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Skyfire browser back in the App Store, but in limited quantities
This just in: the Skyfire browser, which was released earlier this week and then quickly pulled when the company's servers were overwhelmed, is being released back into the App Store. But before you do what I did and rush out to purchase it, note that it is only being released in "batches." That means that for those of us who are seeking a way to watch Adobe Flash video on our iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads may have to wait a bit longer. Sure enough, the first batch is apparently sold out, as I was unable to find it in the store either in iTunes on my Mac or in the App Store on my iPhone. Skyfire CEO Jeff Gleuck is recommending that people hoping to buy Skyfire follow the company on Twitter or friend them on Facebook. That way, you'll be notified when the next batch is released.
Having Flash installed on your MacBook can reduce battery runtime by 33%
As if Adobe Flash didn't have enough going against it already. Now it appears that, according to tests done by Ars Technica, having Flash installed on your laptop can reduce your battery runtime by a third. Ars Technica was running battery tests on the new 11-inch MacBook Air. With the Flash player plug-in installed, the 11-inch Air got just 4 hours of battery life. Once they deleted Flash, the Air's battery life rose to a whopping 6 hours. Ars Technica speculates that this is another reason that Apple decided to leave Flash off MacBook Airs (instead of just to make sure that users would download the latest version). It's important to note that Ars Technica isn't saying simply having the Flash plug-in installed on the Air reduces battery time, but that when visiting the same websites in Safari with Flash installed and then with Flash uninstalled, Flash ads became static ads, thus resulting in the higher battery life. In the end, Ars found that "Flash-based ads kept the CPU running far more than seemed necessary." While Ars only tested the Flash battery drainage on a MacBook Air, it seems logical to assume that similar battery runtime results would be seen on other MacBooks and PC laptops. I'm about to test this out myself by removing Flash from my 15-inch MacBook Pro and seeing if my wireless web surfing time increases. Besides uninstalling Flash completely from your machine, there are a number of Safari extensions that allow you to disable or enable Flash with a click.
MacBook Air battery shown to last two hours longer when browsing the web sans Flash
Let's be honest, Apple's claim that it neglected to preload Flash on the new MacBook Airs so that users themselves could download and install the latest (and safest) version was a bit of a red herring. Behind that thin veil of corporate courtesy, we're now seeing a pretty potent cause for Apple's dumping of Adobe's wares. Ars Technica's review of the 11-inch Air discovered that the machine could crank its way through six hours of web browsing when Flash was nowhere near it, but only four hours with Flash installed and giving it "the full web experience." The primary culprit was Adobe's penchant for using CPU cycles to display animated ads, which were typically replaced by static imagery in the absence of the requisite software. So yeah, it's not a surprise that a "richer" web would require more resources, but it doesn't speak well for Flash's efficiency to find a laptop loses a third of its longevity when running it.
Apple responds on missing Flash in new MacBook Airs, says get used to it
The other day, we reported on the fact that those tiny new MacBook Airs are shipping without a pre-installed version of Flash. Based on Apple's recent, vocal anti-Flash opinions, we took it as a sign that the company was putting even more distance between itself and Adobe, but according to a statement we've just received, that might not be the case. Apple spokesman Bill Evans just pinged us with the official word on the situation, claiming that it has more to do with making sure users have the most recent version of the software and less to do with politics. Here's the word from Apple: 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. Interestingly, he also notes that this will be happening across all Macs in the future, though there may be some models still in the channel with Flash pre-installed. Obviously this makes some sense, but it's hard not to see it as a dig against Adobe -- there must be other solutions for ensuring users are up to date (like, oh, putting the plugin into your auto-updater). Also, it would be nice if those "missing plug-in" messages actually worked as links to the Adobe install page (because they don't, at least in Safari). Hey -- at least we know it wasn't a fluke!
Adobe announces HTML5 Video Player widget
Adobe's Dreamweaver Team Blog today broke the news that they've created an HTML5 Video Player widget which generates code to play video in the best player for a specific platform using a variety of video codecs. The widget is available through the Adobe Widget Browser and works with or without Dreamweaver CS5. It is based on the Kaltura open source library, and is compatible with Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome and Opera. The team blog noted that HTML5's <video> tag has limited browser support at this time, forcing web designers to "scramble for a solution" that would work regardless of browser or platform. The widget shifts from the <video> tag to Flash Player when the tag is not supported, and does this regardless of the device on which video is being watched. The standalone widget can run from directly inside Dreamweaver or as a standalone app using Adobe AIR. Hat tip to our old friend David Chartier.
MacBook Air: all substance, no Flash
Amusingly enough, you know what's missing from the new MacBook Air models? Adobe Flash Player. While preloaded on Apple's past hardware, out of the box here it just says missing plugin, with no click to install option. To be fair, Flash doesn't come standard on a lot of machines, even for Windows, but we wonder if past models will continue to ship out with Adobe's plugin, especially once OS X 10.7 becomes de facto. It's not like Adobe was feeling the love from Steve anyway, and you can still install Flash yourself -- we did, and are happy to report the Air plays 720p video great. We were too bandwidth-challenged at the time to try 1080p for real, so we'll have to let you know about that later.
Adobe announces new Flash security vulnerability
On Sept. 13, Adobe Systems released a security advisory detailing a vulnerability in its Flash Player 10.1.82.76 for earlier versions of Windows, Mac, Linux and Solaris, and Adobe Flash Player 10.1.92.10 for Android. The vulnerability also affects Adobe Reader 9.3.4 for Windows, Macintosh and Unix and Adobe Acrobat 9.3.4 for earlier versions of Windows and Macintosh. The vulnerability allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service crash and execute a code to take control of your system by delivering this malicious code through a specially crafted PDF or Flash file. For WoW players, this can mean infection by keyloggers that could potentially steal your login information and compromise your account. Adobe Systems is working on a patch to stop this type of attack from being possible and plans to make it available the week of Sept. 27, with plans to update Adobe Reader 9.3.4 and Adobe Acrobat 9.3.4 the week of Oct. 4.
Flash Player 10.1 goes final for Nexus One handsets, available to download now
Google just confirmed it at an Android / Flash event in San Francisco, and sure enough, our trusty Nexus One just found, downloaded and installed the final (read: non-beta) version of Adobe's Flash Player 10.1. It weighs in at just under 5MB, and it's looking as sweet as ever so far. Nexus One owners can hit up the Android Market to get their download on, and we'd highly encourage you to bookmark a few dozen Flash sites just to rub in the faces of your dearest iDevice-owning friends. Just sayin'.
Adobe's CEO: 'we've moved on' from Apple's argument, and Flash still rules
You can only humor someone for so long, and it seems as if Adobe is at its breaking point with Apple. Just three months after publishing a new ad campaign that sought to ease the tension between the two mega-corps, Adobe's CEO has been quoted as saying that his company has "moved on" from the whole ordeal. On one hand, we're glad to see Adobe focusing its resources on optimizing Flash for the myriad Android 2.2 devices that'll support its mobile player in the months to come, but on the other, it's a bit depressing to see Shantanu Narayen essentially give up hope that Jobs and Company will ever come to their senses. For example, have a listen at this, with "they" most certainly referring to Apple: "They've chosen to keep their system closed and we'd rather work with partners who are interested in working with us. We believe in open systems. We believe in the power of the internet and in customers making choices and I think a lot of the controversy was about their decision at that point. They've made their choice. We've made ours and we've moved on." Something tells us the FTC won't be so quick to follow suit. Oh, and if you're wondering how Adobe could just turn the other cheek here, the company's Anup Murarka just said at the Flash / Android event ongoing in San Francisco that Adobe has "relationships with 19 of the top 20 mobile manufacturers in the world." One is the loneliest number, or so we hear.
European Commission investigating Apple's stance on Flash
In June, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began an investigation into Apple's decision to ban developers from using Adobe's Flash-to-iPhone compiler and similar tools to create apps for iOS devices. Apple has also banned Adobe Flash from iOS devices, throwing its full support behind HTML5 as a much more efficient and stable alternative. The New York Post reported today that the FTC isn't the only governmental authority looking into Apple's Flash ban. Now the European Commission has joined the FTC probe based on concerns that Apple's business practices harm competition. Apple's viewpoint is that the ban is well within its rights, and is necessary to maintain the high level of quality in iOS applications. The investigation is expected to last another four to six months. In the meantime, Flash is appearing (in an unofficial and not fully functional way) on jailbroken iPhone 4s with the release of Frash earlier this week. [via MacRumors]
Flash ported to iPhone 4, available for download (video)
Cydia is a great place to hang out, and we're sure unlocking is pretty swell, but it's quite possible you and your freshly-rooted iPhone 4 have already run out of fun things to do. In that case, might we suggest giving Frash a try? That's right, Comex's Strong Bad-inspired port of Adobe Flash 10.1 has been compiled once again, and though it's still an alpha build there's nothing keeping you from experiencing the joys of animated advertising on your iOS 4 device. Instructions are exactly the same as in our Flash how-to for iPad -- jailbreak, download the .deb, upload it to a folder deep inside your phone via SSH, restart and you're done -- but if that sounds like too much work or you're worried about your phone asploding prematurely, you can watch from a safe distance as Homestar Runner struts his stuff. You'll find that and more in a video after the break, and a pre-compiled alpha build is available at our source link.
Motorola-Verizon tablet will have FiOS TV, ten-inch screen?
Sure, we've heard Verizon discuss Android tablets once or twice, but it's just now that we're getting our first real juice about Motorola's companion device. The Financial Times reports that Verizon and Motorola are teaming up on an Android tablet with dual cameras, Adobe Flash support and a ten-inch screen, plus mobile hotspot functionality (which implies Verizon cellular data) and -- get this -- access to pay TV. As it so happens, Moto makes a Verizon FiOS set-top box, and sources tell the Times that the television tablet may get grandfathered in to the very same technology. No word on processing power or price, but the rumor mill says we could see it as early as fall of this year. And given the timing, here's hoping the Android inside will have some Google TV mojo, too.
Page-turning 'Macallan' UI will hit a Windows 7 tablet this year (video)
There's not much to your average prototype Windows 7 tablet -- just a netbook running the vanilla OS with a touchscreen instead of keyboard -- but if you've been wondering why you might care to buy one, just get a load of this Macallan UI. Developed by a third-party firm named UI Centric specifically for Windows tablet devices, it features a clean, finger-friendly interface capable of Adobe Flash and Microsoft Silverlight, and uses the crowd-pleasing page flip gesture for multitasking functionality. Perhaps most importantly, however, UI Centric claims it will actually appear on a real slate -- come Q3 2010, a "major manufacturer" will debut the first Macallan-topped device. We're curious to see how it (and a bottle of fine scotch) will stack up against September's ExoPC. Video after the break.
Adobe FlashTime to bring peer-to-peer video calls to Android (video)
With tongue wedged firmly in cheek, Adobe has named its latest little bit of demo software FlashTime and given it a quick spin to whet our appetites. Built using the forthcoming Air 2.5, this peer-to-peer video chat client harnesses your smartphone's camera to get some direct visual communication going with your fellow Android lovers. Okay, so Android users already have other options for doing just this very thing, but the point being made here is that you can do just about anything with Flash, and since it's Flash it'll be easy to port around to other platforms. Skip past the break to see the demo, which has a multipeer chat session with a desktop Mac thrown in for good measure. [Thanks, Faheem] Update: Just for clarification's sake, Adobe's Mark Doherty got in touch with us to say there are no plans to release this little mockup client and that indeed the FlashTime moniker is a mere placeholder. Ah well.
Flash Player investing in a 3D future, plans coming in October
Man, Adobe is really teasing up Flash and 3D. Straight from the mouth (or, rather, keyboard) of product manager Thibault Imbert: "What kind of [3D] API? True textured z-buffered triangles ? GPU acceleration? Even better? What I can say is forget what you have seen before, it is going to be big." Big talk in regards to a session at the company's upcoming MAX 2010 conference entitled (aptly enough) "Flash Player 3D Future." According to the description and some added details care of Imbert, expect discussion and demos of a renderer coming in a future version of Flash Player. We'd love to give you something more concrete, but looks like that might be awhile -- the talk isn't until October 27th.
How-to: Install Flash on your jailbroken iPad (for real)
We just saw Flash 10.1 ported to the iPad demonstrated in video form by Comex, and now you can get in on the action too, as long as your iPad is jailbroken. It's called Frash, and while the plugin is still pretty early and doesn't do video playback yet, you can definitely play games and other animations right now, and we're told video support is forthcoming. Okay, so let's try this out, shall we? It's not point-and-click simple, but it's not that hard, either. Full instructions after the break.
Adobe expects Flash on 250 million smartphones by end of 2012
While in the midst of fixing a unicorn-sized hole in the security of its desktop software, Adobe has been talking about its future in the mobile space. According to its rose-tinted forecasts, Flash Player will be featured in a quarter billion handsets by the end of 2012, including 53 percent of all smartphones shipped that year. Those are pretty strident words for a company that has yet to ship Flash Player 10.1 in even one new handset, but we're reminded that Android 2.2's leading position on the issue will be swiftly followed by BlackBerry OS, Symbian, webOS, and Windows Phone 7 supporting the full fat Flash experience. Whether all that momentum will be enough to produce an install base of 250 million, we don't know. What we do know, however, is that people want the blasted thing and Adobe had better start doing a bit more work on its mobile player and a little less talking about it -- that's what we're here for.
Adobe Flash Player 10.1 now officially available for download
Well look at that -- Adobe's now officially serving up Flash Player 10.1 on its download pages. If you're anything like us, you've been running 10.1 since it hit Release Candidate status a couple months ago, but if you've held off the upgrade brings some much-needed hardware acceleration to the mix, as well as other assorted performance enhancements and improvements. We're curious to see if the various issues with Broadcom Crystal HD netbooks have been resolved in this final version, and Mac users will have to wait for the "Gala" update to see any hardware-powered boost on their systems, but it's nice to finally see Adobe ship this thing. Let us know how it goes in comments, yeah? Update: Sorry folks -- contrary to reports, it doesn't look like the Gala hardware acceleration code was secretly included in the OS X build, as we just tried it on a new MacBook Pro and the graphics didn't switch over to the discrete chip. What's more, the Gala project page is still alive and kicking with a release date expected "following the release of Flash Player 10.1." We'll just have to be patient, we suppose. [Thanks, Neal and Sam]
Adobe and Greystripe partner for ads that convert Flash to HTML5
When you complain about Apple's products lacking Flash support, we figure you're talking about games and video, but web developers have to make a living too, right? That's why Greystripe and Adobe are working together to bring ads to iDevices all around, with an intriguing technology that might one day enable the real reasons we want Flash as well. Like the Smokescreen demo we saw last week, Greystripe can reportedly transcode the banned content to HTML5 on the fly, and it's apparently impressive enough that Adobe's signed on to create an interactive, crossplatform ad solution (also on Android and Java devices) priced and marketed specifically to rival Apple's own. With Apple's distinguished record as keeper of the walled garden, we'll see how well that goes, but we're definitely interested in other possibilities for the company's code. Full press release after the break.
Adobe's Flash and Acrobat have 'critical' vulnerability, may allow remote hijacking
When Adobe said Flash gives you the full web experience, it meant it. Part and parcel of the web, as we all know, is the good old hacking community, which has been "actively exploiting" a vulnerability in Flash Player 10.0.45.2 (and earlier versions) and Adobe Acrobat and Reader 9.x to overtake people's machines and do hacky stuff with them. This so-called flaw also causes crashes, but that's probably not what's worrying you right now. Adobe says the 10.1 Release Candidate for Flash Player looks to be unaffected, while versions 8.x of Acrobat and Reader are confirmed safe. To remedy the trouble, the company advises moving to the RC for Flash, and deleting authplay.dll to keep your Acrobat from performing undesirable gymnastics. Oh boy, Steve's gonna have a field day with this one.
