(Credit:
CNET)
Last month we blogged about a bug marring Flash playback on the latest 27-inch Apple iMacs. Users on several Web sites, including the Apple Discussion Threads, noticed a problem with the Flash player that caused choppy audio and video playback, but it appears that the newest Mac OS X v10.6.2 update fixes the issue that was apparently caused by a conflict with the Airport driver.
According to Apple, the update "addresses video playback and performance issues for iMac (21.5-inch, late 2009) and iMac (27-inch, late 2009) computers that may occur in some situations while AirPort is turned on." Since our own 27-inch iMac also experienced slow Flash streaming and intermittent sound hiccups with the AirPort turned on, we downloaded the 10.6.2 update and left it to sleep overnight.
Prior to the update, the Flash Player consumed 114.4 percent of system resources, but 24 hours after the update we're happy to report 26.8 percent usage in the activity monitor and smooth performance across all popular streaming video Web sites like YouTube, Hulu, etc.
Much thanks to the Apple Forums and Apple itself for quickly addressing the needs of its community. If you haven't updated yet, simply choose Software Update from the Apple menu to install OS X v10.6.2.
(Credit:
CNET)
After reading Engadget's report citing recent complaints about Flash video playback mucking up system resources on the latest 27-inch Apple iMacs, we decided to test out the claims using our own system. Users on the Apple Discussion threads noticed a bug in the Flash Player that bogs down CPU processes, resulting in choppy audio and video playback.
We visited several sites with heavy streaming video content like Hulu, YouTube, and the Break Media Network, and experienced similar issues: popping sounds and jerky video rendering the content unwatchable on several accounts. Like many of the users in the Apple thread, we called up the Activity Monitor and saw that the Flash Player demanded a surprising 114.4 percent of the iMac's CPU processes.
We were able to temporarily fix the problem by putting the computer to sleep and waking it up, but some people are speculating that a hardware malfunction could be to blame. We've also tried to contact Apple for official word, but our messages have been as yet unreturned.
If you're experiencing similar problems, we'd like to hear about it--leave a comment and let us know the issue and what you did to fix it.
Back at GSMA 2009, Adobe Systems announced that it would bring Flash Player 10 to a number of smartphones in 2010, and it looks like the company is making good on its promise.
In a Q2 audio press release, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen confirmed that Adobe will release a beta version of Flash Player 10 in October for a number of smartphone browsers, including Windows Mobile, Google Android, Palm WebOS, and Symbian. In addition, Narayen said ARM, Nvidia, Broadcom, Intel, Texas Instruments, and Qualcomm are currently optimizing the player for their products.
Obviously, this is great news for smartphone owners, but one platform noticeably missing from the list is the iPhone OS. This doesn't rule out Flash support on iPhones in the future, however. In the past, Adobe executives have stated that it's coming but that Apple is operating on its own schedule.
In CNET News' Marguerite Reardon's original report on Flash Player 10 in February, Anup Murarka, director of technology strategy and partner development for Adobe, said, "We would love to see it on the iPhone, too. But it's Apple's decision on when and how they support any new technology. So we will continue to work on it."
While iPhone users will have to wait (why do I imagine some people pointing at iPhone users and doing this?), as well as BlackBerry owners, others can get a sneak peek of what's to come in October in the video below, in which Adobe shows off Flash Player 10 on Google Android.
(Source: TMONews)
Adobe Systems CEO Shantanu Narayen said the company intends to bring its Flash Player to Apple's iPhone.
During a conference call to announce Adobe's first-quarter earnings on Tuesday, Narayen said Adobe "will work with Apple" to make sure that Flash applications can run on the iPhone.
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen
(Credit: Adobe Systems)Seeking Alpha has a transcript of a conference call. Narayen's comment on the iPhone was in response to a question about getting Flash ported to other devices. (Microsoft announced earlier this week that it has licensed Flash Lite so that Flash applications can run on Windows Mobile devices.)
According to Seeking Alpha, here's what Narayen had to say:
Well, you really believe that Flash is synonymous with the Internet, and frankly, anybody who wants to browse the Web and experience the Web's glory really needs Flash support.
We were very excited about the announcement from Windows Mobile--adoption of Flash on their devices--and the fact that we've shipped 0.5 billion devices now, non-PC devices. So we are also committed to bringing the Flash experience to the iPhone, and we will work with Apple.
We've evaluated the SDK. We can now start to develop the Flash player ourselves, and we think it benefits our joint customers. So we want to work with Apple to bring that capability to the device.
Whether and how Flash applications would run on Apple's iPhone has been an open question since the device's launch. Narayen's comments indicate that Adobe will be able to create a version of Flash Lite for the iPhone by using the iPhone software developers kit (SDK) which was released earlier this month.
Adobe executives have made clear their desire to have Web applications written with Flash, which run on a range of the mobile phones, to make their way to the iPhone.
But Apple has thus far not allowed it, apparently over concerns that Flash applications run too slowly.
During Apple's shareholder meeting in March, Apple CEO Steve Jobs said that full-blown Flash applications are "too slow to be useful" on the iPhone. He went on to say the mobile version of the Flash, called Flash Lite, is "not capable of being used with the Web."
Even after Jobs' comments about Flash and Flash Lite, Adobe touted the success of Flash Lite on other devices but still did not commit to bringing Flash applications to the iPhone.
Adobe Systems on Tuesday is expected to announce that it will dramatically cut the price of its server software for streaming video over the Web.
Flash Media Server 3, which is set for release in January, will now come in two versions. Flash Media Streaming Server will cost $995, and Flash Media Interactive Server will cost $4,500.
With the current version, Adobe sells its Media Server for between $4,500 and $45,000.
The company is lowering prices in response to customer requests, said Kevin Towes, product manager for Adobe Media Server. "What we've been hearing is that the cost of streaming video over progressive download is the barrier," he said.
The new server is also designed to cut the cost of deploying streaming video with the ability to better utilize a server's network card, he said. A typical media server with a 1-gigabit network card could serve about 2,000 people.
Also on Tuesday, Adobe is scheduled to release a version of its Flash Player that supports the high-definition video standard H.264.
Although Flash is widely used on the Internet for streaming video, it is facing growing competition from Microsoft and its Silverlight plug-in, which is going after the same digital media market.
Old-school Zunes
(Credit: Microsoft)Christmas came early today for the folks at Zune Scene--at least, if their story is true. According to the blog, a chance meeting between the undercover blogger and a Microsoft employee yielded some golden nuggets of Zune news:
Zune 2.0 coming this year. The hard drive player will be thinner with more capacity, but still with the double-shot finish (probably in a number of colors). Parts will be made at a new plant in China, implying that Microsoft won't be buying the player from Toshiba this time around.
Flash Zune coming, too. According to the report, the smaller (also double-shot) flash player will measure "3 by 1 1/4 by 1/4 inches," chock-full, top to bottom, with the flash memory. Supposedly, this leaves some room for a Wi-Fi antenna and a long, video-capable screen.
All of this sounds mighty alluring--especially the promise of a Wi-Fi-and-video-ready flash player. But the proof lies in the firmware. Unless Microsoft expands the Zune's Wi-Fi capabilities beyond the weirdly stingy Zune-to-Zune "social" world, no amount of double-shot finish will stand up to Sandisk's Sansa Connect.
Oh yeah, and no word on the Zune phone. Yet.
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