never would have been this problem.
 :-\

But I agree. Why try to duplicate Flash? The sooner we get on with HTML5/CSS3 and WebGL the better off we'll be. 8)

« Last Edit: February 24, 2012, 10:32 AM by 40hz »

Edvard

  • Coding Snacks Author
  • Charter Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,017
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: No more native Flash for Linux
« Reply #8 on: February 24, 2012, 12:17 PM »
I fully agree, but until Flash goes away completely, there will still be a need for the convenience, sad to say.
Cart before the horse, and all that.

But I agree with 40Hz here, that if what is needed is merely a streaming animation decoder, then why not look for alternatives that do exactly that?
Besides, I hear gnash is quite mature, so it's at least viable...

Innuendo

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 2,266
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: No more native Flash for Linux
« Reply #9 on: February 24, 2012, 12:55 PM »
But I agree. Why try to duplicate Flash? The sooner we get on with HTML5/CSS3 and WebGL the better off we'll be. 8)

Oh, 40hz, I do so wonder at your naive, childlike innocence.   ;)   Microsoft, Google, and Netflix don't want us to be better off...they want DRM in HTML5. See here.