14 DAY TRIAL // Only a few weeks after the first glimpse of Adobe Flash Player 10.3 Beta, there is a fresh new one for curios users and developers to test. Adobe Flash Player 10.3 Beta 2 doesn't bring that many new features, the only new thing seems to be integration with the privacy controls in Internet Explorer 8.
But it's clearly a step forward in terms of stability and plenty of bugs from the first beta should be gone by now. Along with the Flash Player release, the first testing release of Adobe AIR 2.7 has been made available.
"The beta 2 release of Flash Player 10.3 for desktop operating systems is now available. Integration with privacy controls of Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 and higher has been added," Adobe announced.
"Developers can begin taking advantage of this beta release and test existing content and new platforms for compatibility. Please use this opportunity to explore the new features and provide us with your feedback," Adobe wrote in the Flash Player 10.3 Beta 2 release notes [PDF].
"If you’re a tech-savvy end user and are willing to help us test the new enhanced user privacy protection features, please download the beta, try it out, and let us know what you think," it explained.
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 promises some exciting new features, a much richer analytics API for video, big improvements for voice communication, and integration with browser privacy controls.
The Media Measurement APIs provide webmasters with much more thorough data in real time, making it a lot easier to track content that goes viral and to see a trend as it happens.
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 will also provide a much more robust platform for voice chat. With technologies such as echo cancellation, noise suppression and automatic gain control, developers should be able to create much better tools to rival desktop-based apps.
The feature that most users will be grateful though is integration with the privacy controls in most web browsers. This means that Flash content, which uses local storage, will follow the policies and preferences users have set in their browser.
Adobe AIR 2.7 Beta offers many of the features available in Adobe Flash Player 10.3 and adds the Enhanced HTMLLoader API.
"With AIR 2.7, developers will have more control over how clickable links behave in HTML content within a standalone app. This feature will enable seamless weblink-style navigation directly within desktop apps such as magazine viewers and ebook readers," Adobe explained.
Adobe Flash Player 10.3 Beta 2 for Windows is available for download here. Adobe Flash Player 10.3 Beta 2 for Mac is available for download here.