Flash and Moonlight News
New releases of the two competing Web technologies, Flash and Silverlight, have just become available. While version 10 of the new Flash Player runs on three platforms, the Silverlight implementation, Moonlight, is designed exclusively for Linux systems.
The most important new feature introduced by the new Flash Player 10 for Linux, Mac OSX and Windows is support for 3D animations. On top of this it can use filters and effects from the Adobe Pixel Bender Toolkit project. This feature is not available for GNU/Linux systems, however. The Release Notes also refer to a new text engine and color management. This is the first version of the player to have enhanced hardware acceleration which will take some of the load off the CPU and ensure interrupted playing.
Silverlight is a competitive technology to Adobe Flash. It was developed by Microsoft and was originally available for Windows and OS X systems only. This situation was not to the liking of developer and Novell employee Miquel de Icaza who called for other developers to help implement a version for Linux. De Icaza just announced the first final release in his blog.
A version without media codec support for direct installation on Firefox 2 and 3 running on 32 and 64 bit systems is available at go-mono.com. This version is rumored not work reliably with the next generation Firefox browser. To add media codec support users need to build the source code themselves. The current release supports the Microsoft Silverlight 1.0 standard. A Moonlight beta of the future 2.0 version is already available. The final release is scheduled for this summer.
Issue 255/2022
Buy this issue as a PDF
News
-
Linux Mint Edge Is Ready for the Newest Hardware
With the release of Linux Mint 20.03 comes a new version geared for newer hardware.
-
Linux Mint 20.3 Now Available
That latest release of Linux Mint is now available for general use and offers a polished, but less Mint-y theme.
-
Linux is Getting an Exciting New Firmware Feature
Intel is bringing a new driver to the 5.17 kernel that will make it possible to update firmware without a reboot.
-
Elementary OS 6.1 Has Been Released
The .1 version of the sixth iteration of elementary OS (named Odin) is now available for download and takes the distribution to new heights of refinement.
-
Linux Mint 20.3 Beta is Now Available
The developers of Linux Mint have made the beta of their latest release available for download and installation.
-
EndeavorOS 21.4 Has Arrived
Arch-based EndeavorOS 21.4 is finally available for download with plenty of new features and improvements.
-
NixOS 21.11 Now Available for Download
NixOS “Porcupine” has been made available for installation and includes numerous improvements.
-
KDE Plasma Developers Introduce a GNOME-Like Overview
A new overview effect makes it easier for users to interact with both Plasma Activities and Virtual Desktops.
-
Rocky Linux 8.5 Now Available with Secure Boot Support
The latest iteration of CentOS alternative, Rocky Linux has arrived and includes numerous updates as well as support for Secure Boot.
-
System76 Developing a New Desktop Environment
The makers of Pop!_OS are currently in the early stages of creating a brand new, non-GNOME, desktop environment.