Ubuntu Tips: 9 - Use Flash with Gnash
This article is about the Gnash project an alternative to Adobe Flash web browser extension
Author: Matthew Wittering | Published: 1st December 2009
Installing and running Adobe Flash plugins on Linux and Ubuntu has plagued me with repeated frustrations as I use AMD 64 bit chipsets in my desktop computer. The problem which faced me was that Adobe did not support a 64 bit version of the Flash extension for Firefox. There are alternatives to the Adobe version. But it is difficult to know the pedigree of the developer and quality of their work. Fortunately I have discovered Gnash. An open source Flash movie player.
Gnash was first announced in late 2005 by software developer John Gilmore. The current lead developer is Rob Savoye. I first learned of Gnash while listening to FLOSS, the free libre open source software podcast by Randal Schwartz and Leo Laporte on the TWiT.tv network.
On the 5th November Randal and Leo interviewed Rob Savoye about the Gnash project and Rob background in open source projects. You to can download the podcast and listen to FLOSS Weekly 94: Gnash.
Step 1 - Installation
If you decide to install Gnash on your system you can use the following command for Ubuntu and Debian machines. Close all instances of Firefox before continuing. Open a new terminal window and paste the following command. When prompted enter the admin password and confirm your wish to continue the installation.
$ sudo apt-get install gnash
You should now have gnash successfully installed and you will be able to access Youtube and the alike content on the Internet.
Links
This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Licence
I am a graduate of Lougborough University where I read Computing and Management BSc (Hons) earning a 2:1 classification.