Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2006 14:41:33 +1000 From: Michael Vince <mv@thebeastie.org> To: Frank Laszlo <laszlof@vonostingroup.com> Cc: freebsd-multimedia@freebsd.org, freebsd-advocacy@freebsd.org Subject: Re: [SPAM] Re: Flash Player on FreeBSD Message-ID: <4440797D.3080702@thebeastie.org> In-Reply-To: <443D12BF.90609@vonostingroup.com> References: <344551F9EAC08E419758E164722D239D031581@PESFOU02XCH.mku.hu> <44011.193.68.33.1.1144828250.squirrel@mail.c2.hu> <443D12BF.90609@vonostingroup.com>
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Frank Laszlo wrote: >Ádám Szilveszter wrote: > > >>Ok, after reading all of this, I start to wonder... There is lots of >>talk about asking Macromedia for a flash player for FreeBSD, some >>would be even ready to pay up... >> >>At the same time, I see little to no movements in creating alternative >>flash players... as if it was a natural given that only Macromedia >>software could be used to ever touch flash. Interesting. <Irony> Why >>no fundraise for an MS Office port for FreeBSD then? </Irony> >> >> >> >Openoffice. > > > >>Unfortunately in the past there were some attempts here and there with >>alternatives but they are mostly abandoned by now, except for the GNU >>sponsored project which is n very early stage. It would be interesting >>to know why this is so? (Apart from major lazyness on the part of many >>open source developers who consider that since they can use their >>Linux boxes with the Macromedia software, there is no problem to >>solve) >> >> >> > >Laziness has nothing to do with it, most open source developers have >other (paying) jobs that are more important than a non-paying hobby. > > >>As for "only occasional" releases (that you even pay for!) just to be >>something for FreeBSD: no thanks. We already had that with the >>"official" Netscape binaries for FreeBSD: it was really major fun to >>load all the compatibility crap because their application only ever >>existed in aout format. Such things also become outdated. This is not >>the way. Imagine if Macromedia once released a version 5 binary for >>FreeBSD and that's all you'd be left with until say version 9. Good >>luck with using that on today's sites. >> >> >> >This is only speculation, As long as there is a market, macromedia will >continue to release software. > > >>If you want to raise money, raise it to support the development of an >>alternative open source flash player so that everybody can make use of >>it. >> >> >> >Ok, so we need to get macromedia open release the technical >specifications for the flash format to do this, and continue to release >updates for it as the time progresses, this isn't much different from >having them release a compatible version. > > >-Frank >_______________________________________________ > > I still say its all bit of a day dream to choose to wait for Macromedia to open the Flash spec, when it seems that the reason they are now banning the use of their flash modules to only OS's they specify are reasons such as they feel that one day maybe they could loose control of they own flash products because of projects like the GNU flash project. The GNU flash project has been around for years and its moving slower then a snail pace I don't see it ever amounting to anything, I have been watching it in the ports tree for at least 2 years and I don't think its even changed versions over that time. And I think its just going to far, I mean Linux had a fully functional flash module but that wasn't enough? Seems like we now loose it all due to greed. To me I feel almost certain the reason why Macromedia have gotten mean with their flash products is purely so they are in a better position to lawyer death star the GNU flash project if it ever amounted to something. Seems like there is a lot of naivety in the tech industry, its just like recently how AMD sued Intel, "AMD said Intel engages in worldwide coercion of customers to stop them dealing with AMD. / AMD says Intel has paid Dell and Toshiba huge sums not to do business with AMD. " http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=24236 Sure enough after about 1 month later Dell start selling boxed packages of AMD CPUs, this is pretty pointless for Dell as not many people just want to buy CPUs by them selves and it increases support problems for them as people would be putting them into motherboards that Dell did sell etc. A lot of people reported how good it was of Dell to start doing this after all these years but its pretty clear the real reason Dell started doing this all of a sudden was as a favor to Intel to crush AMDs lawsuit. Would you take 100 million dollars from Intel and not do them favors now and then? I am sorry again this is just how it is. Until Dell start putting AMD cpus in their home/business Dell brand computers this is just a very destructive move against AMD and their lawsuit. This thread started out being about getting flash NOW as in really soon, now its just all day dreaming. You can expect Flash on FreeBSD in the 2 decades while we wait for Macromedia to open spec flash (which appears to be the last thing they want to do ) or wait for the GNU flash project which Macromedia might be planning to sue and looks like will never amount to anything because its already been around for many years and its unusable. My original idea/theory seems possible you pull together 20k in a 4 day fund raise like other FreeBSD projects have done ( http://people.freebsd.org/~andre/tcpoptimization.html http://people.freebsd.org/~cperciva/funding.html ) and you pay for it, and have flash in maybe a week? It couldn't take long to port the Linux flash module sources over at Macromedia to FreeBSD and build a binary. I really do believe that no amount of naive day dreaming is going to get anywhere. As for my PHP Zend encoder on 6.x FreeBSD, I bought the encoder during the 4.x days and I simply haven't upgraded the encoder yet. Mike
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