Firefox 38 reluctantly adds DRM tech for web video, Ruby annotation, tab-based preferences, more

Shawn Knight

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firefox drm netflix ruby mozilla html5 mozilla firefox browser firefox 38 eme cdm eme api

Nearly a year to the day, Mozilla reluctantly announced plans to begin implementing a component that would allow content wrapped in digital rights management (DRM) to be played using HTML5 within Firefox. The fruits of Mozilla’s year-long efforts are now baked into the latest stable release of Firefox, version 38.

As explained in a blog post on the matter, Firefox 38 implements the Encrypted Media Extensions (EME) API to support encrypted HTML5 video and audio playback. Once a user installs Firefox 38, the Adobe Content Decryption Module (CDM) will be downloaded and activated whenever a user visits a site that uses it.

Mozilla said it has enclosed CDM in a sandbox to provide a necessary layer of security. And for those that don’t want CDM, there’s also a version of the browser available without it.

Elsewhere, Firefox 38 includes support for Ruby annotations and has added tab-based preferences. Mozilla said it has also improved Firefox page load times via speculative connection warmup and fixed various security issues.

The big news here, however, is DRM. The foundation found itself between a rock and a hard place on the topic a year ago. On one hand, customers want to be able to watch videos from sites like Netflix yet at the same time, parts of DRM are closed which of course goes against Mozilla’s open-source nature.

Despite implementing it, Mozilla contends that it doesn’t believe DRM is a desirable market solution but is currently the only way to watch a popular segment of content.

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Pretty much have to to stay relevant. Some sites will only post protected content and users won't care about a philosophy if they can't view the content. They'll just switch browser...
 
Darth Shiv said:
Pretty much have to to stay relevant. Some sites will only post protected content and users won't care about a philosophy if they can't view the content. They'll just switch browser...

Exactly. This is the reason why Desktop Linux has never taken off. Open source supporters need to swallow their pride and learn to embrace closed-source philosophy if they are serious about becoming relevant with the masses.
 
Aaagh......how will I ever live without DRM protected video??
I've managed this far, I watch TV via satellite, and then only the free to air stuff, no subs.
Get a life, if I can use Firefox without this crap, then I am happy to carry on doing so.
My computer is a computer and my tv is a tv. They each do what they do best.
 
The Linux world wouldn't have to and does not have to "embrace" closed-source, they can and could simply do as Mozilla is doing here and tolerate it to an extent.

Linux Mint already does this to an extent, and is better for it. Don't like it? Don't install it / disable it.
 
Darth Shiv said:
Pretty much have to to stay relevant. Some sites will only post protected content and users won't care about a philosophy if they can't view the content. They'll just switch browser...

Exactly. This is the reason why Desktop Linux has never taken off. Open source supporters need to swallow their pride and learn to embrace closed-source philosophy if they are serious about becoming relevant with the masses.

Agreed, if they want to be relevant to the masses. But I rather think they embrace a philosophy that is "unmainstream", and that's fine, we always need minorities to make us "Check ourselves before we wreck ourselves".
 
Aaagh......how will I ever live without DRM protected video??
I've managed this far, I watch TV via satellite, and then only the free to air stuff, no subs.
Get a life, if I can use Firefox without this crap, then I am happy to carry on doing so.
My computer is a computer and my tv is a tv. They each do what they do best.
That hasn't changed. You will still be able to use DRM free content. This change is about sites that ONLY provide DRM protected content. Without this change, Firefox cannot show that content.
 
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