There are things I dislike about Ubuntu Linux, like the inability to customize during installation and the silly orange theme, but I had always thought that Ubuntu was the very best representative from the Linux world for mere mortals. Alas, Ubuntu has failed to live up to this expectation of “everything just works” in a big way. Ever since Adobe’s release of Flash 9.0 update 3 (9.0.115.0) codename “Moviestar” on December 4th, it has been impossible to install Flash through conventional means like the Add/Remove panel, Firefox’s plugin installer, or Synaptic.
Flash is one of the essential applications that every normal computer user must have nowadays. For a typical computer user to be unable to install Flash for a month (and counting) on a major operating system is frankly ludicrous. I’ve always scoffed at those who claim that “every Linux distribution sucks; *insert my favorite distro* just sucks less.” But this time, I can’t help but agree. (For the record, Ubuntu is not my favorite, but it is the easiest to install and use and my distro of choice at the office.)
Read more about this Flash bug here.
P.S. In my eyes, Mozilla Firefox is still the lone shining jewel in the arena of open-source software for end-users. Everything really “just works” and when problems arise, like the recent regressions, they get fixed in a hurry and pushed out with a fool-proof automatic update mechanism. All hail the Mozilla wizards.
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According to your link to the bug, it’s solved…
Firefox is an Application, Ubuntu is an OS. That’s a major difference don’t you think?
The relationship between linux and flash has been a long bumpy ride. This has almost always been because Adobe (and previously Macromedia) did not develop the kind of tools they otherwise have for Windows and Mac to make flash playable on those operating systems.
For the linux community, this has required all kinds of reverse engineering or the use of the highly unreliable closed source binaries Adobe throws out once in a while. Even though the issue you’re describing has been resolved, don’t blame the Ubuntu developer community, blame Adobe for continually refusing to hand out proper spec. requirements.
Thanks for the comments!
Will: Actually, I don’t think the fix has been pushed to the official repositories yet. I tried installing Flash again the proper Ubuntu way (with the Ubuntu Firefox extension or Add/Remove or Synaptic), and it still fails with the md5 checksum mismatch. The fix posted on that forum post is unofficial and has bugs.
Sulfura: I don’t think Ubuntu being a distribution (not OS; Ubuntu isn’t in charge of the Linux kernel) excuses them from not releasing quick bug fixes. While Ubuntu might be a more complicated product (which is arguable since Ubuntu is built on the work of many other people, but that’s beside the point), it should also have more developers if that’s what is needed to fix problems in a timely manner. Besides, the typical end-user, which is Ubuntu’s target user, wouldn’t give a second thought to whether it’s easy or hard to fix something. Waaaaa Flash is broken!!!111
Alec: I certainly sympathize, but Ubuntu is not Gentoo (insert your favorite geeky distribution), and I, a computer-savvy open-source fanboy, am not Ubuntu’s target user. Ubuntu’s aim is to directly compete with Windows and MacOSX as an end-user platform. The reality is that Flash is required for typical web usage, and Ubuntu is doing badly in the end-user OS race if they cannot make Flash install properly for over a month.
One of the reasons I now boot to Ubuntu by default is that the Flash support in firefox is extremely solid. It’s certainly a bug if flash support via add/remove is broken (and therefore you need to report it as a bug through the launchpad site), but I didn’t have a problem installing Flash when I simply visited a site that demanded Flash and clicked through the dialogs to install it.
chuck: Flash installation used to work great just as you say. Flash installation was broken by the December update released by Adobe. The bug has been reported long ago and apparently fixed(?), but the fix has not been pushed to the repositories.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/gutsy/+source/flashplugin-nonfree/+bug/173890
Flash is even more broken for 64 bit distros - at least you can install Flash into most 32 bit distros. There is no 64 bit version of Flash, and not likely to be one for a few more months (or maybe never, I can’t get replies from Adobe). OTOH, why not try griping at the Flash content creators for using closed source file formats?
I can’t wait until they finally get Gnash to work, though I guess it could be a long time. Then we can use it regardless of 64-bit, 32-bit or even others like PPC.
But, at least it’s a nice challenge to get things to work. I hate it when my computer’s too stable and boring.
You said to Alec: I certainly sympathize, but Ubuntu is not Gentoo (insert your favorite geeky distribution), and I, a computer-savvy open-source fanboy, am not Ubuntu’s target user. Ubuntu’s aim is to directly compete with Windows and MacOSX as an end-user platform. The reality is that Flash is required for typical web usage, and Ubuntu is doing badly in the end-user OS race if they cannot make Flash install properly for over a month.
Did you even read what Alec wrote, or did you just ignore it and write an answer that made him seem like a moron and you like a hero?
Let me repeat what he said: It’s _not_ Ubuntus fault that Flash is currently broken. It’s Adobes fault for not playing ball with Linux-users. When you go off ranting about how Ubuntu needs to fix this bug, you’re really going off in a completely wrong way.
How do you come to the conclusion that it’s Ubuntus fault that Flash is currently broken? I really fail to see your chain of reasoning here. Did Ubuntu secretly acquire Flash from Adobe? No. Thus it’s not really their responsibility, even though they sure do try to make it as small a pain as possible.
In fact, I’m starting to think that Ubuntu is approaching this the wrong way. I’m starting to think that they shouldn’t sugarcoat the turd that is Flash, instead they should simply say that “Adobe refuses to cooperate with Linux-users, go bitch at them instead”. Really, that’s the only way to make Adobe take Linux seriously.
Same goes for everyone who wants Photoshop. Stop sitting there with your Windoze-box waiting for Adobe to open it’s eyes - take some fucking action and switch, then send emails to Adobe asking them to get their asses in gear and start porting stuff! Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only person in the world who sees the Catch-22 that is waiting for Adobe to port Photoshop, while Adobe won’t port Photoshop until there is a majority of users expecting it.
How in the hell is it possible that this bug is still a bug. Yet you see these foolish fanboy “Ubuntu vs Vista vs MAC OS” what a joke. And yet the fault is still Adobe. Yes it is their plugin but if you listen to all the Ubuntu hype it is worlds ahead of windoze and technically superior. Yet Ubuntu users are still having to chase hacks down all over the net to get their desktop system functional at a very basic level.
Why if Linux is “ready” and superior do users still have to hear, “blame the closed source people”? Open source is better right? Why can’t they be responsible?
Oh then we hear “well it is free”. That’s what the critics have said all along and Ubuntu has shown that a simple two-month flash plugin number mismatch has a crippled response, or no response at all. I would hate to see what happens when something hard to fix happens.
Flash is not the only issue just the most visible. I did another install just today to see if possibly it was fixed and it is not! I have had my frame-buffered consoles broken since Gutsy as well. That is not progress. These issues were fully functional in Feisty. What is with the three steps forward and two back and then the idiot repsonses as if anyone wondering why is wrong.