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Thanks for bringing this up with them Jack. It's been a serious concern when I've thought of creating a media center or switching my wife over to Linux.
"It's been a serious concern when I've thought of creating a media center or switching my wife over to Linux."
I've wanted to switch my wife over to Linux for a long time now, but in spite of my best efforts she is still she. Let me know if you come across any good wife-switching utilities. If not Linux, then an Amy Adams would do. As a matter of fact, forget the Linux; I'll go with the Amy Adams.
Edited for stoopid spelling.
I've wanted to switch my wife over to Linux for a long time now, but in spite of my best efforts she is still she. Let me know if you come across any good wife-switching utilities. If not Linux, then an Amy Adams would do. As a matter of fact, forget the Linux; I'll go with the Amy Adams.
Edited for stoopid spelling.
that Linux was better than Windows. She used Linux almost exclusively for several years on her personal laptop. There are still a couple of applications (scrapbook mainly) that she likes to use that will not run on Linux, even with Wine or in a VM. She's been on a kick lately that requires that software, so I changed her default boot OS back to Windows. Since then, she's complained about how slow it is and that it doesn't handle her photos as well as Linux. In reality, the photo part is probably simply a matter of process change rather than capability, but it was interesting to hear that coming from her.
My wife is not "technologically inclined" and yet hasn't run Windows personally since '95 -- but she has used (not adminned - just used) DEC/Compaq Tru64 Unix, RedHat 9, SuSE 9.2 Pro, Ubuntu 9.04 and soon 10.04.
She has used XP for her job a few years ago on the "work laptop" and hated every minute of it.
It all started over 12 years ago; Wifey had a Win95 box (100Mhz Pentium w/32Meg RAM) and I was working anywhere from 88 to 107 hours per week, and kept getting these "tech support" calls from her, like: "So, the computer has this weird blue screen with white lettering on it, what do I do?" and "So, the computer says 'Cannot find win.com,' what do I do?" and I was spending 10-20 hours a week supporting this thing, too. (Day care kids wreaked havoc on the box... Win95 reinstalls were almost weekly at the worst point.)
Eventually, after a particularly hard day & getting 2-3 more of these calls, I arrived home, and after hearing the barrage of problems the wife had with the computer, I calmly went upstairs, unplugged the computer, and threw it down the stairs. My wife screamed: "Oh My God - What did you do???" I calmly stated that I "fixed the computer" and went to bed.
2 days later, a friend who worked for DEC knew a friend selling a DEC Model 3000/300 (150MHz Alpha, 64Meg RAM) with 19" monitor; selling price: $225. (At the time, one of the 2 SCSI hard drives was worth that much alone!) I purchased it, my friend gave me lots of extra cables ( & a couple extra retired VaxStations for me to tinker with
) and I scrounged a compatible SCSI CD drive, installed Tru64 Unix (took 6 hours on that 1x drive), and showed my wife the slight differences in Netscape & whatnot; and I didn't get a tech support call for 18 months! The /log partition eventually filled, I had to set up a cron job to auto rotate the logs. 3 *more* years passed without a problem, until my wife said: "You know, I was over at [[ my best friend's ]] and her pictures look better on her computer than on mine."
The DEC still runs (dusted 'er off last year & sparked 'er up) but that was the start of my wife hating Windows from then on.
=-=-=-=
Oh, and I surely don't disagree with the Amy Adams idea -- heck, I'd gladly settle for a Jill Hennessy or Claudia Black...
Laterz,
"Merch"
She has used XP for her job a few years ago on the "work laptop" and hated every minute of it.
It all started over 12 years ago; Wifey had a Win95 box (100Mhz Pentium w/32Meg RAM) and I was working anywhere from 88 to 107 hours per week, and kept getting these "tech support" calls from her, like: "So, the computer has this weird blue screen with white lettering on it, what do I do?" and "So, the computer says 'Cannot find win.com,' what do I do?" and I was spending 10-20 hours a week supporting this thing, too. (Day care kids wreaked havoc on the box... Win95 reinstalls were almost weekly at the worst point.)
Eventually, after a particularly hard day & getting 2-3 more of these calls, I arrived home, and after hearing the barrage of problems the wife had with the computer, I calmly went upstairs, unplugged the computer, and threw it down the stairs. My wife screamed: "Oh My God - What did you do???" I calmly stated that I "fixed the computer" and went to bed.
2 days later, a friend who worked for DEC knew a friend selling a DEC Model 3000/300 (150MHz Alpha, 64Meg RAM) with 19" monitor; selling price: $225. (At the time, one of the 2 SCSI hard drives was worth that much alone!) I purchased it, my friend gave me lots of extra cables ( & a couple extra retired VaxStations for me to tinker with
) and I scrounged a compatible SCSI CD drive, installed Tru64 Unix (took 6 hours on that 1x drive), and showed my wife the slight differences in Netscape & whatnot; and I didn't get a tech support call for 18 months! The /log partition eventually filled, I had to set up a cron job to auto rotate the logs. 3 *more* years passed without a problem, until my wife said: "You know, I was over at [[ my best friend's ]] and her pictures look better on her computer than on mine."The DEC still runs (dusted 'er off last year & sparked 'er up) but that was the start of my wife hating Windows from then on.
=-=-=-=
Oh, and I surely don't disagree with the Amy Adams idea -- heck, I'd gladly settle for a Jill Hennessy or Claudia Black...
Laterz,
"Merch"
I introduced my wife to Ubuntu when we got married and she got it right away. I also use to let my buddies in the Army borrow it for movies and they didn't know it was linux.
bergenfx
Try this
sudo apt-get install gnuwife
Haven't tried it myself but I think it's the open source version of SecondWife(TM) for all versions of Windows7. Note: if you have the Vatican Edition you'll have to install annulment.exe first.
Try this
sudo apt-get install gnuwife
Haven't tried it myself but I think it's the open source version of SecondWife(TM) for all versions of Windows7. Note: if you have the Vatican Edition you'll have to install annulment.exe first.
After the first couple of responses, I was thinking I would have to start wrenching back on the opacity factor ... but you came along with this. Especially liked the gnuwife and Vatican Edition.
Sorry, I didn't see this before. The thread got buried.
Sorry, I didn't see this before. The thread got buried.
Why does everyone remember Steve Job's open letter, and no one bothered to check up on Apple's FairPlay DRM scheme... That open letter was just good PR, in fact Apple has most of it's media locked down real tight by FairPlay, especially the movies it sells/rents...
How does the author give Apple a free pass, then turn around and suggest a boycott on Netflix, a company that seems more likely to support linux than Apple. Please recall that there is a of yet no linux iTunes version, locking out linux from using iDevices properly (community reverse engineering is awesome, but still a kludge), but I don't see a hue and cry about that...
How does the author give Apple a free pass, then turn around and suggest a boycott on Netflix, a company that seems more likely to support linux than Apple. Please recall that there is a of yet no linux iTunes version, locking out linux from using iDevices properly (community reverse engineering is awesome, but still a kludge), but I don't see a hue and cry about that...
i guess because apple made DRM-free music available with iTunes Plus.
From the itunes website:
What is iTunes Plus?
iTunes Plus is the new standard on iTunes. iTunes Plus downloads are songs and music videos available in our highest quality 256 kbps AAC audio encoding (twice the audio quality of protected music purchases), and without digital rights management (DRM). iTunes Plus music can be burned to CD as many times as you need, synced to any AAC-enabled device (such as iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV), and played on any Mac or Windows computers you own.
From the itunes website:
What is iTunes Plus?
iTunes Plus is the new standard on iTunes. iTunes Plus downloads are songs and music videos available in our highest quality 256 kbps AAC audio encoding (twice the audio quality of protected music purchases), and without digital rights management (DRM). iTunes Plus music can be burned to CD as many times as you need, synced to any AAC-enabled device (such as iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV), and played on any Mac or Windows computers you own.
I believe the lack of DRM is across all music downloads but other content includes it. This makes sense for the movie rentals; a month to choose when to sit down and watch the movie then 48 hours after the first time you start it (and confirm). Watch it as much as you like in that 48 hours once activated and then it goes away. That's fair as it was intended as a rental. It's the "purchased" content with DRM that I take issue with personally. If I'm buying a license for this content I require fair use to play that content through any of my own media devices.
DRM as a business trategy sucks though. Examples would be Apple only feeding content into Idevices or Microsoft blocking competition through it's DRM held back from Moonlight (if that is indeed the cause of it's absence). These types of things don't benefit the end user.
DRM as a business trategy sucks though. Examples would be Apple only feeding content into Idevices or Microsoft blocking competition through it's DRM held back from Moonlight (if that is indeed the cause of it's absence). These types of things don't benefit the end user.
Fail #1: DRM. As you pointed out, the drawbacks of treating one's customers as untrustworthy thieves, plus the extra inconveniences and outright problems caused by DRM, just drives customers away. When "piracy" is cheaper, more convenient, and more respectful of the customer, why would those customers do business with you?
Fail #2: I switched to Linux to get away from various Microsoft & Windows issues (including security and reliability). So I don't care if Moonlight is a version of Silverlight that runs on Linux -- I won't run Moonlight (or even Mono) on my system, especially just to receive streaming video from a company that treats me as described in my first point.
It's too bad; we haven't had Netflicks here in Canada till now, and I was looking forward to it -- but they're rolling out a streaming-only service here. Netflicks has now persuaded me that I'll be happier and much better off to stick with renting DVDs from BlockBuster.
Fail #2: I switched to Linux to get away from various Microsoft & Windows issues (including security and reliability). So I don't care if Moonlight is a version of Silverlight that runs on Linux -- I won't run Moonlight (or even Mono) on my system, especially just to receive streaming video from a company that treats me as described in my first point.
It's too bad; we haven't had Netflicks here in Canada till now, and I was looking forward to it -- but they're rolling out a streaming-only service here. Netflicks has now persuaded me that I'll be happier and much better off to stick with renting DVDs from BlockBuster.
Same with Zip.ca, platform/hardware agnostic DVDs delivered by mail and re-watchable until returned. Having also experienced Itunes rentals, I'd say that Netflix could have a good thing if they didn't cripple it as they do.
why would anyone want netflix on an operating system that is used for business? Linux isn't a "toy", it's a small to mid business operating system. Sometimes it can be strung off a mainframe. IBM sells a mainframe that runs Linux in one of it's partitions. I don't think a business running servers, etc. want's employees watching movies on netflix. If you feel the need to do that then get a mac or a windows pc. What a stupid article.
Have you been out of the house in the past 10 years? A LOT of people use Linux at home. It makes a great media center PC, or a virtually unbreakable kid PC, or a gaming platform, or a replacement for whatever slow version of Windows came preinstalled on your netbook... or just a general-purpose OS for web-surfing and word-processing which is all 99% of non-gamer home users use a computer for anyway.
This is the weirdest comment I've read in a long time. It displays such a stunning level of ignorance that I feel the need to use the word "flabbergasted" to describe my feelings about it.
In the interest of keeping this comment short, I'll just say that my media PC is running XBMC full time on Debian. I'm pretty sure you aren't going to find that at many businesses.
What a stupid comment.
In the interest of keeping this comment short, I'll just say that my media PC is running XBMC full time on Debian. I'm pretty sure you aren't going to find that at many businesses.
What a stupid comment.
I have been using as my desktop system for over 6 years now. I consider it the smartest move I have ever made. I don't use Netflix myself and really don't plan to. I do however have access to hulu and a host of other online content providers. I am currently using a Cricket A600 Mobile Device to get on the Internet. (A device that Cricket says will not work with Linux, but it does.)
Linux as a extremely robust and powerful personal desktop system and the only time I have an issue is when I run into stupid corporate decisions like this. I use Flash and Moonlight, but waiting for HTML5 to become the standard.
To state that Linux is a business only system is rather erroneous.
Linux as a extremely robust and powerful personal desktop system and the only time I have an issue is when I run into stupid corporate decisions like this. I use Flash and Moonlight, but waiting for HTML5 to become the standard.
To state that Linux is a business only system is rather erroneous.
lol, mid to small businesses. Large businesses use it too.
Don't you know 90% of the NYSE uses Linux? Of course they merely deal in small business transactions.
Don't you know 90% of the NYSE uses Linux? Of course they merely deal in small business transactions.
It must have proprietary software, so you can't just bogart the source code; but is anybody reverse-engineering the Ready-Play on the Roku?
If Roku based it's appliance software on the Linux kernel than that and the other GPL software will be available as source code. The closed bits will be the DRM dropped on top of it though which brings us back to Microsoft imposing the limitation; it's a political problem rather than a technological one.
First off - it's just streaming movies - so who cares.
Second, all 193 of the Linux Netflix users should have their mom's cancel their subscription - that would teach those meanies.
Netflix is a business - if there were actually a "HUGE cross section" of PAYING customers - you can bet your red hat that Netflix would be working on a solution. Since they basically shot you down - it just proves that there not enough users in that OS market to worry about.
Geesssssh - it's not rocket science - it's Business 101
Second, all 193 of the Linux Netflix users should have their mom's cancel their subscription - that would teach those meanies.
Netflix is a business - if there were actually a "HUGE cross section" of PAYING customers - you can bet your red hat that Netflix would be working on a solution. Since they basically shot you down - it just proves that there not enough users in that OS market to worry about.
Geesssssh - it's not rocket science - it's Business 101
You can get your mom to teach you grammar and spelling. When you've finished that you might consider taking business 102. You might learn that when someone offers you their services for free and you can expand your market you take it. Furthermore you've done nothing but demonstrate your ignorance on the topic. Netflix makes their money renting the physical DVD. As Netflix has only one streaming membership plan (Starz) streaming costs Netflix regardless of the OS used.
I need to retain you.
As to grammar and spelling, I saw but one missplaced apostrophe and an apparent missing, "are".
How much do you charge for your tutelage, ass hole?
As to grammar and spelling, I saw but one missplaced apostrophe and an apparent missing, "are".
How much do you charge for your tutelage, ass hole?
Mr. Santeewelding, "*******" is one word. Also, misplaced has only one s.
It is possible that you may be speaking out of your colonic orifice.
:-D
It is possible that you may be speaking out of your colonic orifice.
:-D
Yes, there is Starz streaming, but I can stream movies and shows that are not part of Starz. And, Netflix just signed with MGM, and someone else to show their movies through streaming.
So, it's more than Starz. Also, you pay your monthly fee regardless of whether you use a physical DVD, streaming, or both. In fact, I prefer streaming, and I assume Netflix would as well as it would save postage, and physical media costs.
If the cost to Netflix is negligble to nothing, then it does not make good business sense to NOT take the small step to support streaming on a Linux platform.
So, it's more than Starz. Also, you pay your monthly fee regardless of whether you use a physical DVD, streaming, or both. In fact, I prefer streaming, and I assume Netflix would as well as it would save postage, and physical media costs.
If the cost to Netflix is negligble to nothing, then it does not make good business sense to NOT take the small step to support streaming on a Linux platform.
So, how does Netflix get the large *nix consumer base when they actively block the ability for *nix users to use there service? You can't really say "oh, there's only 193 users so there's no market for it" when you've actively crippled the ability for that market segment.
We all love technology but lets stop being "geeky" for a minute and be Horatio (CSI).
1) Follow the money.
DRM is wanted by the content providers. Yeah we don't like it but changing the direction of a dinosaur can be so sllllllooooooow. So not a netflix issue here they want to use have to play by their rules.
2) Choose a platform in which most of their customer's use.
Hmmm no brainer...Windows Based.
3) Deal made with Microsoft to use their platform for streaming. (Does anybody smell what the rock is cooking...) Backroom deal made, Non disclosure in place. Microsoft sole provider of streaming content framework.
4) yeah but it streams on Apple, XbOX, Playstation...
Let's see it only works on Apple Intel platform and doesn't apple also have deal in place with Microsoft as well (might want to do some research) and they have a plugin that runs on that platform. Xbox (nothing more to say there) Hmmm Playstation seems like Sony didnt want to be left out in the cold on this topic...maybe they have a deal with Microsoft( just maybe)...
So why not Linux ... maybe because the community is not organized to a point that is has enough of a capitalistic pull to force Microsoft to develop a plugin for linux or maybe it because being in bed with one Unix-like OS is enough (Don't want too musch competition do we)
Netflix is a service provider...maybe we should focus on Microsoft instead.
Just my 2 cents
1) Follow the money.
DRM is wanted by the content providers. Yeah we don't like it but changing the direction of a dinosaur can be so sllllllooooooow. So not a netflix issue here they want to use have to play by their rules.
2) Choose a platform in which most of their customer's use.
Hmmm no brainer...Windows Based.
3) Deal made with Microsoft to use their platform for streaming. (Does anybody smell what the rock is cooking...) Backroom deal made, Non disclosure in place. Microsoft sole provider of streaming content framework.
4) yeah but it streams on Apple, XbOX, Playstation...
Let's see it only works on Apple Intel platform and doesn't apple also have deal in place with Microsoft as well (might want to do some research) and they have a plugin that runs on that platform. Xbox (nothing more to say there) Hmmm Playstation seems like Sony didnt want to be left out in the cold on this topic...maybe they have a deal with Microsoft( just maybe)...
So why not Linux ... maybe because the community is not organized to a point that is has enough of a capitalistic pull to force Microsoft to develop a plugin for linux or maybe it because being in bed with one Unix-like OS is enough (Don't want too musch competition do we)
Netflix is a service provider...maybe we should focus on Microsoft instead.
Just my 2 cents
The Roku appliance is based on the Linux kernel. This demonstrates that there is no technological issue with implementing a *nix native client (regardless of chosen kernel). Microsoft's DRM has no issue working on Roku's platform.
The question is if it's Microsoft blocking the DRM from being implemented in Moonlight or if it's Moonlight developers rejecting it.
Considering that streaming media is geeky in it's own right and the average *nix user remains more savvy than general appliance users, there may be a big collection of untapped wallets waiting for Netflix.
But, my original response was towards the first post. Netflix claims no market interest from *nix users justifies absense of a compatible *nix client. *nix users, for lack of a native Netflix client don't have the option to become customers. There is no Netflix *nix native client available because they claim there is no customer base to justify it. See how this chicken/egg problem goes around and around?
Granted, part of the problem is business reliance on retail channel figures conflicting with the lack of accurate market share figures for *nix users since the software is available through far more methods than retail channel purchases. Canonical is trying to implement user tracking. Debian has popularity-contest but since personal privacy is highly respected, it's opt-in so you'll only get counts for those who choose to be counted. The Linux User counter has the same issue; opt-in for those who choose to be counted. Red Hat, Novell, Mandriva and similar retail distributions can provide figures but only for there user groups.
Anyway, not to be completely off topic; we seem to answered the question of why Netflix Silverlight is incompatible with general purpose *nix distributions. The next question is who, between Moonlight developers and Microsoft, is responsible for the limitation.
The question is if it's Microsoft blocking the DRM from being implemented in Moonlight or if it's Moonlight developers rejecting it.
Considering that streaming media is geeky in it's own right and the average *nix user remains more savvy than general appliance users, there may be a big collection of untapped wallets waiting for Netflix.
But, my original response was towards the first post. Netflix claims no market interest from *nix users justifies absense of a compatible *nix client. *nix users, for lack of a native Netflix client don't have the option to become customers. There is no Netflix *nix native client available because they claim there is no customer base to justify it. See how this chicken/egg problem goes around and around?
Granted, part of the problem is business reliance on retail channel figures conflicting with the lack of accurate market share figures for *nix users since the software is available through far more methods than retail channel purchases. Canonical is trying to implement user tracking. Debian has popularity-contest but since personal privacy is highly respected, it's opt-in so you'll only get counts for those who choose to be counted. The Linux User counter has the same issue; opt-in for those who choose to be counted. Red Hat, Novell, Mandriva and similar retail distributions can provide figures but only for there user groups.
Anyway, not to be completely off topic; we seem to answered the question of why Netflix Silverlight is incompatible with general purpose *nix distributions. The next question is who, between Moonlight developers and Microsoft, is responsible for the limitation.
While there may be only 193 Linux users paying for the NetFlix service that they cannot use, there are 10's of thousands more that have not purchased it because they will not support it. Business 101 huh, From what business school? The school of complacent and not wanting grow your company!! Business 101 of "how to give yourself BAD PR?"
While Businesses are still behind in the era of Linux desktops (by the way they aren't the potential customers), home user use of Linux desktops (such as Ubuntu) has risen. If/When a company comes along and is open to all OS communities Netflix will suddenly see that there is a much greater Liux home user base then you or they care to acknowledge. Turning your back, closing your eyes, and plugging your fingers in your ears does not make things go away. It only causes those things to grow bigger, more powerful and they will eventually turn into your competition, which in this case may give your business a fatal blow where it counts in business (what they teach in Business 101 how to succeed) the financial statement and the bank.
Now that not rocket science... It not even business 101, it's just plain common sense...
While Businesses are still behind in the era of Linux desktops (by the way they aren't the potential customers), home user use of Linux desktops (such as Ubuntu) has risen. If/When a company comes along and is open to all OS communities Netflix will suddenly see that there is a much greater Liux home user base then you or they care to acknowledge. Turning your back, closing your eyes, and plugging your fingers in your ears does not make things go away. It only causes those things to grow bigger, more powerful and they will eventually turn into your competition, which in this case may give your business a fatal blow where it counts in business (what they teach in Business 101 how to succeed) the financial statement and the bank.
Now that not rocket science... It not even business 101, it's just plain common sense...
" I don?t know what the true solution is, or if there even is a solution. But I do know this is so typical of companies to basically ignore a HUGE cross section of the worlds desktop users (and don?t anyone bother to say that Linux is a vast minority because it?s not..not when you consider outside the boundaries of the United States)."
In that case , linux is a vast minority because netflix doesn't support streaming video in countries outside the U.S.
In that case , linux is a vast minority because netflix doesn't support streaming video in countries outside the U.S.
"...the decision is probably not even Netflix decision to make, but the studios."
They're ya go. I don't care about the DRM issue personally, but that's where the problem lies. Netflix is only doing what they must in order to comply with the law.
They're ya go. I don't care about the DRM issue personally, but that's where the problem lies. Netflix is only doing what they must in order to comply with the law.
Comply with the law or the wishes of the studios?
One is a legal requirement and the other is a Business Requirement, but it doesn't necessarily follow that the second is brought about by the first.
Col
One is a legal requirement and the other is a Business Requirement, but it doesn't necessarily follow that the second is brought about by the first.
Col
And your ineffable logic -- what are you trying to do: bind everyone's panties?
I think it is more about the studio relationship part.
I feel Jack was a tad too harsh and judgmental regarding Netflix, but then I am a fan.
The DRM comparison to music is not really a fair one. Consider the cost of producing a major album in the order of magnitude of $1,000,000. And then consider the cost of producing Avatar between $300,000,000 and $500,000,000. I don't think, for a second, that major studios are going to jeopardize that kind of investment by flying without some kind of digital rights protection. I wouldn't. Sure, it is unpopular. Sure, it makes studios looks like money-grubbing control freaks. Frankly, though, if it were my money invested, I would not want it placed in jeopardy.
Netflix has one platform for streaming video. Sure, there are plenty of indie producers who may not care about copyright protecton, but netflix has to accommodate the content providers' requirements for protection. Otherwise, they will definitely not be distributing big budget content.
Amazon allows publishers the decision whether to set DRM or not for their kindle platform. An author, who just wants to get his/her book read, probably opts out of DRM. A publisher sitting on Nelson Mandela's memoirs, however, will most certainly choose to publish with DRM. Maybe in the future, netflix can offer a two-tiered platform; one protected and the other open, but for now, I think netflix has more than kept up with my expectations.
By the way ... a scary thought ... If the film industry tanks, it will create a nuclear winter in the world's 14th largest city.
I feel Jack was a tad too harsh and judgmental regarding Netflix, but then I am a fan.
The DRM comparison to music is not really a fair one. Consider the cost of producing a major album in the order of magnitude of $1,000,000. And then consider the cost of producing Avatar between $300,000,000 and $500,000,000. I don't think, for a second, that major studios are going to jeopardize that kind of investment by flying without some kind of digital rights protection. I wouldn't. Sure, it is unpopular. Sure, it makes studios looks like money-grubbing control freaks. Frankly, though, if it were my money invested, I would not want it placed in jeopardy.
Netflix has one platform for streaming video. Sure, there are plenty of indie producers who may not care about copyright protecton, but netflix has to accommodate the content providers' requirements for protection. Otherwise, they will definitely not be distributing big budget content.
Amazon allows publishers the decision whether to set DRM or not for their kindle platform. An author, who just wants to get his/her book read, probably opts out of DRM. A publisher sitting on Nelson Mandela's memoirs, however, will most certainly choose to publish with DRM. Maybe in the future, netflix can offer a two-tiered platform; one protected and the other open, but for now, I think netflix has more than kept up with my expectations.
By the way ... a scary thought ... If the film industry tanks, it will create a nuclear winter in the world's 14th largest city.
the Free Software / Open Source Software multiverse makes a full fledged media streaming web service that will work for anyone, no matter what os they use, with no need of any extra software on the client system, then make the service available for LESS THAN ANY PROPRIETARY COMPANY CAN.
drive them into bankruptcy, and tell the companies they can thank Netflix for snubbing the Free Software / Open Source Software multiverse for their financial woes.
drive them into bankruptcy, and tell the companies they can thank Netflix for snubbing the Free Software / Open Source Software multiverse for their financial woes.
i guess that would be much more in line with the open source way than if a service was created that would ONLY run on one OS.
... can't decide whether to be a journalist or a mouthpiece for a movement. The two don't coexist very well.
Hey, can you tell me WHO on Fox News announced that they pee their pants every time a guy reads from a teleprompter? Can you tell me WHO on Fox News FORGOT that a guy was black because he sounded so smart? I could ask a THOUSAND more questions just like that, but I don't think it would penetrate or be a wise use of time, especially for those who are oblivious that journalism is DEAD.
But THERE is your mouthpiece for a movement. I guess if enough of you band together, you must feel that it makes you right...
But THERE is your mouthpiece for a movement. I guess if enough of you band together, you must feel that it makes you right...
Don't know any of the answers to your questions, but the notion that journalism is dead seems a little extreme. You may have to look a little harder for it, but there are still people with integrity who adhere to journalistic ethics out there. Two places not to look are cable tv and radio talk shows.
If you want to find more creative things to call me, I believe there are websites that specialize in pre-adolescent name-calling.
If you want to find more creative things to call me, I believe there are websites that specialize in pre-adolescent name-calling.
Who's paying for the care and feeding of servers, commo, and other infrastructure? Who's handling the books, and allocating the income so the studios get a share proportional to the movies seen? Who's creating the campaign to convince consumers to abandon a vendor they apparently love over an issue that doesn't affect them?
Developers may create for free, but admins, accountants, and ad execs rarely do. Pipe dream.
Developers may create for free, but admins, accountants, and ad execs rarely do. Pipe dream.
I'm sure there's a way to do it for video. I realize the infrastructure for streaming video would be far greater than it would be for simply offering a music download - but the open source community always finds a way.
"Who's paying for the care and feeding of servers, commo, and other infrastructure?"
Servers: Is there any other group of people willing to work for free (even if just in the short term to get a project off the ground) that has more collective Server experience than Linux geeks?
Commo: If the backbone was (at least partially) P2P based, some (many? most?) of the above mentioned people might donate a percentage of their bandwidth; especially if it meant an eventual return (like, say, early adopters & donators get their internet paid for when (if) the business becomes viable.
There are options to overcome those issues.
"Who's handling the books, and allocating the income so the studios get a share proportional to the movies seen?" - Venture Capitalists. There are a few people that still have deep pockets, even in this economy.
"Who's creating the campaign to convince consumers to abandon a vendor they apparently love over an issue that doesn't affect them?"
Why does it have to be "abandon" - especially early on? Does this mean if you have a Netflix account you're barred from using your local rental joint or you can't stop by one of those red box thingies? And, if the service does become popular (read: profitable) Netflix will need to change their stance to keep up with the times. Remember back when Radio Shack had some of the best affordable computers available? How about now...
"Developers may create for free, but admins, accountants, and ad execs rarely do. Pipe dream."
Admins do as well (I do, anyway) accounts sometimes do if they see a decent paycheck down the road, and ad execs can be bought with VC $$. Pipe dreams can & do come true on occasion...
And don't forget: both Bill Gates & Donald Trump have filed for bankruptcy in the past - just because it didn't work the first time, doesn't mean it will never make it...
Laterz,
"Merch"
Servers: Is there any other group of people willing to work for free (even if just in the short term to get a project off the ground) that has more collective Server experience than Linux geeks?
Commo: If the backbone was (at least partially) P2P based, some (many? most?) of the above mentioned people might donate a percentage of their bandwidth; especially if it meant an eventual return (like, say, early adopters & donators get their internet paid for when (if) the business becomes viable.
There are options to overcome those issues.
"Who's handling the books, and allocating the income so the studios get a share proportional to the movies seen?" - Venture Capitalists. There are a few people that still have deep pockets, even in this economy.
"Who's creating the campaign to convince consumers to abandon a vendor they apparently love over an issue that doesn't affect them?"
Why does it have to be "abandon" - especially early on? Does this mean if you have a Netflix account you're barred from using your local rental joint or you can't stop by one of those red box thingies? And, if the service does become popular (read: profitable) Netflix will need to change their stance to keep up with the times. Remember back when Radio Shack had some of the best affordable computers available? How about now...
"Developers may create for free, but admins, accountants, and ad execs rarely do. Pipe dream."
Admins do as well (I do, anyway) accounts sometimes do if they see a decent paycheck down the road, and ad execs can be bought with VC $$. Pipe dreams can & do come true on occasion...
And don't forget: both Bill Gates & Donald Trump have filed for bankruptcy in the past - just because it didn't work the first time, doesn't mean it will never make it...
Laterz,
"Merch"
"Servers: Is there any other group of people ... that has more collective Server experience than Linux geeks?"
Experience doesn't buy hardware, electricity, or A/C.
"'Who's handling the books?' - Venture Capitalists"
Okay, that makes more sense. But if there are VCs interested in funding (and making money off) Linux projects, they haven't been able to make much noise with it so far. If there was money to be made, don't you think NetFlix would already be supporting it?
"Why does it have to be 'abandon'?"
It doesn't, but how many people who already have NetFlix are going to pay for a second service that does the exact same thing? What would the majority of NetFlix (Windows users) get for a second monthly payment that they aren't already getting?
Nice talking with you, though.
Experience doesn't buy hardware, electricity, or A/C.
"'Who's handling the books?' - Venture Capitalists"
Okay, that makes more sense. But if there are VCs interested in funding (and making money off) Linux projects, they haven't been able to make much noise with it so far. If there was money to be made, don't you think NetFlix would already be supporting it?
"Why does it have to be 'abandon'?"
It doesn't, but how many people who already have NetFlix are going to pay for a second service that does the exact same thing? What would the majority of NetFlix (Windows users) get for a second monthly payment that they aren't already getting?
Nice talking with you, though.
You look at the environment of Linux, MS, Mac and we are the runt of the deployed litter. So from the perspective of market share why would NetFlix care? Even though I am a big Linux user even I can understand NetFlix decision in this. Nor does getting aggressive about it help our cause.
Instead of cheaply streaming movies to my Linux-based media center PC, they've chosen to incur ongoing postage costs. Smart bunch. The board of directors should can the lot.
He NEVER said "we are ignoring Linux". He said, "when there is a Linux Silverlight client that works with the DRM we need, we will support Linux". I understand why they chose Silverlight, for better or for worse it has 1) excellent streaming video quality and 2) support for the DRM which they have determined they need.
Look, you don't know their internal reasons for using DRM. Perhaps their contracts with some (or even all) studios requires it. Maybe it was a decision to limit legal liability, in case movies from Netflix ended up on BitTorrent or something. Who knows? Obviously, they have a good (at least in their minds) reason for requiring DRM.
So, if their decision is based on quality of the streaming and the need for DRM, then Silverlight it is. And if your precious Linux doesn't support DRM in Silverlight, who do you have to blame? Not Netflix.
The open source community who have chosen the idealism of an anti-DRM stance over the pragmatism of a Silverlight client that works with DRM.
Either contribute the code to Moonlight to make it work (or pay someone to add it in) or get over it. That's the open source deal. But putting words in the mouth of someone else in an effort to make them look like a jerk doesn't help.
J.Ja
Look, you don't know their internal reasons for using DRM. Perhaps their contracts with some (or even all) studios requires it. Maybe it was a decision to limit legal liability, in case movies from Netflix ended up on BitTorrent or something. Who knows? Obviously, they have a good (at least in their minds) reason for requiring DRM.
So, if their decision is based on quality of the streaming and the need for DRM, then Silverlight it is. And if your precious Linux doesn't support DRM in Silverlight, who do you have to blame? Not Netflix.
The open source community who have chosen the idealism of an anti-DRM stance over the pragmatism of a Silverlight client that works with DRM.
Either contribute the code to Moonlight to make it work (or pay someone to add it in) or get over it. That's the open source deal. But putting words in the mouth of someone else in an effort to make them look like a jerk doesn't help.
J.Ja
there have been plenty of open source developers post on the Netflix site that they would be willing to do the coding for Netflix in order to add DRM to Moonlight. I even brought that up to him...which he quickly ignored.
the developers are there to do the work. Netflix wouldn't have to pay a penny to get this implemented...something I'm sure they didn't get with Silverlight.
the developers are there to do the work. Netflix wouldn't have to pay a penny to get this implemented...something I'm sure they didn't get with Silverlight.
you feel you can infer that the 'snub' based on a 2 minute conversation?
Remember these people are in this to make money and nothing else.
Take this for example:
The DRM code would then be open source yes?
Opps..
Remember these people are in this to make money and nothing else.
Take this for example:
The DRM code would then be open source yes?
Opps..
It would be nice if it where open. They potentially gain faster detection and improvement as OSS tends to take security mechanism seriously. But, there is nothing that requires the DRM implementation to be open source. It could easily be made available as a non-free addon for idealistic distributions and included by default by pragmatic distributions. Nvidia's closed source seems to be included easily in major distributions.
Jack also pointed out that developers are eager and interested offering development time to Netflix at no expense to them.
Worst case, if Moonlight is dead set against DRM, make a moonlight plugin that can be distributed directly rather than included with the implementation. (Mind you, they're duplicating Silverlight so how dead set against DRM and such can they really be?)
Jack also pointed out that developers are eager and interested offering development time to Netflix at no expense to them.
Worst case, if Moonlight is dead set against DRM, make a moonlight plugin that can be distributed directly rather than included with the implementation. (Mind you, they're duplicating Silverlight so how dead set against DRM and such can they really be?)
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