Re: XMMS and the new MP3 patent terms
On Wed, Aug 28, 2002 at 09:55:29AM -0400, Derrick 'dman' Hudson wrote:
> On Tue, Aug 27, 2002 at 10:13:48PM -0700, Paul Johnson wrote:
> | Put it in China?
>
> The point was that even then, you would need to travel to China to
> _use_ it legally. The (former) non-US stuff was totally legal to
> _use_ in any country. It doesn't matter where the server is for the
> MP3 codec, you can't _use_ it in your country without forking over the
> cash.
>
> The real question is what is the best way to convert an mp3 to ogg?
Actually, this is too simplistic. There are _countless_ hardware mp3
players on the market -- iPod, Archos Jukebox, Rio*, etc., not to
mention the mp3 CD/DVD players that have recently been flooding the
stores -- and mp3 as a format simply isn't going to go away. The issue
is how open-source is going to approach the issue. Distributions like
Red Hat can get away with yanking mp3 codecs from their base mainly
because they have a primarily server market. However, desktop
distributions like Lindows, Lycoris, and Mandrake are going to suffer --
what happens when a new Linux user asks why they can't play their mp3s?
I've seen several good ideas on this thread:
1. Try and develop an mp3 decoder based off unpatented algorithms, much
like toolame has been developed as an encoder.
2. Have each distribution do some sort of fund-drive to get enough cash
to get a bulk license, much as the hardware manufacturers do. (I believe
the figure I saw on /. was $60,000.)
3. Ignore it in hopes that it goes away. I don't like this approach as
it opens the linux community to name-calling by DRM advocates, thus
portraying linux users as pirates and law-breaking geeks. In addition,
it makes the mp3 decoding codecs moving targets, which makes newbies
frustrated ("all I wanna do is surf the web and play my mp3s!").
Sure, ogg is a great format, and should be adopted, but it hasn't been
embraced by the masses as mp3 has, and it will take momentum. This
licensing scheme may spur that adoption, but it will take years before
mp3 players disappear from the market.
Just my 2 cents.
--Matthew
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