Flash 9 Final for Linux (and an odd EULA)

A quick follow up to this discussion, it looks like Flash 9 Final for Linux has been released. Kudos to the Adobe team. I know some don't like flash (which I think is more indicative of the abuses in implementation such as horrific seizure inducing ads than anything else) but these days many sites just don't function well without it. There is already enough discussion going around about Flash not being Open Source, so I won't add to that. I do have a different comment though. Has anyone read the EULA on Flash? The following stuck me as extremely odd:
3.1 Web Player Prohibited Devices. You may not Use any Web Player on any non-PC device or with any embedded or device version of any operating system. For the avoidance of doubt, and by example only, you may not use a Web Player on any (a) mobile devices, set top boxes (STB), handhelds, phones, web pads, tablets and Tablet PCs that are not running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, game consoles, TVs, DVD players, media centers (excluding Windows XP Media Center Edition and its successors), electronic billboards or other digital signage, internet appliances or other internet-connected devices, PDAs, medical devices, ATMs, telematic devices, gaming machines, home automation systems, kiosks, remote control devices, or any other consumer electronics device, (b) operator-based mobile, cable, satellite, or television systems or (c) other closed system devices.
(Full version here.) Does it seem strange to anyone that a format that relies 100% on being ubiquitous has such arcane arbitrary limitations? What could the possible benefits of this be to Adobe? If they don't get flash going on mobile (never mind specifically disallowing it) they are in trouble. Where the …and Tablet PCs that are not running Windows XP Tablet PC Edition came from is also beyond me. So if I purchase an IBM tablet and put Linux on it, I'm not legally allowed to run Flash? That's asinine.
–jeremy
, , ,

Leave a Reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: