Support ubuntu-on-air

[Elizabeth K. Joseph]

We now host video-based sessions as well as IRC ones, these video classes have questions asked in #ubuntu-on-air

It would be nice if #ubuntu-on-air was one of the dropdown options for chat channel so they don't need to launch with the command line option.

Not sure what to do about the class channel, since there isn't one for these sessions.

[José Antonio Rey (jose)]

Maybe we can embed ubuntuonair.com/#video instead of the class channel, that anchor currently takes to the video.

[Elizabeth K. Joseph (lyz)]

It's a channel window so I'm pretty sure we can't replace it with a browser without some major rewriting.

[John S. Gruber (jsjgruber)]

For a couple recent events the Ubuntu-on-air sessions were asked in #ubuntu-classroom-chat. Is there a plan to change that?

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I've spent some time considering how lernid might be useful for ubuntu-on-air but I'm concerned about how to do that. The current version of Lernid will not display ubuntu-on-air video (or use any plugin, for that matter) in order to avoid crashes. See LP: 995695. I'm pretty sure that those with old CPU's without SSE2 with current flashplugins can't participate in ubuntu-on-air live directly through the web page either, although the videos are available from youtube within a couple hours in html 5/webm format in addition to flash if the youtube user has signed up for the html 5 beta.

Of course all this isn't desirable. Have there been hints of that in #ubuntu-on-air feedback?

This all originates from the binary-only flashplugin which Adobe has been unwilling to fix. It worked fine until one particular update.

For lernid I have an idea on how we might mitigate this problem but not eliminate it (I had been planning to do that much). Maybe we should talk somehow and then post a summary here (and maybe a blueprint, too).

 It's late in the cycle and I should be making a simple lernid update with some contributed patches in it.

[Brandon Holtsclaw (imbrandon)]

John, there is also the HTML5 option for Youtube based videos, that should be looked into as well.

[José Antonio Rey (jose)]

While in the User Days, I posted the link on the #ubuntu-classroom channel, and people said they were able to see the stream from the web browser in Lernid.

[John S. Gruber (jsjgruber)]

@Brandon, do you know if there is a way to use it live? I tried the link but could only get flash until after the hangout was over, only then was able to use html5.

[John S. Gruber (jsjgruber)]

@José, it was a change in the latest lernid version in order to stop lernid crashes on older CPUs. Older lernids running more recent CPUs would work ok as far as I know. I can look into addressing that problem another, riskier, way. Avoiding flash would probably be better.

Would we want to change to #ubuntu-on air for classroom events or just independent ubuntu-onair events we'd want to use lernid for?

[José Antonio Rey (jose)]

#ubuntu-classroom-chat is using during events that use Ubuntu on Air! (such as User Days, or Developer Week), just so that people don't have to be changing around channels. Apart from that, #ubuntu-on-air is used by default.

[Elizabeth K. Joseph (lyz)]

There are two types of Ubuntu on Air sessions:

Ones which take place during other events, mixed in with IRC sessions - during User Days, Open Week, etc. These have chat taking place in #ubuntu-classroom-chat so users don't get confused and have to change channels.

Stand alone Ubuntu on Air sessions:

These have chat in #ubuntu-on-air

[John S. Gruber (jsjgruber)]

@José, it was a change in the latest lernid version in order to stop lernid crashes on older CPUs. Older lernids running more recent CPUs would work ok as far as I know. I can look into addressing that problem another, riskier, way. Avoiding flash would probably be better.

[John S. Gruber (jsjgruber)]

Then could we use an additional item in the connect dialog to switch chatrooms since we're not directly coming from or going to a #ubuntu-classroom session? I agree command option would be unacceptible.

Any way to use the google talk plugin hangouts sometime use instead of flash (from Lernid} or is that impossible or problematic? I have a hangup not supporting old hardware so I'd like to find a way.

[John S. Gruber (jsjgruber)]

All: please see and comment on the linked blueprint. Thanks.

[John S. Gruber (jsjgruber)]

Please see lp: #1142947 for a related concern for ubuntuonair.