[Foundation-l] Freedom, standards, and file formats

[David Gerard]

2008/9/28 Henning Schlottmann <h.schlottmann at gmx.net>:
> Michael Snow wrote:

>> I mentioned earlier that I wanted to discuss open standards and file
>> formats in advance of the next board meeting.

> Send a message to the public W3C-list, signed by you and Brion, that the
> Wikimedia Foundation wishes to hold a six-month discussion phase on
> which free, open video standard to use on MediaWiki and the Foundations
> wikis. State that you want all the browser guys involved in that
> discussion because you want this standard to be natively implemented in
> all consumer browsers within 18 months from now. Send it out as a press
> release as well.
> The Foundation is a big boy now and can make such demands.


FWIW, I have myself noted on the HTML5 working group list (with
disclaimers that I speak only as a volunteer and in no official
capacity whatsoever!) that Wikimedia is free formats only for video,
and at the moment that means Theora. So Apple and Nokia can try to
sabotage the spec, but then people will discover their iPhone sucks
for looking at Wikipedia, and that because Apple expressly decided not
to support Theora.

That Theora support is inbuilt in the forthcoming Firefox 3.1 is a BIG
WIN. Now the <video> element just has to work well enough ...


- d.