Free Republic

SAN FRANCISCO--If Adobe Systems had its druthers, Google Android would turn into the Microsoft Windows of the 21st century. If there was any doubt that Adobe's mobile strategy is now tied to the long-term success of Android, it was removed by a day-long presentation by Adobe executives and managers about how Adobe is adapting its technologies to Android. Dubbed the "Android Summit," the series of presentations to the press emphasized how core Adobe technologies such as Flash and AIR are being optimized for Android on phones, tablets, and eventually televisions when Google TV is released. Perhaps unsurprisingly, left unsaid during...

HTC EVO rooted once again by using an exploit in Flash Player. Security concerns arise as users rejoice over being able to root their phones once again after the OTA update.

While apologies from BP to the world regarding its environmental disaster and even from a U.S. Congressman to BP have stolen headlines of late, the tech industry has not been without its fair share of apologies during the first half of 2010 either.

FREEPER HELP WANTED. Need freeper with photoshop skills to creat pic of oil covered marsh with typical green offical Roadsign reading... Welcome to the Barrak H. Obama National Sea Shore and Petroleum Recovery Area. Thanks, maybe we can make it go viral.

Adobe has fixed a "critical" security flaw that had the potential to allow hackers to take control of affected computer systems. The bug was first spotted in early June week following a small number of targeted attacks. The security update is one in a bumper update package that fixes a total of 32 documented vulnerabilities....

Hollywood execs from several large entertainment media companies have reportedly told Apple that they’re not going to port their existing content from Flash to Apple’s iPad (iMaxi)format. The New York Post namechecks Time Warner and NBC Universal, and also implies that there are others. The names dropped are critical. Time Warner is second only to Vivendi in size among entertainment conglomerates. NBC Universal, now jointly owned by GE and Comcast, is also an entertainment giant, as parodied weekly by NBC’s sitcom 30 Rock.

* Calls software "closed," questions reliability* Flash not compatible on iPhone, iPad * Adobe shares fall 2 percent, Apple up 2.4 pct SAN FRANCISCO, April 29 (Reuters) - Apple Inc (AAPL.O) Chief Executive Steve Jobs on Thursday called Adobe Systems (ADBE.O) Flash multimedia software a "closed system" that is ill-suited for the company's suite of mobile devices, escalating the war of words between the two companies. Jobs said Flash's system is closed because it is a proprietary system from Adobe, which controls everything from its features to its pricing. Ironically, perhaps, similar charges have been lobbed at Apple's products...

Adobe is halting development of a Flash-to-iPhone software tool introduced with it's Creative Suite 5 last week, dashing the hopes of many that Flash will be supported in future iPhone updates. The move further escalates tensions between Apple and Adobe. Adobe now says it plans to concentrate on developing for Google's Android mobile operating system, according to a blog post by Mike Chambers, Flash platform product manager for Adobe. Jobs Doesn't Like Flash Chambers says he doesn't believe Adobe's time and resources spent on developing the Flash-to-iPhone compiler were a waste. He argues that the tool proves there are no...

Apple has clamped down on the software tools that developers can use to write programs for the iPhone.Before now developers have been free to use many different tools to create applications for the iPhone and iPad. Imminent changes to the way the iPhone software development kit is used will restrict these tools to just three. The move has brought protests from many software developers with some declaring they will no longer produce applications for Apple's handset.

[Adobe would like me to make it clear that the opinions below are not the official views of the company and are entirely my own.] By now you have surely heard about the new iPhone 4.0 SDK language that appears to make creating applications in any non-Apple-approved languages a violation of terms. Obviously Adobe is looking into this wording carefully so I will not comment any further until there is an official conclusion. [Sentence regarding Apple's intentions redacted at request from Adobe]. This has nothing to do whatsoever with bringing the Flash player to Apple’s devices. That is a separate...

Adobe is quite worried about the rise of HTML5Flash, for better or worse, is a big part of the web experience in the desktop and notebook market. Adobe Flash has an estimated 98 percent penetration in the PC market and websites use Flash for everything from ads to video to games. Some websites, like Nike.com, are built almost entirely around Flash. Adobe is fighting to extend its reach into the mobile market thanks to Flash Mobile 10.1. Flash Mobile 10.1 will be made available for all major mobile platforms except for Apple's iPhone OS. Apple has been notoriously apprehensive of...

On the heels of a warning that malicious executables can be embedded into PDF files and launched with minimal user interaction, Adobe is suggesting that users configure its PDF Reader product to limit the damage from an attack. Here are the instructions for mitigating a potential attack: Users can also turn off this functionality in the Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat Preferences by selecting > Edit > Preferences > Categories > Trust Manager > PDF File Attachments and clearing (unchecking) the box “Allow opening of non-PDF file attachments with external applications” This is what it looks like:

Usually on a Patch Tuesday, the discussion turns to Microsoft; but amid a very light round of Windows fixes, it's Adobe in the spotlight today. Last month, a serious and potentially easily exploitable vulnerability was found in a JavaScript API call, DocMedia.NewPlayer -- a situation where an intentionally crafted PDF file could invoke the call, deallocate the memory allocated when the media player is generated, and then execute the code in that de-allocated memory, without need for privilege. Adobe Reader 9.3 was released today, right on schedule, to address this issue. In the meantime, the company is realizing the changing...

I don't think about Adobe Flash much. I just use it. I think that's the case for most of us. Almost all the video on the Web is in Flash, and we just take it for granted. That's a mistake. Like any other popular application, it can be an easy way for a cracker to hack into your computer. Take Adobe Flash's latest round of patches. Adobe doesn't say a lot about exactly what it's fixing in its security advisory, but out of the seven security bugs they're fixing, six of the repairs are on problems that "could potentially lead...

Trying to find out something about Reader Extensions for Designer 7. I can't figure out (from the Adobe web site) how to obtain this product/software or what it costs (or if it's a free add-on). For those who will ask... I need to make a PDF form where the data can be saved. My understanding is that this functionality came with the CS3 and later (Acrobat 8+) versions (in Acrobat, under Advanced > Extend Features), but I can't find anything correlating to that in Acrobat Pro 7 or Designer 7. Thanks in advance.

Note: The following text is a quote: New Attack Vectors for Adobe JBIG2 Vulnerability added March 10, 2009 at 04:52 pm US-CERT is aware of public reports of two new attack vectors for a vulnerability affecting Adobe Reader and Acrobat. This vulnerability is due to a buffer overflow condition that exists in the way Adobe Acrobat Reader handles JBIG2 Streams. When Adobe Reader is installed on a system, it adds an IFilter that allows applications such as the Windows Indexing Service to index PDF files. If the Windows Indexing Service processes a malicious PDF file stored on the system, the...

I'll be wondering around FR and somebody will have posted an article with a link, or there'll be a link in the comments section. Either the link will warn that it will be a pdf file and I've missed it or there will be no warning at all. I click on the link and stare in amazement as that abominable Adobe Reader ssssslowwwly kicks in. Welcome to pdf hell. Now my computer isn't that old. Its capabilities are pretty strong in fact but after the pdf file loads, even after I've closed it, nothing works right anymore. Everything is 10...

E-mails containing malicious PDF files have been putting computers at risk since Friday, Finnish security software firm F-Secure said on Saturday. "The e-mails sent in bulk looked like credit card statements, and contained an attachment called 'report.pdf'," its Chief Research Officer Mikko Hypponen said in a statement. When such PDF files are viewed on vulnerable machines, they start downloading software from servers in Malaysia or Sweden, which are now being cleaned, he said. "There will be more such attacks." "We are worried about this case, as PDF attachments are typically not filtered at e-mail gateways." A security update for Adobe...

A day after Adobe patched a serious security hole in its Reader and Acrobat programs, miscreants are flooding email inboxes with malware-tainted PDF files that try to remotely hijack vulnerable computers. The malware, identified by Symantec researchers as Trojan.Pidief.A, is included in PDF files attached to a "fair number of emails," according to this blog entry. The spam typically targets specific businesses or organizations. Adobe issued a patch for the vulnerability on Monday. The revelation of in-the-wild exploits underscores the importance of updating immediately. A patch for Reader is available here; an Acrobat update is available here. Emails typically arrive...

Imagine a world without Photoshop or PDF. Heck, without digital fonts and desktop publishing and the ability to print graphics on a desktop printer. Imagine a world without Adobe. As Adobe Systems celebrates it 25th anniversary, it's important to recognize how much Adobe is responsible for the way we communicate today. Back in 1982, two enterprising and talented computer scientists left Xerox PARC to form their own company. John Warnock and Chuck Geschke had been working on a computer language that would enable the printing of smooth detailed graphics, liberating graphic designers from X-Acto knives and Rubylith. (It's a testament...