Would you be able to survive one full day without using the X server? Linux offers us a wide assortment of CLI based tools which use curses and/or framebuffer for functional user interfaces. There is no reason why you shouldn't be able look up stuff online, read your email, look at pictures, watch movies and listen to music as you are trying to configure X.
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Member since:2005-12-31
> It's not standard.
Are all the various video formats standard?
> It doesn't work if you don't have a flash plugin.
Video doesn't work if you don't have a player either. Even if you have a player, you may lack the necessary codecs. On the other hand, nobody I know ever had problems with the codecs when playing flash videos.
> It uses a generic plugin to load a code (that can be potentially
> malicious) to ask the plugin to display the video, which is utterly
> complicated for something that should be as simple as <embed
> src="..."/>.
This is only an issue if the relevant plugin has security issues. But the same applies to a video player. Exploits have been found in JPEG viewers before (!) so "passive" formats do not entirely protect from malware. In the end, code is passive too.
(Please understand that I'm playing the devil's advocate. In an ideal world, Flash would be an unnecessary burden for video playback. But the world isn't ideal, and there are reasons why sites like Youtube chose to build their own player - I expect the codec hassles to play a major role here.)
Member since:2006-10-08
"Are all the various video formats standard?"
No, not all of them. There are standardized, free and open video standards that support streaming. Their documentation is open, so everyone skilled can write encoders, decoders, players and plugins for it, they could even be implemented as standard parts of a web browser. The same is correct for audio streaming.
"(Please understand that I'm playing the devil's advocate. In an ideal world, Flash would be an unnecessary burden for video playback. But the world isn't ideal, and there are reasons why sites like Youtube chose to build their own player - I expect the codec hassles to play a major role here.)"
Worst solution wins, busines as usual. :-)
I'd like to see "Flash" being a free and open standard. Such as browsers can render text, display images and process Javascript, they should be able to play "Flash" stuff by theirselves if "Flash" really is that important. But I'm sure I won't see this happening as long as I live. Instead, "Flash" will obsolete HTML and raise barriers all over the web. But finally, the Internet does not consist of the WWW only.
"So in summary... Google has pulled the plug on support on a protocol they've helped popularize, after years of promising interoperability, for reasons that are dubious at best, and in a way that leaves people who don't jump to the new Hangouts app unable to talk to their contacts without any feedback that their IMs aren't getting through... And they've done that with no warning to anyone. I imagine there's a bunch of people out there wondering where some of their buddies have gone, or why their messages aren't getting responses, because this isn't documented anywhere." Google really messed this up. Such a dick move.
The Tizen Greek Community has some screenshots of a very recent build of Tizen running on a Samsung GT-i8800. It looks wholly unremarkable.Joint statement to The Next Web from Microsoft and Google: "Microsoft and YouTube are working together to update the new YouTube for Windows Phone app to enable compliance with YouTube's API terms of service, including enabling ads, in the coming weeks. Microsoft will replace the existing YouTube app in Windows Phone Store with the previous version during this time." Good to know these children stopped acting like little pricks. Can we have full Google support in Windows 8 now, please?
Yahoo is acquiring Tumblr, the microblogging and social networking website, for $1.1 billion USD. Tumblr offers little revenue but lots of eyeballs if Yahoo can monetarize them. Now Yahoo is bidding for Hulu, the streaming video service. After years of ineffective responses while Google, Facebook, and others took large chunks of the online advertising market, Yahoo is fighting back. Can Yahoo reignite the momentum it had at the turn of the century? What do you think?
"Sources have described iOS 7 as 'black, white, and flat all over'. This refers to the dropping of heavy textures and the addition of several new black and white user interface elements." I couldn't be happier.
"Ilja van Sprundel, a security researcher with IOActive, has discovered a large number of issues in the way various X client libraries handle the responses they receive from servers, and has worked with X.Org's security team to analyze, confirm, and fix these issues."
"Google is facing a new antitrust probe by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission into whether the company is using its leadership in the online display-advertising market to illegally curb competition, people familiar with the matter said." Sucks to be Google today, apparently."In the midst of the major press blitz surrounding its annual I/O Conference, Google dropped some unfortunate news about its instant messaging plans. In several places around the web, the company is replacing the existing 'Talk' platform with a new one called 'Hangouts' that sharply diminishes support for the open messaging protocol known as XMPP (or sometimes informally Jabber), and also removes the option to disable the archiving of all chat communications. These changes represent a switch from open protocols to proprietary ones, and a clear step backward for many users." That's why I always say: only suckers trust companies."The wave of departures is a sign of internal struggle, but amidst all the bad news, there is a glimmer of hope. According to an anonymous HTC executive cited by WSJ, the crucial HTC One is selling 'pretty good so far'. The executive revealed that HTC sold about five million One units since launch, a performance that is deemed encouraging. However, sales have been limited by the persisting supply issues that still plague the production of the HTC One." Finally some good news for HTC. Five million units amidst supply constraints is very impressive.
"Sony gave the PS4 50% more raw shader performance, plain and simple (768 SPs @ 800MHz vs. 1152 SPs & 800MHz). Unlike last generation, you don't need to be some sort of Jedi to extract the PS4's potential here. The Xbox One and PS4 architectures are quite similar, Sony just has more hardware under the hood. Weâll have to wait and see how this hardware delta gets exposed in games over time, but the gap is definitely there. The funny thing about game consoles is that itâs usually the lowest common denominator that determines the bulk of the experience across all platforms. On the plus side, the Xbox One should enjoy better power/thermal characteristics compared to the PlayStation 4. Even compared to the Xbox 360 we should see improvement in many use cases thanks to modern power management techniques." AnandTech does its usual in-depth thing.
Member since:
2006-09-30
It's not standard.
It doesn't work if you don't have a flash plugin.
It uses a generic plugin to load a code (that can be potentially malicious) to ask the plugin to display the video, which is utterly complicated for something that should be as simple as <embed src="..."/>.