Hi
I opened Poser 8 for the first time in a couple weeks Sunday and found the library pallette just displayed an error message that flash needed to be installed. 
I've had an elusive problem for quite some time with spontanious reboots, locking up, crashes, IE freezing, etc. that I finally  "solved" by uninstalling Flash ( updating vid drivers, IE, OS, etc, nothing else helped).
After installing and uninstalling the latest Flash 4 times, the Poser 8 library finally initializes properly, but now I'm again experiencing system problems - is there an alternative to Adobe's flash that will work in Poser 8?  It's just so frustrating to install it when I want to use Poser 8.
I didn't know that the Poser 8 interface required external plug ins to display.  Reminds me of the time I installed Microsoft's Encarta and found it wouldn't function without IE installed.

I'll be interested in the answer to this as I've not yet upgraded and this will determine if I do. 

For Poser 8 to require Flash to be installed is ludicrous (even though I have Flash on my system but for other apps).

Yes it requires flash and yes it can be a hassle to get it up and running.

You just need the Flash Plugin, not the developer platform (think Flash CS4 is latest version).
Library was developed with Flex, part of Flash Builder (which maybe has Adobe Air too)
It saves lot of time in develop application because many code is already written

 Here I go again...  Poser 8  and probably all future releases are dependent on external software to perform certain functions.   Your internet browser being another speed grabber..

I personally do not like it,   but then again I am just an old Geezer who likes to complain about poser.   Especially since it is My Favorite piece of software..!!

The Adobe Flash plugin is part of your Poser installation but you need to navigate through your installation menu to find it.

Where to get flash isn't a problem.
I've installed, updated, downloaded, and un-installed it over a dozen times. The problem is that aside from being a known security risk, it just doesn't play well in my system.
Are there any substitutes or workarounds to flash that can be used in Poser 8?

I know that when I got fed up with Adobe's PDF utility I was able to find a couple programs online that work just as well or better without plundering my system resources or  the risk of executing malignant code in PDF documents.  I was just hoping somewhere there was a better alternative to Flash as well.

There are several alternatives to the Poser 8 library GUi altogether. Some free, some pay.

Semidieu makes one. Dimension3D makes one. There are others.

It has been discussed many times in this forum. Do searches for "alternative library" or something like that.

I [Hurriedly knocks on wood] have had no problems at all with the P8 library under XP.  I do have a problem with it under Linux, but that isn't due to a problem with Poser, and I'm able to work around it.

The only reason Flash isn't a Windows component is that Microsoft didn't buy it.

Quote - There are several alternatives to the Poser 8 library GUi altogether. Some free, some pay.

Semidieu makes one. Dimension3D makes one. There are others.

It has been discussed many times in this forum. Do searches for "alternative library" or something like that.

I've read and bookmarked most or all of those threads, and I think I've bought pretty much all of the utilities mentioned, but not had time to actually install or try any of them out yet. 

I want to clarify that I've no problem with Poser 8 interface itself, but only with flash & the way it behaves in my computer.  I was just hoping to find an alternative way to keep the library working without having to remember to install flash first every time.

Oh well, question asked and answered.

Thank you, everyone for your comments.

DON'T install the version of Flash that comes with Poser 8!!!!!!! NO NOT AT ALL!!!!!! Seriously just save your sanity & install it from the Adobe Website instead.

Let's put this in perspective.

Lots of programs we use every day depend on so-called "external software", some of which are add-on Microsoft components (e.g. .NET), and some of which are third party. It's not ludicrous, it's standard practice. Flash itself is used in many web sites and applications, and is a more or less ubiquitous plug-in.

My advice would be to focus your attention on sorting out the issue with Flash on your computer. That's the cause of this problem, not Poser.

Quote  "Lots of programs we use every day depend on so-called "external software", some of which are add-on Microsoft components (e.g. .NET), and some of which are third party. It's not ludicrous, it's standard practice. Flash itself is used in many web sites and applications, and is a more or less ubiquitous plug-in.

My advice would be to focus your attention on sorting out the issue with Flash on your computer. That's the cause of this problem, not Poser."

 It may be "Standard Practice"  for Window Boxes.  But on a Mac I am used to software packages running independently.  This is one of the reasons I changed to Mac,  many years ago.  I suppose this is going to happen more and more now that Apple and Windows are using the same CPU's..

I may have to force Myself to accept this,   but I do NOT have to like it..!!

apple and flash. oh thats a can of worms. ol' Jobs wants flash dead and gone......

Off topic - do you know why Flash is not available on IPod and similar devices? Because Apple does not want you getting free applications.

No interpreted languages are allowed on IPod.

Quote - But on a Mac I am used to software packages running independently.

I'm also on a Mac. I get my full share of PC masochism at work and have no wish to carry on with it at home.

But guess what. On a Mac, just like on a PC, nothing.... nothing... runs "independently". To do that, an application would have to be completely scratch built in native machine code. Just like it would have been in the dark ages of computing.

Poser 8's dependence on Flash turned me off as well... not to mention the tiny thumbnail icons, keyboard shortcuts not working, the removal of the super-fast Poser 4 Renderer, etc...

Quote - Lots of programs we use every day depend on so-called "external software", some of which are add-on Microsoft components (e.g. .NET)

Just because lots of programs do it doesn't make it correct. The problem is that the software becomes dependent on the external software. Suppose Adobe updates Flash to fix a "known bug" and Poser stops working- is this the user's fault for not downloading today's version of Flash? Or is it Poser's fault for requiring Flash? If Poser just stops working, will the user know to update Flash or will he get frustrated with Poser?
And if Flash 8 works fine for every other application (including viewing videos at YouTube and Hulu), why do I need Flash 11.5 Beta in order to use Poser?

And like other people have said, Flash does have some security holes, and when you base your software on someone else's, you inherit those same security holes.

As for the iPod and Flash, there are numerous discussions about the "real reason" on tech sites, Apple sites, Flash sites, etc. But one of the conclusions is that Flash allows developers to create applications which run within a browser, which Apple can't control. And since Apple is selling applications, they don't want anything free to compete with their marketplace.
There are also arguments about how Flash applications can have their own interface, which takes away from Apple's "elegant" UI.

Well spoken :-)

Quote - As for the iPod and Flash ... they don't want anything free to compete with their marketplace.

Isn't that what I just said two posts up? 

Is repeating me all it takes to get a "well spoken" now? LOL

Quote - Poser 8's dependence on Flash turned me off as well... not to mention the tiny thumbnail icons,

You do know you can adjust the size of the thumbs in P8's library right?

To clarify, you do not need or want Beta Flash or Beta anything else.. the latest Flash 10 is all you need (make sure you install the one for IE, even if you do not use IE as your Browser.

I have Flash 10 installed for my IE (and, yes, I use it as my browser) so I'm not too worried.

I did break down and upgrade from P7 to P8 (couldn't afford the cost to go to PP2010) and it's sitting on my desk right now.  I have a new motherboard and ram coming next week and I'll install it then, after upgrading my hardware (moving from 4 Gb of RAM to 8)

Quote - Just because lots of programs do it doesn't make it correct. The problem is that the software becomes dependent on the external software. Suppose Adobe updates Flash to fix a "known bug" and Poser stops working- is this the user's fault for not downloading today's version of Flash? Or is it Poser's fault for requiring Flash? If Poser just stops working, will the user know to update Flash or will he get frustrated with Poser?

I'm a bit concerned about the same things, myself.    Have these questions been adequately addressed in another thread somewhere?

Quote - > Quote - Poser 8's dependence on Flash turned me off as well... not to mention the tiny thumbnail icons,

You do know you can adjust the size of the thumbs in P8's library right?

It's all in the Klingon toothpick. ;)