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...what?

That would be quite ridiculous. And the "safe" browser thing will never happen, so long as open-source is alive.

Nobody can control the Web. The W3C is forgetting that.



"the "safe" browser thing will never happen, so long as open-source is alive"

So people who choose to use only free software will be excluded from large parts of the web. How is that a good outcome?


I'm curious: how do you think an EME standard in HTML5 will change that?

Just because your browser supports EME doesn't oblige CDM vendors to produce a version compatible with your platform.


That was my point: someone claimed that a special, DRM-enabled "safe browser" would never happen as long as there is open source, and I am saying that no, in fact, open source is not going to save us here. The problem is that there is almost no chance of an open source CDM, and a near-guarantee that proprietary CDMs will dominate. Open source browsers will either capitulate and include DRM, or fail to do so and languish in obscurity as their users find themselves increasingly unable to use the web.

It is not just about Hollywood. The New York Times will use DRM to try to enforce payments. Scientific journals will use DRM to stop people from sharing articles. Photos will be DRM'd by companies that want to force you to go online to view them, to pay extra for setting them as your background, etc. How long do you think Mozilla can hold out against the pressure to include DRM functionality?


Sorry, I misunderstood you. I thought you were saying the exact opposite of that.


What if netflix released its own browser, perhaps a fork of chromium, and all it could do was go to netflix and other such approved (read: drm-ready) sites that paid a fee to netflix?

And what if parents made that the default browser on the device? To protect the kids, of course.

Of course.


How is that different then the Windows 8/Android/iOS/Xbox 360/Wii/PS3 netflix applications?


What prevents that with or without DRM in HTML5?


Well, they could say: "Download NetFlixBrowser! The fastest, safest HTML5 Browser on the planet!"


They can already say that.


But they would be lying.


Yes, but that would be regardless of any added DRM. It's not like a "HTML5 Browser" can't have additional features - in fact, they all do.


so you mean like a gagillion other HTML apps you can download for your phone/tablet?




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