August 26, 2010

H.264 Update

A few months back, I wrote about H.264. Back then, I said:

Chances are that I will have to remove all of my H.264 files in 2015. Given these terms, for my own websites, I don’t feel that H.264 is still a feasible option for embedding video content.

This problem has now been resolved. BusinessWire has just published a press release from MPEG LA:

MPEG LA announced today that its AVC Patent Portfolio License will continue not to charge royalties for Internet Video that is free to end users during the entire life of this License.

This is great news.

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designed_for_use_small

If you liked this, you'll love my book. It's called Designed for Use: Create Usable Interfaces for Applications and the Web. In it, I cover the whole design process, from user research and sketching to usability tests and A/B testing. But I don't just explain techniques, I also talk about concepts like discoverability, when and how to use animations, what we can learn from video games, and much more.

You can find out more about it (and order it directly, printed or as a DRM-free ebook) on the Pragmatic Programmers website.