LoudmouthmanFree and open discussions may require comprimises.
Recently Chris Rowson posted a suggestion about the viral marketing of Ubuntu in a style similar to Firefox flicks . The wiki page which details the project goes into more details. I felt the conversation on the mailing list did not get as far as it could have and I didnt wish to restrict the conversation to a space limited only to those subscribing, especially since the response involved making a point about the technology required.
I feel that Chris Rowson’s idea is a good, positive and informative one which could drive a more inclusive and vested involvement from many levels of our community without the requirement for “technical merits”. Where I feel “those few” will restrict the growth on this idea is by taking time to discuss the merits of formats and licensing ,not just get on and make the content as it stands. I really have to hope this doesn’t happen since the value of getting things done and feeling productive is an important part of the Loco team motivation for being involved.
I really hope we can embrace using formats such as Adobes Flash video player and we can find ways to make Video cameras work more like Ubuntu.
Flash is evil in that the format is closed and that format is controlled by one company rather than being an open specification.
Ever tried playing flash on AMD64 or powerpc recently? It’s not pleasant at all, and that’s not our fault, that’s completely down to the availability of the player from Adobe. Yes there are people working on open players, but it’s hard work _because_ the specification of the format is closed.
Whilst I appreciate that there are millions of potential Linux users (currently running Windows or OSX) who can play flash and can consume our content, to say that flash isn’t “evil” isn’t really accurate.
If you do get the flash player working under Ubuntu and plug in a web cam you can record in the same way you just created that kyte video. I tested this with ustream.tv and it “Just Worked â„¢”.
I do seem to remember you tweaked the settings at the command line and possibly you could be more clear as to which kernel and camera it was working with then ?
Ah thats where I remember the Flash is Evil comment from
http://popey.com/Increasing_Screencast_Activity
Im still unsure what the value add is in the comment its not moving things forward in a productive way.
The only fault we have in the community is in a lack of willingness to find ways to help companies help us. Instead we kick of with comments about “product X” being evil.
Clearly we are happy to use it when it suits our ends and for the very same reasons I have put forth.
I think though that Adobe, like Dell, is a company that we should find ways to embrace and extend our energies and enthusiasm towards since they are one of many answers in technology on the internet for an OpenSource desktop.
All content I put up in flash format is also available in free formats such as OGG Theora/Vorbis and always will be. OGG Theora/Vorbis is playable on all major platforms. Flash is not.