As an ardent FOSS supporter : "Well said" :) [really - no sarcasm]
If only people would make real-world, rational and pragmatic arguments about FOSS then this adversarial stuff would be less strident. The argument (IMO) should be about the use of an open standard, not Adobe vs Gnash. If your OS/device/whatever can't do published standards then tough. OTO if the BBC supports and promotes proprietary standards (cf Microsoft OOXML) then that's more of an issue. In that case I think the BBC (and any organisation capable of reviewing the behaviour of vendors for the past 15 years) would be well advised to consider the competitive landscape. Vendor lock-in is a well understood strategy that provides little, if any, benefit to the purchasing organisation in the medium/long term. Only if failure is expected does planning for the long-term makes no senses. I know (and care) little about "Chief Systems" - however the story is reasonable. The BBC are providing a service that Adobe has a veto over - they (Adobe) can *prevent* entrepreneurs from starting up with linux-based devices. (Tivo anyone?) I think that *that* is the reason that the BBC have a duty to counterbalance their support for Adobe/Flash with support for more open alternatives. Dave's argument would (IMHO) have been better phrased in these terms than by asking for a hand-out. David Richard Lockwood wrote: > Quite. I seem to remember Mr Crossland arguing vehemently when the > iPlayer beta came out that the BBC shouldn't be spending money on it > because it didn't benefit all users. > > Pot, kettle, etc. > > Rich. > > On Tue, Mar 4, 2008 at 10:32 PM, Adam Leach <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> I hope the BBC does not spend licence fee money on the development of >> Gnash. This money should be spent to benefit the majority of the >> license payers, not just a very small group. >> >> I'm sure once Gnash has got the capability to run the flash used on the >> BBC website they will happily support it. >> >> Adam >> >> On Tue, 2008-03-04 at 22:19 +0100, Dave Crossland wrote: >>> Hi, >>> >>> It seems Gnash is attracting a lot of funding and direct support these >>> days... >>> >>> When will the BBC support access to the Flash-based parts of its >>> websites with free software by helping the Gnash project? >>> >>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> From: James Northcott / Chief Systems <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >>> Date: 4 Mar 2008 21:45 >>> Subject: [Gnash-dev] Gnash, Flash, Adobe, and cash >>> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >>> >>> Hello, >>> >>> My business partners and I are currently working on a Linux-based >>> application that requires Flash playback. >>> >>> Adobe has specifically excluded our application from bundling a Flash >>> player under the terms of their free distribution license, and our >>> efforts to negotiate some sort of paid licensing agreement have >>> stalled. At this point, we are looking for alternatives, and it would >>> seem that helping Gnash would be a viable option for us. >>> >>> This leads me to ask the following questions: >>> >>> 1. What is stopping the Gnash team from fully implementing the >>> Flash 9 file format? Where could we help the most? >>> >>> I understand there are some legal issues with those who have agreed >>> to the Adobe EULA making contributions to Gnash. I'm also sure that >>> there are manpower issues, as well as funding issues. I would >>> appreciate someone taking the time to explain where the largest issues >>> lie. We have some programming resources available, although we have >>> no experience with the Gnash codebase at all, as well as a potentially >>> large number of sample Flash movies that play correctly in the Adobe >>> player but not in Gnash. >>> >>> 2. What kind of monetary investment would be necessary to >>> significantly speed up Gnash development? >>> >>> I realize that this may be a difficult question to answer, but we are >>> quite serious. We were prepared to pay Adobe to license their player, >>> but this seems to have hit a dead end - could our contribution to >>> Gnash help speed up development, and if so, how large a contribution >>> would be required to overcome the blockers for Flash 9 support? >>> >>> We understand the open source model, and we are not interested in >>> owning the copyright or changing the license of the Gnash code. We >>> are simply willing to pay to get Flash 9 playback in our product, if >>> this ends up being within our budget. >>> >>> I appreciate any feedback you have for me. >>> >>> James >>> >>> > - > Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please > visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. > Unofficial list archive: > http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/
