The new beta 10.1 Flash player, in conjunction with new Windows drivers for AMD, nVIDIA or Intel graphics, finally pulls the workload off of the CPU and onto the GPU where it belongs.  As of yet this is not true for Linux, a bit of a shame as the biggest changes will be seen on the netbooks, not all of which happen to be running a Microsoft product.  If you do happen to have a netbook running Windows, then the new Flash player is probably a big hit with you.  The Tech Report takes a look at the differences you can see on HD Flash video playback on a variety Ion, Atom and Intel GMA based netbooks.

“But there’s long been one area of common PC usage where low-cost systems tend to choke: dealing with Adobe’s Flash platform, especially the near-ubiquitous Flash-based videos plastered all over the web. Pull up that latest hilarious YouTube clip of babies and/or kittens on your hot pink MSI Wind, and you’re in for deep disappointment. Those lovable little balls of flubber/fluff slow to a near-standstill. Meanwhile, the Wind works to earn it name; its fan kicks up, shooting a stream of hot air out of its side, to no great effect. You’re stuck in slideshow land, from which the best escape is closing the browser tab—if only the system would respond to your clicks.”

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