Many developers already have downloaded Flash Player 8.5 from Adobe Labs as part of the Flex 2.0 beta, but today we are opening it up as a Public Beta to a wider audience of developers and consumers to test existing content plays back as expected.
This is something we do during our beta period to help us catch compatibility issues before our release. It’s important to us (and essential!) that the content you develop and the sites you frequently visit work correctly with this upcoming release.
*Important note*
The public beta is for testing existing content. If you are working with the Flex 2.0 beta available on Adobe Labs, it is strongly recommended that you use the version of Flash Player 8.5 that is available on Adobe Labs.
7:01pm Just modified the heading to make more sense. Changed it to “existing” content … “legacy” just sounded too … old 
Comments
No Linux?I thought Flash Player 8.5 was supposed to *finally* be the Flash8 for Linux…is that no longer the plan? Or was 7.0r63 all we should expect for a while?
Is this a universal binary?
TheMatt: yes, apparently that’s still the idea. They just made the old 8.5 update more public, but they’re still working on the Linux version.http://www.kaourantin.net/2005/12/flash-player-8-for-linux-update.htmlhttp://weblogs.macromedia.com/emmy/archives/2005/12/why_isnt_there.cfmRemember: the PC and Mac versions of FP 8.5 haven’t ‘shipped’ and are still in beta. I’m guessing the Linux port will catch up with them soon, but it’s just a guess.
No download for the 8.5 stand-alone on there? Would be nice to see the stand-alones be easier to find.
Hi Matt,The Flash Player 8.5 public beta is not universal. see yesterday’s post for links to the Intel-based Mac preview of Flash Player 8, and the FAQ.best,e
Hi,I downloaded the public meta(on the mac), and only one of the examples on labs worked(the card game). They all say”flashplayer 8.5 alpha 3″ Is that a more advanced version? I was strange that one of the examples did worked.Stoked to have the beta of flashplayer 8.5, and just wanted to let you know that I could not view those pages, if I am supposed to be able.Thanks,John
Hi John,Sorry my note wasn’t more clear. The Flex samples on Labs are built with ActionScript 3.0 APIs in Flash Player 8.5. Because this is pre-release software still under development, these APIs are still in a little bit of flux. So if you would like to view the Flex 2.0 samples that are on Adobe Labs, you need to install the Flash Player that was released with that build of Flex 2.0 (which was alpha 3, and precedes this public beta build). This build is Beta 1.e
Emmy,Flash 8.5 b246 crashes on Mac OSX 10.4.5, on most recent versions of Safari, Firefox,FireFox, and Opera.Message is:Exception: EXC_BAD_INSTRUCTION (0×0002)Code[0]: 0x00000002Code[1]: 0x09151230Adobe please help.
Hi Ahochman,Can you send the details through the bug form? Be sure to include the build number, the details you listed, and steps to reproduce [www.macromedia.com/go/wish]. Someone from QE should try to reproduce the crash and possibly contact you for more info if needed.best,e
Could you please provide an official update on the status of Flash for Linux? If is notably absent from the beta. Many websites have gone to Flash 8. It is very, very frustrating to be unable to use thse sites. Adobe/Macromedia has been silent at best since the Dec 2005 assertion that Flash 8.5 would be available for Linux.
It’s wonderful that you are an open door to Adobe!Might this also be a good time to re-think the player update install? I have a video blog, hestablog.com, that has been working very well except that the general public has a lot of trouble with the Flash 8 player in spite of all my efforts. Before redoing all the videos to MX, I would like to try the Express Install. But it is way over my head to put it into TypePad. I’m a documentary film maker. Isn’t there some way to package it for people like myself who are not programmers or developers but are professional and experienced content creators?
Michael — Sorry! I don’t have an official update for Linux at this time. Linux wasn’t expected in this beta, since we plan to ship it after the Win/Mac release. It’s not at beta level at the moment, but we will have a public beta when the time comes.Stan — I’m not sure how to best include the detection code in TypePad, or if it is possible within the blog framework. Is there a way to put the object and embed tags in the master template and use the default browser install mechanism? That could help a high percentage of users because it happens when they hit the page.
Hi Emmy,Any update on the release date (final or beta) for Flash 8.5 universal for Intel Macs. We work heavily with Flex and have had to buy a batch of Intel MacBooks and Mini’s which we can’t use with our product testing. Any time indication would be great. Thanks d.
Emmy,It’s been over a month since you published this thread, and back in Dec you said that Linux FP 8.5 was coming.Please give Linux users the ability to use FP.We want to be Macromedia supporters but you’re making it hard.Daniel
The fact that there is a Windows Flash 8.5 beta but no Linux 8.5 beta after promises that 8.5 (now 9) would could out at the same for both Linux and Windows is worrisome.Flash considers itself cross-platform. But, it’s clearly not given Linux users are still stuck at 7. If you don’t want to support Linux, just make that statement.But, saying Flash 9 for Linux will come out “sometime after” it is released for Windows is disappointing, to say the least.
I’ve been checking this page on a regular bases since the beta versions were first released. I’m wondering when the beta version for linux is going to be released or if it’s going to be released.A sidenote: It would be great if a shockwave player could be made available for linux too.
Any updates on where the linux version is?
screw macromedia, they have promised us linux users a new version for eons. and to top it off im on linux 64 so i cant even use the old flashplayer7.ya no what? iv given up on macromedia a long time ago…so ya know what i did???? i compiled gnash from scratch (gnash is the upcoming gnu flashplayer w/ mozilla plugin) and although i cannot supoort some flash content, i havent crashed yet (which is what happened with gplflash mozplugin) so gnash is supposed to support up to v7 and once its out of alpha stage us linux users are ganna show adobe how we really feel about there bs proprietery plugin.( i think this new linuxless flash support is because adobe aquired macromedia, and i know adobe nerver/doesnt give 2 sh*ts about us linux users esspecially 64bit linux
Linux support would be nice.
Excellent Opertunity !!!
Excellent Opertunity !!!
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