Apple has posted two separate security updates for OS X Leopard. The first, Leopard Security Update 2012-003, disables versions of Flash without the most recent security updates, and instead provides a method of getting the latest release from Adobe. Apple's update is 1.11MB and requires at least OS X 10.5.8.
A "critical" security issue that can cause the Flash plug-in to crash and allow a malicious program potential access to the system is addressed in the latest Adobe security update for both the Flash player standalone program for CS users and web browser plug-in for Macs, Windows and Android systems. Users are strongly advised to upgrade to version 11.2.202.235 on Macs and Windows, and v11.1.111.8 on Android (version 11.1.115.9 for Android 4.0).
A thirty-year-old concept in computer memory may be making a resurgence. Material engineers at Johns Hopkins University have turned to diamonds to change the properties of elements used in phase change memory such as used in CD-RW and DVD-RW discs. This development could lead to higher data density storage systems that both last longer and react quicker than current optical, flash, or magnetic media.
Adobe began the week early with official launch details of Creative Suite 6 and Creative Cloud. The collection of professional tools are available for pre-order as of Monday and should ship within 30 days.
Adobe has released a public beta of it's next iteration of Flash Player, version 11.3.300.214, which features improvements to the desktop player, as well as enhancements to AIR Mobile for developers. In the release notes, Adobe mentions that it has "relaxed" the driver gating hardware acceleration to 2006, which may mean that older cards and Intel graphic chipsets such as the GMA 950 will gain hardware acceleration in the final release.
Adobe updated Flash and its offline parallel AIR with a heavy emphasis on gaming, but also with new payment rules. Flash 11.2 on the desktop will now have "premium features" to both get hardware-boosted graphics along with domain memory, but these won't be automatically free, Adobe said. Starting August 1, any Flash app that uses these "console quality" features and earns over $50,000 in app revenues will have to pay a royalty to Adobe.
Apple still has an unambiguous lead over Google in HTML5 performance on the mobile web, app development tool maker Spaceport.io found in a head-on benchmark test. iOS devices were typically about three times faster than their Android equivalents. Even Android 4.0's flagship, the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, was still about 42 percent slower than the iPhone 4S despite newly optimized HTML5 code and a theoretically faster 1.2GHz clock speed.
Google, Microsoft, and Netflix have put forward a proposal that could add a level of copy protection to HTML5 audio and video. Encrypted Media Extensions would let apps on the web and elsewhere use keys to control who has access to a given media stream. It would allow any format that would work in HTML5 as long as the format itself can support some kind of key or bit.
OnLive on Wednesday boosted its Desktop for iPad with a new subscription tier. Desktop Plus gives access to a version of Internet Explorer with both Flash and PDF support. To help justify the software additions, OnLive gives high-priority access to its streaming virtualization service.
Adobe on Wednesday published a roadmap (PDF) giving a peek at the long-term future of Flash. Having dropped the mobile version, it's now focusing on games and video on the desktop and now agrees that HTML5 and other web standards are more suited for animation. Accordingly, the imminent 11.2 update would improve hardware graphics acceleration, multi-core video processing, and support for right clicks when using mice.
Google TV users can now enable new functionality, such as accessing Flash-based services including Hulu, thanks to a hack. The long-winded GTVHacker Sony Recovery Downgrader & Rebooter was developed by member zenofex and other developers over on the GTV Hacker forum. The hack is entirely software-based, but does require four USB sticks at least 512MB in capacity.
Microsoft's Windows leader Steven Sinofsky picked an interview this week to reveal that Windows 8 on ARM wouldn't support plugins. He explained to AllThingsD that Internet Explorer on these chips, even in the regular desktop, wouldn't run Flash or any similar browser add-ins. Mobile devices were moving away from Flash as a whole, he said.
Mozilla has released the latest mobile version of its browser for Android devices. Firefox 10 is now available for download (free, Android Market). As expected, the new version offers enhanced HTML5 support, but doesn't support Flash.
Intel and RealNetworks made a crucial deal for video technology on Thursday. The semiconductor firm has paid $120 million to get a "significant" 190 of RealNetworks' patents. In exchange, Intel has agreed to team with RealNetworks to co-develop the latter's signature video codecs and will take on seven codec developers from its partner in the process.
Adobe posted its last significant update to Flash 11 on Android (Market). The update is primarily to provide support with Android 4.0 phones like the Galaxy Nexus. Speed-ups and bug fixes are also part of the fix, Adobe said.
YouTube took public its Cosmic Panda web remake. The homepage look is designed to focus more on channels, such as its original content, as well as existing subscriptions. It's now also possible to link YouTube to Google+ or Facebook to improve sharing.
UK DVD and streaming video outfit Lovefilm just announced that it will move from Flash-based streaming to Microsoft's Silverlight. The move was prompted by movie studios, as they believed Silverlight offers greater security in the fight against piracy. The studios were apparently fairly adamant, threatening to pull their movies if the change wasn't made.
When the Samsung Galaxy Nexus began shipping earlier this month, it did so without either Adobe AIR or Adobe Flash Player. Adobe now has confirmed that it will be supporting both those apps, not just Flash, on the Android 4.0-based smartphone some time in December. The company will be offering the functionality through a "minor update to the runtimes."
A presentation from Google developer evangelist Paul Kinlan at the Develop Liverpool conference has revealed that the Chrome browser, and by extension Chrome OS, should get plugin-free support that will be much more conducive to gaming. The browser should get support for common USB peripherals and allow for console-style gaming with a gamepad, Edge heard. Likewise, it would open the door to more seamless video chat, augmented reality, and body tracking.
YouTube has been improving its HTML5 player. The app has incorporated several new features, including support for 1080p video. The changes increasingly make it a viable replacement for Adobe's Flash player, which is so far still needed to get the entire feature set.
Adobe slightly backtracked on its plans to drop mobile Flash entirely Monday after it stated that there was one more version coming to support Android 4.0. Where it had previously said Flash 11.1 was the last version, the company told Pocket-lint one more version would come to support the Galaxy Nexus and future devices before the end of the year. An update was also coming for the Flash Linux Porting Kit on a similar schedule.
Adobe's Mike Chambers in an outside explanation clarified the company's decision to drop mobile Flash. As expected by many, the absence of Flash on iOS virtually guaranteed that the plugin would never gain ground. Web developers always had to end up making separate Flash and HTML5 versions of their pages regardless, leaving little point to supporting Flash when HTML5 would achieve a similar goal.
Adobe's plans to drop mobile Flash came quicker than expected as it rolled out the last update, Flash Player 11.1 (Android Market) late last night. The new version is a maintenance update and switches on support for 1080p Flash video on Tegra 3 devices like the ASUS Transformer Prime. Those with the Galaxy S II also see a bug fixed where video would refuse to play.
RIM will keep working on Flash on the BlackBerry PlayBook despite Adobe's exit from mobile Flash, the company said in a statement. It vowed to AllThingsD that, as a licensee of Adobe's source code, it would work on its own variant on Flash. Despite Adobe itself saying HTML5 was a superior choice for mobile devices, RIM was still echoing Adobe's previous attitude, saying that a complete browser needed both Flash and HTML5 to work.
Adobe has followed up its cancellation of mobile Flash with a statement extending that end to TVs as well. The company would continue to give support to those using the Porting Kit to convert Flash to apps on TV, but it told GigaOM that it would press hardware makers to build native apps instead. It went so far as to indirectly suggest that Google TV had been taking the wrong route with its focus on the web until the Google TV 2.0 update.
Adobe in a statement Wednesday confirmed that it was stopping work on mobile Flash. After Flash 11.1 for Android and the BlackBerry PlayBook, it would limit any future updates to major bug fixes and security holes. Those with source code could develop on their own, but Adobe wouldn't spend effort updating to support newer operating systems, browsers, or hardware.
Microsoft may join in decisions to drop proprietary plugins with an exit from Silverlight, insiders mentioned later on Tuesday. Silverlight 5, expected to be finished by the end November, is said by Microsoft partner contacts for ZDNet to be the last-ever version. It might not get any minor updates and may even go without any support beyond Internet Explorer for Windows, backtracking on claims of cross-platform support.
Adobe may have dropped Flash for mobile browsers according to ZDNet. A leaked transcript from a company email to Adobe's partners says that it will no longer develop its mobile Flash Player, and that it will switch its emphasis from Flash on mobile devices to its AIR platform. One of the key marketing pitches adopted by Android device vendors is that Android offers an advantage of Apple’s iOS as its browser supports Adobe’s mobile version of its Flash Player plug-in.
Google on Tuesday kickstarted the GoMo project to encourage mobile-optimized websites. The page gives both studies showing the incentives for a company to make a smallerpage as well as tips as to how to do it, such as making touch-friendly, easily visible sites. Developers can also get a mobile-optimized preview of their existing page if content is missing.
Pandigital hoped to raise the bar on starter tablet e-readers with a Friday unveiling for the SuperNova. The eight-inch tablet is still rare in the class for having a capacitive touchscreen and has a 4:3, 800x600 aspect ratio that suits magazines and newspapers. To fully customize the OS, it uses the most basic version of Android 2.3 and doesn't have the official Android Market, although it does have GetJar's app store as well as preloaded access to Barnes & Noble's bookstore and Flash.
At its MAX tech conference, Adobe promised that it will release Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 at 9PM Pacific Time (midnight) on Monday. At the same time, LG and TiVo have become the latest partners to bring Flash-based apps using AIR to connected TVs and digital home devices. The latest code from Adobe will allow hardware-accelerated 2D and 3D graphics rendering using Stage 3D.
Facebook's reported plans to launch its iPad app next week might be joined by Project Spartan. New claims early Thursday had the social network planning to roll out both next week. The TechCrunch tip suggested Facebook could be on stage at Apple's October 4 event to show its app and Project Spartan's HTML5 features in iOS 5, but it was reportedly determined to unveil them on Monday if Apple couldn't them in the schedule.
Facebook's delay over its iPad app may have had as much to do with synchronizing with Apple as disputes with it, a rumor floated on Monday. The updated universal app is now believed by Mashable to be unveiled at the October 4 event for the iPhone 5. Apple's gathering is expected to introduce iOS 5 as well and may show an improved interface for the iPhone-sized version.
As has become standard, Apple has quietly updated OS X definitions to counter a recently-publicized malware threat, checks show. Lion and Snow Leopard will now block a Trojan fronted by OSX/Revir.A, which in turn installs a backdoor program identified as OSX/Imuler.A. Although neither part of the Trojan is especially dangerous at the moment, Imuler could potentially be used at a later date to capture screenshots or steal files.
Pandora Wednesday publicly launched a totally revamped website. The New Pandora site uses HTML5 rather than Flash and is said to be more responsive, easier to use, and comes with improved social integration. The team also previewed the site over the last two months to listeners for feedback and bug fixes. Perhaps most importantly for some, Pandora removed the 40-hour listening cap for free users, and it's now unlimited.
Adobe is set to deliver the first version of its ubiquitous Flash Player that will be 3D-capable. Flash Player 11 and the developer platform Air 3 are due to arrive in October and are said to offer significant enhancements over previous versions of the products. Flash Player 11 is also claimed to offer rendering enhancements in 2D mode in the order of 1000 times faster rendering and is explained in the video embedded below.
A pair of tips may have spoiled what will and won't show at Facebook's f8 conference this Thursday. The social network has supposedly pushed back Project Spartan, its HTML5 mobile app project, after repeated delays. The plan once identified by TechCrunch as iPhone-only is now thought to have expanded to include Android and the desktop.
Dean Hachamovithch, Microsoft's Internet Explorer team leader stated in a blog post that the Metro-style version of Internet Explorer 10 will not support Flash or other plugins and will rely on HTML5. Hachamovithch said running Metro style IE plugin free would have advantages for consumers, including improved battery life, enhanced security and privacy, and greater stability. Steve Jobs, chairman of Apple, listed many of the of these same reasons for his decision early on to not support Flash in iOS.
Facebook's plan to make an iOS-oriented platform for HTML5 web apps, Project Spartan, may have been given a lift after new word that it has hired to boost its efforts. Teck Chia, the founder of HTML5 mobile app store OpenAppMkt, has reportedly been hired. Purposes of the hire were unknown, although TechCrunch noted that Chia had previously worked on Facebook apps and would be an ideal fit to help manage Facebook apps converted to HTML5.
Adobe today announced upgrades to two of its behind-the-scenes Flash components, used by content publishers rather the public. The first, Flash Media Server, has been updated to v4.5, gaining adaptive bitrate streams viewable by both iOS and Flash-equipped platforms. Content protection has been integrated into the software; this includes on-demand stream packaging, meaning that preparation and protection of video can be done on the fly, for different platforms and with less storage space.
Toshiba plans to make up for many of the mistakes made with the Thrive tablet through a much improved model uncovered in an Italian leak. The new version would scrap the thick and heavy rubberized design for a much thinner, brushed metal design. Expansion would still be a focus, Notebook Italia saw, as Toshiba would switch to micro HDMI, micro USB, and microSD to get similar features, just through adapters.
Apple made a rare update to the malware definitions in OS X earlier this week, a look at the software's XProtect.plist file shows. An entry has been added for "OSX.QHost.WB.A," a Trojan known to disguise itself as an installer for Flash Player. Should a person encounter and launch the installer, the Trojan will modify a person's hosts file to redirect certain Google websites to an IP in the Netherlands.
Light Blue Optics' pico projector has reached the FCC for approval. The Light Touch uses a combination of holographic laser projection (HLP) and infrared sensors to create a virtual WVGA touchscreen on any flat surface. The image can be up to 10.1 inches in size.
Hot on the heels of Adobe's announcement of a preview of Edge, independent Mac developer Aquafadas has begun shipping MotionComposer, its own interactive content creator that outputs to Flash and HTML5 -- allowing animation publishing that works on all the latest browsers, tablets and smartphones, regardless of operating system.
Apple is ultimately headed towards a fall, and probably after the departure of CEO Steve Jobs, says Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, now with developer Digital Chocolate. The latter develops casual games for several platforms, including the iPhone. "If you look at any institution in history -– look at the Roman Empire –- anything in history, and what it looks like when it's peaking," Hawkins tells IndustryGamers.
Adobe Labs has unveiled a public preview release of Adobe Edge, the company's own take on HTML5 animation and interaction design. The free download is available now for both Mac and Windows platforms, but should be considered pre-beta software. The tool in some senses competes with Adobe's own Flash Professional, allowing web designers to create motion and interactive elements using standards such as HTML5, JavaScript and CSS3.
Skyfire has released VideoQ, a new app for iOS devices. The title is similar in concept to the developer's web browser, allowing users to watch Flash videos in iOS after conversion on a remote server. VideoQ is dedicated solely to playback though, and loads clips mainly based on links imported via email, the clipboard or a bookmarklet installed in Safari.
Flash hardware acceleration is not broken under OS X Lion, Adobe now says. The company recently issued a list of known issues for Lion, indicating problems not only with Flash GPU support but software like Illustrator, Lightroom and Photoshop. The statement about hardware acceleration was wrong, Adobe admits.
The release of OS X Lion is causing problems with a host of Adobe software, a support article shows. "Known issues" of varying degrees exist with high-profile titles such as Acrobat, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Lightroom, Photoshop and Premiere Pro. The biggest problems however lie with Flash, spanning apps like Flash Builder, Flash Catalyst and most notably Flash Player.
Aquafadas is launching an update to its web banner creation app, BannerZest3. The app creates banners based on pre-designed themes. It allows users to drag and drop elements onto templates with customizable backgrounds, text and transitions. It makes animated banners, supports FTP and works with all major website-editing apps. The software is available in standard and pro configurations, with the standard version limited to 10 HTML5 themes and the pro version offering users the ability to save presets for future projects.
