Fwd: MacCentral News: What's the deal with MSNBC video?

[Mitch Stone <mstone@vc.net>]

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You may read this story online at:
<http://www.maccentral.com/news/9911/22.msnbc.shtml>

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What's the deal with MSNBC video?

What's up with this? The MSNBC video on 
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/video/video_news.asp (now Windows Media 
Format only) is being blocked from Mac users. If you look at the 
JavaScript on this site, you can see the Mac filter and the error message 
you get if you try to play any of the video, says Scott Richardson, 
multimedia developer, Blue Ridge Media.

"I got the video to work, by submitting the HTML link in the JavaScript 
that the PC users see, and it worked just fine," he says. "I have no idea 
why they are doing this. Since MSNBC does not use Real Audio or 
QuickTime, all video on this site is now PC only."

Here is a sample of the JavaScript from the MSNBC site:

if(sUa.indexOf("mac")==-1) {

.....

alert("Windows Media Player for Macintosh in not currently available.");

Since there is a Mac version of Media Player Richardson is using beta 
version 6.3), the logic behind the site is a bit incomprehensible.


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Mitch Stone
mstone@vc.net