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____/ Ian Hilliard on Monday 21 July 2008 10:09 : \____
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
>> Dell begins rolling out Ubuntu 8.04, adds media codecs
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | Dell began to address those problems with the 7.10 release by adding
>> | legal support for DVD playback. With the 8.04 release, Dell is going a
>> | step further and will be adding licensed codecs for common audio and
>> | video formats.
>> `----
>>
>>
>
http://arstechnica.com/journals/linux.ars/2008/07/19/dell-begins-rolling-out-ubuntu-8-04-adds-media-codecs
>>
>> Why do they pay Microsoft? They ought to offer PCs with no software at
>> all, at least as a cheaper option that's not tainted.
>>
>
> As is often pointed out, most people don't see the big picture. Most people
> just "want it to work". That means that the codecs should be pre-installed.
> Dell cannot put the open codecs onto their computers without having to
> worry about getting sued. From that point of view, what Dell is doing is
> the lesser of two evils. I applaud them for it.
>
> Linux is a great OS for multimedia. The issue has simply been the licensing
> of the codecs. Without licensed codecs being available for Linux, the OS
> will always be in the legal grey area and as such marginalized.
I think they ought to offer 'undressed PCs' (no, not "naked" like Microsoft
calls them) for those who wish to install their own O/S without paying
prematurely for something they do not require.
There's some good momentum for unbundling at the moment (in France in
particular, at least in Europe). In fact, my current PC I bought from Novatech
and it came without an operating system. Every distro I through as it worked
perfectly (all hardware detected). The installation process was probably
trivial enough even for my technophobic parents to handle.
- --
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | "Life is too short to proofread"
http://Schestowitz.com | RHAT Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
12:05:01 up 7 days, 1:32, 2 users, load average: 0.67, 0.71, 0.66
http://iuron.com - Open Source knowledge engine project
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