64bit Linux Flash Petition
http://www.petitiononline.com/lin64swf/
I just installed Fedora Core 4 for the AMD x86_64 CPU architecture (i.e., “arch”) and was disappointed when I found out that I would need to use a 32-bit version of Firefox in order to browse sites that have MacroMedia Flash.
This is but a minor blow to my usability. I don’t play games or watch movies in Flash, and mostly it’s a nuisance in the form of web-ads. But there are plenty of people for whom Flash movies are a full-time business, and they’re suffering because of this. This affects not only Linux users, as though it were a fringe problem, but also 64-bit Windows XP.
This petition is a call for MacroMedia to recompile Flash 7.0 for the x86_64 (and other 64-bit platforms). It’s exploding with newcomers and is able to compete with Intel processors valued at four times their cost. If you’d like to be part of the solution, sign the petition. (I’m sig number 1234.)
4 Responses to “64bit Linux Flash Petition”
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John Dowdell Says:
September 6th, 2005 at 20:29:36This has been a long-term goal, and many Linux builds have been released, but the difference in media services among the various Linux packages has made the task more difficult. More info here:
http://www.kaourantin.net/2005/08/porting-flash-player-to-alternative.htmlI think we all agree on the same goal, it’s just finding a way to achieve that goal which remains difficult….
jd/mm
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Michael Says:
September 13th, 2005 at 02:33:12Thanks so much for your comment, John. As a freelance programmer, it was irresponsible of me to post a flippant comment on the petition; I know it’s enormously difficult to port things from Win to Linux. Hopefully the issues will be soon resolved. Your (plural) efforts are not going unnoticed. Thanks for the input, and cheers to you for working on this goal. It’s nice to know that the MM guys are on it.
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Zombie Says:
November 24th, 2005 at 16:03:46 -
ThinkBlog » Blog Archive » 64-Bit FC4 Firefox Plugin Workaround Says:
December 22nd, 2005 at 01:39:18[…] The good folks at Macromedia are hard at work on a compatible plugin for the x86_64 version of Firefox, and I don’t know about Sun’s Java. (Blackdown has a 64-bit plugin but it’s reportedly temperamental. FC4 on an AMD64 is temperamental enough without a Blackdown plugin to help it out, IMHO.) So finally I broke down and decided to uninstall the sixty-four bit version of Firefox and use the i386 version—replete with much greater plugin coverage! […]
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Steve Schaefer Says:
February 1st, 2006 at 00:42:08Macromedia is a poster child for open-source software. They highlight everything that is wrong with using proprietary software as the underlying delivery medium to reach the public. Macromedia does not serve the user community, and they do not keep up with technology. Until advertisers decide that they can reach more users using different distribution technology, Macromedia will continue to be an embarrassment to themselves and to the computing community. With a little luck, it will be too late for them to get back the lost market share.
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February 1st, 2006 at 01:07:16Thanks for your insightful comment, Steve!
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Wade Sims Says:
February 7th, 2006 at 00:37:39Support for the 64-bit architecture will help ensure that Adobe and Macromedia continue to keep their brand at the leading edge of technology. This is where the early adopters play and the selections are made that become corporate standards in later years. If Flash doesn’t run on this important and growing market share then someone will develop an alternative. It just makes good business sense to cover all the bases.
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al morris Says:
February 7th, 2006 at 13:59:09I tried to run Linux from redhat version 5 to FC2. I am not a programmer. I am a Kernel-Retired but never compiled one. Never stuck with it.
I decided to get an AMD 64 bit machine just to see. I installed FC3 then installed FC4. The 64bit machine ran Linux fast enough to make it a contender.
People think it is crazy to talk about Linux, and I admit it still isn’t ready for the masses, though now I’m not so sure I want it to be.
I am going to keep learning the workarounds since that is apparently how you learn Linux anyway. Why, just last night I learned Vim so I could edit my sudoers file. Vim and sudo and yum are good things. Who knows tomorrow I might even compile a kernel.
64-bit is here and will be even if Macromedia isn’t. -
nick bisby Says:
February 24th, 2006 at 18:58:39I agree. I stopped using Winx64 because I always used the 32bit browser anyway (so it was no benefit to me) but i really would detest going back to windows just for flash!
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Waldeck Says:
March 26th, 2006 at 11:04:49Same thing here. I have just installed Fedora Core 5 on my brand new AMD64 and was terribly disappointed to learn that some of the popular programs and plugins were not yet properly ported to 64-bits. Although I understand that in the one hand this task is not as trivial as just recompiling the source code, on the other hand I do not understand the apparent lack of foresight that the 64-bits platform is becoming increasingly popular among the Linux/BSD users and it is undeoubtedly the future.
Please Mr. Macromedia, make haste at giving us a 64-bits flash plugin!
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bb Says:
March 29th, 2006 at 18:28:19I find Macromedia’s continued lack of an x86_64 plugin apalling. I really don’t want to hear them whine about the difficulty of it either. They make a killing off of Flash-related tools for content developers, and give away the plugins for free, that’s their business model. If the flash player had been an open source project to start with this would have been done a long time ago.
September 6th, 2005 at 20:29:36
This has been a long-term goal, and many Linux builds have been released, but the difference in media services among the various Linux packages has made the task more difficult. More info here:
http://www.kaourantin.net/2005/08/porting-flash-player-to-alternative.html
I think we all agree on the same goal, it’s just finding a way to achieve that goal which remains difficult….
jd/mm
September 13th, 2005 at 02:33:12
Thanks so much for your comment, John. As a freelance programmer, it was irresponsible of me to post a flippant comment on the petition; I know it’s enormously difficult to port things from Win to Linux. Hopefully the issues will be soon resolved. Your (plural) efforts are not going unnoticed. Thanks for the input, and cheers to you for working on this goal. It’s nice to know that the MM guys are on it.
November 24th, 2005 at 16:03:46
I enjoyed reading. Thank You.
December 22nd, 2005 at 01:39:18
[…] The good folks at Macromedia are hard at work on a compatible plugin for the x86_64 version of Firefox, and I don’t know about Sun’s Java. (Blackdown has a 64-bit plugin but it’s reportedly temperamental. FC4 on an AMD64 is temperamental enough without a Blackdown plugin to help it out, IMHO.) So finally I broke down and decided to uninstall the sixty-four bit version of Firefox and use the i386 version—replete with much greater plugin coverage! […]
February 1st, 2006 at 00:42:08
Macromedia is a poster child for open-source software. They highlight everything that is wrong with using proprietary software as the underlying delivery medium to reach the public. Macromedia does not serve the user community, and they do not keep up with technology. Until advertisers decide that they can reach more users using different distribution technology, Macromedia will continue to be an embarrassment to themselves and to the computing community. With a little luck, it will be too late for them to get back the lost market share.
February 1st, 2006 at 01:07:16
Thanks for your insightful comment, Steve!
February 7th, 2006 at 00:37:39
Support for the 64-bit architecture will help ensure that Adobe and Macromedia continue to keep their brand at the leading edge of technology. This is where the early adopters play and the selections are made that become corporate standards in later years. If Flash doesn’t run on this important and growing market share then someone will develop an alternative. It just makes good business sense to cover all the bases.
February 7th, 2006 at 13:59:09
I tried to run Linux from redhat version 5 to FC2. I am not a programmer. I am a Kernel-Retired but never compiled one. Never stuck with it.
I decided to get an AMD 64 bit machine just to see. I installed FC3 then installed FC4. The 64bit machine ran Linux fast enough to make it a contender.
People think it is crazy to talk about Linux, and I admit it still isn’t ready for the masses, though now I’m not so sure I want it to be.
I am going to keep learning the workarounds since that is apparently how you learn Linux anyway. Why, just last night I learned Vim so I could edit my sudoers file. Vim and sudo and yum are good things. Who knows tomorrow I might even compile a kernel.
64-bit is here and will be even if Macromedia isn’t.
February 24th, 2006 at 18:58:39
I agree. I stopped using Winx64 because I always used the 32bit browser anyway (so it was no benefit to me) but i really would detest going back to windows just for flash!
March 26th, 2006 at 11:04:49
Same thing here. I have just installed Fedora Core 5 on my brand new AMD64 and was terribly disappointed to learn that some of the popular programs and plugins were not yet properly ported to 64-bits. Although I understand that in the one hand this task is not as trivial as just recompiling the source code, on the other hand I do not understand the apparent lack of foresight that the 64-bits platform is becoming increasingly popular among the Linux/BSD users and it is undeoubtedly the future.
Please Mr. Macromedia, make haste at giving us a 64-bits flash plugin!
March 29th, 2006 at 18:28:19
I find Macromedia’s continued lack of an x86_64 plugin apalling. I really don’t want to hear them whine about the difficulty of it either. They make a killing off of Flash-related tools for content developers, and give away the plugins for free, that’s their business model. If the flash player had been an open source project to start with this would have been done a long time ago.