HowTo: Gnash 0.8.5 in Debian Lenny

[Soul Singin']

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Rumor has it that the New Gnash 0.8.5 actually works!.

I, of course, took the "I'll believe it when I see it" attitude and was promptly punished with images of Mick Jagger gyrating in white sweat pants.

The most convenient way to get the new Gnash in Debian Lenny is to add:

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deb http://debian.jones.dk/ lenny gnash

to your /etc/apt/sources.list file and run:

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apt-get update
apt-get install gnash gnash-common gnash-cygnal gnash-tools  mozilla-plugin-gnash
apt-get clean

I haven't tested those packages however, because I'm a masochist who prefers to spend countless hours building his own DEB packages from source, so instead I added:

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deb-src http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/ sid main

to my /etc/apt/sources.list file.

Then I removed the Debian-Multimedia versions of FFmpeg and replaced them with Debian's own versions. The new version of Gnash uses the FFmpeg libraries, so you must use Debian's own FFmpeg packages:

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apt-get purge libavcodec51 libavformat52 libswscale0 libavutil49 libpostproc51 libavdevice52
apt-get install libavcodec51 libavformat52 libswscale0 libavutil49 libpostproc51 libavdevice52

Next, I ran:

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apt-get update
apt-get build-dep gnash swftools libtool
apt-get install fakeroot haxe libming-dev libming-util libming0 mtasc neko swfmill
apt-get clean

Note: You must backport libtool, otherwise the build will fail.

Then I created a directory for the build in my home directory and downloaded the source (as normal user):

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mkdir /home/XXXX/gnash/
cd gnash/
apt-get source gnash swftools libtool

Then I built backports of swftools and libtool for Debian Lenny:

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cd swftools-0.8.1
dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -us -uc
cd ../libtool-2.2.6a
dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -us -uc

and installed them:

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dpkg -i librfxswf-dev_0.8.1-2.1_i386.deb python-rfxswf_0.8.1-2.1_i386.deb swftools_0.8.1-2.1_i386.deb
dpkg -i libltdl7_2.2.6a-4_i386.deb libltdl-dev_2.2.6a-4_i386.deb libtool_2.2.6a-4_i386.deb libtool-doc_2.2.6a-4_all.deb
apt-get -f install

Finally, I built the gnash packages. (Note: the build took almost two hours).

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cd gnash-0.8.5/
dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot -us -uc

and installed the packages that do not require KDE4:

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dpkg -i gnash_0.8.5-1_i386.deb gnash-common_0.8.5-1_i386.deb gnash-cygnal_0.8.5-1_i386.deb gnash-tools_0.8.5-1_i386.deb mozilla-plugin-gnash_0.8.5-1_i386.deb
apt-get -f install

Upon experimentation, I discovered that Gnash only plays Flash videos when you use Debian's own FFmpeg libraries. If you use the version of FFmpeg in Debian-Multimedia, Gnash will not be able to play Flash videos.

Unfortunately, there's a trade-off here. If you see a Flash video that you like and save it as an FLV to your computer, you won't be able to use Debian's version of FFmpeg to encode it to MP3, MP4 or MPG for use with portable media devices. To do that you need to install the packages from Debian Multimedia.

The decision is yours. Have fun!
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[Soul Singin']

Upon experimentation, I discovered that Gnash only plays Flash videos when you use Debian's own FFmpeg libraries. If you use the version of FFmpeg in Debian-Multimedia, Gnash will not be able to play Flash videos.

Unfortunately, there's a trade-off here. If you see a Flash video that you like and save it as an FLV to your computer, you won't be able to use Debian's version of FFmpeg to encode it to MP3, MP4 or MPG for use with portable media devices. To do that you need to install the packages from Debian Multimedia.

Screw trade-offs! Why should I have to compromise? I'll just recompile Gnash against the version of FFmpeg in Debian-Multimedia, right?

Wrong!

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ERROR: FFMPEG's libavcodec header is installed but not libavformat.
               You can install FFMPEG from http://ffmpeg.mplayerhq.hu
               or .deb users: apt-get install libavformat-dev
               or YaST users: yast -i libavformat-api (but currently installs into /usr/lib64)
               or reconfigure with --enable-media=gst
configure: error: Please install required packages
make: *** [config-stamp] Error 1

Of course, I had already installed libavformat-dev, so I went with option #2: configuring with --enable-media=gst. To do that, I opened the debian/rules file and edited lines 78-90, so that they read:

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	@printf "\n == CONFIGURE / AGG ============================================= \n\n"
	# In the future, I want to add LDFLAGS="-Wl,-z,defs"
	if ! test -d tmp.agg; then \
		mkdir tmp.agg && cd tmp.agg && ../configure VERSION="$(BUILD_VERSION)" $(CONFIGURE_FLAGS) --enable-media=gst --enable-renderer=agg  --enable-gui='gtk,kde4'; \
	fi
	@printf "\n ------------------------------------------- End of CONFIGURE ---- \n\n"

	@printf "\n == CONFIGURE / OPENGL ========================================== \n\n"
	# In the future, I want to add LDFLAGS="-Wl,-z,defs"
	if ! test -d tmp.opengl; then \
		mkdir tmp.opengl && cd tmp.opengl && ../configure VERSION="$(BUILD_VERSION)" $(CONFIGURE_FLAGS)  --enable-media=gst --enable-renderer=ogl --enable-gui='gtk'; \
	fi
	@printf "\n ------------------------------------------- End of CONFIGURE ---- \n\n"

Then I rebuilt the packages.

Now that Gstreamer is handling the audio and video, I can continue to use Debian-Multimedia's version of FFmpeg to encode MP3, MP4, MPG, etc.

For what it's worth, one of the big annoyances in the previous version of Gnash (0.8.4) was that internet videos would sometimes play with the big "Play Button" stuck annoyingly the middle of the video. That issue seems to have been resolved in the new version of Gnash (0.8.5).

Another problem with the previous version was that clicking a link within a Flash object wouldn't necessarily do anything (e.g open up another video). That issue hasn't been completely resolved in the latest version, but there has been a substantial improvement.

So I'm pretty happy with my decision to spend a day compiling this thing.
.

[Soul Singin']

Flash Cookies: The Silent Privacy Killer

For those people that want to see what is actually stored in these files, Gnash includes a utility program called "soldumper", which will do this for you to make sure your privacy isn't being invaded. -- rob

Original link

Flash Cookies: The Silent Privacy Killer
October 9th, 2008

There are hundreds of applications out there from spyware cleaners to built-in browser features that eliminate cookies on the spot, and even let you set cookie policies on your computer regarding what can be stored in your machine, and for how long.

I’m assuming that if you’re here reading this post, you already know all of the dangers of cookies on your computer. In all honesty, I don’t seriously believe that they’re the most dangerous form of movement or web tracking, but they can definitely be used to monitor more movements than a person should feel comfortable with.

What if there was a type of cookie that could:

* Stay on your computer for an unlimited amount of time
* Store 100 kb of data by default, with an unlimited max
* Couldn’t be deleted by your browser
* Send previous visit information and history, by default, without your permission

Okay… That’s a pretty scary cookie. As it is right now, the cookies we’re so deadly afraid of can store a maximum of 4 kb of information, are manage by your browser, and by default have reasonable defaults and restrictions.

This type of cookie exists on 98% of global computers, across all operating systems. it’s the Adobe Flash Player.

The Adobe Flash Player maintains proprietary cookies called Local Shared Objects or LSO’s. LSO’s are capable of storing 100 kb’s of information for an indefinite amount of time by default. When you clear your browser history in Internet Explorer, Firefox or Opera on Windows, Linux, or OS X LSO’s are not cleared from Adobe’s local repository.

In fact, all the information in those cookies will remain indefinitely until they’re removed by the issuing website, or by you via a cumbersome and ridiculous process.

Unfortunately, I haven’t even explained the worst of it.

There’s no easy way to tell what sites are using flash cookies to track your movements. There’s no list, and there doesn’t have to be a flash GUI or visible application for flash cookies to be present. In fact, most websites using flash for user tracking don’t create GUI’s, toolbars, or applications that you can actually see in your browser while browsing the site.

Many times a tiny flash module, 2 kb in size or less is loaded into your browser on every page visit in the same way a gif, jpg or other image is. The whole purpose of this tiny, invisible flash module might be to simply record the page request, and your username or other session variables.

Alright, so now you’re sufficiently convinced that this is creepy stuff. Let’s talk about how to get rid of it?

Lame as it might be, the Flash Player has no ability to delete cookies. And as I’ve already said, your browser can’t help you out. It doesn’t even know these cookies exist! Most of the privacy settings for Adobe Flash have be accessed via a flash application on Adobe’s website called the Adobe Flash Player Settings Manager.

If you want to access the Settings Manager, you can do so here. In fact, open it up now and let’s take a look.

If you’ve clicked the link above, then you’re looking at the Flash Player Settings Manager, and a list of all the sites currently storing information on the cookies stored on your computer.

Looking at my list, I see over 100 websites that have been accessing the same cookie for the last year (the last time I formatted my computer). Some of them are storing only 1kb of information, some are storing the full 100 kb’s. On my own computer, I see that my bank is storing flash information despite the fact that there isn’t a single flash application visible when I log in to check my balance. I see Youtube, CNN, Microsoft, Rotten Tomatoes and a ton more!

To delete all the Flash Cookies currently being stored on your machine:

1. Go to the Settings Manager (Website Storage Settings)
2. Go to the far-right tab
3. Click “Delete all sites”

To prevent websites from storing any more information on your computer:

1. Go to Settings Manager
2. Click the Second Tab from the left (Global Storage Settings)
3. Set the Storage Settings slider to None
4. Uncheck “Allow Third Party Flash Content to store data on your computer

There are several other “privacy” settings on the other tabs, but don’t be persuaded. Most of those privacy settings have to do with whether or not websites can access your microphone and webcam. There isn’t a single cookie option on any of the privacy tabs on the Settings Manager.

Adobe, as a global leader in browser technology (a 98% computer market share), has a responsibility to make Privacy Options easily accessible from within the Player application itself. They also have a responsibility to set reasonble default limitations. It’s ridiculous that they would enable websites to store cookies indefinitely, and in such large sizes.

Is Adobe intentionally allowing websites to abuse privacy? You tell me. Comments Welcome.

By rob at 2008-10-16 10:55 | rob's blog

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[Hadret]

Then I removed the Debian-Multimedia versions of FFmpeg and replaced them with Debian's own versions. The new version of Gnash uses the FFmpeg libraries, so you must use Debian's own FFmpeg packages:

What about Gnash 0.8.5 in Debian Sid? When I'm installing it, it doesn't prompt me to remove FFmpeg libraries from Debian-Multimedia (:

BTW. is it only me, or Gnash doesn't work with HD movies on YT? [:

[Soul Singin']

What about Gnash 0.8.5 in Debian Sid? When I'm installing it, it doesn't prompt me to remove FFmpeg libraries from Debian-Multimedia (:

You're using Sid. I'm using Lenny. There are going to be a few differences between the two. Nonetheless ... the difference might have arisen because you installed the DEB, whereas I had to install a few more things in order to build the package from source. In theory, you could also build Gnash against the FFmpeg libraries in Debian-Multimedia, but when I tried that the build failed. (See my second post).

BTW. is it only me, or Gnash doesn't work with HD movies on YT? [:

Could you provide a link?

When I built Gnash against Debian's FFmpeg libraries, I was able to view YouTube videos.* But when I tried to use my Gnash build with Debian-Multimedia's FFmpeg libraries, I wasn't able to view any YouTube videos at all. Rebuilding Gnash with Gstreamer as the handler solved that problem.

* The regular YouTube videos. I don't know which "HD movies" you're referring to.
.

[Hadret]

You're using Sid. I'm using Lenny. There are going to be a few differences between the two. Nonetheless ... the difference might have arisen because you installed the DEB, whereas I had to install a few more things in order to build the package from source. In theory, you could also build Gnash against the FFmpeg libraries in Debian-Multimedia, but when I tried that the build failed. (See my second post).

I was just wondering how packages in Sid are built. Against Debian-Multimedia packages, I guess, right?

When I built Gnash against Debian's FFmpeg libraries, I was able to view YouTube videos.* But when I tried to use my Gnash build with Debian-Multimedia's FFmpeg libraries, I wasn't able to view any YouTube videos at all. Rebuilding Gnash with Gstreamer as the handler solved that problem.
* The regular YouTube videos. I don't know which "HD movies" you're referring to.

HD/HQ movies are almost everywhere on YT. Here's an example, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct7y3N9tSvE, just click HQ icon and check if it's working with Gnash, please (:

[Telemachus]

I was just wondering how packages in Sid are built. Against Debian-Multimedia packages, I guess, right?

No, I seriously doubt it. I thought that the entire reason that Debian-Multimedia exists is to distribute well-made debs of packages that Debian won't provide (or won't provide in that configuration or version, in the case of something like mplayer or vlc).

[Hadret]

No, I seriously doubt it. I thought that the entire reason that Debian-Multimedia exists is to distribute well-made debs of packages that Debian won't provide (or won't provide in that configuration or version, in the case of something like mplayer or vlc).

Is that so? So why installing Gnash doesn't replace packages from Debian-Multimedia does from Debian main repositories? Seriously I don't get it
And could it be that HD/HQ videos aren't working in Gnash because of using packages from Debian-Multimedia and not does from Debian main repositories?

[Soul Singin']

HD/HQ movies are almost everywhere on YT. Here's an example, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct7y3N9tSvE, just click HQ icon and check if it's working with Gnash, please (:

OK. Help me out. Where is the HQ icon? I can't find it.

Is that so? So why installing Gnash doesn't replace packages from Debian-Multimedia does from Debian main repositories? Seriously I don't get it

Take a look at the control file in the gnash-common package. Assuming that the package is installed, you can see it by running the command:

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apt-cache show gnash-common

Here's the control file in Sid's gnash-common package:

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Package: gnash-common
Source: gnash
Version: 0.8.5-1
Architecture: i386
Maintainer: Miriam Ruiz <little_miry@yahoo.es>
Installed-Size: 8640
Depends: libavcodec52 (>= 3:0.svn20090303-1) | libavcodec-unstripped-52 (>= 3:0.svn20090303-1), libavformat52 (>= 3:0.svn20090303-1) | libavformat-unstripped-52 (>= 3:0.svn20090303-1), libavutil49 (>= 3:0.svn20090303-1) | libavutil-unstripped-49 (>= 3:0.svn20090303-1), libboost-date-time1.34.1 (>= 1.34.1-8), libboost-thread1.34.1 (>= 1.34.1-8), libc6 (>= 2.4), libcurl3-gnutls (>= 7.16.2-1), libfontconfig1 (>= 2.4.0), libfreetype6 (>= 2.2.1), libgcc1 (>= 1:4.1.1), libgif4 (>= 4.1.6), libglib2.0-0 (>= 2.12.0), libjpeg62, libldap-2.4-2 (>= 2.4.7), libltdl7 (>= 2.2.6a), libpng12-0 (>= 1.2.13-4), libsdl1.2debian (>= 1.2.10-1), libspeex1 (>= 1.2~beta3-1), libstdc++6 (>= 4.2.1), libswscale0 (>= 3:0.svn20090303-1) | libswscale-unstripped-0 (>= 3:0.svn20090303-1), libx11-6, libxi6, zlib1g (>= 1:1.1.4)
Recommends: csound
Conflicts: gnash (<< 0.8.1~), gnash-common-opengl, libgnash0 (<< 0.8.1~), libklash0 (<< 0.8.1~)
Replaces: gnash (<< 0.8.1~), libgnash0 (<< 0.8.1~), libklash0 (<< 0.8.1~)
Section: libs
Priority: optional
Homepage: http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash/
Description: free SWF movie player - common files/libraries
 Gnash is a free SWF movie player, which works either standalone, or as
 plugin for Firefox/Mozilla or Konqueror.
 .
 This package includes the common files/libraries that use AGG (Antigrain)
 as the rendering backend.

Notice that it depends on FFmpeg libraries 3:0.svn20090303-1 or higher, so as long as Debian-Multimedia's FFmpeg libraries are greater than 3:0.svn20090303-1, installing gnash-common will not require their replacement.
.

[Soul Singin']

OK. Help me out. Where is the HQ icon? I can't find it.

Yep. That's because there is no HQ button when you're using Gnash. I had to use Adobe Flash to find it.

And could it be that HD/HQ videos aren't working in Gnash because of using packages from Debian-Multimedia and not does from Debian main repositories?

Doubtful. I'm using Gnash with GStreamer as the audio and video handler and I'm encountering the same problem. My guess is that it has something to do with the fact that Gnash is seen as "Adobe Flash 8.0.99.0"
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[Hadret]

Yep. That's because there is no HQ button when you're using Gnash. I had to use Adobe Flash to find it.

I've got one - http://yfrog.com/1ignashp (:
But HQ/HD doesn't work, I dunno why ):

Doubtful. I'm using Gnash with GStreamer as the audio and video handler and I'm encountering the same problem. My guess is that it has something to do with the fact that Gnash is seen as "Adobe Flash 8.0.99.0"

Well, mine says something like this:

Nazwa pliku: libgnashplugin.so
Shockwave Flash 9.0 r999. Gnash 0.8.5, the GNU SWF Player. Copyright © 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Gnash comes with NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law. You may redistribute copies of Gnash under the terms of the GNU General Public License. For more information about Gnash, see http://www.gnu.org/software/gnash. Compatible Shockwave Flash 9.0 r999.

[Soul Singin']

Nazwa pliku: libgnashplugin.so
Shockwave Flash 9.0 r999. Gnash 0.8.5,

Nie chodzi o nazwę pliku. Chodzi o to co YouTube widzi. Idź na stronę Adobe-go i zobaczysz, że strony web uważają Gnash za "Adobe Flash 8.0.99.0"

A potem idź do swojego pięknego wrocławskiego rynku i zrób zdjęcia dla mnie! Chciałbym mieć zdjecie zegara na pulpcie.
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[Hadret]

Nie chodzi o nazwę pliku. Chodzi o to co YouTube widzi. Idź na stronę Adobe-go i zobaczysz, że strony web uważają Gnash za "Adobe Flash 8.0.99.0"

Ta strona w ogóle twierdz, że nie mam Flasha

A potem idź do swojego pięknego wrocławskiego rynku i zrób zdjęcia dla mnie! Chciałbym mieć zdjecie zegara na pulpcie.

Jutro będę w Rynku, ale nie ma czym zrobić zdjęcia, bo mój teli robi fotki beznadziejnej jakości, a do lepszego sprzęta nie mam dostępu at the moment

[jalu]

The most convenient way to get the new Gnash in Debian Lenny is to add:

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deb http://debian.jones.dk/ lenny gnash


to your /etc/apt/sources.list file and run:

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apt-get update
apt-get install gnash gnash-common gnash-cygnal gnash-tools mozilla-plugin-gnash
apt-get clean

what about the keyring? thanks

[Soul Singin']

what about the keyring? thanks

Sorry. I don't know. I never installed those packages.

[jalu]

that might be a really dump question in your ears,but might it be that it is:
http://debian.jones.dk/tools/signkey/
and if yes, how would i add it ?
thanks again

[Soul Singin']

might it be that it is:
http://debian.jones.dk/tools/signkey/

Sorry. Those are Perl scripts.

I just spent half an hour trying to figure out how to get his key, but I have not been successful. In principle, it should be possible to get his Key ID from the MIT PGP Public Key Server and then run:

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$ gpg --keyserver subkeys.pgp.net --recv-key C02440B8
$ gpg -a --export C02440B8 > jonas.key
$ su
Password:
# apt-key add jonas.key
# apt-get update
# apt-get install gnash mozilla-plugin-gnash gnash-cygnal gnash-tools

but he didn't sign the packages with that key. So just save yourself the headache and install it without authentication.

Once again, here are the steps. Add the following line to your /etc/apt/sources.list file:

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deb http://debian.jones.dk/ lenny gnash

Then run:

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apt-get update
apt-get install gnash mozilla-plugin-gnash gnash-cygnal gnash-tools

and ignore any warnings about authentication.

Finally, I mentioned this in other posts, but I'm not sure if it is at all comprehensible ...

• The version of Gnash in Debian Lenny (0.8.4) uses GStreamer.

• The version of Gnash that you will be installing from the "Jones repo" (0.8.5) uses FFmpeg and probably will not work if you installed the version of FFmpeg from Debian-Multimedia. (See my first post in this thread for details).

• To get around that problem, I compiled Gnash 0.8.5 against GStreamer. (See my second post in this thread for details).

Good Luck!
.

[jalu]

Sorry. Those are Perl scripts.

i guess you know what i mean by saying it might sound dump.
lets hope it will be good for a bit of laughing.

thanks for your explanation.
as said in the other thread i`ll take my time to get it running, but i`m on the path. I guess the first thing i have to check is the gstreamer/ffmpeg thing you mentioned. (As said i did it brutal-force without any reading at all, so i really can`t complain. installing the nonfree-plugin also took me a while).
thanks again and greetings

[Soul Singin']

Flash Cookies: The Silent Privacy Killer

To purge those cookies:

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rm -r /home/XXXX/.adobe/
rm -r /home/XXXX/.macromedia/

.

[jalu]

on lenny, iceweasel 3.0.6-1

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jalu$  dpkg -l *gnash* *gstreamer* | awk {'if ($1 == "ii") print $2 "\t\t" $3'}
gnash           0.8.5-1~0jones1
gnash-common            0.8.5-1~0jones1
gnash-cygnal            0.8.5-1~0jones1
gnash-tools             0.8.5-1~0jones1
gstreamer0.10-alsa              0.10.19-2
gstreamer0.10-ffmpeg            0.10.4-3
gstreamer0.10-fluendo-mp3               0.10.7.debian-1
gstreamer0.10-gnomevfs          0.10.19-2
gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad               0.10.7-2
gstreamer0.10-plugins-base              0.10.19-2
gstreamer0.10-plugins-base-apps         0.10.19-2
gstreamer0.10-plugins-good              0.10.8-4.1~lenny1
gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly              0.10.8-1
gstreamer0.10-tools             0.10.19-3
gstreamer0.10-x         0.10.19-2
libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-0         0.10.19-2
libgstreamer0.10-0              0.10.19-3
libgstreamer0.10-dev            0.10.19-3
mozilla-plugin-gnash            0.8.5-1~0jones1

i gave it another try this night:
i removed mozilla-flashplugin and ffmpeg and then installed the above. I`m getting
a white screen:


about:plugins:
File name: libgnashplugin.so
Shockwave Flash 9.0 r999. Gnash 0.8.5, the GNU SWF Player.

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application/x-shockwave-flash 	Shockwave Flash 	swf 	Yes

am i missing something obvious? Obviously yes, but what? thanks a lot.