Flash on 64-bit Ubuntu Linux (Yet another Howto)

Yes, yet another short tutorial.

1.

sudo apt-get install -y ia32-libs lib32asound2 lib32ncurses5 ia32-libs-sdl ia32-libs-gtk gsfonts gsfonts-x11 linux32

2. Download Firefox from mozilla.com. Unpack it.

3. Download the Flash installer, version 9. Unpack it.

4. Go into the Flash installer directory, and

linux32 ./flash-installer

(or whatever it is called).

5. Go into the Firefox directory, and

linux32 ./firefox

My install doesn't have the nicer GTK2 widgets. It reverted to the old style widgets, which look kind of "Win95". Still, it's worth it to get my occasional viewings of various online video sites.

What's Going On?

The Flash plugin works only in a 32 bit environment. The linux32 command fakes the 32bit settings and runs the firefox command, and the various ia32-* libraries create a 32bit environment.

To simulate a 32bit environment, you need to tweak what the system reports as its hardware... and also install a bunch of libraries that link with 32 bit code. Pretty simple.