Adobe rolls out 64-bit Flash 11 beta plug-in

For those with 64-bit desktop computers, operating systems, and browsers (pretty much everything since 2009) and after repeated delays, Adobe has rolled out a public beta of it’s Flash 11 (technically 11.0.1.60) plug-in for Mac OS X, Linux, and Windows. Available from the company’s Adobe Labs, the offers the faster 64-bit functionality along with the following enhancements.

  • HD surround sound — Deliver full HD videos with 7.1 channel surround sound directly to AIR powered TVs (The Adobe Air 3 Beta was also released today).
  • Stage3D APIs — Create highly interactive visuals to improve collaboration on 3-dimensional models.
  • G.711 audio compression for telephony — Integrate voice/telephony into business apps using G.711 codec.
  • H.264/AVC SW Encoding — Encode higher quality video locally using H.264 video.
  • Socket Progress Events — Build advanced file sharing apps like FTP clients that send large amounts of data.

The Flash 11 Beta plug-in replaces Adobe’s previous 64-bit Flash project, code-named “Square” in which development stopped in November 2010. Note: this is beta software and may not properly run on all systems.

Abobe Flash Player 10.3 Updated

Adobe Flash Player Plug-InAdobe has released an update to its Flash Player 10.3 browser plug-in for Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux operating systems. Version 10.3.181.26 is primarily a security patch, plugging a number of potential vulnerabilities.

Version 10.3 was released last month an includes a number of backend developer-oriented improvements such as better hardware acceleration support, media measurement, and acoustic echo cancellation features.

Adobe Flash Plug-In 10.3

Click for larger image

For the end user, the most visible change is now you will see a “Flash Player” System Preference panel which will allow you to directly control privacy settings. This was possible before, but now it’s much more accessible.

The System Pref also includes automatically checking for updates (installation must still performed manually, however).

Note: If you are not sure which version of the Flash plug-in you are using, go to the Adobe Flash Player Version Check webpage.

Adobe patches Photoshop CS5 to 12.0.2

Adobe has released an update for Photoshop CS5. The 14.7 Mb Photoshop CS5 12.0.2 Mac update speeds up painting performance and fixes a number of problems, including:

  • Type and font crashes
  • Crash opening 3D layers
  • Color Engine crash
  • Droplet issues addressed
  • Problems with brush cursors, the histogram progress bar, the display of selection boundaries (“marching ants”), scrolling while using the shift key

The Windows version of Photoshop CS5 has also been updated to 12.0.2.

Adobe patches Acrobat Pro and Adobe Reader

Adobe has patched a number of potentially dangerous security holes with the company’s release of it’s free PDF reader Adobe Reader 9.3.4 (for Mac, Windows, and Linux) and the commercial PDF creation application Adobe Acrobat Pro 9.3.4 (Mac/Win). The updates resolve a number of undisclosed security holes plus one revealed at the Black Hat USA 2010 security conference on July 28.

Adobe Security Item CVE-2010-2862 addresses the way Adobe Acrobat and Abobe Reader handles fonts, particularly an “integer overflow” whereby remote attackers can execute arbitrary code via a TrueType font.

It’s recommended that all users of Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat 9 upgrade as soon as possible.

Adobe updates InDesign CS5

Adobe has released InDesign CS5 7.0.2 – an update to its page composition/layout program. The 17 Mb patch addresses a number of issues, including:

  • Corrects issue whereby files could not be opened or saved from/to certain server environments.
  • Corrects not finding legacy Type 1 Postscript fonts located in the Document Fonts folder.
  • Corrects several SWF display and creation issues.
  • Corrects Helvetica Neue TTF and Postscript conflicts.

Owners of InDesign CS5 can update via this link to the InDesign CS5 7.0.2 Update page or via the Adobe Updater application.