Install flashplayer

Hardy Heron (Ubuntu 8.04)

sudo apt-get install flashplugin-nonfree

or follow the instructions in Multimedia and DVDs in Ubuntu

Method 2 - download the tar.gz file

Browse to http://www.adobe.com

click on Get Adobe Flashplayer

click the Download .tar.gz file link (You have read the user agreement, right?)

save to disk. In Ubuntu, this will be /home/<your user name>/Desktop. Other systems may download to /home/<your user name> by default.

open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+t)

"cd Desktop" (on an Ubuntu box)

type tar -xvzf ins and then hit the tab key. The line then should look something like "tar -xvzf install_flash_player_10_linux.tar.gz".

Hit enter. This should result in a series of filenames being typed on the screen as the package is extracted.

enter cd install_flash_player_10_linux

enter sudo ./flashplayer-installer

follow the prompts. When it asks what browser to install it for, select m or a

for the root install, the path for firefox on Ubuntu Dapper is /usr/lib/firefox

the path on Ubuntu Hardy is /usr/lib/firefox-3.0

you should now have flash installed on your freekbox. Open a browser and go to http://youtube.com to test it.

A more inclusive approach

To enable flash, java, a few video formats, some special fonts, and MP3 playback all at once, use Synaptic to install ubuntu-restricted-formats. You'll need to agree to abide by any licenses attached to the software.

For more information on installing the software to enable and using non-free formats on your Ubuntu system, visit the Ubuntu page on Restricted Formats.