Browser makers have been focusing a lot on security with their latest updates in an attempt to decrease the exposure of their users. Mostly this is a good thing, but some of the changes are starting to interfere with development of the IERI utility. Specifically, all of the major browsers 1 now no longer allow web pages to access local files except through approved user controls such as the file upload form field.
This is a major problem for the utility because we have been relying until now on locally viewed video as a means of decreasing cost and management time. The quickest way of resolving the problem is to switch to streaming for video playback, but this assumes the user has access to a high-speed Internet connection. Plus it would require a significant investment in infrasturcture (storage, connections, and streaming server software) and administration of a movie database.
Another solution is to use signed JavaScript, which I have previously investigated and which has problems of it's own.
A final solution I have in mind would be to create a locally installed HTML application, which would cost less in terms of software but require a significant time investment to develop. This method would rely on a remote database for storage but would run the shell of the utility on the local machine. This approach might also run into security issues, however, so it would require a bit of investigation to determine its viability. Plus updates would be more difficult to implement.
At present I don't know of any other resolution, but I'm keeping an eye on relevant discussions to see if anyone else finds a solution.
(1) Starting with the following versions (not authoritative): Firefox 1.5, Safari on OS X 10.3, Internet Explorer 7
