Mustard Design Weblog

Flash web designers and developers will finally be able to use Adobe’s near ubiquitous product on 64-bit systems without using 32-bit browsers, reports PC World News.

The latest version of Adobe’s Flash player, codenamed “Square”, was announced last week on the company blog alongside a beta preview of the new software. According to Adobe, the new player will increase support for all 64-bit systems – those fitted with the most powerful systems on the market – and is available for Windows, Linux and even Apple’s OS X operating system.

This development has long been awaited by early adopters of the 64-bit processor technology. According to PC Authority, the company has previously stated that it had no plans to develop a 64-bit version for Windows or Mac systems, though it had already released a 64-bit player for Linux systems.

As such, many users have been resigned to effectively halving their processors when using them to browse streaming video sites or even many sites with an interactive website design created in Flash. However with the release of a 64-bit compatible Internet Explorer 9 and its advanced graphics processor unit (GPU) support, Adobe has changed tack.

According to Adobe, the new player offers more than just compatibility. It claims that internal testing of the new Flash Player has seen graphic performance improve by more than 35% in internet explorer, making even the most complex 3D animations load far faster and smoothly than could be possible on a 32-bit system.

by: William Hobson