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MS Silverlight To Stream Obama Inauguration Events
Ilgaz writes in to let us know that we will have to install MS Silverlight 2 to watch the US President's inauguration online. Everyone running Mac PPC, Linux, and FreeBSD has been left out, as there are no working Silverlight 2-capable alternatives on these systems. Here is Microsoft's press release announcing the selection of Silverlight yesterday. Streaming of various events around the inauguration begins today at the Presidential Inaugural Committee site, which touts its "inclusive and accessible" coverage.
You can watch it using flash video here
The actual copy from the references story is...
Microsoft's Silverlight technology has been chosen to stream U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony live on the Presidential Inaugural Committee's Web site...
Nowhere does it say that all the networks will be using Silverlight exclusively.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
http://www.hulu.com/spotlight/obamapresidency
The story *DOES NOT* say that Silver light will be used exclusivly accross all channels. It says:
Microsoft's Silverlight technology has been chosen to stream U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's swearing-in ceremony live on the Presidential Inaugural Committee's Web site
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
I just installed silverlight 2 on my mac, so obviously someone didn't do their homework before submitting.
"If you want a vision of the future, Winston, imagine a boot stamping on a human face forever." - George Orwell, 1984
Oddly enough Jan 20th is the official release date for Moonlight 1.0 The Linux implementation of silverlight. But only of the silverlight 1.0 spec. I wonder if 2.0 is really required.
moonlight roadmap
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
Their implementation is only Silverlight 1. Silverlight 2 is in Alpha, but does not work with anything real, as I understand it.
Slashdot needs a "-1, Wrong" moderation option.
The Urban Hippie
Since I watch Joost shows sometimes on the Mac without having silverlight installed, I assume that it is not a requirement there either.
Open, Free Codecs that work everywhere are surprisingly non-existent. I'd like to see that change!
Last time I checked, Ogg Vorbis was open, free and cross-platform. It was also proposed as the standard for HTML5 precisely for these qualities.
"I'm never quite so stupid as when I'm being smart" (Linus van Pelt)
Point to a good mutli-file uploader that supports a mod_perl2 backend, not either PHP or ASP.NET? Make sure the said uploaded can be customized to make it easy to send meta-data along with the file upload. Make sure it is free and doesn't suck too.
Like the parent, I too was able to crank out a (rather ghetto) multi-file uploader that bolted right into the same backend hooks as the original form based one. In fact, the upload widget was my first dive into Silverlight because honestly, that is where improving things can yeild major returns in user-experience.
Those who can't support Silverlight can use the old form based one. Those can don't have it but whose platform can handle it will get a cute "hey man, install Silverlight2 and enjoy the sweetness" message they can choose to ignore.
Dont knock Silverlight. It makes it pretty damn simple to kick out widgets that can vastly improve the user experience for a good swath of your userbase. Life is great as you make sure that non-Silverlight visitors can do the same thing, even if it isn't as easy.
Silverlight runs on Intel Mac's (PPC's are legacy... if you have a problem with that go talk to Apple, not Microsoft. Apple is notorious for pulling stuff like that).
It doesn't run on Linux or FreeBSD (does Flash run on FreeBSD? Never tried, actually).
The solution, provided you are willing to bear the cost (i.e. taxes) would be to offer the stream in a secondary format. Keep in mind though, you dont know what backend they are using, so it could either be easy to have two video streams, or it could be a major pain in the ass. Personally, I'd say they should do it. I can't stream Silverlight or Flash to my SageTV if it is embedded.
Since the [canvas] tag is a ways off, and so is anything else, maybe somebody should invent a new [link] tag like [link rel='streaming' codec='h.264' src='http://place'] so things like SageTV, MythTV and whatever can suck down the media without trying to embed a flash player or silverlight player. As long as the codec is widely supported, it would be really nice. The only trick is to figure out ways to splice in the 15-second ads into such things like you can do with the Flash/Silverlight players. I bet the backend can do that though.
Sorry to inform you, but your definition of "open" isn't in line with the RMS/FSF party line. Pretty much MPEG* has all kinds of patents that would exclude it from use. Theora and Vorbis are the only video/audio codecs that would most likely pass the RMS/FSF smell test.
You still need a way to either offer a second stream or embed the Vorbis/Theora stream into a browser. And you would have to require Windows and most likely Mac users to install both codecs.
I did find this. The senate claims that you only need Flash to view the ceremony.
Some days I get the sinking feeling Orwell was an optimist.
Call me a woolly-minded old liberal, but they could always, y'know, try them, and either bang them up legitimately or let them go as appropriate.
Since you try to approach this subject with reason you are obviously one of them hippy-pinko-commie-muslim fundamentalist-atheist-white supremacist-baby killing-liberals the media keeps warning us about. As an enemy of the people I have reported you to Stasi and expect you to be promptly taken to HohenschÃnhausen for indefinite detention and some random acts of torture.
The Long Now Foundation
...what antics will ensue when all the Windows users with older systems (sans Silverlight 2) get the message to download and install it as the inauguration begins?
How many prerequisite patches and service packs must be downloaded and reboots must be performed? And how much of the ceremony will be left to see once the install is done?
Have gnu, will travel.
According to TFA the parent linked to (the FAQ), the patent agreement appears to comply rather nicely with the Debian Free Software Guidelines (which are identical to the requirements OSI published) since according to the FAQ, "You are free to download VP3, use it free of charge, implement it in a for-sale product, implement it in a free product, make changes to the source and distribute those changes, or print the source code out and wallpaper your spare room with it. "
$ make available
WTF is this about: http://silverlight.net/user/Profile.aspx?UserID=34139
Microsoft is probably paying you to spam Slashdot with your bullshit.
I hope you burn in hell.
Mod me down, my New Earth Global Warmingist friends!
Flash has an open spec available: http://www.adobe.com/devnet/swf/, silverlight does not.
Flash is available for linux, silverlight is not
Flash is available for PPC macs, silverlight is not
Flash is already installed on most systems, silverlight is not (i have an intel mac and never even thought about installing it)
Flash is a tried and tested, mature technology with years of usage and any large websites using it, silverlight is not and does not.
Flash is available for some embedded devices such as nokia internet tablets and the nintendo wii, silverlight is not
So Flash is clearly a better option than silverlight on so many levels, even if it isn't an ideal option. If you have to make tradeoffs, why make unnecessary ones?
http://spamdecoy.net - free throwaway anonymous email - avoid spam!
Yes, it does. All of Apple's current software, including the stuff they released this month, runs natively on PPC.