[solved] slackware media march - july 2013

Links: slackerboy install notes :: slackbuilds.org :: adobe flash 11 :: ibm bash shell tutorial

"It's rarely if ever necessary to update a good Linux installation -- the odd security update being the exception". This should and would be a true statement if it weren't for the parade of media player and media codec changes perpetrated by media providers. Over the long run, media-related updates cost us months of wasted time and effort.

An site sensitive to anything less than perfect Flash configuration is southparkstudios.com, ironically. If it indicates Flash or some other similar Flash error, where do I begin?

checking

Running Firefox 17 ESR inside a Slackware KDE desktop, look into /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins

$ ls /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins
libnpjp2.so
skypebuttons.so

Nope, no flashplayer installed. And if I look into "about:plugins" in my browser, I also see no flash player installed.

KDE directory gobbledy-gook

The final version of Adobe is 11.2, due to be entirely retired Jan 2014. Linux users may be forced into Chromium at that time. Lack of information is typical in the media-player realm. Meanwhile, we're supposed to install kcm_adobe_flash_player.so into a bunch of sub-directories and make soft links and so on without KDE documentation. No thanks.

libflashplayer.so [SUCCESS]

Point the browser to adobe flash 11, and download.

$ tar -xzvf install_flash_player_11_linux.x86_64.tar.gz

Download the tarball and unpack it. A file named libflashplayer.so is created. In a separate file named "usr" a lot of KDE bologna (see below) is also created. Ignore the entire "usr" folder and focus upon libflashplayer.so .

# cp libflashplayer.so /usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/

Verify the Flash Player is active in Firefox via about:plugins. If it's not in there, create a plugins folder: /usr/lib64/firefox[version]/plugins; try that kind of thing. Done in five minutes. Go to YouTube and enjoy your bass fishing videos.

Chromium in Arch

This works, for those running Arch. Follow the instructions for installing "chromium-pepperflash-stable".

kcm_adobe_flash_player.so [FAIL]

Same as with libflashplayer.soabove, head to adobe flash 11, and download.

$ tar -xzvf install_flash_player_11_linux.x86_64.tar.gz

The unpacked folder will be a /usr folder, with subfolders, /bin, /lib, /share, and so on. Sudo-up and waste an hour transfering files into the real versions of these directories in the file system. For example

$ cd [install directory]
$ cd usr/lib64/kde4
# mkdir /usr/lib64/kde4; mkdir /usr/lib/kde4
# cp kcm_adobe_flash_player.so /usr/lib64/kde4/
# cp kcm_adobe_flash_player.so /usr/lib/kde4/
$ cd ..; cd .. ; cd bin
# cp flash-player-properties /usr/bin/
$ cd ..; cd share/applications
# cp flash-player-properties.desktop /usr/share/applications/

And so on through each directory. After these were complete:

# update-desktop-database
# update-desktop-database -q /usr/share/applications >/dev/null 2>&1
# gtk-update-icon-cache
# gtk-update-icon cache /usr/share/icons/hicolor >/dev/null 2>&1

None of this KDE sh*t worked. Suggest the easy way with libflashplayer.so or, if runninig Arch, get the pepperflash prior to Jan 2014.