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InterVideo has had a Linux DVD player in the works for a little while now (LinDVD, to complement their main product, WinDVD) and is in beta testing at oem's right now. Check out www.intervideo.com for more info.

I've considered a PS2 but I still will keep my Windows partition for the type of gaming I do. A PS2 doesn't do very good on UT/Q3/Etc. mods or custom maps for the strategy games I like to play.

I can do without winanything(winmodems, winprinter, etc.). Windows can keep those pieces of hardware.

StarOffice works fine for me too but it is a more resource hungry than I would like. I can see why people with less than top-of-line computers complain about it and I'm not a fan of the integrated desktop. Hopefully the open version will get leaner.

Freetype doesn't fix everything but helps a lot.

We will have to see if Intervideo will actually release LinDVD. They look like they might be closer but they have been taking a lot longer than people want to wait. They better have been chipset support than there current list because I don't have any of those video cards.

Not that it means much, but the press release *is* still on their web site. If you go to:

http://www.intervideo.c om/news/28/InterVideoLinDVDFinal.htm


And it is accessible form the 'Press Releases' link on their front page. Please make sure of these things before posting...

Well, the Press Release is still there. This link was, however, the only trace of "Linux" I could find on their site... Who knows?

Check it out: http://intervideo.com/news/ 28/InterVideoLinDVDFinal.htm
Geez, check these things out for yourselves. (it is only 2 clicks off the front page!)

Press Release: http://intervideo.com/news/ 28/InterVideoLinDVDFinal.htm

Well, if there's nothing legal to do we can always take it into our own hands and by everyone visiting their site we can bring the now infamous SlasDoS down upon them. >:)

_______

I had no trouble finding the Linux DVD player software press release, here's the url:
http://www.intervideo.c om/news/28/InterVideoLinDVDFinal.htm

The press release has disappeared from their home page as well.

The platform doesn't matter... by buying a DVD I have the legal right to view the DVD, period. They don't mince words about platforms, and I don't care if they happen to have a problem with watching them on Linux.

Unfortunately, you're wrong. You do not have the legal right to view the DVD "period." You only have the right to view it on licensed players. There are two licensed players under developement for Linux, (Sigma Designs and Intervideo) but in the meantime playing it on unlicensed players, on any platform, is illegal. Read the MPAA Press Releases under the FAQ.

It doesn't matter to me whether it is legal or not. I pay for a DVD, I am going to watch it. Are they going to lock me up for that?

No, I highly doubt it. It sounds very dramatic when you say that, but I suspect the most they would do is fine you. I don't blame you, I just want you to realize that it is illegal. I don't claim that it's immoral.

In your FAQ, there are several problems: The FAQ claims that a Linux DVD player is available. I have seen many other press releases where the MPAA states that there are many available licensed Linux DVD players. I am a user of Linux and Windows 2000 and am in pursuit of such software, I would like to purchase it immediately if possible.

However, these players do not seem to exist. The FAQ says that Sigma and Intervideo had announced Linux players, but on their pages there is no indication of this (by the way your sigma link is broken, it is missing the ".com" in the href). I have not read about any assertion that Linux players exist or will ever be developed except by the MPAA. The mainstream press does not have any story on it, the press releases on these sites do not contain any such announcement. In fact, as you may see from the following links, they announce the opposite:

== From Sigma Designs (hollywood plus page): Supports Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 ==

From the Intervideo FAQ: == WinDVD currently supports Windows 95, Windows 98 (original and Second Edition versions), Windows NT4 and the upcoming Windows 2000. For further details on how to install WinDVD into the operating system of your choice, and Operating System specific issues follow the below links: Windows 95 Windows 98 Windows NT 4 Windows 2000 There have been many requests for a Mac, Linux, and Windows CE version of WinDVD. While none of these can be ruled out in the future, we currently do not support any of these alternative OSs. ==

I should also point out thatyour FAQ claims that the infamous DeCSS program is only used for piracy, and that the CSS encryption algorithm prevents copies from being made. However the CSS encryption algorithm never prevented copies from being made, it only prevents viewing the content. As your site admits, piracy would not require circumventing the CSS algorithm. In fact there is far more value to pirates in circumventing regional encoding. A pirated DVD MUST RETAIN the CSS encryption if it were to retain its value, since the DVD players would expect that.

The only value in circumventing CSS stems from the ability to create players. DeCSS was only created after the basic refusal to create Linux players by manufacturers of current DVD players, and the refusal of the MPAA to allow Linux coders the licensing/information they needed to do so themselves. The fact that DeCSS is for windows is a non-issue. DeCSS was developed in windows because the players the authors reverse-engineered ONLY RUN ON WINDOWS. To say this is a proof of its nefariousness is at best a circular argument.

The authors released the code so that people could quickly port this to Linux should they fail to do so. And as a result of their incarceration, they have failed to do so, the MPAA being responsible for said incarceration and the ensuing lawsuit which has scared Linux developers off from creating any players based on this code.

It goes without saying that Linux users would pay for a program that allowed them to play DVD's. However that brings up another sore point. Even the players available for Windows are incredibly clunky and buggy, and incredibly sensitive to corruption. It is clear that limiting the number fo developers who are allowed to make this software is not a good thing.

I imagine that this letter will be ignored, as will the facts, as they have been for some time. nevertheless I feel it is my duty to inform you in good faith that you are mistaken, and hope that the situation will be rectified in a civil manner, rather than becoming mired in all this inflammatory rhetoric and sabre-rattling, which is doing no one any good. For the first time in 70 years, America is taking a second look at the MPAA, and its value. This scrutiny cannot be doing your organization or the interests it represents any good. The opportunity yet exists for the MPAA to make this right.

So we've gone from announcement that a legal will be available soon to the press saying one is already available although it of course isn't available.

If you go to the Intervideo Website, you will find no mention of Linux, a Linux player, or even any announcement on their News page.

Verdict? The Intervideo Announcement is part of an MPAA FUD campaign to weaken their opponents position

My other .sig is funny

HNN is reporting today
"contributed by Brad
It was only a matter of time. After all the bruhaha over DeCSS someone has finally created a legal DVD player for the Linux platform. LinDVD has been created and will be marketed by Intervideo for $29.95 and will be available this spring."Related links: Wired and Intervideo

The license is free, but nobody is allowed to use it. So how come intervideo.com has a DVD player for windows?