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Topic: XP and NO Plug-in? (Read 5271 times) previous topic - next topic

Re: XP and NO Plug-in?

Reply #1 –
Well, I followed the advice about editing the Registry and it worked (changing compatibility flags value to 0). Thanks.

Has anyone tried to get the browser started from the web site? I wanted to do that so that anyone could play the nwc file WITHOUT the need to download browser plug-in.

Alexander Boltenko
aboltenko@mindspring.com

Re: XP and NO Plug-in?

Reply #2 –
...Not sure what you mean by trying to get the browser started from the web site, without downloading the plugin. Do you mean automatic installation of ActiveX control? Maybe NWC is thinking about it? Who knows!

The problem is related to Internet Explorer, rather than Windows 9x or XP. If you use non-IE browsers that permit Netscape-style plugins, the NWC browser plugin should still work. Nor is the IE problem specific to NWC, it affects all similar plugin technologies.

If you have NWC (the program, not the plugin) installed, then an embedded *.nwc file may call NWC as helper application, outside of the browser context. Depends on configuration.

Sadly, outside of development/university contexts, only about 5% of Internet users are now using a non-IE browser. The remaining 5% are very noisy, but the fact is that if you want John and Jane Q. Public to see your music, you've got to do it Bill's way, especially now that AOL has agreed to remain using IE as its engine on Windows.

Also, since a lot of NWC users seem to be involved one way or another in music education, it is unreasonable to ask that anyone do system reconfigurations.

Re: XP and NO Plug-in?

Reply #3 –
>Outside of development/university contexts, only about 5% of Internet users are now using a non-IE browser. The remaining 5% are very noisy, but the fact is that if you want John and Jane Q. Public to see your music, you've got to do it Bill's way, especially now that AOL has agreed to remain using IE as its engine on Windows.

True, but irrelevant. A small company CAN'T do it "Bill's Way" because that involves large sums of money in licensing fees, and even larger sums of redevelopment every time the interface changes (which averages once a year.) There is "portable code" (i.e. much quicker to build on a new system than to rewrite) and then there is "non-portable" code (about as much trouble to import as to rewrite), and then there is "windows" (which spends a lot of effort making it substantially harder to rewrite for the next system than it was to write in the first place.)

Let's say you have a year of development time to spend. you can provide for the 5-10% of people who aren't willing to pay the Gates Danegeld, or you can provide for the, um, rapidly shrinking pool of people that are still using the one Vindows Virus Vector Version for which you did code your plugin.

You only have two options:
1) Tell people they can give Bill Gates $200 for the privilege of destabilizing their system, breaking their previously purchased programs, in order that they can be permitted to use you as a conduit to pass yet more money to BG in the form of cost-covering charges (for extra development costs) for what would otherwise have been free music.

2) Tell people they can get a less-bugridden, more stable, more secure browser off the internet for free, with which they can get your music for free.

There are 4 million people on planet earth. 3.999.999 million of them will be benefited by the second option.

Re: XP and NO Plug-in?

Reply #4 –
That "m" should be a "b". The argument is not substantially affected.

Re: XP and NO Plug-in?

Reply #5 –
Well, now: If one wants to post one's NWC composition on-line, without using the NWC browser plug-in, there are alternatives that don't involve subsidizing the lifestyle of anyone who lives in the state of Washington.

(a) You can tell your visitors to download the NWC player instead, and view your music off-line. If you want them to have a printed copy, too, then create PDF and post it.

(b) You won't get the pretty traveling notes, but you can make a birmap image of each page in your music, and compress it to PNG format (rather than GIF, if you are worried about licensing). Provide the MIDI accompaniment, which will play in whatever player the user already has.

(c) You can forget about posting the notes entirely, and just put the MIDI. For a visual background, see if you can find those pictures of Mr. G. being booked as a naughty boy. I suppose they may be in the public domain.

Re: XP and NO Plug-in?

Reply #8 –
Oh this is funny! Netscape wanted me to "get the plugin" which happened to be Winwoes Media Player... from Billy's site! :)

Re: XP and NO Plug-in?

Reply #9 –
Fred had better luck. It worked for me on IE6, but when I tried it with N7, the browser hung. But XP graciously offered to send Bill an error report!