Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player

[Josh]

Apple’s always had a reputation as a tight-lipped company, but now it’s under fire for being a bully as well. A sensationalistic story in Gizmodo this week painted an alarming picture of Apple’s Worldwide Loyalty Team and its ruthless tactics for hunting down the sources of internal leaks. And now an upstart open-source developer claims that Apple is actively trying to block its widely used multimedia playback program, VLC.

For the past month or so, I’ve been alternating between Windows 7 and OS X Snow Leopard, as part of an experiment I first wrote about in September (see Can a Windows geek learn to love Snow Leopard?). Last week I used Snow Leopard full time, and one of the issues I ran into repeatedly was one I cited in that post last September. iTunes on the Mac won’t play back much of the music in my large media collection, because it doesn’t support the WMA or FLAC formats, and the alternatives are few and far between:

Source

[40hz]

I've pretty much given up on Apple, both personally and commercially, after having been with them since the days of the Apple][.

I think the last straw came for me when I discovered my GF's super-expensive iPhone couldn't play Flash videos off the web. I suggested she get VLC for her iPhone (which I recalled seeing earlier) only to discover you no longer can.

Now I may not be the quickest person in the world. And I'm almost always willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt. But if there's one thing I learned, after being involved in many group projects and community building activities, it's this: Always walk away from the jerks!.

You can try to reason with them, negotiate with them, cajole them, plead with them - or even threaten them. But it always ends up being a complete waste of your time. Jerks are jerks because they like being jerks. And they very rarely change.

And since Apple continues to insist on playing the jerk I know what I need to do.

[zridling]

Wise words, 40hz. Josh, I know the Linux version of VLC includes all its own codecs so there's no need to cull them from other sources. But VLC is also free, it's highly customizable, and the more customers that used it, the fewer that Apple could peddle their DRM wares to. Follow the money.

[MilesAhead]

You can try to reason with them, negotiate with them, cajole them, plead with them - or even threaten them. But it always ends up being a complete waste of your time. Jerks are jerks because they like being jerks. And they very rarely change.

-40hz (December 26, 2009, 08:41 AM)

The actor Yul Brynner was best known for playing the King in The King and I.  Anyway, one thing I'll never forget is his comment on a talk show.  He was asked if he learned anything useful during his Asian studies.  He replied to the effect, "The best bit of wisdom I learned was... never deal with idiots.  You can only deal with idiots on their level.  And they are much better on their level than you can ever be."

[Innuendo]

Apple has always been like this. Always. The only difference is that in recent years they have actually been a large enough commercial presence to be an actual inconvenience/thorn to a measurable amount of the population.

They have always wanted to lock all their customers away inside a white lucite box & only allow their users to have the software & media that Apple has decided they can have & use. Anyone who is actually surprised by any of this behavior hasn't been attentive enough over the years.

[MilesAhead]

You can see why, as hair-pulling as it can be, some people get tempted to Linux or one of the other free unix clones.  You can even recompile the kernel if you don't like it the way it is. 

[cranioscopical]

Like many others, I'd cheerfully buy a 'slate' if it appears EXCEPT that I don't want to be held hostage by Apple.

[CleverCat]

You can try to reason with them, negotiate with them, cajole them, plead with them - or even threaten them. But it always ends up being a complete waste of your time. Jerks are jerks because they like being jerks. And they very rarely change.

-40hz (December 26, 2009, 08:41 AM)

The actor Yul Brynner was best known for playing the King in The King and I.  Anyway, one thing I'll never forget is his comment on a talk show.  He was asked if he learned anything useful during his Asian studies.  He replied to the effect, "The best bit of wisdom I learned was... never deal with idiots.  You can only deal with idiots on their level.  And they are much better on their level than you can ever be."

-MilesAhead (December 31, 2009, 12:30 PM)

Good one! Simply put....

(Matthew 7:6)
. . .neither throw YOUR pearls before swine, . . .

[zridling]

Reminds me somewhat of the ebook/kindle technology. I pulled a book off the shelf that I haven't read in 29 years yesterday. There it was, in good condition, no DRM, no revocation by "Big Corp." no outdated proprietary formats that killed it. Just open and read. And 29 years from now, I'll still have my book and I'll reread it then, free of charge, without having to purchase expensive technology to enjoy it.

Call it Occam's revenge.

[mouser]

just remember, all it takes is one house fire or having to move twice in a year to convert the hardcore lp and book collector into an avid supporter of digital media

[cranioscopical]

all it takes is one house fire

-mouser (January 01, 2010, 05:30 AM)

There you go Kindling again!

[cyberdiva]

just remember, all it takes is one house fire or having to move twice in a year to convert the hardcore lp and book collector into an avid supporter of digital media

-mouser (January 01, 2010, 05:30 AM)

Too true.  But a house fire would also destroy my computers, my external hard drive that contains the backups of my digital media, etc.  Yes, I know, I should think about putting a backup elsewhere as well, but though I often have my head in the clouds, I'm not yet ready to put my backups there. 

Happy New Year, everyone!

[Innuendo]

I know, I should think about putting a backup elsewhere as well, but though I often have my head in the clouds, I'm not yet ready to put my backups there. 

-cyberdiva (January 01, 2010, 08:49 AM)

Forget the clouds, Diva. Drop all your important files onto a hard drive & store it at a friend's or relative's house. Or...rent a safety deposit box.

And a happy new year to you as well.

[zridling]

I hardly ever leave the house. If it's on fire, the first thing I'm grabbing is not my wallet, but my computer! Then I'll go back for the wife.