30 days using Ubuntu

[gxsaurav]

You still dont seem to get it, do you?

If you bundle software capable of playing back MP3 streams, you need to pay up the patent owner of MP3 codec, i.e. Thomson Consumer Electronics.

Have a look at the MP3 Licensing rates at Thomson's website.
*mp3licensing.com/royalty/
you need to pay $5 per unit of codec distributed to users. Would you mind calculating how much that comes out to for just one distro like say Ubuntu who has been distriibuting couple of million copies of CDs (multiplied by 5 versions of ubuntu - warty, hoary, breezy, dapper, edgy)

Ok, this I get that Ubuntu will need to pay Thomson. This seems like a proper answer to my question, thanx GNU. However VLC for Windows supports it, right & it's free (or maybe VLC just uses the inbuilt Windows mp3 decoders)

If they include ffmpeg without proprietary part then how will that help? Distros will have to create a crippled fork of ffmpeg which will provide functionality that is already there in default xine library i.e. to play open format files only. What is the use of creating and maintaining a fork then?

Here is the thing, FFDshow (or FFmpeg) supports decoding of DivX Xvid etc, which are based on the open source Mojo project right.....

ah leave it, there are no piracy laws in india , better use Ubuntu or whatever with Win32 codecs, guess it's time for me to install something on my Ubuntu VM

 

[phreak0ut]

However VLC for Windows supports it, right & it's free (or maybe VLC just uses the inbuilt Windows mp3 decoders)

You are paying for Windows right??

 

[gxsaurav]

You are paying for Windows right??

Hmm....point. Well in that case paying sounds good to me. It saves a lot of hassle. But I still urge that there should be proper paid distributions with all such codecs. Even I won't mind paying Rs 1000 for such linux cos still the price is less then tht of Windows & it is as good, provided that I get free upgrades for atleast 4 years. like from version 6.06 of Ubuntu to 6.10.

By the way..I m not paying for Windows Vista , I got it through my technet subscription

 

[mediator]

Proper paid distros (with proprietary codecs) or proprietary distros do exist!

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_Linux_distributions (check for proprietary ones)
*www.linuxinsider.com/story/52394.html

Neways, when did windows include all the codecs? I dont think there's any problem to download and install the codecs in both windows and linux!

 

[Ankur Gupta]

^^Exactly

 

[mehulved]

Hmm....point. Well in that case paying sounds good to me. It saves a lot of hassle. But I still urge that there should be proper paid distributions with all such codecs.

Mandriva, Suse's paid edition, Linspire and more. There are such paid distros which come with non-free softwares installed buy them.

 

[eddie]

Here is the thing, FFDshow (or FFmpeg) supports decoding of DivX Xvid etc, which are based on the open source Mojo project right.....

If something is based on a open source project does not mean that the resulting product will be open source too. In any case, Xvid and DivX seem to violate many software patents (very limited knowledge) thus they cannot be included cos of the obvious risks.

 

[phreak0ut]

Have a look at the MP3 Licensing rates at Thomson's website.
*mp3licensing.com/royalty/
you need to pay $5 per unit of codec distributed to users.

Is the site down? I'm getting a 404.

 

[mehulved]

opening fine here

 

[praka123]

all in all,a nice review.

 

[vish786]

...post on why MS cannot sue Indians for using pirated windows. Similarly, no one can sue Indians (or other countries where those patents aren't recognised)....

... is this true ? (about suing)

sorry for digging up an old thread.

 

[QwertyManiac]

Yeah only distribution and reproduction etc can be acted legally upon, not usage. But I wouldn't really bet on that cause you never know when some moral policing becomes the actual law here.

 

[mehulved]

... is this true ? (about suing)

sorry for digging up an old thread.

Yes, to the best of my knowledge it holds true for present laws.

 

[din]

@mehulved

Are you sure MS can't do anything if Indians use pirated Win ?

Then whatabout the raids they conducted along with Symantec ? I remember such incidents in many companies in Cochin, Kerala.

Or you meant they can take some action but can't sue ?

 

[The_Devil_Himself]

^^whoaa man raids by a software company for sniffing out pirated products?Never heard of it.

Sueing can be a very complicated process cos M$ is based in US and they laws are 'strange' to say the least and very much different from Indian software\cyber(whateve) which are still in their nascent stages.
Have a look at piratebay.org/legal for some hearty laughs.

 

[din]

OK, sueing, not sure aobut it. But Raids, I know some companies personally and it was true.

MS and symantec conducted raids. I think it was 4-5 yrs back. And Oracle was also there. Many of the small shop owners were really worried (pirated win) and contacted the Co-Ordinator of ILUG here in Cochin. But it didn't last much, I mean they stopped raids after few days.

 

[The_Devil_Himself]

^^How can they conduct raids man?They need some law enforcing agency to accompny them and also search warrants.I don't think they can randomly select any shop and 'raid' them.But then its India afterall and everything is possible here.
Anyways Its good for Linux.
Linux Zindabaad.

 

[mehulved]

Have they sued anyone? It will be really difficult, if at all possible, to file a suit and win it.
At the most what MS can do is put the list in public, this would lead to loss of goodwill of these companies.

 

[infra_red_dude]

Yes, raids haf been conducted and cases haf been filed against companies which had been using Pirated Software. But I cud never know what the judgement was. Coz almost all the times (couple of cases I've read about), got coverage only during the initial stages. Then nobody knew what happened.

Piracy is a crime. Its an offence! Don't you see raids being conducted at Video stores? AFAIK, India doesn't haf separate laws concerning pirated music/video and software.

 

[The_Devil_Himself]

Don't you see raids being conducted at Video stores?

but they are conducted by police(or some other govt. agency) not by moserbaer or tseries.