On 05/03/07, Adam Leach <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
You can always click the links for the flash free version. No one is forcing you to look at the flash content. I reckon if you took a random sample of people from the street the vast majority would prefer the flash version.
I pay for the flash content. They can produce said content in an open and standard compliant way, the BBC took the choice that they would force me to enter a contract with a third party. I thought the BBC was forbidden from interfering with commercial markets, maybe I should be writing to Offcom or the E.U. commission?
Blimey if your that paranoid you should start using lynx immediately. How do you know that all the images on the BBC web site haven't been infected with a virus like the WMF exploit (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/Bulletin/MS06-001.mspx), plus all that nasty javascript that is all over the web these days.
Why would I be worried about WMF exploit? You really think I would use that software? It takes someone with an exceptional stupidity to decide to include binary executable code in an image file! Javascript is reasonably well sand boxed. I can also disable it at a click of a button. Flash is binary code which executes directly on my CPU and has access to all the files at my privilege level (i.e. ALL my personal files). Which part of this don't you understand? It is not that a flash program on a website could be a threat, it's that the Flash Player itself could pose a security risk? Or has the BBC examined it's source code and is it willing to guarantee that this software is free from any malicious code? I asked the BBC this before, they refused to answer, so maybe someone would like to answer it: Why does the BBC require people to compromise system security to use their site to its full extent?
Anyway i thought this was the BBC Backstage mailing list and not the BBC Bashing mailing list :-P
If someone had the decency to answer my questions I would appreciate it. When they do something right I will commend the BBC, but I am still waiting for them to do something good. I suppose the BBC news RSS feed is OK. My feed reader gets the Technology feed. No interesting news really today, apart from something about one care and viruses but I saw that on slashdot already. But if and when the BBC starts using open and published standards and develops it's software cross platform I will be here to congratulate them. However on past performance I would guess that the is unlikely to happen, unless Offcom get around to enforcing the law and force the BBC to do as it is supposed to, at which point I will be congratulating Offcom. Credit where credit's due, and the BBC don't deserve much yet, they are doing all the wrong things. DRM = bad idea. Flash = bad idea. Real Player = bad idea. Windows only software = bad idea. Andy - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
