Adobe’s Flash 10.3 Comes With Privacy Control
Two months ago, the folks over at Adobe released the beta version of their popular web software Flash. Flash 10.3 came bundled with privacy controls and integration with the Mac OS X System Preferences. With that came a notification system with the software for the Mac OS X front.
Adobe has taken Flash out of beta and has officially released it to the public and is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Within the software notes, the software giant gives details of what this update/download includes.
New features in Flash Player 10.3 include:
Flow the Cloud-Based Task Manager Now Out of Beta!
Flow is a cloud-based task manager. This means that you can manage all of your to-dos on any computer via its web app which looks very similar to MobileMe. Flow also is available for iOS.
Here’s what TUAW reports:
First and foremost, Flow is a web app that many will find very similar to MobileMe in aesthetics. Through this interface, one can add and manage tasks through projects or even delegate tasks to other Flow users (a handy feature for teams). The real killer feature we’re seeing with Flow, however, is the cloud-based architecture. Combined with Metalabs’ new Flow app for iPhone and their Mac companion app, it’s a pretty great way to keep things in sync.
FireFox Updates to Version 4
MacRumors reports an update to the popular cross platform browser by Mozilla – FireFox 4. This update includes enhancements in speed and a new user interface.
Firefox 4 is the fastest Firefox yet. With dramatic speed and performance advancements across the board, Firefox is between two and six times faster than previous releases. Major enhancements to the JavaScript engine make everything from startup time to page load speed to graphics and JavaScript performance screaming fast in Firefox.
Adobe Introduces “Wallaby” Flash to HTML5 Converter
A while back during the height of the Apple/Adobe Flash fiasco, Adobe demonstrated a new software that could convert Flash video into HTML5 format, allowing for optimal performance on mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad. At the time of the demo, Adobe didn’t guarantee that the software would hit public beta. However, Adobe has launched a prerelease to the software dubbed “Wallaby”.
Adobe Releases Flash 10.3 Beta with Preferences Integration
With the “Wallaby” release made this week, Adobe has also released the beta version of Flash 10.3. The new software introduces new features like enhanced privacy and setting controls that integrate with System Preference.
- Integration with browser privacy controls for managing local storage
Users now have a simpler way to clear local storage from the browser settings interface – similar to how users clear their browser cookies today. Flash Player 10.3 integrates control of local storage with the browser’s privacy settings in Mozilla Firefox 4, Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and higher, and future releases of Apple Safari and Google Chrome.
Apple Launching New Social App This Week?
In the midst of the iPad-oriented event, there has been speculation that Apple is planning on release an social application for the iOS platform.
“Specifically, our source speculates that the app could have some sort of media sharing and location sharing features. Maybe photo sharing.
It could be part of Ping, it could replace Ping, it could be part of MobileMe (which may go free), or it could be separate — our source isn’t sure. But this person says that if there is a surprise at the event, this could be it. (Or, who knows, maybe it won’t be announced until WWDC, or never.)”
Apple Download Page < Mac App Store
Apple has notified it’s developers that they will be shutting down the Downloads page of their website and shifting everything to the Mac App Store that is schedule to take off next month. In an email to developers, Cupertino writes:
Thank you for making the Mac OS X Download site a great destination with apps that offer users new ways to work, play, learn, and create on their Mac.
Google Docs Finally Goes Mobile
Google made public in September that they will be working on making Google Docs mobile. Since then, company has been tweaking the web-app for use on mobile devices. This week, they introduced that Google Docs is officially ready fro public use on Android 2.2 and iOS (Android 2.2 or higher and iOS 3.0 and higher only).
Adobe Testing Optimizing Version of Flash
One of Adobes dominating technologies has been one of the topic of discussions in the tech world. Flash has gotten much attention from Apple stating that the tech is definitely not ready for the mobile arena to experts stating that the tech will eventually take a backseat as HTML5 moves in to replace. A move from Cupertino that has gotten much attention from the public is their decision to no longer include Flash pre-installed on the platform, starting with Apples praised MacBook Air. Ars Technica put Flash under a microscope and tested it on the new Apple notebook, declaring that the results show that when browsing the web on the machine with Flash took a dramatic blow to the battery. The review getting much attention as it provided another form of proof to Steve Jobs Thoughts on Flash open letter. This, in turn, lead Chief Technology Officer of Adobe Kevin Lynch to indeed confirm that it does take more power to run Flash than to not, not forgetting to mention that HTML5 could use the same amount of power.
Over Fifty Percent of Video in H.264 is Now HTML5
Mefreedia, a media search research firm, released some interesting data results this week detailing how strong the HTML5 movement, heavily influenced by Apple, is doing on the Net. The results presented showcase that over 50% (roughly 54% to be more precise) of video encoded with the H.264 video codec on the Net is available in HTML5. That’s double the share of what it was on the Web just under half a year ago. The cause for the transition in video is attributed the substantial boom of the mobile computing industry, led, of course, by Apple’s iOS mobile platform.
