Adobe Flash Player download.

[taugust04]

Ugh - just a heads up to the nation. I went to download Adobe Flash Player 11.5.502.146 today from get.adobe.com/flashplayer, and rather than getting the standard disk image from Adobe, you now get this garbage Google Chrome install option that you have to uncheck, along with the a 'new and improved' Flash Player installer that has to download a payload from the Internet, and will fail if you don't close Safari first before it begins it's install. This is in comparison to a regular DMG you could just click and install in the past (and extract a .pkg from by just examining the contents of the installer executable.)

I'm sure now we'll have to figure out where exactly the Adobe Flash Player.pkg package is being installed to and somehow save that, or we'll have to go back to creating Composer snapshots.

Thanks Adobe.

~Ted

[donmontalvo · Accepted solution]

FYI

http://managingosx.wordpress.com/2013/01/08/still-more-on-flash-installers/

I doubt Adobe would spend the money training their Offshore'd dev team, on how to properly package software for the Mac platform.

It boils down to money (any spent on training is money out of shareholder coffers), and you have to consider the rotating-door-employment aspect of "do it as cheaply as possible" work environments. ;)

So it will continue to suck...reversely proportional to how loudly the Mac admin community publicly lambasts Adobe...the more we complain, the more they take us seriously and do something about it (or at least try). So we will continue to subsidize Adobe's incapable (read: cheap) Offshore'd dev staff, while things change for the better...a little bit at a time...

PS, no reflection on Jody/Karl...if anything, they've worked very hard to limit our frustration...but not possible to turn a big ship on a dime...at least not as fast as we would like.

Don

[taugust04]

Thank goodness Greg is always one step ahead of us. :-)

I used Safari on 10.7.5 to download the installer - and I got one of those Chrome labeled DMG's. So annoying...

[gregp]

Interesting...

Noticed that last time (~month or so ago) and grabbed the correct one (w/o Chrome) and extracted the pkg from inside as have been doing forever. No problems.

Totally forgot about that until you mention it... and I had just updated Flash this morning, using my regular method and didn't notice the Chrome option then.

Checked Adobe's web site just now thinking that I put the wrong pkg into our Self Svc policy. Downloaded the dmgs with and w/o Chrome, and they are completely different than what I downloaded from Adobe this morning. This two dmgs are not nice in the least. Got a regular Flash pkg without the nonsense this morning (and had the embedded pkg in it which worked fine).

So that begs the question... why is what I downloaded earlier different than what I downloaded this afternoon?

Can sometimes try the Adobe Flash archive site:
http://helpx.adobe.com/flash-player/kb/archived-flash-player-versions.html

They don't always have the latest there (no idea why). But today they do.

[donmontalvo]

@taugust04 Yep, we must capture and clone Greg'ster...maybe at the next JNUC? :b

[mm2270]

Wow, is Adobe really so inept? (That's a rhetorical question) While I realize you can't turn a big ship on a dime, it seems they continue to veer off in the wrong direction. I'd be happy if they made small increments to move in the right direction. As it is, Mac software deployment from Adobe is heading the ship into an iceberg. They are apparently trying to break a record for the most number of inane installation schemes in the history of software development.

Personally, I can't wait until Flash is finally dead. That may take a long time, but the writing is on the wall. Someday, perhaps before I'm too old, gray and wrinkled, I won't have to worry about deploying Flash to Macs anymore.

BTW, anyone know if FlashPlayer Auto Update is enabled on the client if it pulls down this latest version automatically?

[donmontalvo]

@mm2270 wrote:

Wow, is Adobe really so inept?

Yep, years of denial and getting away with deteriorating quality, fragmenting development, very poor usability testing, and subsidized (read: us) quality control....while on the flip side, Adobe profits has gone up (or at least not gone down).

How does it feel doing Adobe's job for them? Kind'a makes you wanna ask them to cut you a check, no? Or, as @jwojda would say, "at least a bag of cheetos". :D

[endor-moon]

I just tried the download from Firefox on a 10.8.2 machine and got the normal dmg that has the Adobe Flash Player.pkg file inside Contents/Resources. Perhaps this was a temporary problem?

[gregp]

I've been using Safari today for this.

After endor-moon's comment, tried again. Safari gives me the stupid Chrome option and going there on the same machine with Firefox, gives the normal download (with no Chrome option).

Set the User Agent on Safari to Firefox, refreshed the page and received the old/normal download page. Set it to Opera and got the Chrome option again.

[taugust04]

Hmmm - it looks like they are targeting Safari on 10.7.5 by browser agent. Using Safari on Mountain Lion 10.8.2 or Firefox on either Lion or Mountain Lion gets you to the standard downloader page. Interesting...

[mm2270]

@donmontalvo - Did you see that it was a rhetorical question? ;)
But seriously, this is all in light of the relation that JAMF has fostered with Adobe to gently guide them into making Mac installers and deployment schemes that don't suck horribly. And its still pretty bad. I can't even imagine how bad it would be if JAMF weren't trying their best to help. *shudder*

I just went to their standard http://get2.adobe.com/flashplayer/ site and I get the download link, but also see a stupid checkbox labeled "Yes, install Chrome as my default browser – optional." which is checked by default. Uhm, seriously Adobe?? Pushing Chrome on your users now? Since when did they start pimping Chrome? Oh, I got it, because it has Flash integrated, and Safari eschews it by default. They must be getting desperate! Wow.

[donmontalvo]

@mm2279 Yes I noticed, sorry about that, I needed to snip selectively to go on my rant...LOL

@donmontalvo - Did you see that it was a rhetorical question? ;)

[bbass]

If anybody is still having trouble, the following link has downloaded the "full" version for me in all browsers.

http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/pdc/11.5.502.136/install_flash_player_osx.dmg

[Chris_Hafner]

I actually did this yesterday and got the proper installer (for as proper as a flash installer gets anyways). However, I've avoided using safari to download flash since September. Apple tried to integrate that particular package with the normal software update process via safari and it's been doing strange things since. Since then I've been downloading it with firefox and have been getting the proper link. Interesting to read that opera users get re-directed as well. Is it officially conspiracy time?

[taugust04]

I wouldn't consider it a conspiracy. Just marketing based on browser agent.

[jarednichols]

Just downloaded now with Safari and it seems to be the normal download.

[mm2270]

Well, wouldja look at that? Looks like Adobe pulled that crappy 'install Chrome when just trying to get FlashPlayer' download. You're right, its not directing me to that other installer now in Safari. Either it was an honest mistake, or they go so much backlash for it they were forced to put things back the way they were.
Trust me though Jared, we are not all crazy. It was directing Safari users to an install Chrome version just days ago.

[jarednichols]

Suuuuuure it was ;)

[ImAMacGuy]

.136 is now "old" according to http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/... here's the new link
http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/pdc/11.5.502.146/install_flash_player_osx.dmg

[austed]

http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/pdc/11.5.502.149/install_flash_player_osx.dmg

[donmontalvo]

Oy vey...

external image link

[franton]

*facepalm*

*sigh*

[jarradyuhas]

Apply to distribute flash from adobes website and they will give you a dmg with a installer app. Once you open the package contents of that app, there is a pkg file that can be used for deployment through casper admin. I applied and was automatically approved, receiving the email within a matter of minutes. We had this rolled out to our students within an hour after it took place.

Here is the link to request a distribution license:
http://www.adobe.com/products/players/fpsh_distribution1.html

[JPDyson]

Or, um, this link which requires a little less effort ;)

http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

[jarradyuhas]

Yes, I could have posted that as well JPDyson, but I didnt feel like violating the License Agreement.

From Adobe's email:
You may not share the above link, share information with others, or publish the above link on websites, blogs, or by any other means that can be publicly accessed. The information contained on this site is meant for your use only in accordance with Adobe Flash Player Distribution License Agreement you accepted. You may direct others to http://www.adobe.com/products/players/fpsh_distribution1.html to request distribution rights.

[JPDyson]

I have never agreed to any licenses with Adobe (as it pertains to distribution).

[donmontalvo]

<Maxwell Smart>

It's Adobe's old "One code set across platforms so we save money, let those pesky Mac admins subsidize our development, they like doing that" strategy, with a twist of "Gotta look busy, quick, someone create a bizarre new policy so we can continue to look like we're getting paid for being proactive" and a side of "Why make things easier, gotta steer them to our 'revenue-healthy' cloud service" trick.

</Maxwell Smart>

Wait...did you know...

"Creative Cloud is the future." - Adobe Monopoly CEO (dancing on a mountain of rupees)

<tongue-in-cheek>

[mm2270]

Adobe Monopoly CEO (dancing on a mountain of rupees)

Now THAT made me LOL! :D
Though I doubt Mr "Creative Cloud is the future!!" Narayen dances at all. Seems like too much of a stiff to do something like that. Maybe that's why I found that image so funny :)

[tkimpton]

No response from Adobe and my application again to distribute Flash! I think I've pi**ed them off too much over the years.

[pickerin]

@tkimpton I got mine in about an hour. However, they require that you validate your email FIRST. If you don't perform that validation, you'll never hear back from them. Mine was in my spam folder.

[tkimpton]

Yes i did validate my emails address again.

[tkimpton]

Still nada.... I curse you Adobe!

[donmontalvo]

https://jamfnation.jamfsoftware.com/discussion.html?id=7106

[stacksjb]

http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/get/flashplayer/current/licensing/mac/install_flash_player_17_osx_pkg.dmg

Just click the "Download DMG Installer (for System Administrators)" here: https://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html