I need a straight answer...

[greekking23]

Alright, guys. I just need a straight answer to this question:

What is the likelihood that there will be a "program" created for a jailbroken iPod Touch that allows the viewer to watch Flash movies (In short, flash-player), because lots of sites I visit have Flash movies that are particularly funny.

[DerekVOF]

Why not try to predict the weather in Chicago on May 15, 2009 - you're about as likely to get a correct answer.

No one knows except for Apple. It's not a matter of someone creating a program - it's a matter of Apple & Adobe working together to port Flash to the iPod Touch which might be difficult due to the limited memory and the processor power of a handheld product. It's probably the most requested addition, so hopefully it'll come soon, but seriously, get yourself a Magic 8-Ball if you expect anyone here to give you a "straight answer" to this... Ask Steve Jobs - he knows...

[googs]

The question was not whether or not Apple would develop its own flash player. The question was what the chances were that a 3rd party would release a flash application that could be used with a jailbroken ipod.

[DerekVOF]

Ummm... well, let's see -- Flash is a proprietary format from Adobe, so they're the company most likely to port it. If I remember correctly, there is a mobile version of Flash that has been used on other devices, but it's got a seriously reduced feature set - meaning most sites still don't work with it. So a port for the iPhone/iPod Touch would probably need to be from the full code-base.

You can try to reverse engineer it like Gnash (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnash) but Gnash relies on other operating system features like OpenGL, and appears to be incompatible with a number of Flash sites still. Some applications like VLC I believe support Flash as well, but not 100% (audio sync problems are common).

Will Adobe & Apple release one? Hopefully. When? No idea. Likelihood of someone else trying to port a proprietary format without the source code for Flash? Unlikely.

If you're looking for movies on other sites, some of them are making versions available in .mp4 format - for example, try http://iphone.dailymotion.com/ - Contact your favorite sites and encourage them to support the iPhone & iPod Touch...

[greekking23]

alright, at least that clears it up for me. thanks, guys!

since i'm here, is there a site where i can get movies for free to put on a Touch?

[kornchild2002]

Look on Google videos, that is about all we can tell you. If you are talking about full length motion pictures then we can't advise you on that as it is illegal to download full movies, TV shows, and music videos in the U.S. without paying for the copyright.

[DerekVOF]

Well, there is another place - Archive.org... They're all public domain movies so they're legal... Plus they're already converted to MP4 format. Some to try:

- The original Phantom of the Opera - the "horror" of the Phantom's face caused women to faint in the theatres... http://www.archive.org/details/ThePhantomOfTheOpera_1929
- A Tail of Two Kitties - Abbott & Costello in cat form... http://www.archive.org/details/TaleofTwoKitties
- His Girl Friday - Cary Grant in a comedy ranked by AFI in the Top 20 comedies of all time... http://www.archive.org/details/his_girl_friday
- Suddenly - Frank Sinatra as a killer... http://www.archive.org/details/suddenly
- My Favorite Brunette - Bob Hope & Dorothy Lamour comedy... http://www.archive.org/details/my_favorite_brunette
- Meet John Doe - From the director of It's a Wonderful Life staring Gary Cooper & Barbara Stanwyck - Ranked in the Top 50 for AFI's 100 Years, 100 Cheers... http://www.archive.org/details/meet_john_doe