Macromedia Introduces Flash Players for Unix

Macromedia Tuesday announced its Flash player will be available Sept. 1 for Linux, Sun Microsystems,
Inc.’s Solaris, and Silicon Graphics Inc.’s Irix platforms.

Flash is the method for forming Web sites that deliver motion, sound and
graphics. It should allow companies to delve into the next generation of
innovative Unix-based Web applications. Unix is the stalwart for many
electronic commerce and applications on the Web.

Versions of the system for Unix may be downloaded from the Macromedia Web
site and Flash ships with many operating systems including Windows 98.

“The availability of the Flash Player for Solaris allows media-rich content
developers to reach large numbers of Sun users in corporate enterprises
including financial services, government and education institutions,” said
Bill Correll, Sun’s worldwide market development manager for digital media.

Major companies employ Flash to enhance their online presence; it is used
by Pepsicola, Nestle and Citibank, among others.

“Now that Macromedia has announced both a free Flash Player for Linux and a
free Flash Player source licensing program, Flash offers the best and most
widely available solution for viewing high-impact, vector-based Web sites,”
said Linus Torvalds, inventor of the Linux operating system.”

Macromedia said more than 48 million Web users downloaded the
Flash Player in the previous quarter.