4 ms·

Does it play mp3 and movies without requiring anything to do?

by oakaz 13y ago

omaranto 13y ago
I hate it when websites do that, and I certainly wouldn't want an operating system doing it. At the very least it should require the user to click on something before playing anything.
- aroman 13y ago
  I believe oakaz was referring to the ability to actually play movie and audio files which use non-free formats, such as MP3. This is a frequent/historical pain point for laypersons using Linux desktops. The answer is yes. In the installer, there is a checkbox that asks if the user wants to install these non-free codecs.
  - omaranto 13y ago
    Oh, I've been using Linux for years and had no idea this was a problem on some distributions. I guess I've just accidentally skipped the ones dogmatic about non-free codecs.
    - oakaz 13y ago
      which distro do you use?
      - omaranto 13y ago
        Now Arch, in the past I've used Ubuntu and Gentoo. I may be misremembering, but I think in all of them there is a packages with non-free codecs either pulled in automatically or at least recommended when you install a media application.
eddflrs 13y ago
During the install process, you're asked to tick a checkbox to download proprietary codecs.
aymeric 13y ago
Very valid question. Every 6 years or so, I install a Linux just out of curiosity, to see the progress it has made over the years. Each time, I am disappointed some essential piece of hardware need a crazy amount of compiling and googling before being able to use them (sound card, microphone, etc...). I will give this one a try.
- hubtree 13y ago
  I had to go ahead and add ubuntu restricted extras from the software center, but after that everything worked. I didn't have to add any drivers for this distro to get sound, vid, mic, etc working properly. That's not surprising because the last few Ubuntu releases have gotten a lot better at out of the box hardware support. That's probably from Debian, but I don't actually know.

Does it play mp3 and movies without requiring anything to do?

by oakaz 13y ago

Does it play mp3 and movies without requiring anything to do?

I hate it when websites do that, and I certainly wouldn't want an operating system doing it. At the very least it should require the user to click on something before playing anything.

aroman 13y ago
I believe oakaz was referring to the ability to actually play movie and audio files which use non-free formats, such as MP3. This is a frequent/historical pain point for laypersons using Linux desktops. The answer is yes. In the installer, there is a checkbox that asks if the user wants to install these non-free codecs.
- omaranto 13y ago
  Oh, I've been using Linux for years and had no idea this was a problem on some distributions. I guess I've just accidentally skipped the ones dogmatic about non-free codecs.
  - oakaz 13y ago
    which distro do you use?
    - omaranto 13y ago
      Now Arch, in the past I've used Ubuntu and Gentoo. I may be misremembering, but I think in all of them there is a packages with non-free codecs either pulled in automatically or at least recommended when you install a media application.

eddflrs 13y ago

During the install process, you're asked to tick a checkbox to download proprietary codecs.

aymeric 13y ago

Very valid question. Every 6 years or so, I install a Linux just out of curiosity, to see the progress it has made over the years. Each time, I am disappointed some essential piece of hardware need a crazy amount of compiling and googling before being able to use them (sound card, microphone, etc...). I will give this one a try.

hubtree 13y ago
I had to go ahead and add ubuntu restricted extras from the software center, but after that everything worked. I didn't have to add any drivers for this distro to get sound, vid, mic, etc working properly. That's not surprising because the last few Ubuntu releases have gotten a lot better at out of the box hardware support. That's probably from Debian, but I don't actually know.