[NTLUG:Discuss] Re: Linux article -- MPlayer (Fedora 3rd Party)

[Bryan J. Smith]

Lance Simmons wrote:  
> Really?  They make mplayer into free software?  Cool!

Er, yes and no.  But it's considered "NON-FREE" because
some of the algorithms inside of it may be patented in some
locales (even if external DLLs are used for others).

So Red Hat would _never_ distribute it.  Same deal with
the MP3 module for xmms.

That's where "Fedora 3rd Party" repositories come in.  Red
Hat itself cannot build and distribute it, _unlike_ the
other Fedora repositories (Core fka RHL, Extras, Legacy, etc...).

But by adding 1 line to /etc/sources.list, I can "apt-get
install" all of these NON-FREE packages.  E.g.:
 # apt-get install xmms-mp3 libdvdcss ogle mplayer

Assuming I have previously added to /etc/apt/sources.list:  
 rpm http://rpm.livna.org/ fedora/1/i386 stable unstable testing

And run a package list update:
 # apt-get update


-- 
     Linux Enthusiasts call me anti-Linux.
   Windows Enthusisats call me anti-Microsoft.
 They both must be correct because I have over a
decade of experience with both in mission critical
environments, resulting in a bigotry dedicated to
 mitigating risk and focusing on technologies ...
           not products or vendors
--------------------------------------------------
Bryan J. Smith, E.I.         b.j.smith at ieee.org