On 02/26/2009 12:58 AM, John Kennedy wrote: > > Keith Bates wrote:
>> >> Good grief! >> >> All of that to get an mp3- a universal format, even if it isn't open >> source- playing in an impress file. >> [snip] > > Keith, > While the mp3 format is widely used, it is not free to use. The format > is patented and requires a license to use it commercially. You will find > that most, if not all, Open Source projects do not include mp3 > capabilities by default. You have to install 3rd party packages to get > that ability. Agree. And I should have pointed out that even with the Ubuntu (U)OOo builds you don't get MP3 'out-of-the-box', just the ability to use the codec's via gsteamer. See: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/RestrictedFormats Neither do go-oo or OxygenOffice; you still need to add the mp3codec. The Sun mp3plugin for JMF on the otherhand is licensed soley by Sun and is covered in Sun Microsystems, Inc. Binary Code License Agreement + JAVA MP3 PLUGIN 1.0 SUPPLEMENTAL LICENSE TERMS. <quote> A. Software Internal Use and Development License Grant. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, including, but not limited to Section B (Java Technology Restrictions) of these Supplemental Terms, Sun grants you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, limited license to reproduce internally and use internally the binary form of the Software, complete and unmodified, for the sole purpose of playing MP3 files with your Java enabled device </quote> > I don't recall who owns the rights/patents for mp3 but they are the ones > who make mp3 integration difficult, not Sun or other Open Source > projects which are run by volunteers with little or no money to pay for > licenses. http://mp3licensing.com/royalty/software.html No idea of how that ties in with the Sun agreement. Regarding money, volunteers & licenses, see below. > Now, I do agree from a previous email that it should be easier to add > sound support to Impress (at least for ogg format which is Open Source) > but that is another discussion. > John I'd *much* prefer that Sun/OOo adopt the work already and instead use the already opensource gstreamer patches for OOo. In today's 'media-rich' world (good or bad), and continued market share of linux desktops, Sun/OOo simply can't continue to keep the 'JMF' only stance. Further, JMF hasn't been updated/worked on since 2003 and the mp3plugin since 2004. All source code for use of gstreamer is available for download & use: http://svn.gnome.org/viewvc/ooo-build/branches/ooo-build-3-0-1/ http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/download/ http://gstreamer.freedesktop.org/src/ Much of that work is done by volunteers as well. --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [email protected] For additional commands, e-mail: [email protected]
