Linux news

2007 07 12

The BBC and Microsoft Doing the Corrupt Monopoly Dance (Again)

Silverlight looks better by the Moonlight

The BBC has already experimented with Silverlight and says it is looking for an "embedded media solution".

http://s5h.net/u?z9255c
This requires serious investigation. They are already facing problems and an antitrust complaint has been filed. Public money is funnelled to Microsoft, which then makes decisions that exploit the BBC and use it to 'punish' Linux and Mac users. Related: MPs rap BBC over Siemens deal

But public spending watchdog the PAC said BBC executives misled the board of governors about possible savings while trying to convince them to give the deal the go-ahead. The committee of MPs found £60m of costs was excluded when budgets were put to the governors for approval. [...] The PAC said the BBC was failing to manage the contract properly. [...] The report suggests the BBC should open up its accounts to government officials for proper scrutiny.

http://s5h.net/u?z3a37
EC threat to BBC over downloads

However, OSC disagrees and says the next step is to make a formal complaint to the European Commission (EC). "We're preparing the full details at the moment and we will be sending a formal letter within the next week," said Mr Taylor.

http://s5h.net/u?ze690
Open sourcers rattle EU sabre at BBC on demand player

The BBC is being threatened with an anti-trust challenge in Europe over its use of the Windows Media format in its on demand service, iPlayer, which is in the final stages of testing.

http://s5h.net/u?z7083
Free the BBC

We are deeply concerned about the BBC's use of "Digital Rights Management" (DRM) to manage content delivered to users over the Internet. There are dozens of arguments against DRM, however we believe these are the most important and relevant to the BBC.

http://s5h.net/u?z3a15
Apple Users Petition Prime Minister

UK Apple users are petitioning the Prime Minister Tony Blair over the BBC's decision to make streaming media available to Windows users only. The BBC plans to launch an on-demand tv service which uses software that will only be available to Windows users.

http://s5h.net/u?z0ec9
Save the BBC from Windows DRM!

Clearly, shutting out 25% of your audience sits ill with the BBC's remit of serving all of its users... There is no denying that this is an extremely difficult area for the BBC, since it must negotiate not one but three minefields - those of technology standards, copyright and contract law. But there are still things that it could do without turning into a global advertisement for Microsoft's flawed DRM approach.

http://s5h.net/u?z118
BBC plans to lock viewers into Microsoft monopoly says Open Source Consortium

The Open Source Consortium (OSC) believes the plans are anti-competitive and will use public money to lock viewers into the technologies of a repeatedly convicted monopolist.

http://s5h.net/u?z4e04
Beeb slammed for 'fawning' to Bill Gates

BBC viewers have flooded the corporation with complaints over how it covered the launch of Microsoft Vista earlier this week. In one cringingly servile interview worthy of Uriah Heep, the Beeb's news presenter Hugh Edwards even thanked Gates at the end of it, presumably in appreciation at being allowed to give the Vole vast coverage for free. In other TV news items presenters excitedly explained how Vistac ould be obtained and installed - details courtesy of the BBC's website. But British viewers, currently forced to pay a £131.50 licence fee to maintain the BBC's "impartiality", were less than impressed. Scores got in touch to complain that so much was Auntie up Bill's bum that you could barely see her corset.

http://s5h.net/u?zd9cb3

http://s5h.net/u?zeb0e
Brits! Act now to save the BBC from Microsoft

The BBC are holding an open consultation regarding how they're going to delivery on-demand content, they want answers to questions like: "How important is it that the proposed seven-day catch-up service over the internet is available to consumers who are not using Microsoft software?"

http://s5h.net/u?z5c85
Beeb breaks out with Windows WMA protection

According to a press release from Sonos, the blokes over at the Beeb have decided to jump ship for relying on Realplayer for web content, and have switched over entirely to the Windows-friendly WMA format. Now that the BBC has made The Big Switch, BBC radio stations will be received automatically for users of wireless music and radio provider Sonos.

http://s5h.net/u?zdef0
Avoid the Vista badge, it means DRM inside

The root of this crappy DRM infection is Microsoft. It is the driving force here. This has nothing to do with protecting content, as we keep pointing out, there has never been a single thing that has had a DRM infection applied that didn't end up cracked on the net in hours. DRM is about walled gardens and control. He who controls the DRM infection controls the market. DRM is about preventing you from doing anything with the devices without paying the gatekeeper a fee. This is what MS wants, nothing less than a slice of everything watched, listened to or discussed from now on. DRM prevents others from playing there, thanks to the DMCA and other anti-consumer laws. Make no mistake, MS is pushing the DRM malware as hard as it can so it can rake in money hand over fist with no competition. It is really good at lock-in, in fact, the firm based its entire business model on harming the user so they have to comply and spend more.

http://s5h.net/u?z4dc9
Microsoft Tells Apple To Stop Complaining About DRM
http://s5h.net/u?z1954
Microsoft: We Like DRM
http://s5h.net/u?z2a6b

http://s5h.net/u?z2ac6
Why Microsoft will fight for DRM
http://s5h.net/u?z4d19
Microsoft launches 'PlayReady' DRM system

Although digital rights management (DRM) is popular with content creators, it has attracted criticism. Sony was widely attacked after using a rootkit-like application to hide content protection on some music CDs, and earlier this month Apple CEO Steve Jobs called on the music industry to drop its use of DRM.

http://s5h.net/u?z3d42
Golden Rant : Microsoft DRM's gone too far

Microsoft appears to have hit the wrong button on its critical Windows XP download service late last month, pretty well forcing every XP user to upgrade to Windows Media Player (WiMP) 11 if they (like me and many others) have the automatic download/install option enabled for critical updates.

http://s5h.net/u?z17a8
The Longest Suicide Note in History

Gutmann: The genie's out of the bottle before the operating system has even been released! But that doesn't mean Vista users in particular - and the computer community at large - won't end up paying for Microsoft's DRM folly. At the risk of repeating myself repeating myself, yet another reason to move to Linux.

http://s5h.net/u?z02b
DRM in Windows Vista

Windows Vista includes an array of "features" that you don't want. These features will make your computer less reliable and less secure. They'll make your computer less stable and run slower. They will cause technical support problems. They may even require you to upgrade some of your peripheral hardware and existing software. And these features won't do anything useful. In fact, they're working against you. They're digital rights management (DRM) features built into Vista at the behest of the entertainment industry. And you don't get to refuse them.

http://s5h.net/u?zef5c
Lights out for Silverlight

The next point is the availability of the tools. Even though you can view Silverlight on OS X, you will have no chance of being able to author Silverlight content without a Windows licence. This is a conscious decision. On the one hand, Microsoft wants to get designers using their Expression toolset yet designers will have to come across to the Windows platform in order to do it. It may not be such a large hurdle but it is a hurdle nevertheless. Ever tried to force an OS X user onto Windows? They cry, they scream and they want their (at times) consistent GUI back.

http://s5h.net/u?z5184

http://s5h.net/u?zab74
Microsoft's Silverlight Disappoints

I shake off the dissapointment and continue up the trail

http://s5h.net/u?z756c
Linux to Microsoft: Let's Fight with Silverlight

Microsoft has spent the past few years trumpeting their "you are using patented code" with zero proof or real legal action, this is their ace in the hole. If Microsoft does manage to make sure that this Silverlight becomes the new standard for media rich web browsing, we are in real trouble.

http://s5h.net/u?zbb9c
Microsoft's Silverlight Biased and Doomed

Microsoft is undoubtedly making progress in the browser and operating system platform struggle, but since their new Web technology can't be viewed and created by everyone, they still have a long way to go.

http://s5h.net/u?z73405
Why Microsoft Silverlight Will Fail.

My main reasons (And please, correct me if I am wrong): * No IDE for me - The development path is currently platform specific to Windows. Not even an open compiler or server side compiler for Linux is available. Use Expression Blend on my Mac? Not happening. * No plug in for Linux - Even Adobe has managed to deliver it's modern plugin to Linux users. I only use Linux as a server platform, but with Ubuntu, etc making inroads on the desktop, it's nice to have it as an option. [...]

http://s5h.net/u?z67dc
Microsoft's Silverlight and Adobe's Apollo: Web-Killer 2.0

Now some may be wondering why so many people, myself included, have such violent negative reactions to these attempts to improve the user experience of the World Wide Web. After all, I wrote a report at Forrester about seven years ago called the X Internet that claimed that the Web needed to be more interactive. So what's wrong with a extensions and developer tools to make it all easier? Well, other than attempting to sidestep important collaborative efforts like World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and the Web Standards Project, these proprietary browser extensions break the utility of the World Wide Web in important ways. [...] It's nice to know that despite changes in interfaces and software technology, Microsoft's strategy for the Internet hasn't changed.

http://s5h.net/u?z13ce
Audience abandons Microsoft's MIX 07 keynote

He said that when Microsoft and other companies create communities around their technology, it's usually accidental, not created by any ad placed strategically on a web page or in a game. "The Xbox community existed, but the Microsoft ads [in games and on Xbox Live] then got moved around quite by accident, not by design," Rasala said. "It's unclear that many companies can replicate that pattern by design." After Bach's keynote, it was difficult to find attendees in the hall that did not work for Microsoft. Nine out of 10 attendees approached for comment after his talk were from the company.

http://s5h.net/u?z4f1f
Silverlight is about The Microsoft Web.

Sorry, but I have to say something very rude. You clearly don't know what you're talking about. That is Microsoft PR talking. Can you say "credibility loss". Silverlight is about The Microsoft Web Silverlight is not about the World Wide Web. It's about The Microsoft Web. It's about getting fools to rally around Microsoft. After all of this time and experience with Microsoft, anybody with half a brain will be smart enough to avoid doing that. The last thing you want to be is dependent on Microsoft and set yourself up to be a DIRECT competitor with "Microsoft Cloud Services" down the road. Dumb. Foolish. Stupid. Smart investors won't invest one dime in your company and might even short your stock. Remember, it's Microsoft's cloud. Microsoft is not investing in huge datacenters all around the world for no reason. And, Microsoft will do whatever it takes, including operating that new online services business at a huge loss, to starve off any smaller competitor that foolishly chose to develop on the Silverlight platform. Microsoft sold $44 BILLION and cleared $18 BILLION profit last year. How many billions did you make last year?

http://s5h.net/u?z79c7
Microsoft's Silverlight Promises to Disrupt Linux Web Users

Just as it seemed that Linux users (especially 64-bit users) would finally be able to enjoy streaming content with a minimum of hassle, Microsoft's new Silverlight software promises to throw a wrench in the works. Because of sites like Google Video and Youtube, Flash video has become a common means of streaming multimedia over the Internet.

http://s5h.net/u?z64e45
Microsoft's 'Everywhere' excludes Linux

This browser add-on enables rendering of WPF content, but "Everywhere" doesn't include Linux.

http://s5h.net/u?ze7ef
ECIS Accuses Microsoft of Plotting HTML Hijack

An industry coalition that has represented competitors of Microsoft in European markets before the European Commission stepped up its public relations offensive this morning, this time accusing Microsoft of scheming to upset HTML's place in the fabric of the Internet with XAML, an XML-based layout lexicon forn etwork applications.

http://s5h.net/u?z167a
Software rivals say Microsoft's Vista illegal in Europe (at CNNMoney.com)

Software manufacturers, citing 2004 European Commission finding, contend the operating system violates server laws in Europe. [...] "Vista is the first step of Microsoft's strategy to extend its market dominance to the Internet," the ECIS statement said. It said Microsoft's XAML markup language was "positioned to replace HTML," the industry standard for publishing documents on the Internet. Microsoft's own language would be dependent on Windows, and discriminatory against rival systems such as Linux, the group says. They said a so-called "open XML" platform file format, known as OOXML, is designed to run seamlessly only on the Microsoft Office platform.

http://s5h.net/u?zb4b06


From: Bill Gates Sent: Saturday, December 05, 1998 9:44 AM To: Bob Muglia (Exchange); Jon DeVaan; Steven Sinofsky Cc: Paul Mariz Subject: Office rendering One thing we have got to change is our strategy -- allowing Office documents to be rendered very well by OTHER PEOPLES BROWSERS is one of the most destructive things we could do to the company. We have to stop putting any effort into this and make sure that Office documents very well depends on PROPRIETARY IE capabilities. Anything else is suicide for our platform. This is a case where Office has to to destroy Windows.

http://s5h.net/u?zf44e
Vista to give HD Photo format more exposure

Microsoft is looking to supplant the ubiquitous JPEG with an image format of its own--and it's hoping the debut of Windows Vista will help do the job.

http://s5h.net/u?z01d