Magazine writers, particularly computer magazine writers, are the most vain sort of creature. Most of us don’t write for big consumer periodicals or do mass-market features because we’re too nerdy and have antisocial tendencies. Still, we love to see our names in print, and even more so, we love it when readers write in with compliments. You have no idea how nice it feels to receive an email from a Linux Magazine, telling me that an article really helped or that they’d like to talk to me to get more information. At the end of the day, a computer industry writer just wants to be loved.
So I was overjoyed recently when I got a letter from a reader, thanking me for the articles I’d written about multimedia software and browser extensions in Linux. The letter went on to ask if I could comment on a product idea, a Linux-based, kiosk-format application for airports and other public places. I said, “Sure. Here’s my business phone number. Ring me up.”
As it turns out, the endeavor aims to create a web-browsing and Internet access booth capable of playing any sort of multimedia content that you’d come across on the Web. The founder asked me if it was technically possible to realize the product in Linux. I said, “Yes, it’s technically possible. But whether it’s legal is another matter entirely.”
The lack of ability to legally play Web-based multimedia content is probably one of the greatest obstacles to mass-adoption of desktop Linux….
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