Written by:
4/27/2010 

The core DotNetNuke® Media Module has been idle for quite some time.  Like many open source projects, peoples lives have gotten in the way of keeping this module updated.  About 2 years ago, several members of the Orlando DotNetNuke® Users Group (ODUG) had gotten together to begin managing the Media Module.  Some work was done with it, but nothing was checked in.  After a while, the module was no longer being worked on.  I am very excited to let you know that this has changed!

I had been working on the next release of the DNN Media Module for about a month.  It was ready to go, but I had to prepare the module to go through the DNN release tracker.  This was a foreign concept to me, so I procrastinated a bit on getting it done.  Truth be told, I have really been busy over the past month, so the release tracker portion has waited about that long.  I am very proud to announce that this part is taken care of.  The next version of the Media Module should be in the release tracker sometime tomorrow!

This first release is not intended to take care of all of the weaknesses in the media module, but rather to fix any known bugs and give administrators a little bit more control over how the module works and renders.  Here is a list of the updates coming in the next release:

• Render XHTML Mark-Up:  Various media has been rendered using the embed tag since the Netscape days, and this practice continues today. However, the embed tag is not XHTML compliant.  The embed tag is no longer used to render video in this module.
• CSS Changeable:  The mark-up that was emitted allowed skinners to make very few adjustments to the appearance of the module and media when it was rendered in a web browser.  Now, through the use of IDs, Classes, and wrapper elements, skinners will be able to completely control the appearance of the media in the module.  Additionally, this will help jQuery programmers as well.  These updates kept you in mind too!
• Autostart & Loop:  Previously, administrators had no control over the loop or autostart attributes of the media in this module.  You do now!
• Actions Menu Behind Media:  This was an easy fix for flash objects, and windows media in Internet Explorer, but unfortunately, we are at the mercy of the web browser manufacturers for now to get the rest of the media fixed.
• Secure/Database File Types Not Accessible:  There was an obsolete method being used to retrieve media in the module. This is updated.

There were many other minor updates made throughout the module, and some other significant improvements in the code as well.  These updates will speak for themselves once you view the source code for the module.  Mostly though, these updates have laid the foundation of some more exciting features that are planned for the module down the road.

I want to give a very special thanks to Ralph Williams for helping me with some CSS issues I was having with the module. 

The updates will not end here.  There are some significant updates planned for the future of this module. 

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