IMPORTANT WARNING re: ADOBE AIR

[Opa 6]

I just ran across a very disturbing thread at Flightsim regarding a potential serious issue with a new graphic display program called Adobe Air.It apparently can create serious issues with your .air files.This is apparently not a hoax.I recommend reading the entire thread:http://forums.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?t=186262It just may save you some grief.

[altstiff 71]

Sounds like it makes a mess of things, thnaks for the heads up Dave.

[PittsS2B 33]

Well, that made for sobering reading! Thanks for the link. John G.

[tf51d 284]

>I just ran across a very disturbing thread at Flightsim>regarding a potential serious issue with a new graphic display>program called Adobe Air.>>It apparently can create serious issues with your .air files.>>This is apparently not a hoax.>>I recommend reading the entire thread:>>http://forums.flightsim.com/vbfs/showthread.php?t=186262>>It just may save you some grief.If this is true, this is very serious as more and more sites will undoubtedly adopt this technology, especially from a company like Adobe. Complaints from the community forums will help, but whats really needed is help from Aces, as it directly affects the continued usability of their product globally. I think we need Phil Taylor's help on this one!!! It's likely to affect FSX also!!

[G-SWSM 1]

Hi.I don't know if anyone is interested or not, but here goes.I went to my Add Remove programs, selected "Adobe Air" from the list then hit "Remove" and said YES to "are you sure etc"Then I ran CCleaner (a Very good little utility) and hey presto, the funny looking brown .air file scheme had gone.When I double clicked on an .air file, it asked me to specify a program from the list to open it with, so I just clicked on Notepad and put a tick in Always use this program, and all seems to be well again.The worst thing is that I did at No Time select or opt to install this item, and I am very very careful with what I install on my system.I know that Adobe wouldn't want to mess up our systems, but they Should have given us the Option during any new version of acrobat to install this program, or at the very least told us about it's installation and what it is for.Adobe have been around for a long time, so has FS, so I find it quite intriguing that No-One has realised the problems this has caused for how many FS users ?Just an info shot for you, hope it helps in some small way.Thanks.

[altstiff 71]

Quick question, how would you know if your files are corrupted? Would FS give you errors?

[Opa 6]

>Quick question, how would you know if your files are>corrupted? Would FS give you errors?I can only speculate that if your air file for a particular aircraft has been compromised you would likely not be able to fly the aircraft correctly as much of the data which affect flight dynamics is housed in the air files.I sure do not want to find out the hard way!

[Opa 6]

According to a new post at Flightsim, the Adobe Air program is a part of Adobe 9.quote...........Be advised that Adobe Air is also part of the new version of Adobe reader Version 9.It includes Acrobat.com which itself contains Adobe Air.So it might be wise to wait a little longer to migrate from version 8 to version 9 on Adobe reader.end quote.Until such time as this matter is resolved, I will certainly not update my Adobe Reader.

[meshman 109]

>>Until such time as this matter is resolved, I will certainly>not update my Adobe Reader.>Do what I do, skip using Adobe to look at PDF files. Have been using Foxit for a while and have had no problems.http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php

[onurksn 1]

>Be advised that Adobe Air is also part of the new version of>Adobe reader Version 9.>>It includes Acrobat.com which itself contains Adobe Air.>>So it might be wise to wait a little longer to migrate from>version 8 to version 9 on Adobe reader.>>Until such time as this matter is resolved, I will certainly>not update my Adobe Reader.Thank you indeed for the heads up. I'm staying with my old Adobe 7, no upgrade for me. I mean, who would of guessed Adobe??This has been a sort of paranoia for me since a while. I question everything I install that might affect FS9 in any way. If it touches FS then it goes away :-hangEDIT: Spelling

[Mike... 7]

I have downloaded over 175 aircrafts and ad ons,all of a sudden all of my new downloaded aircrafts are indicated damaged Air files and that I shouild request a new air file which is almost impossible because not every body list their addresses with their creations. Please help.Is FS telling him that his airfiles are damaged and that he should request new ones?!I tried the Adobe Media Player once and it gave Adobe icons to the .air files. (It sucked, removed it and the icons were gone.) I upgraded to Adobe Reader 9 when it came out. Adobe Air and Acrobat.com are listed in Add/Remove Programs. But I have never experienced any issues whatsoever.*Shrugs*

[Guest Jeffhew]

Just a quick update on this issue. Mike McCarthy and a couple of other folks at FlightSim.com are working on a fix for this problem. Mike is corresponding directly with Phil Taylor and Adobe. Thus far the response, from Phil, has been that it's something we need to deal with. Mike is very experienced in these matters and has generously offered to not only carry the ball on this but, also is using his system as a guinea pig of sorts in an effort to find a fix. Given that we will need to deal with Adobe on this, having Mike act as a single point of contact is a good plan, IMHO. If anyone here would like to contribute their experience or insights to the project, we would be grateful if you would post on the thread there as well. The link is posted in Opa's first post in this thread. With any luck, a cooperative effort within the community will get this issue resolved before it becomes a nightmare for alot more people.It is also recommended to avoid updating Adobe reader to v9 until the situation is resolved. Thanks.Regards,Jeff

[Guest Jeffhew]

It appears that my poor choice of words may lead some to believe that I was asserting that Phil Taylor is not willing to deal with this issue. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have apologized to Phil for the misunderstanding but want to be clear in this thread as well. When I said that it was something "we need to deal with" I didn't mean to imply that Phil was the issue but, rather, that it wasn't ACES or MS' doing, and that we as a community need to address the issue with Adobe. Once again, my apologies for any misunderstanding.Regards,Jeff

[rcbarend 37]

Hi David,I've read all and every post on this subject I could find at the moment I write this. But it doesn't make me any wiser :-)Although I can't beat this Mike M's 45 years of experiance (?? .. No Comment), I can only think of two potential problems:1. Merely installing Adobe Air (whatever it is) changes the .air files I have on my PC.2. Installing Adobe Air changes the default association of .air files from whatever it was, to Adobe Air without asking the user.If it's 1:That the dummest move any SW developper has made in the last 10+ years. And it's certainly an alarm for us flightsimmers.That is, if they assume that nobody, up to now, has used files with the .air extension, claim proprietary use of it and act accordingly.But I find it almost impossible to believe that such a reputable company would be that stupid.If it's 2:Not very clever (to put it mildly) by Adobe, but what's the harm ??Heck, any sound program that I install asks me if I want to associate my *.wav, *.mp3, or whatever file extension, with their program.But as long as I don't open/save the .air file with the associated program, what can happen ??So before someone can explain in detail what the actual problem is in stead of just guessing (by everything that has been written about it, it almost sounds like a new "virus"), as far as I'm concerned this "issue" is a "hoax".But thanks for the warning anyway :-).. You can never be too carefull...Cheers, Rob

[JSkorna 137]

I took the challenge:Downloaded and installed Air from the Adobe site.Ran FS04, planes loaded just fine.Downloaded and installed an Air program.Ran the program great!(Earth Browser)Ran FS04, planes loaded just fine. Yes, my .air files in FS are now associated with Adobe Air, but they loaded just fine.I did not:Backup my entire hard drive.Make multiple restore points. (didn't even make one)Burn my entire FS installation to DVDs.Run multiple defragments of my hard drive.Run 8 spyware programs.Anyone else?Jimhttp://www.hifisim.com/banners/hifi-community-sigbanner.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/