Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Boosters Turn Ars Technica Into Fox Technica

Hannity banner



Summary: The codecs debate is disrupted by lies and misdirection from known boosters of Microsoft, who found a 'host' in Ars Technica

SITES like Ars Technica were exceptionally informative before Microsoft minions came long and took positions as authors. In the case of Ars Technica (other sites like The Register have had similar problems), Peter and Emil are the principal Microsoft boosters and they make the site reek sometimes.



Some days ago we wrote about Peter's latest gross spin, which was picked by many sites not because it was accurate but because it needed rebuttal. The mobbyists and the boosters -- people just like Peters -- are using the same spin and lies to defame those who advance open standards, ridicule companies that work against this goal, and confuse a lot of people who do not understand technology well enough. Groklaw too has responded to Peter's spin, specifically writing: "ars technica shows its true colors in this article, which demonstrates it doesn't at all grasp the value of freedom, so it doesn't get why patents are contrary to achieving it. One subhead in the article says it all, "Is freedom all it's cracked up to be?" The answer to that question can only be, from Google and me, is "Yes, it is." Google has taken a bold step, and it deserves commendation, not snarky articles like this. Go Google."

We linked to other rebuttals the other day. There are many that include Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols' or Adam's (from Fedora, linked yesterday) and they are damaging to the once-good reputation of Ars Technica. Maybe it goes through the same phase that The Register went through some years ago (writers still leave the publication at a high pace, which only makes it more susceptible to entryism). Anyway, let us digress. Someone from Opera also responded to this booster from Ars Technica and reached the point where he could show Peter's spin for the nonsense that it is.

Conclusion: By rejecting that which closes the web, while at the same time promoting open technologies, Google is contributing to a more open web, contrary to the claims in the article.


The same person from Opera provided some numbers that compare WebM and H.264:

Conclusion: The Numbers

As you can see, WebM has a huge advantage when it comes to browser adoption.

IE users are notoriously slow at upgrading, and IE9 will only be available for Windows Vista and Windows 7. Half of all Windows users will not be able to upgrade to IE9!

On the other hand, recent versions of Opera and Chrome already support WebM, users are upgrading to these versions much faster than they are upgrading Safari or IE, and Firefox 4 is likely to be released in the near future, thereby boosting the market share of WebM-supporting browsers to possibly more than 30-40%.

This leaves Safari basically carrying the torch for H.264 with little help from Internet Explorer. Within the next 12-24 months, H.264 might be lucky to have a market share above 10%!

As a final nail in the coffin, IE9 and Safari, being bundled with operating systems, are likely integrated with those operating systems in a way which makes adding WebM support as simple as installing it as a system codec.


In reference to those who give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt when it comes to web standards, Groklaw wrote: "I don't think it's that Microsoft can't grok the web. It's that it doesn't like it. In Apple's case, I see the app store as Apple's way to get a kind of open source substitute -- a way to get programmers to enhance the value of its hardware without Apple having to do all the programming itself. One has to admit Apple's a bit more fair than some companies that use FOSS without sharing a dime with the programmers or even a share in the trademarks the programmers help to build. But it's still a substitute for the real thing. Google has the real thing. Anyone can build on Android, so it doesn't need to create an app store to enable programmers to write for Android unless it wants to, because they can already." And since Apple was already brought up, worth mentioning is Groklaw's response to Microsoft's trademark complaints against Apple. "Microsoft has no shame," Groklaw wrote, "Windows is not a generic name? And didn't Microsoft block Lindows from using even a sounds-like-Windows name because of a claimed trademark? I mean, come on. Here's the Microsoft filing, if you are in the mood for a good laugh or a curled lip, depending on your mood today."

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Has a Policy on Racism and Sexism
In then future we'll show the misogyny and racial slurs
The 50-Pound Note Experiment and the "War on Cash"
Britain is actually seeing a rebound in cash payments, and it's not a temporary phenomenon
 
Slopwatch: Google News and the Evident Slopfarm Infestation
This is what people get about Linux when they query Google for Linux
Links 22/09/2025: Murdochs Might Join Fentanylware (TikTok) 'Investors' (Masters), United Kingdom Recognises Palestinian Statehood
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/09/2025: Esperanto Music History and Apps For Android
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2025: More American 'Censorship' (Retaliation for Journalism), Cheeto "Might Be Losing His Race Against Time"
Links for the day
The Blob Slop
Give me more words, give me some text
Slopwatch: Blaming the Victims for Microsoft's Failures and Plagiarising Phoronix
That's what Google has been reduced to: slop and slopfarms
Links 22/09/2025: Breaches, Windows TCO, and Arrests
Links for the day
Gemini Links 22/09/2025: Rabbit Hole and DeGoogling Fairphone
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2025: Russian War Planes Invade NATO Airspace While Dihydroxyacetone Man Escalates Attack on Free Speech Because of Critics
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 21, 2025
IRC logs for Sunday, September 21, 2025
Links 21/09/2025: "Hey Hi" (Hype) Under Fire, Fakes Identified; Tesla Burns Family
Links for the day
Google's Software is Malware and Malware in Mobile Devices
Originally posted by Rob Musial
Links 20/09/2025: Hegemony Coming to a Close, Luigi Mangione Ruled Not Terrorist
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2025: "Charlie Kirk Was a Hateful Piece of Shit" and Slop Code Attempted by Microsofter
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, September 20, 2025
IRC logs for Saturday, September 20, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Snowy Photos and utism is a Spectrum
Links for the day
Microsoft-Sponsored Xenophobia and Nationalism
IBM is very similar in this regard
Vintage is Sometimes Better
Why can't we get back to "simple" if (or where) "simple" means better?
Climate Breakdown Means We'll be Publishing More, Not Less
Press freedom will be a common, recurring theme
Our 5-Year Geminispace Anniversary is Coming Up
I still remember when Gemini Protocol was quite new
It's Right to Point Out Violence From the Right
Violence is a recurring theme
Tentative Summary of Things to Publish in Project 2030
I'll still be in my forties by then
Web Browsers That "Do Hey Hi" (AI)
State-of-the-art plagiarism or "autocomplete on steroids" (not coined by us, nevertheless a nice description) don't have much/any prospect
Links 20/09/2025: Hardware Projects in View, Some Independent Publishers About Russia Prosper After Cheeto Cuts Funding
Links for the day
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Options and TV Time Machine
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Retrocomputer, Antique Phone Experience, and More
Links for the day
Links 20/09/2025: Internet Shutdowns, Media Censorship, and Climate Worries
Links for the day
About 700 New Gemini Capsules in 13 Months (or 54 Per Month)
4.8K would represent a 20% increase
Rust People: Drain the Swap, You're Holding It Wrong
Does Rust make sense?
Techrights the Name Turns 15
About 6 weeks from now we turn 19
Microsoft is Running Out of Time and Floating Fake Figures, Fake Projects, Fake Narratives, Fake Excuses
Also, a lot of Microsoft's "revenue" claims are circular financing (i.e. Microsoft buying from itself, which means Ponzi-like fraud)
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, linuxconfig.org, and Plagiarised Phoronix
Many articles out there are nowadays fake
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, September 19, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, September 19, 2025
Gemini Links 20/09/2025: Navigating the Pressures of Modern Life and SpellBinding Accidentally Wrote Another Gemini Server
Links for the day