Macromedia Inc has announced that new versions of its Flash Player for Linux, Sun Microsystems Inc’s Solaris and SGI’s Irix will be available for free download on September 1. The San Francisco, California-based media software company has done an impressive job of establishing Flash as the standard for vector- based graphics and interactivity on the web. It’s intriguing that the leading Unix and Unix-like operating systems now make the cut as platforms for this quintessential consumer product. Bill Correll, worldwide market development manager for digital media at Macromedia, explains that Flash for Solaris will reach users in financial services, government and education. With the growing trend towards graphic and animation enhanced web sites, both Macromedia and Sun’s Solaris operating environment will continue to gain market and mind share, he ventured. As for Linux, Linus Torvalds himself weighed in on the merits of Flash. He is particularly tickled that Macromedia has taken a leaf from his own book: the company intends to license the Flash source code for free.
