Petition for cross-platform streams from EU Council

[hook]

As can be read on the EU Council's streaming service FAQ they are explicitly only making the streams work in Windows and MacOS X (both under Media Player) and also explicitly (sic!) saying, and I quote, "So the answer is: No support for Linux". This is a discrimination that the EU shouldn't allow itself!

Here is a petition to make the streaming service usable for everyone:

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/eu_streaming_service_for_everybody


...and things were looking so good when they made ODF (OpenDocument Format) their standard format for communication.

[neko kyouran]

Normally when things are quoted, it helps to add everything that relates to what you are quoting, rather than just one sentance.  Context is important.

We cannot support Linux in a legal way. So the answer is: No support for Linux

Now that it is put in context, we see that it's not that they aren't willing to support it, it's just that they aren't allowed to support it.

But knowing the linux community, they'll take it upon themselves to make a addon for linux that will get it to work.  You'll also notice they barely support Firefox, probaly for similar reasons.  I'm sure someone of the Firefox community will create an addon that will allow it to work better in Firefox as well.  That's how things work, at least that's what I've witnessed anyways.

[hook]

Normally when things are quoted, it helps to add everything that relates to what you are quoting, rather than just one sentance.  Context is important.

I agree. And under further inspection the streams can be made to work under Linux (they're mms:// links to WMV files), with some effort. The reason is still though that the EU which has brought on itself to support open standards (like they did with ODF) and has bind itself with the Treaty Establishing the European Union (Art. 255) that:

                      Article 255 (ex Article 191a)
1. Any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or
having its registered office in a Member State, shall have a right of access
to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, subject to the
principles and the conditions to be defined in accordance with paragraphs 2
and 3.

2. General principles and limits on grounds of public or private interest
governing this right of access to documents shall be determined by the
Council, acting in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 251
within two years of the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam.

3. Each institution referred to above shall elaborate in its own Rules of
Procedure specific provisions regarding access to its documents.

If they have chosen a way that disables them from legaly offering streams of public sessions to anyone else then MS Media Player users, it is their problem, not ours. And it is on to them to make sure all the EU citizens have the same right to access those streams and documents (which already are in PDF and ODF, btw) without discriminating them on the base of which OS they use. There *are* FOSS cross-platform solutions (e.g. Ogg/Theora format using VLC player or an in-website itegrated player like Cortado) that would enable equal access to all. And I think this is what the EU should strive for and what it has set for its goal ...it's just that sometimes they need someone to show them what the alternatives are.

[Xordan]

They could have used a realplayer format (.ram say) to stream this. Then they'd have commercial support and people using win/osx/linux would all be able to watch.

[Induane]

Yea Xordan is right.  I can't see a good reason for them to not use a well established commercially supported cross platform method... My guess though is ignorance - maybe they just weren't aware of the options available?

[hook]

They could have used a realplayer format (.ram say) to stream this. Then they'd have commercial support and people using win/osx/linux would all be able to watch.

Hmm, I don't know if .ram is as cross-platform as ogg/theora is.