3 ms·

If you use alpha transparency, it will render quickly on Windows, slowly on OS X, and molasses-like on Linux, with the same hardware on all three. As good frie

If you use alpha transparency, it will render quickly on Windows, slowly on OS X, and molasses-like on Linux, with the same hardware on all three. As good friends with the Linux Flash maintainer, I can say the primary problem here is that Flash has to be extremely picky about the APIs it uses; even if there's a very fast API that does what it wants, if that API results in crashes due to bad drivers on 0.5% of machines (and Flash can't detect which machines that 0.5% will be), Flash can't use it. This results in all kinds of horrific platform-specific code and platform-specific results. On a related note, the primary reason that Flash video playback is slower than people expect is because it does forced software YUV->RGB conversion, as the rendering pipeline does compositing in RGB, which is needed for (for example) overlays on the video. Speaking of which, if you want any specific feedback forwarded to said Linux maintainer, I can do so ;)

moe 17y ago
if that API results in crashes due to bad drivers on 0.5% of machines Ahem. I have yet to see a linux machine where flash doesn't crash constantly. I strongly doubt the platform inconsistencies are due to a willful decision from either Macromedia or Adobe. I'd say there is simply incompetence and neglect at work here, "who cares about that 1% linux users anyways". Speaking of which, if you want any specific feedback forwarded to said Linux maintainer, I can do so ;) Adobe needs to learn that a significant portion of developers (not end-users) do all their work and testing on linux machines. By denying these developers a reasonable flash expirience Adobe is negatively influencing more platform decisions than they can probably imagine. Flash is completely out of the consideration for most linux developers because for them it's not the fluid expirience you see on Mac or Windows, for them it's "that nasty thing that always freezes and crashes". Pissing off the top 1% of your most important target audience (developers!) like that is, well, not exactly smart.

moe 17y ago

if that API results in crashes due to bad drivers on 0.5% of machines Ahem. I have yet to see a linux machine where flash doesn't crash constantly. I strongly doubt the platform inconsistencies are due to a willful decision from either Macromedia or Adobe. I'd say there is simply incompetence and neglect at work here, "who cares about that 1% linux users anyways". Speaking of which, if you want any specific feedback forwarded to said Linux maintainer, I can do so ;) Adobe needs to learn that a significant portion of developers (not end-users) do all their work and testing on linux machines. By denying these developers a reasonable flash expirience Adobe is negatively influencing more platform decisions than they can probably imagine. Flash is completely out of the consideration for most linux developers because for them it's not the fluid expirience you see on Mac or Windows, for them it's "that nasty thing that always freezes and crashes". Pissing off the top 1% of your most important target audience (developers!) like that is, well, not exactly smart.