Flash+AMD64+Linux=WTF

What the hell is the matter with Macromedia (now part of Adobe)?!

AMD's 64-bit x86 extension has been on the market now for 3 years. It's a mature technology. The next version of MS Windows will support it (whenever it comes out...). Many Linux distributions have been supporting it for years (two or more).

Why is it that Macromedia (now part of Adobe) can't get up off it's padded-with-C-notes ass and compile a version of FlashPlayer 7 for 64-bit GNU/Linux?!

I discovered something a bit unsettling, while poking around on the Interwebs. I was looking for some up-to-date info on the status of the Ogg-Theora project, and I stumbled on an item in the FAQ which led me to the On2 website, which ultimately led me to this page which contains the following remark from Tinic Uro (Principal Engineer, Macromedia Flash Player):


"Quality. This is the first thing we looked at and our target was to at least cut the bandwidth in half while keeping the same visual quality... Portability. We do not only need to support Intel, but also PowerPC, ARM, MIPS and many others. Recompiling for a new platform had to be painless and essentially require no code changes. Optional availability of specialized code was a plus too, although we could have done some of that work ourselves."


If cross-platform portability is of paramount importance to Adobe (formerly Macromedia), it seems to me that there is this hot, emerging platform, to which they might want to port.

I have 2 AMD64 machines at home, and I love them. They're stupid-fast. My laptop is a Turion64 and my video editing machine is an AMD64 X2 4200+. Both machines are running AMD64 versions of Fedora Core 5. They positively scream. Alas... There is an increasing amount of web content I cannot view without hobbling or convoluting my fancy 64-bit system to use the 32-bit version of Flash. Flash content, sadly for Adobe (formerly Macromedia) and the companies which decided pretty pictures and animations are much more important that actual "content" and "usability", is out of reach for me when I'm using my laptop. Oh. Well.

WMV and WMA content is also out of reach. Too. Bad. When Microsoft either releases the source code for their codecs, abandons its patents or releases a free binary for Linux, I'll visit those sites with WMA and WMV content. Mind you, I'm not holding my breath for this.

But Macromedia was different... Even Adobe releases its AcrobatReader for the Linux crowd. Granted, it's a version behind, but... Macromedia released its FlashPlayer for 32-bit Linux... what is holding up a recompile to 64-bit?!

I ask again, because I've not heard a reasonable answer from anyone at Adobe: What is holding up a recompile of FlashPlayer for 64-bit Linux?!

I ask one more time, in case they didn't hear me: What is holding up a recompile of FlashPlayer for 64-bit Linux?!

Is this thing on?!