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I would like to watch videos on bbc.co.uk/news and this currently requires Flash. A the moment Firefox does not work well on the tablet (the touch keyboard does not come up so can't search) but I'm not clear as to whether the default browser will support flash.

a) is it possible to add the multiverse repository so that I can install the Mozilla Firefox plugin that I have installed on by Ubuntu 14.04 desktop - assuming that Firefox can/will be made to work better for touch? I tried editing the repositories file but even with sudo it said it was read only.

b) is it at all possible to install flash for the default Aquaris M10 browser?

c) is Flash dead and I just need to wait for the BBC to update their website to use HTML5 video technology?

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2 Answers 2

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In the specific case of the bbc.co.uk website you can watch all their video content by going to this address:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/html5

and choosing 'opt-in' to their HTML5 Player beta.

BBC HTML5 Player Beta Screenshot

If you then go to the iPlayer you should be able to watch any of their videos in the Ubuntu Web Browser without any problems.

I've been able to do this from Ubuntu on a Nexus 4 and a Nexus 7 (2013) and it works pretty darn well and should also work with videos on the rest of their site too.

Can't remember how I first heard about them having this option, but it wasn't well advertised by the BBC site itself.

It might be worth doing a web search for other media sites you want to use to see if they have a similar HTML5 beta too.

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  • Thanks. I also discovered the HTML5 feature since posting my question. It is great to be able to watch the iPlayer on the phablet, but unfortunately it does not work yet for BBC new videos. We'll have to wait... May 28, 2016 at 21:11
  • Ah - I'm based in the UK and it always played whatever I chose. Just out of curiosity, are you watching them from outside the UK? It'd be interesting to know if they place restrictions depending on where you watch them from.
    – pHeLiOn
    May 29, 2016 at 9:48
  • I'm in the UK. I read somewhere on the BBC that the HTML5 player is still in Beta and is only available for the iPlayer May 31, 2016 at 6:58
  • Ah right, I guess I've just been choosing things from the iPlayer.
    – pHeLiOn
    May 31, 2016 at 16:23
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  1. The bq M10 user manual says Firefox doesn't support a soft keyboard because it is meant for PC mode only.
  2. You need to mount the root filesystem read / write to edit those files as follows:

    sudo mount -o remount,rw /
    
  3. Flash is not for ARM and only an old version is supported for Firefox for a limited time (somewhere 2017 it will be gone)
  4. so yeah flash is indeed kind of dead

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