[FFmpeg-devel] [EXT] Re: Query from Reuters on XZ, open source, and Microsoft

[Kieran Kunhya]

Hi Raphael,

Answers in my own personal capacity, not the views of my employer, nor the
views of anyone else in FFmpeg.

On Wed, Apr 3, 2024 at 8:26 PM Satter, Raphael (Reuters) <
Raphael.Satter at thomsonreuters.com> wrote:

> Dear Kieran & co.,
>
>
>
> Thank you I’ve had a chance to see the talk. It’s a marker of how
> invisible even critical open source projects can be that I wasn’t aware of
> FFmpeg’s role in powering the likes of YouTube and Netflix.
>
>
>
> A few questions I had:
>
>
>
>    - How much did Microsoft end up paying for the one-time fix?
>
>
Microsoft did not pay for any fix. There was no actual fix, a command line
option had changed between FFmpeg versions and a volunteer on our bug
tracker pointed this out.

A company which has several FFmpeg developers on its payroll asked
Microsoft (a separate team in private) for a support contract in light of
the fact FFmpeg is used in critical Microsoft products. Instead of
proposing a support contract, Microsoft said a few thousand dollars was
potentially available. This amount is too small to support any developer or
maintenance.


>    - What’s the solution here? Your talk mentioned paying developers,
>    getting an SLA, or hiring them as consultants … but why would companies
>    bother when they can just free ride? I asked the same question to CISA’s
>    Jack Cable when he told me that  companies need to “contribute back and
>    help build the sustainable open source ecosystem that we get so much value
>    from.” Sure, they “need” to do it, but who will punish them if they don’t?
>
>
The Linux Kernel has full time developers hired by big corporations to work
solely on the Linux kernel and to maintain sections of it. However, one can
argue Linux is the exception in open source that proves the rule that
corporations will be free riders.


>    - Any other thoughts you might have on this episode – or others you
>    think I should speak to – would be greatly appreciated.
>
>
The Demuxed video covers the rest of my thoughts. Microsoft are not the
only company with this attitude.

Regards,
Kieran Kunhya


>
>    -
>
> Raphael
>
>
>
> *From:* Kieran Kunhya <kieran618 at googlemail.com>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, April 3, 2024 12:39 PM
> *To:* FFmpeg development discussions and patches <ffmpeg-devel at ffmpeg.org>
> *Cc:* Satter, Raphael (Reuters) <Raphael.Satter at thomsonreuters.com>
> *Subject:* [EXT] Re: [FFmpeg-devel] Query from Reuters on XZ, open
> source, and Microsoft
>
>
>
> *External Email:* Use caution with links and attachments.
>
>
>
> Hi Raphael,
>
>
>
> I was the author of the tweet and I gave a short talk about this topic at
> Demuxed at a video conference last year:
> https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OIyOEuQQsCQ&t=930s
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/m.youtube.com/watch?v=OIyOEuQQsCQ&t=930s__;!!GFN0sa3rsbfR8OLyAw!fil3G3T7uUxCpJLVmYwgXrszOLckOVB2iMJMDO7QCKMoC7pWR9np5VcDBSAQwsXzhMcbBH9RL7tMr8KurldS9Ga_7Ai-q2U$>
>
>
>
> That said this is a community project and it would be best to continue the
> discussion on this mailing list unless agreed otherwise.
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Kieran Kunhya
>
>
>
> On Wed, 3 Apr 2024, 16:52 Satter, Raphael (Reuters) via ffmpeg-devel, <
> ffmpeg-devel at ffmpeg.org> wrote:
>
> Dear FFMPEG community,
>
> This is Raphael Satter, a journalist with Reuters. I saw your thread on X
> about your experience with Microsoft in the context of the XZ story and
> would love to follow up with a few questions.
>
> Is there a good person to talk to? I’m reachable using the details below
> or on Signal/WhatsApp at +1 202 430 9389.
>
> Raphael
>
> 💻 raphael.satter at tr.com
> 🌎 raphaelsatter.com
> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http:/raphaelsatter.com__;!!GFN0sa3rsbfR8OLyAw!fil3G3T7uUxCpJLVmYwgXrszOLckOVB2iMJMDO7QCKMoC7pWR9np5VcDBSAQwsXzhMcbBH9RL7tMr8KurldS9Ga_d7ggKWg$>
> 📰 reuters.com/authors/raphael-satter
>
> Thomson Reuters
> 1333 H Street NW
> Washington, DC 20005
>
> ☎️ +1 202 843-6302
>
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