The new MacBook Air doesn&39't come preinstalled with Adobe Flash right out of the box, as I found out last night.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs' well-known distaste for Adobe Flash on mobile devices is now extending to the Mac.

Many of us testing the new MacBook Air noted that surfing over to a site that requires a Flash plug-in to display video gets you the above screen, which is what happens when Flash hasn't been installed. Previously, Apple had done the installation for its customers--but no longer. Apple is now saying that Mac owners will have to do it themselves.

"We're happy to continue to support Flash on the Mac, and the best way for users to always have the most up to date and secure version is to download it directly from Adobe," is what Apple's official statement says. And, the company is saying to expect that on all new Macs from now on.

It's not a huge deal: you can install it yourself from Adobe's own site in a matter of minutes. But it's easy to read it as symbolic of Apple's dysfunctional relationship with former partner Adobe.

It also means Jobs might not have been completely straightforward when asked Monday if there was any update on Apple's stance on Flash.