They are not easy ways forward, I agree.
How would _you_ recommend addressing Apple's requirements while still
addressing the requirements of the rest of the community?
I would recommend that Apple and Nokia follow the example set by
Goomplayer (and others) by allowing users to download codecs on-demand
from third-party providers (like Sourceforge). This puts the risk
squarely in the users court and better yet allows Safari/Quicktime to
adapt to new codecs in the future. It may be my foggy memory but last I
checked Quicktime could already do this. If such a time comes that the
patent risk is resolved they could bundle it then. However, most media
players are bloated enough without bundling every codec so it's really a
win for everybody.
If this still wasn't enough then they could join a patent pact with
other large vendors to provide a mutual defense / shared liability fund.
If Ogg was under threat they'd probably get the FFII to help them fight
it pro-bono.
> THESE THINGS ARE IMPOSSIBLE! THEY ARE NOT OPTIONS!
As it says in my .signature -- things that are impossible just take
longer.
Yes that's very cute but it's poor policy. That kind of thinking leads
kids to buy "Sea Monkeys" and jump off bridges wearing capes. When they
grow up they lose their savings playing the lottery. It is not
impossible to hope that the majority of vendors will grudgingly accept
Ogg (in some form or another). It is impossible to expect anything to
happen while some of the complainants have clear conflicts of interest
and the sticking point is 'unknown patents' and the goal is 'everybody
happy'. I really hope Apple will accept that 'submarine patents' are a
risk of doing business, just as I still go to work each day even though
I could get hit by a bus.
Shannon
