Mindcraft's QuickTime Plug-In Analysis and Fix
Downloads
QuickTime plug-in fix installer [656KB exe file]
Microsoft hired Mindcraft, Inc. as an independent test lab with the following assignment:
- To find the causes of the problems Apple Computer, Inc. reported with Internet Explorer using Apple's QuickTime Web browser plug-in and
- To devise a solution that would make the QuickTime plug-in work properly with Internet Explorer, if such a solution exists.
The technical details of our work are presented in a separate document entitled Detailed QuickTime Plug-In Problems, Analyses, and Solutions [a 168KB PDF file].
For a less technical perspective, look at our Summary QuickTime Plug-In Problems, Analyses, and Solutions [a 62KB PDF file].
Mindcraft tested whether or not Internet Explorer uses the QuickTime plug-in when it encounters an EMBED HTML tag. Our tests used Microsoft-supplied media files with 11 filename extensions that the QuickTime plug-in supports. We found three test failures where Internet Explorer did not invoke the QuickTime Plug-in as expected. Each failure was the result of one or two Apple errors as shown in Table 1. Apple had the knowledge to correct these errors because, as Table 1 illustrates, Apple properly set the information to tell Internet Explorer to use the QuickTime plug-in for 8 of the 11 test files.
Table 1: Apple's QuickTime Plug-In Errors
(Apple’s errors are indicated by a No in the table)
Did Apple Do It? |
Filename Extensions QuickTime Plug-In Supports |
||||||||||
QT |
VFW |
AIFC |
AIF |
AIFF |
AU |
AVI |
FLC |
MID |
MOV |
WAV |
|
| Set the FileExtents resource in the QuickTime Plug-in for each filename extension it is to support, as the Netscape Plug-in specification requires | No |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Set the EnablePlugin Registry key for each filename extension the QuickTime Plug-in is to support, as ActiveX controls require | Yes |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
| Test Results | |||||||||||
| Before Mindcraft’s fix | Fail |
Fail |
Fail |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
| After Mindcraft’s fix to repair FileExtents and EnablePlugin errors | Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Pass |
Based on our detailed analysis of the problems, we conclude that Microsoft did nothing malicious to cause the QuickTime plug-in to fail. In addition, we find that Apple has bugs in its QuickTime plug-in and its installer that prevent the plug-in from working properly.
