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Skyfire For Android Enables (Some) Flash Video
harrymcc writes "Skyfire, a browser formerly available only for Windows Mobile and Symbian, is releasing a beta for Android. The most notable feature: It can identify Flash video on Web pages and convert it to HTML5 and H.264 on the fly, so it'll play on Android phones. It doesn't support all video, and may be rendered somewhat superfluous when Adobe ships Flash Player 10.1 for Android — but it's an impressive trick."
Wow, that is bound to work well, battery wise.
To be fair flash is a piece of shit on all platforms. It only exists because it makes creating content brain dead easy.
Or is it just stripping the FLV container off of the H.264 video stream embedded inside?
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if you don't want someone logging every page you visit, better not use a google phone.
You have nothing to worry about. No one cares that you visit slashdot, and if you get good kharma, you can even turn off the ads.
Hopefully it will have way to bock Flash, and let you open Flash items that you want - but that means less money from advertising.
but... but.... I'm shocked!
First the summary tells me that Android phones don't already support Flash, and now you tell me that Flash is a "piece of shit"?
I thought Flash was some kind of perfect standard for video and it was already supported on every platform in existence. After all, that's why everyone is so pissed at Apple for failing to support Flash, right? The only reason any device might not support Flash right now is if the manufacturer is evil?
A man-in-the-middle attack doesn't have a legally binding privacy policy.
I thought Flash was some kind of perfect standard for video and it was already supported on every platform in existence. After all, that's why everyone is so pissed at Apple for failing to support Flash, right?
Just because Flash sucks doesn't mean that "I can't get the content I want" is better.
The only reason any device might not support Flash right now is if the manufacturer is evil?
That's a Red Herring. Adobe would love to provide Flash support for the iPhone, but Apple won't allow it. That's what matters, not whether Adobe was quick-on-the-draw to get support to Android.
I would rather not have someone recording every page I visit, which is what opera does with its man-in-the-middle attack is a feature browser.
Like your ISP's DNS server?
Remember folks, slashdot doesn't have a -1 "disagree" moderation!
I'm pretty sure the n900 does.
I've used skyfire on windows mobile for some time (and still do when I don't unload it for Android). It handles most flash flawlessly.... but not on the phone.
What skyfire does, as near as I understand it, is route all traffic to skyfire servers, which then convert the whole shebang, in real time, to what they then send to your phone. I've played flash games, seen web video, etc, all sans any trouble at all. It wasn't the most user-friendly browser initially but it has improved dramatically recently. It still won't zoom as easily as opera, for example....
However, you should be aware of the middle man, and in using it you are implicitly trusting them with everything you do through them, and some might have a problem with that.
"Waste not one watt!" - CZ
And brain dead easy cross platform business software development is TOTALY useless!
In the market targeted by Flash Builder (aka Flex) HTML5 will simply not work. We're talking about large businesses that dont want to migrate from IE6.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
The Nokia N900 supports Flash in it's own browser, or Firefox, or Chromium. Unlike iWhatever or Android there are no limits put on you. Oh, and you have root access, and can develop in whatever you want, and don't have to ask anyone for any permission, to do anything.
So there!
* Carthago Delenda Est *
yes. it's always just around the corner, isn't it?