Arithmetic coding in Fedora libjpeg (bug #639531)

[Paul F. Johnson]

Hi,

> "You shall not create images with arithmetic coding" is like saying "You
> shall not create images of the flying sphagetti monster." It's not up to
> Fedora to make this choice for me.

It is though - you have chosen to use Fedora therefore have to live with
the decisions the Fedora legal people (I'm assuming they said no to
arithmetic coding) have said goes.

Remember, Fedora is not just for use in your country - there are piles
of countries it's used in, each with their own insane patent
regulations. The fedora stance is that if it offends, it's out.

If you want a prime example, look at either DeCSS or mp3 support. Plenty
of distros have it, but they're both out of Fedora. Doesn't matter that
in the authenticity of the mp3 patent is still in doubt, Fedora plays it
safe. rpmfusion may supply DeCSS and mp3 support, but they're not part
of Fedora. This may be one avenue to look at - see if rpmfusion can
supply an add-on package for this.

Paul

-- 
Vertraue mir, ich weiss, was ich mache...