14 DAY TRIAL // Adobe Systems Inc. have released a preview release of their Flash Player for Mac OS X. Dubbed "Square" the plugin enables native 64-bit support on supported hardware, but is also available for 32-bit systems.
Windows and Linux versions are, of course, readily downloadable as well.
In addition to bringing 64-bit support on all platforms, Square specifically adds enhanced support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 beta on Windows machines.
“We have made this preview available so that users can test existing content and new platforms for compatibility and stability,” says Adobe.
“Because this is a preview version of Flash Player, we don’t expect it to be as stable as a final release version of Flash Player. Use caution when installing Flash Player ‘Square’ on production machines,” the software company explains.
On the Adobe Labs site, a list of key new capabilities in the Flash Player "Square" preview is provided, with Adobe highlighting 64-bit support — “Native support for 64-bit operating systems and 64-bit web browsers on Linux, Mac OS, and Windows,” the documentation reads.
As noted above, in addition to delivering support for 64-bit hardware, the software also comes with enhancements that support Microsoft’s new Internet Explorer 9.
According to Adobe, Square “takes advantage of hardware accelerated graphics in Internet Explorer 9 Beta, utilizing hardware rendering surfaces to improve graphics performance and enable seamless composition.”
An important note is then provided. Adobe signals that those who install the Flash Player "Square" preview will need to keep this version up to date by manually installing updates from the very same page these listings were made.
“You will not receive automatic update notifications for future final releases of Flash Player, and you will need to manually uninstall Flash Player ‘Square’ before installing a final shipping version of Flash Player,” the software company adds.