WebM Enters the Firefox Trunk
Open source codec support enters the browser's nightly build cycles.
Less than a month after the announcement that the WebM codec would go open source, Mozilla has already incorporated support into the Firefox trunk. This ensures that WebM videos will be playable natively when the HTML5 video tag is present.
Mozilla developer Chris Pearce credits Chris Double, Matthew Gregan and himself for integrating support into the Firefox trunk.
Windows programmers can build WebM into Firefox without extra changes to the build configuration, assuming they aren't building on Win32. In that case, MASM is necessary to compile the libvpx optimized assembly. Win64 is not supported at this time.
For programmers working in Linux x86, Mac x86 or Mac x86_64 with YASM already installed, the libvpx library builds optimized assembly code automatically.
Firefox is the first browser to feature WebM support into its trunk. Nightly releases are available on Mozilla's FTP.
Issue 266/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux newsletters
News
-
Alpine Linux 3.17 Now Available to the General Public
The developers of Alpine Linux have officially announced the release of the latest version of the security-focused Linux distribution.
-
The New StarFighter Linux Laptop Now Available for Preorder
A new, completely customizable Linux laptop is now available to preorder from Star Labs.
-
Critical Escalation Vulnerability Found in the Linux Kernel
A new local privilege escalation vulnerability has been discovered in the Linux kernel and users are encouraged to upgrade/patch immediately.
-
AlmaLinux 8.7 Now Available
The developers of AlmaLinux have released the latest version of the OS, named Stone Smilodon, to the general public.
-
New Arch-Based Linux Distribution Aims to be Beginner-Friendly
CachyOS has been created to serve as a Linux distribution for everyone, even while being based on the more complex Arch Linux.
-
elementary OS 7 Getting Closer to Release
The team behind elementary OS has announced they are now focused on putting the finishing touches on the next major release of the Linux distribution.
-
Nitrux 2.5 Released with Kernel 6.0 and KDE Plasma 5.26
Nitrux 2.5 has been officially released and is the first systemd-free distribution to include both kernel 6.0 and KDE Plasma 5.26.
-
Zorin OS 16.02 Now Available
Zorin OS 16.2 has been officially released just seven months after the first point release of the user-friendly Linux operating system.
-
Linus Torvalds Considers Dropping i486 Support
In a message to the Linux kernel mailing list, creator Linus Torvalds indicates that it's time to jettison support for i486 machines in with Linux kernel.
-
Firefox 106 Lands with Back-Forward Swipe Gesture Support
The latest release of Firefox is out, and it adds two important new features to the open source browser.