It is a disgrace that the European Union hides behind petty excuses and does not treat everybody as equals. The Council of the European Union should promote open standards.
Since the IT of CEU appears to be a Microsoft exclusive shop, I can understand that there might be technical reasons preventing support of Linux or Firefox. The only way there could be legal reasons is if IT of CEU cut a contract with Microsoft that purposefully excluded the use of other products. I don't care how much money this may have saved the CEU: it is morally corrupt and probably illegal.
There no technical or financial reasons that you cannot use Open and Free Standards. You are an embarrassment to those who fight for digital and social inclusion.
It's got nothing to do with the number of users of Linux. It's all about FREE standards for FREE people. I have no intent to pay for America's IT industry as a European when we have better, European solutions and even free-to-use, free-patented ones.
Please adopt a standard that anyone can implement without having to worry about patents, such as Theora for video and Vorbis for audio.
I find it particularly galling that I am one of those who is forced to pay for this stupid service in the first place!
I am an EU (Danish) citizen. I only use Linux. I ask that the Streaming Service of the Council of EU be made available to Linux users without access to proprietary codecs such as wmv.
I'm a european citizen and a legal Linux User (Kubuntu). If EU cannot support Linux "in a legal way", YOUR choice is WRONG.
You must choice a video format that create a handicap for NOBODY.
We'll find WHO made this choice e we'll remember his/her name for any election purpose.
This is a moronic decision and prevents the freedom that the European Governement should be fighting for. The videos should be platform agnostic allowing all to see them. Not filling the pockets of a company convicted multiple times of abuse of its monopoly.
A public body should use open unemcumbered non-proprietary standards for electornic data interchange as this empowers the public to whom you are accountable.
I am an EU citizen with an EU passport. The EU has no right to withhold, from selected citizens, access to its published works on the basis of a citizen's "capabilities". Indeed, I believe it is illegal for the EU to do so - by EU treaty and statute. We all know what we are talking about. The EU is discriminating against a group of citizens based on a single attribute of that group. While it doesn't have the same repercussions as other forms of discrimination, the EU is actively choosing to discriminate against citizens as would be illegal if the discrimination was based on wealth or race. Perhaps the EU should relax its discrimination reasoned restrictions on new and prospective members in accordance with its own policies with regard to me and those that made the same entirely legal choice as me.
Use the open source RED5 server ( osflash.org/red5 ) with a flash video stream instead. It's cross platform and it works.
It's perfectly legal and the EU LIES.
As a citizen of the European Union i really look forward to the day Linux Users and Users of other systems besides Apple and Macintosh can watch the Parliament Streams. There is no reason to cut off this users and it is against the european thinking. I have the right to watch these streams and there has to be no binding to a company (Microsoft/Apple) So, get it done immediately!
