Will Idealism be Firefox's Downfall?

Will Idealism be Firefox's Downfall?

Most people don't realize that the videos they see on the Internet are usually run with Adobe Flash. Neither to they understand that the Internet is written in HTML. Consequently, they completely don't understand that the new HTML standard for the Internet, HTML 5, is replacing Adobe Flash with H.264.

Lots of techno-talk. Bottom line? For web browser developers to use H.264, they have to pay MPEG-LA (as in Los Angeles, and as in an intellectual property service corporation that does not create but collects dollars and enforces patents) a $5,000,000 per year royalty fee. That is going to squeeze out anyone wanting to create a new web browser, so it's going to kill much creativity in browser land. We'll all be left with IE, Safari and Chrome -- browsers with bucks behind them. Mozilla could probably pay the fee, but they are more concerned with open access and creativity, so they won't.

Another angle is that Google (which owns YouTube) has "merged with" On2 (Google bought On2) which has HTML 5 video technology which is beyond H.264. If Google opens the market, it will eliminate the $5,000,000 barrier to entry.

Let's hope Google decides not to be evil in this deal. Meanwhile, cancel my YouTube account.