[MPlayer-dev-eng] 2006 OSDL desktop linux report

[Diego Biurrun]

On Sun, Jan 28, 2007 at 11:37:07PM +0000, Compn wrote:
> OSDL has come out with a nice 2006 year-end report on the state of desktop 
> Linux.
> 
> http://www.desktoplinux.com/articles/AT3453502692.html
> 
> In its report it mentions how using binary video card drivers is a bad idea.
> But later on the page it says how Fluendo will be making binary video codecs
> for linux users. 
> 
> "Fluendo recently announced that they are making available plug-ins to handle 
> Windows Media Audio, Video, and MMS streaming protocol, MPEG-2 video decoding, 
> MPEG-4 Part 2 video decoding, ASF container format demuxing, MPEG-2 Program and 
> Transport Stream container format demuxing, MPEG-4 ISO container format demuxing 
> and MP3 audio. Further CODECs are planned for release by Fluendo over the course 
> of 2007."
> 
> The report ignores the hard work of open source projects like FFmpeg
> and MPlayer. Both of which have had free open source support for those
> formats and codecs for years.
> 
> It also fails to mention why using binary codecs is not a problem
> where using binary drivers is.

That's an excellent point.  Unfortunately there are many people who seem
not to have a problem with critcizing binary driver vendors in one
sentence and praising binary codec vendors in the next.

Note that I don't give a hoot about Fluendo doing what they do.  If they
wish to reinvent the proprietary wheel, oh well ...

I just hate it when they get portrayed (or even portray themselves) as
heroes for bringing salvation in the form of previously non-existing
multimedia support to the unwashed Linux masses.  This is of course
bullcrap, we've had all this stuff before and not only with binaries.

Diego