Adobe shows off 64-bit version of Flash, promises Flash for mobiles

Adobe rolled out a test version of a native 64-bit Flash plugin for Linux, versions for Windows and Mac will follow in the near future. Linux users can download the 64-bit Flash plugin at this page.

With all major CPUs on the market today supporting 64-bit and all modern operating systems also being available in 64-bit versions, many users find themselves irked that they are forced to run a web browser from a 32-bit binary simply to get Flash content working. I know that it's something of a pain on my 64-bit Ubuntu box – while the 32-bit Firefox install works reasonably well, there's always that niggling feeling that you're just not taking advantage of all that the platform has to offer.

While it's taken the company quite a long time to get around to a 64-bit native binary, the news that it's in the pipeline for release in the very near future is a good one. When asked why the company had released a sneak-peek Linux version without a Mac or Windows binary in sight, the company stated that “we chose Linux as the initial platform in response to numerous questions in our public Flash Player bug and issue management system and the fact that Linux distributions do not ship with a 32-bit browser or comprehensive 32-bit emulation layer by default.” The company also reiterated that it is “committed to bringing native 64-bit Flash Player to Windows and Mac in future prereleases.”

Furthermore, Adobe also announced they're working on a fully-fledged Flash Player for Symbian, Windows Mobile and Google Android handsets. There's no version for the iPhone because Apple's phone is not an open platform but Adobe's CTO Kevin Lynch said that they're still working with Apple to get some version of Flash available on the iPhone.