Why Flash 9 for Linux is taking so long?

By "jzb"
11/30/06

The article I chose to read is a question all Linux users have on their mind right now, why did Adobe delay the launch of Flash 9 for the Linux operating software? Adobe seemed to skip over Linux when releasing their latest version of Flash 9. Linux currently only has a beta version of the program. There are actually a few reasons for this and all the answers were found by speaking with Paul Betlem, the Senior Director of Engineering for Adobe.

Betlem discusses several factors that have contributed to the tardiness of Flash on Linux. The first issue is the complexity of porting the Flash player to Linux due to differing libraries used for sound, video and type on different Linux distributions. Quoted from Betlem’s interview, he states: “Some distribution have different versions of libraries, and in a goal to provide compatibility across as many distributions and configurations as possible, we have to sort of reconcile all those differences and present a consistent cross-platform runtime, so that was probably our biggest challenge.”

Betlem then goes on to say that browser support is a problem. Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows builds of Firefox are different, and adobe has to factor those differences in when trying to port the Flash plug-in to Linux. The last issue for this dilemma is the testing of all the configurations and option may take a good amount of time. The article goes on to talk about the issue with 64-bit compatibility issues. 32-bit versions of Flash 9 is currently available, however, many users are anticipating a 64-bit versions. Adobe states that they are “committed” to creating one, they just don’t know when.

This topic is very important for different reasons. This issue may not affect Mac or Windows based users, but for the Linux users that use Flash on a regular basis cannot take advantage of all of Flash 9 capabilities. Linux systems are great for hosting large websites and commerce stores due to the simple and stable infrastructure. With this said, there are many web developers that find their workspace on Linux machines. Now that you can see, this issue can affect the whole global market of web design.

After reading this article, I actually gained a little more respect for Linux and their users. I sort of felt bad for them. Us Mac/Windows users take advantage of the ease of jumping on Flash 9 and being able to create rich flash projects. I now can understand the demand for software developers to create an equal opportunity for all OS that are used. I also learned that it is a lot of work to have to develop a program for each OS because they are built very differently. I have also gained respect for software companies and the developers that work for them. With all this said, I am proud to say I am a designer and I use the tools that developers make.