Adobe Breathes Air 1.5 into Linux
Adobe, maker of Photoshop and Flash, has released version 1.5 of its AIR platform for Linux. The software allows Web users to run so-called Rich Internet Applications (RIAs) without resorting to a browser.
AIR stands for Adobe Integrated Runtime, a single package that includes old favorites such as Flash Player and Apple's WebKit Engine. The AIR platform, therefore, is especially interesting for developers using well established Web technologies who want to write applications concurrently on Linux, Windows and MAC OS X.
Development on Flash Player brings in version 10, with its 3D content, video and animation, ActionScript and Flex framework. The WebKit engine handles HTML and CSS, and JavaScript runs with the increasingly favored SquirrelFish engine. The new AIR also includes a special, encrypted database for enterprise app developers.
According to Adobe, companies such as DIRECTV, Fox News and the Nasdaq are using AIR to deliver high resolution videos and other content to its audiences. Adobe itself even provides AIR as the basis for its Kuler color theme generator.
Adobe wants to make AIR a key element of its Flash platform and thereby hold back its Java and Microsoft Silverlight competitors in the ever increasing Web 2.0 market. Of course, it wants to promote its own products: which professional Flash animator without much fuss can currently avoid a Flash license? Still, Adobe assures users that Linux still plays an important role, emphasized by Adobe's continued participation in the Linux Foundation.
Adobe AIR 1.5 is available for free download here, along with useful tools such as a Dreamweaver plug-in and an SDK. Officially only 32-bit versions of the older Fedora 8, Ubuntu 7.10 and openSUSE 10.3 distros are supported, even if the components are running on a current Linux. With a bit of tweaking, the package can also run on a 64-bit system.
Issue 269/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
Kubuntu Focus Announces XE Gen 2 Linux Laptop
Another Kubuntu-based laptop has arrived to be your next ultra-portable powerhouse with a Linux heart.
-
MNT Seeks Financial Backing for New Seven-Inch Linux Laptop
MNT Pocket Reform is a tiny laptop that is modular, upgradable, recyclable, reusable, and ships with Debian Linux.
-
Ubuntu Flatpak Remix Adds Flatpak Support Preinstalled
If you're looking for a version of Ubuntu that includes Flatpak support out of the box, there's one clear option.
-
Gnome 44 Release Candidate Now Available
The Gnome 44 release candidate has officially arrived and adds a few changes into the mix.
-
Flathub Vying to Become the Standard Linux App Store
If the Flathub team has any say in the matter, their product will become the default tool for installing Linux apps in 2023.
-
Debian 12 to Ship with KDE Plasma 5.27
The Debian development team has shifted to the latest version of KDE for their testing branch.
-
Planet Computers Launches ARM-based Linux Desktop PCs
The firm that originally released a line of mobile keyboards has taken a different direction and has developed a new line of out-of-the-box mini Linux desktop computers.
-
Ubuntu No Longer Shipping with Flatpak
In a move that probably won’t come as a shock to many, Ubuntu and all of its official spins will no longer ship with Flatpak installed.
-
openSUSE Leap 15.5 Beta Now Available
The final version of the Leap 15 series of openSUSE is available for beta testing and offers only new software versions.
-
Linux Kernel 6.2 Released with New Hardware Support
Find out what's new in the most recent release from Linus Torvalds and the Linux kernel team.