Adobe's Flash Player (originally a Macromedia product) remains the standard platform for viewing a wide variety of web content, varying from navigation elements to every video you watch on YouTube. Its ease of use, high performance, small file-size and now near-HD quality all combine to make it a popular choice for web content professionals and casual users alike.

Flash Player 9 includes a range of interesting additions and improvements when compared to previous versions. Top of that list is the inclusion of support for the H.264 video codec and the HE-AAC audio codec, which together offer a much richer, higher-definition picture along with crystal-clear sound. Introducing these capabilities with only slightly reduced performance looks set to trigger another revolution in web video, as the first HD movies are already beginning to appear on YouTube - and they look and sound great!

Apart from that, Flash 9 irons out some of the problems that previous versions have suffered from (like security and stability issues), as well as adding suuport for ActionScript 3.0, the latest instruction set from Adobe. This makes for more dynamic and interesting navigation, games and interactivity on websites.

Adobe Flash Player 9 represents a leap forward in terms of quality and also stability and security. It's therefore a highly recommended update for all users.