I'm really pleased with the streaming iPlayer - I liked Robin Hood when it first came out, but hardly ever watch TV over the weekend. Now, with the iPlayer, I can catch up and watch this fantastic series. Robin Hood sets a fine example to us all, and now as the "Robin Hood of the Internet" - I decided to do my own bit of philanthropy on the part of a recently disgruntled reader.
The reader posted a disgruntled comment on Flash Player on Linux. One of the complaints he made was that according to the EULA, us Linux users are excluded from using any adobe "Web Player" on Linux. To avoid any confusion - here's the relevant excerpt of the Adobe EULA:
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.
I must say, it's not going to win any prizes for clarity. Therefore, (being a good internet citizen) I phoned Adobe to check that my Adobe 9 installation was legal. I'm running Gentoo on an Dell Dimension 5150. I also run ubuntustudio on the same machine.
I got through to customer service quite fast, and the lady at the end of the phone was pleasant. She read through the EULA for me, and we came to the following conclusions:
- I can run adobe flash player on Linux on my PC.
- I quote "They do have a download so you must be able to, otherwise that's just plain mean."
The customer service representative did concede that there was no-one she could ask about my individual predicament "as Adobe's free software isn't covered by technical support - only customer services." However, she has now filed a technical request so I can have a full explanation of why I can run Flash Player on my PC, but not my Tablet...
The case continues....