Guest post by Firefox 3.1 beta 2 includes a host of new features including built-in support for Ogg Theora videos and Ogg Vorbis audio, better memory management, improvements in the smart search location bar and source view, and several other minor enhancements.
Firefox 3.1 beta 2 includes a host of new features including built-in support for Ogg Theora videos and Ogg Vorbis audio, better memory management, improvements in the smart search location bar and source view, and several other minor enhancements.
How is the first browser to natively support video in a truly integrated and cross platform way a ‘small feature’?
In user experience its a small feature, because with flash you already got that (from a user point of view). Instead of just installing firefox you have to install firefox and flash. Big deal.
However, I’m thrilled about this news. But just ogg theora? I think it will only be used if it is something other browsers will support too, and I don’t see IE supporting ogg.
Really, can you see Microsoft supporting any other format besides the one they created and push?? I’m just happy Firefox is taking the first step in making something like this happen, every little bit helps push something along.
If all other browsers start supporting it, websites could start using it, too, and eventually, one day, Microsoft will have to support it, too. Windows 7 already supports MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 ASP/H.264 video, which is an incredible breakthrough, considering the desperate lack of multimedia capabilities in the previous Windows versions. So supporting Theora and Vorbis in IE could be another step, supported by the constantly declining IE market share (that is, Microsoft cannot dictate its own standards anymore, it is forced to follow others).