Re: non-free?

[Michael Eric Menk <meklev@osys.grm.hia.no>]

If we look at Konqueror - Opera, Opera is a better browser. So you could 
argue for Opera.

But let us look at some statistics.

On many web pages, Dynamic HTML [1]. The standard for DHTML on the 
client side is DOM. [2]. With DOM, there is no need for Flash, DOM can 
be used for everything, for XML4DR, and those fancy math web apps, where 
you pull squares with number inside.

DOM comes in 3 "versions", with different modules in the different 
levels. Mozilla is the leader in the implementation of the DOM modules., 
with 100% of the DOM L1. Opera comes 2, and Konqueror 3.

It can be noted that the DOM L1 XML came out in 1998.

Se screncapture of DOM L1 and L2 tests: http://www.menk.priv.no/standards/

In static HTML:
Opera 7.x do not handle some of the HTML 4.01 tags correctly. The 
OBJECT  tag worked correctly in 6, but not in Opera 7

Object is a important tag, to get rid of all the scripts telling us do 
download Windows MEdiaplayer 9.
<OBJECT title="The Earth as seen from space"
       classid="http://www.observer.mars/TheEarth.py";>
                   <!-- Else, try the MPEG video -->
 <OBJECT data="TheEarth.mpeg" type="application/mpeg">
                   <!-- Else, try the GIF image -->
   <OBJECT data="TheEarth.gif" type="image/gif">
                   <!-- Else render the text -->
    The <STRONG>Earth</STRONG> as seen from space.
   </OBJECT>
 </OBJECT>
</OBJECT>
<!-- This example from HTML4.01 secs. on W3C -->

To be fair to Opera, Mozilla do not handle  
http://www.menk.priv.no/standards/ correctly (The CSS2), opera and 
Konqueror does. And Opera have a support "what we support site".

The argument of using Opera in Skolelinux, to say to the commercial 
softwarehouses, that we are not against you. I think is valid. But only 
as a last criteria. We should not use a commercial product, when a open 
source  is better.

A note, when I talk about a better browser, I'm talking about 
the"Kernel", the HTML rendering. Where the buttens are, and that browser 
have nice shortcuts, are just as much what you are used to.

My conclution is that Mozilla should be on the skolelinux CD. If you 
want a other browser: apt-get install nnnn..

An other program that shuld be in scolelinux, is tidy. Tidy takes only a 
cuple of kB. It will make it easier for people to make webpages, real 
webpages, that follows the DTD's.

1: DHTML is not a standard, but a general term.
2: http://www.w3c.org/DOM/
3: XML for Digital Reporting. (XML EU standard for reporting of 
governmental data [Government2Government and Citizen2Government])
--
Michael Eric Menk
Agder, Norway.