On Sat, 2003-03-29 at 13:35, Todd Booher wrote: > Once again a Linux zealot scares the masses away. Letting somebody > know they need to "get a little backbone" is not the most constructive > way to attract people to a new platform
Who sez I'm trying to attract the masses? I'm trying to challenge the masses to do better...to think better. Mp3s on Red Hat are not an alternative...open source multimedia codecs are the alternative. Stop using mp3s...start using ogg vorbis, and pray ogg tarkin gets released soon so you can do open source video too. I call 'em like I see them. Whining to a mailinglist does very little. If you want open source alternatives you have to be willing to let go of the patented proprietary status-quo. Its not just a matter of when Red Hat will support patented technology, because I doubt that is going to happen. You might think the GPL is a little overzealous in its fanatical view about what is and is not "free". You might think the GPL's insistance on free and clear redistribution is what is really holding Red Hat back from mp3's. But i seriously doubt Red Hat's management would be looking at including such patent encombered technologies even if there wasn't a single line of GPL code in the distro. Even if it were all BSD-like code, I doubt Red Hat would be basing its multimedia offerings on patent encumbered technology. There is a reason why MS created its own video/audio codecs in windows media player. There is a reason why Apple sticks with its own quicktime products. It makes horrible business sense to pin yer operating systems functionality on technology that you can not control. And it makes even worse business sense for Red Hat, if part of Red Hat's allure is being "open-source", so that they can not be locked in to Red Hat as the sole provide of services and support. Didn't we just see MS get smacked in a lawsuit about some SQL Server technology that they licensed? These kind of licensing arrangements for core tech is poor business decision. Its far better for everyone if Red Hat puts effort into the vorbis collection of open codecs, and helps get them ready for real use. Asking for mp3 support, shows you don't "get it" in either a technological or a business sense. Mp3s in Red Hat is not the alternative that you are really looking for. Open Source multimedia codecs are the real alternative, a real cross platform alternative that everyone can implement. (And im not talking GPL codecs either..ogg vorbis is BSD-like i think) If all the masses want are mp3s, avi etc etc, well why would I want to attract such people to use a product that will most likely never be able to support those SPECIFIC patent encombered proprietary codecs? What I want to do is challenge the masses to think and act better..to think about and use the real alternatives...open source codecs. So show a little backbone..start using as much ogg vorbis technology that you can. Encode all yer music into oggs...ask the BBC to start offering ogg streams again. Go to CompUSA and tell them you are looking for a portable player capable of using ogg vorbis...show some backbone, lead with yer consumer purchase decisions, and stop using the proprietary codecs as much as you can and make everyone who wants yer money aware that you are looking to only support open technologies. Mp3 and avi, on Red Hat is not the alternative. Open standard multimedia formats are...anything less than that is a losing game for the open source community and the businesses like Red Hat who are selling open source products. > Red Hat knows better than anyone which direction they should go in > from a business stand point. I was just trying to give my opinion as > a user who would like to see things go a certain direction. And I'm telling you my opinion...that yer opinion is a little short sighted, and you are missing the bigger picture about what is best for everyone. > I do know > that there are many other Red Hat users who feel the same way so I'm > not alone here. What is popular is not always right, and what is right is not always popular. Yes, it seems the "masses" don't really seem to grasp how important it is to develop open source codecs as a true alternative. Being able to interpolate with patent emcombered technology is never going to be something open source will be able to do both well and legally, well not until there is a MAJOR change in the US patent/copyright system...but that isn't going to happen. This is why representative governments are seen more often than straight forward democracies in large groups. Can you really expect "the masses" to know what is best for the community at large? -jef"ogg, it's not just for breakfeast"spaleta
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