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Microsoft Confirms IE Changes in Wake of Lawsuit
theodp writes "On Monday, Microsoft verified that it will be making what it calls "modest" changes to Windows and IE to meet the requirements of the jury verdict against it in the Eolas patent infringement case. Microsoft says it will finish making the changes to IE and Windows by early next year and will provide developers that use IE technology with documentation to help them modify their applications, Web pages, and browser plug-ins to work with the new plug-in scheme, which affects all Web pages that use plug-in technologies such as Adobe Reader, Apple QuickTime, Macromedia Flash, RealNetworks RealOne, all versions of Java, and Windows Media Player. A preview of the new user experience shows the user being prompted to confirm loading of each ActiveX control."
But you can lose patents if you don't inforce them.
James
But you can lose patents if you don't inforce them.
No, you're thinking about Trademarks.
See this pressrelease for more information.
Intosi
Even copyrights can be selectively enforced. Only trademarks need to be vigorously protected.
Ita erat quando hic adveni.
If you look at the site they show a new tag, NOEXTERNALDATA, which basically nullifies this change... I think we will see a lot of sites violating the patent while Microsoft sits is in compliance.
Sometimes it helps to read...
This annoying feature was already present in one form in IE. If you check "don't start ActiveX controls" (or whatever this option was called), the dumb thing pops up a dialog box complaining about how you'll not see this site in it's full beauty because you don't like ActiveX.
;).
For every page, and for every damned control embeded in this page (IIRC, it's a while since I last used IE)
I'm glad the the yes-to-active-x fraction now gets their own piece of the pie
Ha! From that page: "If the OBJECT element used to load the control contains PARAM elements but none of the PARAM elements specify a source of data external to the current Web page, then the control does not access remote data" and so the user will not be prompted.
I suppose that this is one of the concessions they were required to make: plugin content that "specifies a source of data external to the current page" was probably convered specifically by the patent in question.
But here's the VERY NEXT sentence: "The OBJECT element for an ActiveX control has a new attribute: NOEXTERNALDATA. Specify true for this attribute to indicate that the control does not access remote data and that Internet Explorer should not prompt the user." Notice that this doesn't say "specify this tag and we'll CHECK to see if there's external data." It's basically a way to turn off the prompt, no questions asked.
In fact, the code example directly following specifies a "param url=", which sounds a helluva lot like a "source of external data" to me. Is it just me, or does this directly flout the entire point of the changes? I can't imagine that's an accident... I think MS just said "here, we'll change our default behavior, but we'll let users subvert the change starting now."
Ha!
Other interpretations?
Geez. Come on moderators, follow the links before you mod.
Dan East
Better known as 318230.
Eolas didn't let them.
Eolas is a 100% private company. All owned by its 1 employee.
No possibility of a hostile takeover there.
Eolas wasn't willing to sell the patent. I don't remember the article, but the Eolas guy specifically says that he wanted to use his patent to change the landscape of the broswer industry; he talks about allowing other browsers back into the market by only enforcing his patent against Microsoft (and wining a HUGE chunk of change in the process).
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
The NOEXTERNALDATA tag can only be used when there are no parameters passed. If I simply have as their example shows, then the plugin will load, but will not know where to load data from. It'd be similar to loading the flash plugin but not pointing it to a data file... pretty useless.
Additional parameters (like a file) would be ignored if NOEXTERNALDATA is specified.
Oddly enough, the tag is theoretically the correct way to embed images, depending on how you read the HTML spec. Can you imagine a popup coming up for every image on a page?
The following example shows an OBJECT tag that loads a control without a prompt from Internet Explorer because the NOEXTERNALDATA attribute is set to true. The control does not receive the URL property.
In other words, the control doesn't get that URL parameter, it's just loading the component without a data source.
I make use of a reghack in Windows XP which allows me to Disable/Enable Flash on the fly. (I keep the 2 reg files on the start menu for when I want to view flash).
- 444553540000}\MiscStatus\1]
@="131473"
- 444553540000}\MiscStatus\1]
@="1024"
*DO NOT TAKE MY WORD FOR IT THOUGH*
Do some digging and dont just blindly insert this. This is meant as an eyeopener, not a tailored solution.
This reg key Enabled flash content - double click, and refresh the page - it comes on perfect.
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8
This one disables flash:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8
I think its just hitting the internal Windows Kill switch for the flash plugin, but its stopped the annoying "This page may not work right..." messages and increased speed (no checking if it needs updating, the control does not render)
http://www.ozzie.net/blog/stories/2003/09/12/savin gTheBrowser.html
"If you fight, fight without fear. If you love, love without reservation." -- J. Michael Straczynski, Babylon 5
This is a better way, as one reader has already pointed out. There has to be a better way, however, one that does not interrupt the user.
Win a signed Stephen Carpenter ESP Guitar from the Deftones: http://def-tag.com/?r=0008781
Go to teh security settings and tell IE to prompt you before running an ActiveX control. It'll then ask your permission, which you may give or not. This box is a lame-ass notification that they are forcing on people because of the patent. IF you want it to ask you, that's a different setting, and already available.
Or you can use Mozilla and implement the simple steps described here:
http://www.squarefree.com/userstyles/xbl.html
This allows you to have Mozilla run Flash animations only if you click on their area within a web page.
Pretty useful to avoid all those Flash ads and banners.
- "Having a clean conscience is sign of bad memory"
The delay in loading is what was required in order to not be subject to the terms of the patent. It is a bitch, but you don't have much choice.
If you want a yes/no choice for ActiveX controls and other such content that has been built into the security options of Internet Explorer for quite some time now.
Actually, you can lose a patent, in the case of the
Victor Talking Machine Co. vs. Starr Piano Co. (1922)
the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held the Victor
patent void for lack of invention and for abandonment.
A lot of graphic designers I know have invested a lot of time and effort in courses and education, learning flash and earning money from it. Also, not all flash is bad... its misuse is fairly widespread, but have a look at this for an example of what I mean...
What he can't kill, he has sex on. Trent.
For f**k's sake! What is so hard about the word "lose"? "Loose" means something completely different.
The full quote is:
"In Germany they came first for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time no one was left to speak up."
--Martin Niemoeller
Feel free to mod offtopic...
OK - so far so good. Then they get to this part: I can see where this is going... So- in summary: Writing the code directly in HTML is a violation and will trigger IE to spit the silly dialog box. Having JavaScript (and therefore the browser itself) write the offending code is just kosher. Wow.
Culture is more than commerce