[gentoo-user] OT: Flash+nspluginwrapper versus Gnash comparisons?

[gentoo-user] OT: Flash+nspluginwrapper versus Gnash comparisons?

[Walter Dnes]

  I'm getting rather annoyed with Firefox.  I don't want to get into
that flamewar right now.  I'm trying to migrate to UZBL.  The latest git
version is a lot better than the stale stable version.  The uzbl-9999
ebuild is broken (yes, I've filed a bug), so I pull directly from git
and build and install to ~/.local.  It's a steep learning curve, and
I've gradually resolved almost every issue.  The last reason to have
Firefox or Opera hanging around is Flash.  I subscribe to NHL GameCenter
Live and Live365.com, so Flash functionality is mandatory for me.

  The git version of UZBL requires a recent version of webkit, which
requires gtk3.  Flash is a gtk2 program, so it doesn't work.  I've heard
that the 2 options are...
1) Running Flash in nspluginwrapper
2) Using Gnash to replace Flash

  How are people's experiences with the 2 options above?

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org>
I don't run "desktop environments"; I run useful applications

Re: [gentoo-user] OT: Flash+nspluginwrapper versus Gnash comparisons?

[Daniel Campbell]

On 10/31/2013 10:15 PM, Walter Dnes wrote:
>   I'm getting rather annoyed with Firefox.  I don't want to get into
> that flamewar right now.  I'm trying to migrate to UZBL.  The latest git
> version is a lot better than the stale stable version.  The uzbl-9999
> ebuild is broken (yes, I've filed a bug), so I pull directly from git
> and build and install to ~/.local.  It's a steep learning curve, and
> I've gradually resolved almost every issue.  The last reason to have
> Firefox or Opera hanging around is Flash.  I subscribe to NHL GameCenter
> Live and Live365.com, so Flash functionality is mandatory for me.
> 
>   The git version of UZBL requires a recent version of webkit, which
> requires gtk3.  Flash is a gtk2 program, so it doesn't work.  I've heard
> that the 2 options are...
> 1) Running Flash in nspluginwrapper
> 2) Using Gnash to replace Flash
> 
>   How are people's experiences with the 2 options above?
> 

Have you checked to see if the sites you use have an interface for
mplayer or another media player? (Assuming they are streaming services
similar to Youtube) If not, it may be simpler to use nspluginwrapper.
Gnash compatibility can be spotty, but is improving. If you suspect that
the services that you use don't use advanced/recent Flash features, give
gnash a whirl.

The last time I used gnash, it was completely fine for basic streaming
stuff, but marketing sites and tech demos and (some) Newgrounds material
was borked. But that was over 3 years ago; times have certainly changed,
and I'd wager for the better. :)

Good luck.

Re: [gentoo-user] OT: Flash+nspluginwrapper versus Gnash comparisons?

[Walter Dnes]

On Sat, Nov 02, 2013 at 05:43:21AM -0500, Daniel Campbell wrote

> Have you checked to see if the sites you use have an interface for
> mplayer or another media player? (Assuming they are streaming services
> similar to Youtube) If not, it may be simpler to use nspluginwrapper.
> Gnash compatibility can be spotty, but is improving. If you suspect
> that the services that you use don't use advanced/recent Flash
> features, give gnash a whirl.

  They're streaming services like Youtube, and they're both completely
Flash-dependant.

> The last time I used gnash, it was completely fine for basic streaming
> stuff, but marketing sites and tech demos and (some) Newgrounds material
> was borked. But that was over 3 years ago; times have certainly changed,
> and I'd wager for the better. :)

  The decision has been made for me, or let's say I made it back in May
when I installed pure-64-bit.  I attempted "emerge -pv nspluginwrapper",
and found that nspluginwrapper requires multi-lib support on amd64
installs... oops.  So gnash it is.  After my abortive nsplugin emerge, I
did some research.  It seems that gnash doesn't do sound by itself.  It
requires the "gstreamer" flag for audio functionality.  That flag pulls
in "gstreamer and friends".  I run with custom flags in make.conf.  Any
comments on my choice of flags?  Do I need additional ebuilds loaded as
well?  Is it supposed to pull in 2 versions of media-libs/gstreamer?

Calculating dependencies... done!
dev-util/boost-build-1.52.0-r1  USE="-examples -python {-test}" 53,147 kB
app-text/iso-codes-3.40  3,549 kB
dev-libs/boost-1.52.0-r6:0/1.52  USE="threads tools -debug -doc -icu -mpi -nls -python -static-libs" PYTHON_TARGETS="python2_7 -python2_6 -python3_2 (-python3_3)" 0 kB
media-libs/libmad-0.15.1b-r7  USE="-debug -static-libs" 491 kB
media-libs/libmpeg2-0.5.1  USE="X -sdl" 513 kB
media-libs/x264-0.0.20111220  USE="threads -10bit -custom-cflags -debug -interlaced -pic -static-libs" 520 kB
media-libs/faad2-2.7-r2  USE="-digitalradio -static-libs" 1,111 kB
media-libs/gstreamer-1.0.10:1.0  USE="-introspection -nls -orc {-test}" 3,067 kB
media-libs/gstreamer-0.10.36:0.10  USE="-introspection -nls -orc {-test}" 2,955 kB
net-misc/npapi-sdk-0.27.2  0 kB
media-libs/speex-1.2_rc1  USE="ogg sse -static-libs" 1,037 kB
x11-libs/gtkglext-1.2.0-r1  USE="-debug" 688 kB
media-libs/gst-plugins-base-1.0.10:1.0  USE="X ogg theora vorbis -alsa -introspection -ivorbis -nls -orc -pango" 2,317 kB
media-libs/gst-plugins-base-0.10.36:0.10  USE="-introspection -nls -orc" 2,309 kB
media-libs/gst-plugins-ugly-1.0.10:1.0  USE="-nls -orc" 811 kB
media-libs/gst-plugins-good-1.0.10:1.0  USE="-nls -orc" 2,669 kB
media-plugins/gst-plugins-ffmpeg-0.10.13_p201211-r1:0.10  USE="-orc" 4,199 kB
media-plugins/gst-plugins-libav-1.1.0_pre20130128-r1:1.0  USE="-orc" 467 kB
media-libs/gst-plugins-bad-1.0.10:1.0  USE="-nls -orc" 3,112 kB
media-plugins/gst-plugins-mad-1.0.10:1.0  0 kB
media-plugins/gst-plugins-faad-1.0.10:1.0  0 kB
media-plugins/gst-plugins-x264-1.0.10:1.0  0 kB
media-plugins/gst-plugins-mpeg2dec-1.0.10:1.0  0 kB
media-plugins/gst-plugins-a52dec-1.0.10:1.0  USE="-orc" 0 kB
media-plugins/gst-plugins-flac-1.0.10:1.0  0 kB
media-plugins/gst-plugins-meta-1.0-r1:1.0  USE="X a52 aac ffmpeg flac mp3 mpeg ogg theora vorbis x264 -alsa -cdda -dts -dv -dvb -dvd -http -jack -lame -libass -libvisual -mms -opus -oss -pulseaudio -taglib -v4l -vcd (-vpx) -wavpack" 0 kB
www-plugins/gnash-0.8.10_p20120903  USE="X ffmpeg gstreamer gtk nsplugin opengl ssl -agg (-aqua) -cairo -cygnal -dbus (-directfb) -doc -dump -egl -fbcon -gconf -gnome -harden -kde -lirc -mysql -nls -openvg -python -sdl -sdl-sound -ssh {-test} -vaapi" 3,808 kB

Total: 27 packages (27 new), Size of downloads: 86,763 kB

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org>
I don't run "desktop environments"; I run useful applications

[gentoo-user] Re: OT: Flash+nspluginwrapper versus Gnash comparisons?

[Nuno J. Silva (aka njsg)]

On 2013-11-02, Daniel Campbell <lists@sporkbox.us> wrote:
> On 10/31/2013 10:15 PM, Walter Dnes wrote:
>>   I'm getting rather annoyed with Firefox.  I don't want to get into
>> that flamewar right now.  I'm trying to migrate to UZBL.  The latest git
>> version is a lot better than the stale stable version.  The uzbl-9999
>> ebuild is broken (yes, I've filed a bug), so I pull directly from git
>> and build and install to ~/.local.  It's a steep learning curve, and
>> I've gradually resolved almost every issue.  The last reason to have
>> Firefox or Opera hanging around is Flash.  I subscribe to NHL GameCenter
>> Live and Live365.com, so Flash functionality is mandatory for me.
>> 
>>   The git version of UZBL requires a recent version of webkit, which
>> requires gtk3.  Flash is a gtk2 program, so it doesn't work.  I've heard
>> that the 2 options are...
>> 1) Running Flash in nspluginwrapper
>> 2) Using Gnash to replace Flash
>> 
>>   How are people's experiences with the 2 options above?
>> 
>
> Have you checked to see if the sites you use have an interface for
> mplayer or another media player? (Assuming they are streaming services
> similar to Youtube) If not, it may be simpler to use nspluginwrapper.
> Gnash compatibility can be spotty, but is improving. If you suspect that
> the services that you use don't use advanced/recent Flash features, give
> gnash a whirl.
>
> The last time I used gnash, it was completely fine for basic streaming
> stuff, but marketing sites and tech demos and (some) Newgrounds material
> was borked. But that was over 3 years ago; times have certainly changed,
> and I'd wager for the better. :)
>
> Good luck.
>
>

Use Gnash with Lightspark. That's actually a supported combination. Last
time I used them, they supported different versions of Flash (AVM1 and
AVM2).

If what annoys you in Firefox is the interface, you can also try some
addon that offers an alternative interface (uzbl screenshots look a lot
like firefox with pentadactyl) [not trying to get into a flame war,
really just suggesting something -- at least here (normal amd64) I can
use flash in firefox]

-- 
Nuno Silva (aka njsg)

Re: [gentoo-user] Re: OT: Flash+nspluginwrapper versus Gnash comparisons?

[Walter Dnes]

On Sun, Nov 03, 2013 at 10:48:23AM +0000, Nuno J. Silva (aka njsg) wrote

> If what annoys you in Firefox is the interface, you can also try some
> addon that offers an alternative interface (uzbl screenshots look a lot
> like firefox with pentadactyl) [not trying to get into a flame war,
> really just suggesting something -- at least here (normal amd64) I can
> use flash in firefox]

  It started back with "abortionbar", and what doesn't help is that
Firefox stores its history and various other stuff in sqlite databases!!!
In case of a crash mid-write, a text file can easily be salvaged.  A
binary file (e.g. sqlite database) is usually unsalvagable.  The Firefox
develeopers' response to that is to "sync() early and sync() often".  On
my older machine, that caused the system to freeze for 15 to 30 seconds
while every last single file buffer system-wide was flushed to disk.  See
http://aplawrence.com/Web/firefox-sqlite.html for an educated rant.

  In addition to this, the browsing history is consulted with every
keystroke when typing a URL, to enable autocompletion.  And Firefox is a
cpu-hog, according to "top".  Flashblock helps, but uzbl still uses a
lot less cpu.

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org>
I don't run "desktop environments"; I run useful applications

[gentoo-user] {SOLVED] Flash+nspluginwrapper versus Gnash comparisons?

[Walter Dnes]

On Thu, Oct 31, 2013 at 11:15:28PM -0400,  wrote
>   I'm getting rather annoyed with Firefox.  I don't want to get into
> that flamewar right now.  I'm trying to migrate to UZBL.  The latest git
> version is a lot better than the stale stable version.  The uzbl-9999
> ebuild is broken (yes, I've filed a bug), so I pull directly from git
> and build and install to ~/.local.  It's a steep learning curve, and
> I've gradually resolved almost every issue.  The last reason to have
> Firefox or Opera hanging around is Flash.  I subscribe to NHL GameCenter
> Live and Live365.com, so Flash functionality is mandatory for me.
> 
>   The git version of UZBL requires a recent version of webkit, which
> requires gtk3.  Flash is a gtk2 program, so it doesn't work.

  Correction to the above.  I'm not a C programmer or developer, but I
tweaked the "Makefile", and the git version of uzbl now builds with a
recent gtk2, rather than gtk3, and consequently Flash runs fine.  The
tweak consists of changing 1 line in the Makefile from...

ENABLE_GTK3    ?= auto

...to...

ENABLE_GTK3    ?= no

  The git version allows you to launch multiple simultaneous instances
*WITH DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION FILES*.  I usually launch using the config
file with plugins disabled.  For the sites where I need Flash, I launch
the with plugin-enabled config.

-- 
Walter Dnes <waltdnes@waltdnes.org>
I don't run "desktop environments"; I run useful applications