I got a pop-up notice on the computer this morning that my Adobe Flash Player wanted to update itself to a newer version. The brief overview bullet points said something about improved video performance and increased security. I try to always keep my Flash Player at the most recent level, but that can mean quite a few updates per year. They seem to be coming more frequently lately, as Adobe discovers and fixes security vulnerabilities.
Since more and more web conferencing products are using Flash as an underlying platform, it is very important for presenters and attendees to upgrade their version of the software before a conference. If you are the administrator for your webinars, make sure to check with your web conference vendor to find out the minimum version number of Flash that they support for presenters or attendees. Obviously this doesn’t concern you if you use a non-Flash conferencing product.
I usually add text such as the following to my initial registration confirmation message and login instructions for attendees. You are welcome to steal this as is or modify it for use in your own webinar communications. The instructions are more complex than they should need to be for a consumer product. Thanks a bunch, Adobe!
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ADDITIONAL TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Our conferencing software uses Adobe's Flash Player software, which should already be installed on your computer. Please check the version you have installed as follows:
1) Go to www.adobe.com/software/flash/about
In a box titled "Version Information" it will tell you which version you currently have on your computer. If the number is smaller than x.x.xx, you need to upgrade. It is a good idea to upgrade to the latest version anyway for the best performance and security.
2) Click in the second paragraph on that page where it says "Player Download Center". On the new page, uncheck the box that wants to give you a Free Google Toolbar, and click the big yellow button to "Agree and install now". Everything else should be automatic and you can try the version test again to check the installation.
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