multimedia licensing

[Jeff Vian]

On Mon, 2005-04-18 at 17:59 -0600, kwhiskers wrote:
> I am glad to hear that the GPL can act as a kind of safeguard for
> keeping Linux free. I am definitely sold on the idea of free software,
> free books, free art, free music, etc, to permit everyone access to
> electronic media without disenfranchisement based on income or lack of
> financial resources.
> 
> I would gladly convert my mp3 files, but there are thousands, and
> apart from the time it would take, there is also the concern that
> there would be a loss of quality through the conversion. But mostly, I
> am worried that, were I to convert to ogg vorbis and theora, I could
> not share files with friends.
> 

ogg is becoming more prevalent and I have even heard of some portable
players that will play them. Converting mp3s to some other format
usually _does_ result in loss of quality.

> I have raved about Linux, but I can't get anyone interested. Even the
> fact that I need spend no money and have years ago deleted all
> bootlegged software and all the cracks necessary to keep it running
> makes no difference. People think that Linux would be a hardship
> (true, it does cost me a lot of time). They would rather break the
> law, shell out hundreds, or continue to use Windows 98! They say: I
> have to have Word; I have to have Nero burning cdrom (mostly in order
> to make illegal copies, why else?), etc. (Well, I admit I do like
> Corel Photopaint - I'm still using #9).
> 

I still use PhotoShop 5.5 and Corel 8, so you have newer software than I
do.

> These people do have a valid point, but only because proprietary
> formats are so ubiquitous. I have noticed that, as fantastic as
> Koffice, Abiword and Open Office are, Powerpoint presentations don't
> display properly in them (sometimes one can get them to display as
> separate pages, but often either the text, images, sometimes both, are
> missing). Also, Excel files will usually display, but they rarely
> perform the calculations from cell to cell. Sometimes a Word document
> will either not open, or more frequently, the tables, image
> positioning, etc are all messed up. Even editing web pages made with
> Front Page are a nightmare to edit in Quanta or Mozilla Composer. The
> conversions just don't work 100%, except for the most basic of files.
> 
The later versions of OO do well for me with .doc files.  I have not
tried excel or powerpoint file.

That is the reason AFAICT that M$ frequently changes the file formats,
so others cannot keep up and make free software that is compatible with
their files..... Thus locking their users into using M$ products.

> This is not a huge problem for me, but once when filling out a lengthy
> questionnaire in Open Office, I had to admit defeat. The lines and
> page formatting got all screwed up, symbols changed and so did
> colours, and in the end, to my chagrin, I had to do it all over again
> in Windows. It was exasperating.
> 
True, but crossover office and wine allow a LOT of M$ compatible
software to run on Linux.

> Linux works for me, but only because I don't need to share much
> information, files, etc. I don't write documents or make image
> presentations. My primary output is exclusively for me. The few things
> I need to send out go in the form of emails, hence are platform
> independent.
> 

I, Literally, only use M$ operating system for one thing - game playing
- and with transgaming out there I am even getting away from it there as
well.

> Well, I guess I have gotten off topic, but I do hope that, if
> anything, Linux can have an impact on the use of standard file formats
> for the sharing of information.
> 
> On 4/18/05, Felipe Alfaro Solana <lkml at mac.com> wrote:
>         On 18 Apr 2005, at 17:44, kwhiskers wrote:
>         
>         >  And that brings up another thought: will Linux remain free
>         for the
>         > future? Already, there are vultures hawking isos burnt to CD
>         and some
>         > distros that offer 'premium' versions for pay. Is it only a
>         matter of 
>         > time before Linux becomes the next Windows, where the
>         consumer must
>         > pay an annual update fee in order to stay on top of the
>         innovations?
>         
>         I don't think so... I guess there will still be GPLed software
>         for a 
>         very long time.
>         
> 
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