Can't get videos/games to run with this

Question

Ok, with the previous release, I ran into the issue where YouTube videos and online games weren't working after I updated, so I went through the pain of uninstalling and reverting back to an earlier, functioning version while this was hammered out. Another release came along, and that one installed fine. Now, with this latest one, I'm back to my old problem where things aren't working, and again I have to go through the frustration of uninstalling and reinstalling.
Is there something I'm doing wrong on my end that is making this screw up so often? I'm running Firefox on my netbook, on a 32-bit system. Anything more than that, you're going to have to talk me through what you need and where to find it, because I'm not the most savvy with this - I can follow directions, but yeah...not my area of expertise. ^_^;
Any help would be greatly appreciated. I'm now a little gunshy about updating when I see there's a new Flash release, because yeah... So please, help?
Thanks!

Answer 1

Actually, it isn't.
I'm amazed that it's 2012 and people still need and explanation of what beta means. A beta version should have most of the functionality of the release version, with only minor bugs present that will be highlighted by external users as they come across them, and subsequently fixed by the developer. If a beta version of Flash crashes every time it loads flash content, then it shouldn't be in the beta channel, rather at the alpha stage and unavailable to those outside the company developing it. If there's greatly reduced functionality to facilitate testing, then it certainly shouldn't be available to anyone other than the developers. “Videos from some websites cannot be played on FF or Chrome” (3203907). In this case, shouldn't that read, “Videos and flash animations on all websites cannot be played on FF or Chrome”!?!? And the known issue you mention is a legacy from the earlier 11.3 release. Not even the settings manager on the Adobe main Flash page works with the 11.4.400.231 beta, unless you manually check the 'Show All' option by right clicking the Flash applet. Wow, look! I've identified a bug in 11.4 beta 1! Isn't that how beta testing is supposed to work!? And lets face it, Flash 11.3 has been such a dog, people are virtually forced into installing new beta versions in the forlorn hope that the problems they are experiencing will be solved.
Next time you try lecturing someone about the software release lifecycle, make sure you fully understand it otherwise that person, who may well have a degree in software engineering and several years experience as a software developer, might wipe the floor with you!
If I had a nickel for every time flash has crashed on me and for every minute I've spent installing new versions and sorting out flash problems, I could buy Adobe and initiate a decent software quality assurance regime.