[Foundation-l] The problem with Flash

[Gerard Meijssen]

Hoi,
Nice but what is your point and how does it relate to what is the issue? The
issue is that a framework is being developed. It needs open source
components to make it work and gnash has been mentioned as one component in
all this that needs work. What you describe is exactly the reason why work
needs to be done to make this type of content work well on Linux

So you describe that things do not work well. You provide the exact
arguments why something needs to be done ... So you are in favour of the
proposed collabaration... GREAT
Thanks,
     GerardM

On Jan 20, 2008 6:32 PM, Ben McIlwain <cydeweys at gmail.com> wrote:

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> Brion Vibber wrote:
>
> > In many cases that'll cover the same ground as non-free formats; the
> > main exceptions are for patent-encumbered standards (eg, the MPEG family
> > - MP3, AAC, H.264, etc) and widely-deployed proprietary formats that
> > have been reverse-engineered by FOSS developers (eg, Flash).
>
> On the subject of Flash, I think it might help to relate my experiences
> so that everyone on this list knows how deficient it is on free software
> platforms.  (This isn't directed to you Brion, as that'd just be
> preaching to the choir :-P )
>
> I run GNU/Linux on my laptop.  Pretty much everything works and I'm able
> to do everything I do in Windows, except Flash.  First of all, the free
> software Flash alternatives simply aren't there yet.  They aren't good
> enough for everyday use.  And even if they were, they still wouldn't be
> free, because they're infringing on various patents that Adobe no doubt
> holds.  And the free software stuff isn't good enough to create Flash
> either, so you still need to pay the tax in the form of the creator
> program (which as far as I know doesn't run on GNU/Linux).  You can see
> why this is unacceptable.
>
> Even the official Adobe Flash player plugin for Mozilla Firefox on
> GNU/Linux is deficient.  It's treated like a third-rate product by
> Adobe, sometimes seeing major version updates many months after the
> Windows plugin is released.  In the mean time, new Flash content that
> depends on the new features simply won't work.  And the plugin itself is
> just bad.  It frequently crashes Firefox, some of its functionality
> plain old doesn't work, etc.  And nevermind that it's not free in any
> sense of the word except gratis; it's all binary, the source isn't
> available, so it's all entirely anti-libre.
>
> - From where I stand, Flash isn't even an option to be considered in
> fulfilling the Foundation's mission statement of "developing educational
> content under a free license or in the public domain".  It won't even
> run on a completely free system, and it will only run poorly on a
> partially free system (giving in and installing their binary-only
> plugin).  It is, simply, not what we are looking for.
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