RE: CNN circumvents the Eolas Patent?

Thank you for the article, Jeff

Although there are "some" details - it still sounds very speculative. They
also make the article sound like we already have the details (which we
don't), and then also says we're still waiting.

Sounds like somebody trying to create news - when there isn't any yet.

Anyway, I did a quick snoop of CNN.com with a HTTP Sniffer tool and found
something interesting, although I don't know if this is precisely what they
are referring too - I'm not a Flash programmer.

It's funky, and the JavaScript poorly written (probably on purpose), but not
too unusual.

In one CNN.com page, where a Flash piece appears, they are calling it with
the below JavaScript.
----------------
<script language="JavaScript1.1">
<!--
adSetTarget('_top');
htmlAdWH(93163965, 120, 240);
//-->
</script>

----------------
That JavaScript then calls a couple of functions in an external .js file,
which then dynamically does document.write() to the page where the Flash
location is, and then either creates a <DIV>, <ILAYER> or a <IFRAME> element
that then externally references a dynamic source to return the following
HTML

Hopefully the following OBJECT tag stuff is visible after mailing. I'll
change the left angle bracket of the OBJECT tag to [[[ - just to make sure
you can see this.

----------------
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html
Pragma: no-cache
Cache-Control: no-cache
Expires: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 20:19:13 GMT
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 20:19:13 GMT
Content-Length: 880

[[[OBJECT classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000"
WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=60>
<PARAM NAME=movie
VALUE="http://ar.atwola.com/content/B0/0/H7pTL2Luf0_kw3xmlj8W1sns8a9RRNke8_S
AqLzKBa609jmULHVa8jgFKtiL69KX71YyF9xayBtGRi8XvfjKqqo62pBFTBHds9nWWQ4jEQI$/ao
l?clickTAG=http://ar.atwola.com/redir/B0/PTlpSEnLuq7iTb4_50LO_eY7lo3inSH6NCF
HZ5-RpVlp26gl-0Mwbw$$/"> 
<PARAM NAME=loop VALUE=false> 
<PARAM NAME=quality VALUE=high> 
<PARAM NAME=bgcolor VALUE=#FFFFFF> 
<PARAM NAME=wmode VALUE=opaque>
<EMBED
src="http://ar.atwola.com/content/B0/0/H7pTL2Luf0_kw3xmlj8W1sns8a9RRNke8_SAq
LzKBa609jmULHVa8jgFKtiL69KX71YyF9xayBtGRi8XvfjKqqo62pBFTBHds9nWWQ4jEQI$/aol?
clickTAG=http://ar.atwola.com/redir/B0/PTlpSEnLuq7iTb4_50LO_eY7lo3inSH6NCFHZ
5-RpVlp26gl-0Mwbw$$/" loop=false quality=high bgcolor=#FFFFFF
swLiveConnect=FALSE WIDTH=468 HEIGHT=60
TYPE="application/x-shockwave-flash">
</EMBED>
</OBJECT>


It's very indirect, because the dynamically loaded object reference is
dynamically written, and comes from a "text/html" Content-Type, but then it
still does an external data reference once loaded - does this circumvent the
patent?

Scott Cadillac,
XML-Extranet - http://xmlx.ca
403-281-6090 - scott@xmlx.ca
Well-formed Development
--
Extranet solutions using C# .NET, Witango, MSIE and XML


> -----Original Message-----
> From: public-web-plugins-request@w3.org 
> [mailto:public-web-plugins-request@w3.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Stevens
> Sent: Thursday, September 11, 2003 2:02 PM
> To: public-web-plugins@w3.org
> Subject: CNN circumvents the Eolas Patent?
> 
> 
> 
> Hello all...
> 
> I just read a new CNET article (
> http://news.com.com/2100-1032_3-5074799.html?tag=fd_top ) 
> that detailed
> the Microsoft / Eolas case, and in it Michael Wallent (a 
> general manager
> in the Windows Division) urges developers to use alternate means of
> delivery of content just in case they don't prevail in their appeals.
> Then, the article went further:
> 
> "Wallent cited CNN.com as an example of a site that uses Macromedia
> Flash--a technology many consider particularly vulnerable to the
> patent's claims--in a non-infringing way."
> 
> I glanced a bit at the current CNN.com site and didn't see anything
> different about how they were using Flash; does anyone know what he's
> talking about?
> 
> Jeff Stevens
> jfstevens@virginia-homes.com
>

Received on Thursday, 11 September 2003 17:10:09 UTC