In the midsts of a debate as to whether HTML5 will make Flash redundant, Adobe is releasing an update to the plug-in on Mac OS X that is expected to “get us to the point where Mac will be faster than Windows for graphics rendering.” You can get the beta on the Adobe Labs site.
With major players like YouTube trialing HTML5 versions of their sites Adobe has to keep an eye on Flash’s performance which is often blamed for crashing browsers and high CPU loads. While HTML5 video playback definitely has performance benefits Flash still has some advantages over it such as fullscreen playback, but for how long?
Adobe Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lynch said, “With Flash Player 10.1, we are optimizing video rendering further on the Mac and expect to reduce CPU usage by half, bringing Mac and Windows closer to parity for video.” Via CNet.
