Adobe rolls out Flash 10.1 and AIR 2 betas

Adobe

Adobe Systems has just delivered the beta versions of its upcoming AIR 2 and Flash Player 10.1 software. Available for Windows, Macintosh and Linux desktops, the Flash 10.1 beta features GPU-accelerated video and graphics, support for multi-touch, gestures, mobile input models, accelerometers and screen orientation, hardware decoding of H.264 video, and includes integration of content protection powered by Adobe Flash Access 2.0.

As its predecessor, AIR 2 provides developers with powerful tools for the creation of rich Internet applications (RIAs) that deploy across multiple platforms. This second AIR iteration brings additions like support for mass storage devices, advanced networking capabilities like secure sockets, UDP support, and the ability to listen on sockets, multi-touch and gesture support, the ability to open a file with its default application, new APIs for access to raw microphone data, HTML5/CSS3 readiness, global error handling, plus improved cross-platform printing as well as enhanced security.

“With the beta availability of Adobe AIR 2 and Flash Player 10.1 today, we are taking an important step toward realizing the Open Screen Project vision to enable rich Internet experiences across any device, anywhere,” said David Wadhwani, general manager and vice president, Platform Business Unit at Adobe. “Content creators will provide multi-screen experiences with uncompromised Web browsing and standalone applications across desktops and netbooks, and in the near future across a wide range of mobile devices.”

The Flash Player 10.1 beta can be downloaded from Adobe Labs here, while the AIR 2 beta is available here.

Tags: adobe flash