Enabling Universal Media for Linux Desktops

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Enabling Universal Media for Linux Desktops

• Scott Nelson, Dir. Helix Bus Dev
• Donya Shirzad, Program Mgr., Linux and Mac Players

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Agenda

• Past challenges with Linux Desktop Media
• Present
• Future

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Past Challenges for Linux Desktops

• Licensing
• Leadership
• Technology
• Foundational Platforms

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Past Challenges for Linux Desktops

• Licensing
• No high volume distribution vehicle of open
  source media formats such as Ogg Vorbis and
  Theora
• No legal, high volume distribution vehicle of
  patent encumbered and royalty bearing formats
  such as MP3, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, Microsoft and
  RealAudio/RealVideo
• No legal distribution vehicle that protects the
  rights of some premium content

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Past Challenges for Linux Desktops

• Leadership
• Unlike the OS, Graphical User Interface,
  Productivity tools and Browser, no strong
  industry or corporate leadership or investment in
  free media players
• Technology
• No common media framework for development of both
  free and paid applications and services

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Past Challenges for Linux Desktops

• Foundational Platforms were fragmented
• Multiple desktop environments
• Multiple user interfaces
• Multiple media frameworks
• Multiple media formats

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Present Where are things today

• Licensing
• Leadership
• Technology
• Fragmented Foundational Platforms

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Present We have made progress

• Licensing
• High volume and legal distribution vehicle for
  open source and proprietary formats and rights
  protected content exists today
• Examples
• Free music and video - RealPlayer for Linux
• High volume, legal music service Rhapsody.com
• Free music Novell Banshee

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Realworld Example

• RealPlayer for Linux demonstration

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Why does Real care about Linux?
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High Volume Legal Distribution
Portable Music Players
Rhapsody.com
Mobile Phones
Home Audio Devices
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Ad-Supported Free Service
Premium Subscription Services
Rhapsody 25
Rhapsody Unlimited
1 Rated Digital Music Service
Free, Legal Music Network For Everyone
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Realworld Example - Licensing

• Rhapsody.com
• High Volume Legal Distribution of Music and Radio
  on Linux Desktops

Free Unlimited Radio Free 25 Streams/ month
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Present

• Leadership
• Developers from Real, Novell, Red Hat, Xandros,
  Linspire, Sun many others are working together
  to build media applications today
• Technology
• Helix universal digital media framework

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What is Helix

• Helix Developer Community www.helixcommunity.org
• 100K Registered
• Source Code free for RD
• Friction free access to all open source code

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Present - Technology

• Universal Media Framework - Any Format, Any
  Codec, Any Device, Any OS, Any network, Any
  license
• GPL, RPSL Commercial Source Licensed
• Underlying Platform for PC Media Applications and
  80M mobile phones
• Helix RealPlayer Distributed with most Linux
  Desktop distros

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Helix Applications and Services
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Realworld Example - Technology

• Linux Music Player Helix Banshee

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Present

• Foundational Platforms Emerge
• Desktop interface - OSDL Portland project
• Application interface - FSG Linux Standard Base
  (LSB 3.1)
• GUI - TrollTech
• Browser Firefox
• Media Helix is in the fabric of Linux, content
  services mobile handsets

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Future

• Helix format support expands
• Window Media
• H.264
• Java
• Flash
• Connected device support expands
• Rhapsody Web Services - Music becomes the
  connective tissue for enhanced web community
  experiences

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Realworld Example - Future

• Rhapsody Web Services
• Rhapsody Links in Web pages
• Rhapsody Link Generator
• RSS Feeds
• Listening History Feeds

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Summary

• Past Present Challenges for Media Enablement on
  Linux desktops
• Helix and Rhapsody- Media Platform for
  Applications and Services on Linux
• Future of media on Linux is in development now
• Come Join us at www.helixcommunity.org
• Thank you QA