{ January 13, 2006 }

Universal Binary Flash Player?

So here's an interesting dilemma. According to this Apple technote, any internet plug-in, "typically incorporated via the embed tag, will also need to be built as universal binaries to run in Dashboard as well as Safari on Intel-based Macs."

Which leads to an obvious question -- with Intel-powered iMacs now shipping, and new MacBooks on the immediate horizon, what will happen if Flash content is loaded in a web browser? If I'm reading the technote correctly, it simply won't work. And the only way it will work is if Macromedia releases a new version of Flash Player 8 compiled as a universal binary.

Which...leads to an even bigger question -- considering the recent merger with Adobe, and all the issues that must be injecting into their normal development cycle -- when will this be released? Or has it already and I've been living under a rock?

Update: Flash Player developer Tinic Uro answers this question.

Comments

While I'm not sure if a UniBin has been released for the flash player, I do know that it is possible to force Safari to run through Rosetta, which would then allow the flash player to work as planned. However, it requires the user has a more than basic knowledge of their system, and how to use the Get Info panel.

Posted by: Steven Ametjan at January 13, 2006 2:42 PM

Good call. I've been writing a list of the things I need in native speed that still don't exist in Intel versions, and I completely missed that one.

Posted by: Jordi at January 13, 2006 2:51 PM

While at Macworld yesterday I was able to play with a MacBook for a few minutes. All the demo machines were running player version 8,0,22,0 and the playback speed was comparable to my dual 2Ghz G5. I'm assuming that Adobe would updat the build number when releasing a universal binary version of the plug-in. I must say, the performance I saw was very impressive all around …

Posted by: David Nelson at January 13, 2006 2:52 PM

They'll have to fix this. I don't think they'll let Intel-Mac users go too long without Flash because it will sway public opinion. Not to mention it will break hundreds of websites which are 100% flash.

Posted by: Zachary Jones at January 13, 2006 2:55 PM

Couldn't the greatly increased speed of the Intel chip potentially offset the loss of performance caused by running an app through Rosetta? (As it compares to current speeds on a PowerPC chip)

Posted by: Kenzie at January 13, 2006 3:02 PM

Flash is universal on the Intel-based Macs.

Posted by: Eric Albert at January 13, 2006 4:02 PM

Wait a minute – doesn't Apple's own web site use QT movies with embedded Flash?

Looks like it – but I don't have a moment to dissect the source right now.

Hmm.

Posted by: Evil Ugly Peacock at January 13, 2006 4:14 PM

99.9% of 100% flash sites are broken by design.

Posted by: damn lies and statistics at January 14, 2006 2:12 AM

Only time will tell.
There's a lot of great minds over there like there are a lot great minds right here.
Much respect Todd!

Posted by: Clint at January 14, 2006 2:20 AM

Does the MotionTwin Actionscript Compiler ( http://mtasc.org ) already run on Intel-inside Macs?

Posted by: Jo at January 14, 2006 6:05 AM

As I see it Adobe should only gain from updating the plug-in for Flash content because of their customer base on the Mac platform.

Would it be hard for Adobe to do so ?

Well, if you saw the keynote where Steve Jobs unveils the Intel plans, you would know (from him at least) that converting to Universal Binaries is a easy as a click or two on the mouse.

Concerning widgets I haven't a clue.

I'm sure Universal Binary plug-ins will surface shortly. No need to update those websites just yet...

Posted by: Jesper Philip Rasmussen at January 14, 2006 1:04 PM

What's even more disconcerting to me is whether or not I have to acquire a new version of photoshop etc. I mean I know they already demoed it running on the keynote but will you have to download a patch or an entirely new version to install the liscense onto your macbook? I guess I'll wait a month and see before I trade up.

Posted by: Jim Jeffers at January 14, 2006 1:21 PM

Posting this from an intel iMac at the Apple store in colorado... the flash player works 100% perfectly. the "open using rosetta" option is unchecked in the safari get info panel.

Posted by: kev at January 15, 2006 1:48 PM

Jesper: Assuming you code abstractly enough, then yes, porting from PPC to IA-32 is easy. But unless your code is trivial, it's more than a single click of a button; Even if the code compiles cleanly, you still have to test it.

Posted by: Shay at January 15, 2006 4:17 PM