Apple, Adobe Work Together to Bring GPU Flash
Finally, some GPU love for Flash videos in Mac OS X.
Steve Jobs made it painfully clear today in an open letter that he doesn't have much love for Adobe and its Flash technology. But still, the developers at both companies have gotten together and delivered the first step to making Flash video far more livable on Mac OS X systems.
Apple recently released a new framework in its latest Snow Leopard update that provides low-level access to the H.264 decoding capabilities of compatible GPUs found in Macs and MacBooks such as the Nvidia GeForce 9400M, GeForce 320M or GeForce GT 330M.
This paved the way for Adobe to implement GPU assisted video decoding for Flash videos, especially those encoded for high-definition. Read more details in a Flash Player Engineering Blog.
Engadget put the early build of the new Flash Player through its paces on the newest models of 15-inch MacBook Pros. While the Nvidia GeForce GT 330M helped decrease the CPU strain on the Core i7 model, the same plug-in curiously made things more strenuous on the CPU for the Core i5 machine. It's likely just a software bug, as the preview build has shown to make life easier with GPU assist.
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Smells like disaster to me...
cool....will they work on this for the iphone, or will SJ flip us the bird again?
Wow, talking about hypocrisy. The CEO bashes Adobe on the outside, making it look like Apple doesn't need Adobe at all.
Do realize that using GPU acceleration will reduce battery life due to the fact that the GPU uses more power than the CPU.
http://www.anandtech.com/show/3682 [...] we-test-it
I think Stevie is just losing his mind....
Do realize that using GPU acceleration will reduce battery life due to the fact that the GPU uses more power than the CPU.http://www.anandtech.com/show/3682 [...] we-test-it
Still, running the decoding on the GPU will suck up less power than running it through software.
Waiwaiwaitaminnut...I thought these guys hated each other? Business before bad blood I suppose.
Stevie is on drugs....
Screw apple. Only idiots use them anyways, they don't need flash.
Flip Flop Flip Flop...
Can anyone pick a stance and stick with it. Even I am getting confused. Is my phone getting flash or not?
Screw apple. Only idiots use them anyways, they don't need flash.
I take great offence to your statement because I Purchased an iPhone, Maybe you can better word your phrases,
Or only idiots make baseless insults to the decisions of other people.
You don't have to like a product or a company or anything. but please refrain from being insulting to others, or in your language, An idiot.
cool....will they work on this for the iphone, or will SJ flip us the bird again?
Heh, they have to give you a reason to buy a macbook and a iphone/ipod/ipad.
Stevie is on drugs....
Either that, or he has a serious case of bipolar disorder.
There are so many contradictions, it made my eyes cross in confusion.
GPU Flash on any machine with a powerful processor is a stupid project if you ask me. Powering a big chip which is capable of even Blu-ray decoding by iteself and then firing up a GPU for web content is purely ridiculous. This is not efficient, and you don't gain any visual or perfomance increases.
If we were talking about a machine that had a slow, low-power CPU such as an Atom or 1.3 Core Solo and a low power GPU like a 9400m then this makes total sense. Netbooks and even set-top devices such as Apple TV could realy use this. But Apple does not make laptop designs like this.
Their slowest CPUs are 3GHz Core 2s. What are you going to do? Disable all but one core and clock the CPU to 800Mhz when flash kicks in to fire up a GPU and keep within a decent power envolope? Whats the point?
Time and development of Flash should be focused to iPhone, iPod and iPad. If iPad's A4 ARM graphics component could hardware accelerate Flash then get that working instead. If not someone needs to develop a low power, dedicated mobile embedded Flash decoding chip or Apple could use Tegra in their next iPad/iPod which has Flash acceleration integrated.
So basically Apple doesn't expose the right hooks/APIs/etc. to the Adobe developers, bashes Flash left and right ... notices it runs just fine on Windows and WebOS.
and then says "oops" here you go after another Adobe-bashing, anti-competitive exclusion of the Adobe development environment for phone apps, and getting a kid who *found* an iPod.
Right.
Steve Jobs is uncouth, and you think Microsoft is evil?
someone needs to check steve jobs for syphilis.
If my memory serves me right, didn't Steve Job say that Adobe is lazy and that Flash has way too many bugs? What a freaking hypocrite
The Flash GPU acceleration has been part of the PC drivers for both ATI and Nvidia for a long time now. Apple who always claims to have the best technology is far behind. Where is their Blue Ray? My Alienware M15x has had Blueray for several years now as have many PC laptops.
Accelerated computing is the future. Get ready for Minority Report type interaction soon.
Rather than mindlessly hurling abuse his way, has ho one here wondered that Steve Jobs may have had slightly more pertinent things to occupy his mind than the workings of Flash on Apple computers? He's had to juggle the running of highly successful computing and film production companies with complex health issues.
A decade ago all but the most faithful had virtually written Apple off. SJ had the unenviable task of rebuilding a legendary company from a pile of pi**ed on ashes. A task he has so far achieved with aplomb.
His focus has clearly shifted from big hardware as he and his teams have wrestled with future technologies and the software to enable them. Anyone see a personal benefit here?
Maybe the whole messy debate about Flash on mobile v's desktop/laptop devices has brought aspects of Flash performance to the fore for Steve. Could he have recognised Apple's mistake of not releasing a framework to developers and decided to right a wrong by making it happen even if it is in an area of computing which will become increasingly irrelevant, the desktop PC?
None of us here languishes in the head of Steve Jobs or sits on the Apple board. So, we don't know.
Sure, it seems strange, even contradictory. Perhaps he self-assuredly sees Flash as a barrier to eco-friendly energy efficient hand-held devices and has hopes for an inclusive internet where open standards replace proprietary plug-ins. Who's to say that his vision wont be the one that materialises?
People react badly to change, and, like it or not, Apple has provoked change since its inception. A lot of what one does in their tech world today (and tomorrow) may not always have been invented by Apple but much of it has been championed by them.
Someone mentioned Blu-Ray... What about it? What does that have to do with anything when you'll most likely be watching streaming HD video on or via a hand-held device within a year or two? How many of you here have transitioned from Beta/VHS to DVD to Blu-Ray to streaming? Is Flash the right container to carry that burden or does the future beckon something better?
The Flash GPU acceleration has been part of the PC drivers for both ATI and Nvidia for a long time now. Apple who always claims to have the best technology is far behind. Where is their Blue Ray? My Alienware M15x has had Blueray for several years now as have many PC laptops.
"Blue-Ray"? are you $@#&&*#$ serious? wow, get off this site now.
Apple is "jumping" on the HTML5 bandwagon, but in reality, I wouldn't be surprised if they're working hard trying to tie HTML5 into some proprietary system they can force Apple fanidiots into using (think Microsoft and Silverlight).
Apple loves taking free IP and locking it into their own dumb format (BSD -> MacOSX, AAC -> FairPlay, WebKit -> Safari). They'll probably create their "brand new software", release it for the iPhone/iPad/iPod, and declare Flash AND HTML5 dead.
I think Stevie is just losing his mind....
he don't have one
Apple is "jumping" on the HTML5 bandwagon, but in reality, ....They'll probably create their "brand new software", release it for the iPhone/iPad/iPod, and declare Flash AND HTML5 dead.
You think Apple will ever have the clout to declare HTML5 dead? There are some seriously distressed people on THW fora.
Apple is a business not a free dodgy fairground ride like Linux distro's. No one forces anyone to buy what they make so stop bleating on as though we're all sheep trapped in corners with sadistic Taser wielding shepherds fingering their flies.
Wouldn't the i5 increase in cpu strain be attributed to the onboard gpu? Don't the i5 mobile chips have integrated gpu's for 2d apps like the desktop cpu's?
WTF is wrong with Flash anyways? its almost as old as java, as spread out as Java, and more accepted in browsers than java.
HTML5? i'd take my chances waiting for the next duke nukem game than seeing HTML5 compete like flash does for newgrounds
Apple and Adobe are not going to be nice to each other because Apple does not allow Flash for it's newest products.
Do realize that using GPU acceleration will reduce battery life due to the fact that the GPU uses more power than the CPU.http://www.anandtech.com/show/3682 [...] we-test-it
Do realize that watching videos in general reduces battery life doesn't matter what is processing it. The point to GPU acceleration is that GPUs can process code in much less time with the same or a little more power consumption than using CPU based decoding.
Well I can say that now I have one less reason to hate Apple. Sure they're pretty much expecting you to give them your wallet with their arm outstretched and their palm open but at least they did something intelligent so the people who have their products (for what ever reason that may be) can now benefit with better online media performance.
Sure it uses a bit more battery but when you look at how long they typically last, about 10 minute reduction isn't all that much (and that is if you're playing/watching something flash based) in contrast with more stable (or better preforming) applications. I have no idea who gave the green thumb to this idea but I'll say this much.
There is at least ONE smart person in Apple by the looks of it.