Microsoft Celebrates Feynman 50-year Anniversary 169
Julie188 writes "A couple of years ago Microsoft acquired the rights to the famed filmed lecture series by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Richard Feynman and posted them online for all to see via its Project Tuva site. As part of the 50-year anniversary of the lectures, the Project Tuva site now includes commentary from MIT physics professor Robert Jaffe. Project Tuva still requires Silverlight (alas, not HTML5), but does offer some nifty features for the aspiring physics student, such as search and the ability to take notes."
Because it's Silverlight... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Because it's Silverlight... (Score:5, Insightful)
I was bummed to discover that Microsoft owns the rights to the Feynman lectures. Available in Silverlight only just rubs salt in the wound.
Not on the Internet. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Because it's Silverlight... (Score:5, Insightful)
I was bummed to discover that Microsoft owns the rights to the Feynman lectures. Available in Silverlight only just rubs salt in the wound.
Exactly. Feynman loved to teach and he loved to educate. He would not appreciate people holding his teaching behinds artificial barriers. What a shame. I'd sad to see Feynman's legacy "owned" by people who are so inferior-minded and unimportant compared to him.
Re:Because it's Silverlight... (Score:4, Insightful)
Yes it does, and it works just fine on my copy of firefox running on os x.
Silverlight? BULLSHIT. (Score:2, Insightful)
Anyone have a torrent link?
Re:Because it's Silverlight... (Score:5, Insightful)
What barrier, a free download barrier?
For some value of "free".
Free download, but only available for Windows and OS X. If you're on Linux, there's Mono, but that tends to lag behind -- I usually have to get some bleeding-edge version whenever I actually need some Silverlight content. And contrary to popular belief, neither Windows nor OS X is "free".
What's insulting about this, especially to Feynman's legacy, is that there's a very simple right way to do this: HTML5. And that actually is behind a free download -- Chrome, Firefox, etc, assuming you don't already have a browser capable of playing it. Or, for that matter, multiple technologies at once, if you're afraid of the codec issue -- put it in, say, H.264, then you should be able to develop Flash and Silverlight shims for browsers which don't support H.264 in HTML5.
Re:Because it's Silverlight... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Because it's Silverlight... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What, NOTHING about the CONTENT? (Score:4, Insightful)
In order to comment on the content, you have to see the content.
I'm guessing we're finding out how many /. users use /. on Windows boxes this time of day.
Re:Because it's Silverlight... (Score:5, Insightful)
Wow, using a free browser addon that has versions for Windows, Mac, and Linux
That's interesting. Because, you see, I just went here [microsoft.com], was told my browser was not officially supported so I should go here [go-mono.com] and install moonlight. Okay, cool, so I do it and go back to here [microsoft.com]. Guess what. No lecture. That's some support.
I don't think I'd enjoy your Internet very much.
My html5 open standards based internet is fantastic, thank you very much. Works on my iPhone, my Xoom, my Ubuntu netbook, my Ubuntu desktop, and my Droid smartphone. Have fun playing with your silverflash.
Re:Because it's Silverlight... (Score:4, Insightful)
Well, then your a short sighted moron.
The fact that any corporation can own the "rights" to a lecture series by one of the most brilliant physicists (and teachers of physics) in the last century is appalling.
These lectures were filmed by Caltech, and it's awful to have anybody "own" them. It's just the kind of thing that shouldn't be locked up in some corporations IP portfolio -- and I don't care if it's Microsoft, Sony, or Time Warner.
Really, what next ... The Einstein/Pepsi Theory of Relativity? Planck's Constant, brought to you by Staples?
My point is that no commercial entity should hold the "rights" to this. This is quite depressing.
Re:What, NOTHING about the CONTENT? (Score:5, Insightful)
Marshall McLuhan (I think?) would be proud that the Medium is the Message. If you wanted to talk about Feynman's Awesomeness, you/someone would have posted a story like "It's the 50th anniversary of Feynman's Lectures. How has Feynman contributed to what you do today?"
This story is "Microsoft bought the rights to SomeCoolContent. However, they couldn't have picked any of three generic video formats, but once again made an excuse to follow their Proprietary Only strategy."
2002 called. They want their "Sites work only in IE" back.
Re:Because it's Silverlight... (Score:3, Insightful)
I can watch Netflix using Chrome, but the Project Tuva site says my browser isn't supported for Silverlight...
So I went to the effort of setting up moonlight (4.0), getting it to work on chrome compiling necessary software.
Even the silverlight port of Quake worked (quakelight), albeit actually playing didn't.
However, that site denies me access because my browser isn't "officially" supported -- surprise surprise.
Where I work, there are mostly physicists, most of them use Linux and quite a few use OSX, windows users being a (very) small minority.
Physicists in practice being denied access to the lectures by one of the most inspiring physicists throughout history.
Have to give it to M$, they are consistent when it comes to coercing / luring people into using their products.
If at least it was the first of April, there would be a glimmer of hope for this cretinous hostage-taking of a truly great man. Whats wrong with the world when someone can own this, wasn't he essentially paid by the people?
Now, where is my public-access to science and the educators of the public!