Flash beta update, Perian gets a refresh
There were two minor video plug-in related updates last night. First Adobe released a new beta of their Flash Player 10.1 beta 2 (this on the heels of a set of security patches for the stable release version last week). Flash 10.1 is introducing a host of new features, but is primarily aimed at the mobile market. Among the biggest new features in 10.1 will be the ability for developers to create multi-touch aware Flash content for a wide range of devices. Looks like Adobe is still hoping to prove Flash worthy for Apple for use on the iPhone.
Along with this beta release Adobe has reminded us that they are abandoning the G3 processor after this upcoming version of Flash. In the release notes [PDF] and in last week's security announcement, Adobe says:
Note: The Adobe Flash Player 10.1 release, expected in the first half of 2010, will be the last version to support Macintosh PowerPC-based G3 computers. Adobe will be discontinuing support of PowerPC- based G3 computers and will no longer provide security updates after the Flash Player 10.1 release. This unavailability is due to performance enhancements that cannot be supported on the older PowerPC architecture.
I'm all for moving forward with tech, and G3 are ancient by today's standards anyway. Besides, how many people will this decision actually affect?
In other plugin news, Perian, which we've mentioned several times here on TUAW, has been updated to version 1.2. Perian enables QuickTime support for additional media types, including:
This is Perian's first major update since Snow Leopard has arrived. While there are no big new features, it's always nice to see an update after a big OS upgrade just to know that everything works on the new system.
