Adobe Releases 64-bit Flash Plugin For Linux

After a long wait, Adobe finally released a native Flash plugin for 64-bit Linux, which is quite great because my desktop PC is 64-bit. That means I no longer have to use ugly/slow hacks like installing nspluginwrapper (I actually never got that to work) or installing 32-bit firefox binaries just to watch YouTube.

Although this is still an alpha release, I find that the plugin works great as I had no problems so far with YouTube, sound, fullscreen mode or 3D graphics. So if you want to try it out, you can download it directly from the Adobe Labs website.

Finally, there is an interesting tidbit about a 64-bit flash for other operating systems in the FAQ:

Q: Why aren’t the Windows and Mac 64-bit alpha versions available on Adobe Labs?

A Release
of this alpha version of 64-bit Flash Player on Linux is the first step
in delivering upon Adobe’s commitment to make Flash Player native
64-bit across platforms. We chose Linux as our initial platform in
response to numerous requests in our public Flash Player bug and issue
management system and the fact that Linux distributions do not ship
with a 32-bit browser or a comprehensive 32-bit emulation layer by
default. Until this prerelease, use of 32-bit Flash Player on Linux has
required the use of a plugin wrapper, which prevents full compatibility
with 64-bit browsers. With this prelease, Flash Player 10 is now a full
native participant on 64-bit Linux distributions. We are committed to
bringing native 64-bit Flash Player to Windows and Mac in future
prereleases.

It seems that complaining to the big companies CAN work!