Tag Archives: free software

Quora asks and Asa Dotzler Answers

Posted on by

Below is Asa’s answer to a question posted at Quora about WebM and H.264 media codecs.

Why are Opera & Mozilla/Firefox against implementing the H.264 codec in their browsers? If it’s a question of licensing H.264 or losing the HTML5 tag, you would think they’d choose to save HTML5. What am I missing?

Since the beginning of the Web, individuals and companies, commercial and non-commercial, have been able to produce and distribute content in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, and text on the Web without paying licensing fees for the use of any of those amazing technologies.

Since the beginning of the Web, individuals and companies, commercial and non-commercial, have been able to create tools that helped content producers make and distribute HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, and text on the Web without paying licensing fees for the use of those amazing technologies.

Since the beginning of the Web, individuals and companies, commercial and non-commercial, have been able to make clients (like Web browsers) that display HTML, CSS, JavaScript, images, and text on the Web without paying licensing fees for the use of those amazing technologies.

This is the critical feature of the Web that makes it different from all other media and communication tools that have come before it. This is what makes it possible for tiny little start-ups to become a Facebook or a Google or a Mozilla.

Simply put, this freedom from licensing requirements is what makes the Web great. We, the community of people who make the Web what it is, should not be so quick to toss that all important foundation aside just because some hardware or OS vendors think it’s the easy or most profitable path.

Asa’s blog post can be found here.

DiggDeliciousIdenti.caShare

I am worried.

Posted on by

I am worried about the future of the Internet. I would like to think that the Internet is an indestructible force. We the people are the power behind the Internet and our power comes from the ability to connect freely. I know the tech community understands my concerns but, what about those non-techies that do not understand how vital the open web is to democracy? I hope that they do not out number the tech community because I want us to have as loud of a voice as possible. I am also concerned that the United States Government will use Wikileaks as an excuse to establish control over the Internet. I also wonder if the politicians that have spoken out against Wikileaks fear what may be revealed about them.

Social Media

The Internet has enjoyed the benefits of Social Media like Facebook and Twitter. There are accusations that Twitter is blocking free speech. Facebook stated that they will not block the Wikileaks page for now. These examples are why if you want a presence on the web you should get your own domain and set up a website that YOU control.
I think Richard Stallman made a great point in the article “Who Does That Server Really Serve?”
I also think this comic from xkcd illustrates the point further.

xkcd comic infrastructures

Do you share my concerns?

DiggDeliciousIdenti.caShare