The #1 thing that pisses me off about non-free software
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Internet based games or educational sites. Why most of these sites want to lock down users with DRM and crappy web plugins for education by hiring these assclown "firms" is beyond me. Shouldn't educational software be about as open as it can be?
I have a 6 yr old nephew that I setup with a GNU/Linux box and he wants to play games and do the educational stuff on the internet. He hears about these Hot Wheels or Cartoon Network or Disney games from commercials and wants to play them on the website.
Want to know the thorn in my side? Unity Web Player. I read their website about it and they may support Native Client in Chromium/Chrome but will not make the switch until Google makes it enabled by default and everyone has the capable version. I know that you guys have issues with Chromium, but having Native Client is better than Flash or having to rely on some proprietary web plugin that only runs in Windows or Mac.
The ones with Flash are ok because I will only enable it when it is absolutely necessary. It is funny though... back in the day people hated Java Applets and moved over to Flash. Now I long for more developers to go back to Java Applets now that we have OpenJDK and IcedTea.
Dammit, I hate web plugins.
Yeah, web plugins really, really suck. But I think html5 shows strong promise, e.g. Mozilla just launched a html5 game https://hacks.mozilla.org/2012/03/browserquest/
The GNU project is building the case for free software in education, please chip in http://www.gnu.org/education/
Fortunately there are a lot of free games available, e.g. http://libregamewiki.org/
(no idea how this double post got here)
I think a lot can be done with HTML5 technologies like canvas and native video and audio in the browser. Throw on top technologies like Modernizr and jQuery and I believe many things can be accomplished.
My assumption (correct me if I am wrong) is that when these companies get hired by Disney or whatever are very much stuck in their ways. They used Flash and always have and their staff working on the games is trained in it and will not change. Maybe it is the power of the tools, familiarity, DRM, or naive CEO, but Disney will give them a huge payout not knowing that a percentage of viewers to their site cannot view their content. All they know is that they are paying for a proprietary plugin that users will be locked into in order to consume their content.
That is why I will never work for one of those companies ever again and prefer to fly solo with my own biz. I don't want to feel marginalized and micro managed because some boss heard a buzzword on how things should be or is hell bent on copying the competition. I feel sorry for employees of those companies who sit in the cubicle, do the bare minimum, and do what they are told without being questioned in some fear of getting fired, losing their assets, and their wife and kids leaving them and living with her mother.
Disney CEOs are too busy hustling up next Mickey Mouse Acts to think about actually doing something constructive...
Scarcity is sad but artificial scarcity is downright evil.
Disney CEOs are too busy hustling up next
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mickey_Mouse_Act Mickey Mouse Acts] to think
about actually doing something constructive...
Scarcity is sad but artificial scarcity is downright evil.
I think a lot can be done with HTML5 technologies like canvas and native
video and audio in the browser. Throw on top technologies like Modernizer and
jQuery and I believe many things can be accomplished.
My assumption (correct me if I am wrong) is that when these companies get
hired by Disney or whatever are very much stuck in their ways. They used
Flash and always have and their staff working on the games is trained in it
and will not change. Maybe it is the power of the tools, familiarity, DRM, or
naive CEO, but Disney will give them a huge payout not knowing that a
percentage of viewers to their site cannot view their content.
That is why I will never work for one of those companies ever again and
prefer to fly solo with my own biz. I don't want to feel marginalized and
micro managed because some boss heard a buzzword on how things should be or
is hell bent on copying the competition. I feel sorry for employees of those
companies who sit in the cubicle, do the bare minimum, and do what they are
told without being questioned in some fear of getting fired, losing their
assets, and their wife and kids leaving them and living with her mother.
I am a member!
You should get older (years past) kids shows on DVD and/or download them from
the Internet. I'm against censoring content and am not suggesting you limit
what they watch. Downloading and watching DVDs of kids shows just reduces the
amount of garbage (advertising in general) and gives you an opportunity to
explain why you dislike a particular show or how advertisers 'lie'.
There is one kids show I've seen in particular I dislike. I think it is
called 'hackers'. It is a cartoon with a villain called hacker. It is just
wrong. Everything in it suggests hackers are bad people and break into things
(or something along these lines). It is a good example of a show presenting
bad information.
I think children should generally be encouraged to question authority and
information taught to them. There is a lot of bad information out there and
it isn't all coming from the web.
You should use alternative websites which lists games that use the new HTML5
technology, like:
http://www.playhtml5games.net/
http://www.html5games.me/
http://www.html5games.net/
http://html5games.com/
http://html5minigames.com/
http://html5gamers.com/
This is a sad reality of the Internet.
I ended up sending a support email to the Unity plugin team asking about it
and this is what I got:
"You'll be pleased to hear that Unity has supported Native Client as a build
target since the introduction of v3.5, so it is already possible for
developers to deploy to this platform (and it does work on Linux). However,
there are no plans for a Native Client app that can run existing webplayers -
the developers of the game must rebuild and release for Native Client. We're
hoping that more developers will take advantage of this as they become aware
of it and as Chrome gains in userbase."
So in a nutshell the tools are there to make these games native in the web
browser but it is up to the developers and Disney to flip that switch. What
are the odds that we see that happening soon? lol
"Internet based games or educational sites. Why most of these sites want to lock down users with DRM and crappy web plugins for education by hiring these assclown "firms" is beyond me. Shouldn't educational software be about as open as it can be?"
You'd think, right? As I've said many times on here, I'm forced to use Adobe Flash because my online high school uses an interface made entirely in Adobe Flash, and that always uses the latest version, making it impossible for Gnash or Lightspark to be able to render it. I mean, this is EDUCATION we're talking about. The least they could do is allow it to be used with HTML5/Javascript/anything that isn't flash or that's an open standard/accessible using Free Software only (hell, even Java would be fine since that'd run with IcedTea).
But no. Instead, they're trying to force you to use an OS that they expect everybody to be using (Windows), with a plugin that they expect is already installed (Flash). It's annoying as hell.
Talk to those responsible, education is the only solution at this point.
See, I have though. They just said that "HTML5 isn't as capable as Flash" and that they'd look into it, and there would hopefully be one by 'late 2013'. I graduate early 2013.
See, I have though. They just said that "HTML5 isn't as capable as Flash" and
that they'd look into it, and there would hopefully be one by 'late 2013'. I
graduate early 2013.
Talk to those responsible, education is the only solution at this point.
I am a member!
You should get older (years past) kids shows on DVD and/or download them from the Internet. It isn't that newer shows shouldn't be shown. Show those too. Show everything. I'm against censoring content and am not suggesting you limit what they watch. Downloading and watching DVDs of kids shows just reduces the amount of garbage (advertising in general) and gives you an opportunity to explain why you dislike a particular show and/or how advertisers 'lie'. Use it as a tool to help you avoid the lies (again, if he likes the 'evil' shows- don't censor them... that is not the point).
There is one kids show I've seen in particular I dislike. I think it is called 'hackers'. It is a cartoon with a villain called hacker. It is just wrong. Everything in it suggests hackers are bad people and break into things (or something along these lines). It is a good example of a show presenting bad information.
I think children should generally be encouraged to question authority and information taught to them. There is a lot of bad information out there and it isn't all coming from the web.
Well, "hacker" gets a bad name from movies and recently the Anonymous attacks while "programmer" is someone's dad working at a big corporation programming Java. Not my perception but it is one of many many people who know jack s**t about computing.
Well, "hacker" gets a bad name from movies and recently the Anonymous attacks
while "programmer" is someone's dad working at a big corporation programming
Java. Not my perception but it is one of many many people who know jack s**t
about computing.
You can use alternative websites which lists games that was made upon the new HTML5 web-technology, like:
http://www.playhtml5games.net/
http://www.html5games.me/
http://www.html5games.net/
http://html5games.com/
http://html5minigames.com/
http://html5gamers.com/
No more web plugins, no more non-free software, no more headache. Just fun! :)
I am a member!
I think what he was getting at is the temptation bit. The kid is being exposed to friends, television shows, and advertising that include negative inflorescences It probably is a good time to learn you can't or shouldn't indulge or overindulge in everything that life has to enjoy. I might want a cigarette although don't smoke for health reasons. I might want to eat only junk food although eat it sparingly. etc I might want to play that hot wheels computer game but it isn't worth the high cost.
Yeah, it sucks when the big outlets of children's television that are Disney
and Nickelodeon advertise to visit their website and play their games on it.
I have no clue if PBS tries to force Unity or whatever non-free plugin down
our throats, but if they are Flash, at least Linux users can install and use
that like the Windows and Mac people.
Do the CEOs and executives or "IT" departments even know they are alienating
many users and marginalizing access to children's education and games? I
highly doubt that as they are stuck in tunnel vision and the "consultants"
and "developers" of the products they buy or licence know they have no clue
but are willing to pay an arm and a leg for their services. Or simply the
media firms that are making this really have no clue and are so locked down
in their ways. Or everyone is a egotistical jerk and only care about their
own bottom line.
I am a member!
I think what he was getting at is the temptation bit. The kid is being
exposed to friends, television shows, and advertising that include negative
inflorescences It probably is a good time to learn you can't or shouldn't
indulge or overindulge in everything that life has to enjoy. I might want a
cigarette although don't smoke for health reasons. I might want to eat only
junk food although eat it sparingly. etc I might want to play that hot wheels
computer game but it isn't worth the high cost.
Yeah, it sucks when the big outlets of children's television that are Disney and Nickelodeon advertise to visit their website and play their games on it. I have no clue if PBS tries to force Unity or whatever non-free plugin down our throats, but if they are Flash, at least Linux users can install and use that like the Windows and Mac people.
Do the CEOs and executives or "IT" departments even know they are alienating many users and marginalizing access to children's education and games? I highly doubt that as they are stuck in tunnel vision and the "consultants" and "developers" of the products they buy or license know they have no clue but are willing to pay an arm and a leg for their services. Or simply the media firms that are making this really have no clue and are so locked down in their ways. Or everyone is a egotistical jerk and only care about their own bottom line.
I am a member!
The more people who complain the better the chance that media outlets like the BBC, PBS, and others will resolve these types of issues. Some of the commercial entities we don't have a chance with although it is still worth complaining over. Find an email, a phone number, and contact them!
I've even complained to companies with advertising promotions which included a non-free software dependency.
I am a member!
The more people who complain the better the chance that media outlets like
the BBC, PBS, and others will resolve these types of issues. Some of the
commercial entities we don't have a chance with although it is still worth
complaining over. Find an email, a phone number, and contact them!
I've even complained to companies with advertising promotions which included
a non-free software dependency.
This is a sad reality of the Internet.
I ended up sending a support email to the Unity plugin team asking about it and this is what I got:
"You'll be pleased to hear that Unity has supported Native Client as a build target since the introduction of v3.5, so it is already possible for developers to deploy to this platform (and it does work on Linux). However, there are no plans for a Native Client app that can run existing webplayers - the developers of the game must rebuild and release for Native Client. We're hoping that more developers will take advantage of this as they become aware of it and as Chrome gains in userbase."
So in a nutshell the tools are there to make these games native in the web browser but it is up to the developers and Disney to flip that switch. What are the odds that we see that happening soon? lol
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