RH also has to be mindful of other countries laws and regs. For example, there is some garbage or other over the mp3 decoder being illegal in europe due to some unproven patent. Therefore, no mp3 by default since RH9 (IIRC).
Having seen the many problems software patents have caused in the US we have a strong lobby here in Europe that has successfully prevented them from happening. The MP3 issue must be caused by US patent law.
Tom
Last I heard was that the battle isn't won yet. There is also the issue of the willingness to go into court and sue everyone in the US.
This issue of playing media on Linux isn't going to go away. Last week I purchased a music CD only to find that it required Windows to be played. The usage of some copy protection technique prevented the files from being viewed on my Linux boxes. I wasn't going to waste my time so I returned the CD to the store for a refund. To make a statement, I would think purchasing a copy protected CD and returning it will cost the record companies more than not purchasing the CD in the first place. On this note, it took me less than 5 minutes to find a ripped version of the CD. Needless to say, the copy protection worked really well. ;)
-- Robin Laing
