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I wonder how much they are saying "this is a small and thus irrelevant user base", and how much they are saying "this is a dangerous user base". Linux support m
by koenigdavidmj 14y ago
I wonder how much they are saying "this is a small and thus irrelevant user base", and how much they are saying "this is a dangerous user base". Linux support manages to get them the sort of user who is least concerned with intellectual property laws and most likely to have the technical skill to work around their DRM mechanisms.
- pspeter3 14y agoYet they have it on Chromebook. Why can't they just use that same code and limit it to Google Chrome?
- acdha 14y agoChromeOS implies a huge pile of system decisions. Imagine the outrage if they shipped support only for a single distribution or desktop environment!
- pspeter3 14y agoBut it is already on Chrome OS. It is certainly not ideal to limit it to one browser, but at least it would get it to linux users faster and they can improve from there.
- bunderbunder 14y agoWithout knowing more about the details, we can't assume that it's so simple. It might be that there is other software beyond Chrome itself that Netflix relies on in Chromebooks, and that software may or may not play nice with arbitrary distributions. Example wild speculation: Netflix for the Chromebooks relies on a kernel extension for DRM, and they know they wouldn't be able to get the desktop Linux community at large to swallow that pill.
- notatoad 14y agochromebooks have hardware DRM. your arbitrary linux computer doesnt.
- nuclear_eclipse 14y agoChromeOS supports certain DRM mechanisms through NaCl that are not available (or perhaps trustable?) on a standard Linux environment.
- naner 14y agoNetflix is available on several Linux devices (Chromebook, Android, Roku, Linux-based TVs, etc.) but these devices usually have some hardware-based DRM features available. There are no standards for DRM on the Linux desktop and we certainly don't have any hardware support for DRM so I don't see this ever coming to fruition.
- deleted 14y ago[deleted]
- baddox 14y ago> most likely to have the technical skill to work around their DRM mechanisms. Which would be a preposterous thing to worry about. Why worry about breaking the DRM on crappy Netflix streams when you can either record straight from TV (and thus distribute brand new shows 15 minutes after they air) or rip straight from DVD/Blu-ray (and thus have a considerable quality advantage over Netflix)? Apart from the very small amount of Netflix-exclusive content (which hasn't been very notable, which granted will change with Arrested Development), the Netflix DRM does absolutely nothing except make customers worry about what devices are compatible.
- lunarscape 14y ago"Linux support manages to get them the sort of user who is least concerned with intellectual property laws" How so? In my personal experience it's Windows users who pirate the most software by far. Linux users choose an OS with far fewer commercial desktop apps and generally make do with open-source applications. Linux users have also been shown to pay more for indie games and apps and have been vocal in wanting Steam on Linux so they can throw money at Valve. Given how easy it is to rile up many Linux users with accusations of GPL infringement, I'd say that they generally understand and care more about IP laws than the average Windows user.
- drivebyacct2 14y agoYes, because my parents turn on their Roku and say "Wow, I'm sure concerned with intellectual property laws".