topbanner_forum
  *

avatar image

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
  • Friday March 29, 2024, 10:50 am
  • Proudly celebrating 15+ years online.
  • Donate now to become a lifetime supporting member of the site and get a non-expiring license key for all of our programs.
  • donate

Author Topic: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player  (Read 7822 times)

Josh

  • Charter Honorary Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Points: 45
  • Posts: 3,411
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« on: December 25, 2009, 06:49 PM »
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

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2007
  • **
  • Posts: 11,857
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #1 on: December 26, 2009, 08:41 AM »
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.






« Last Edit: December 26, 2009, 04:15 PM by 40hz »

zridling

  • Friend of the Site
  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,299
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #2 on: December 31, 2009, 03:22 AM »
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

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2009
  • **
  • Posts: 7,736
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #3 on: December 31, 2009, 12:30 PM »
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.

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

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 2,266
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #4 on: December 31, 2009, 04:17 PM »
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

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2009
  • **
  • Posts: 7,736
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #5 on: December 31, 2009, 06:42 PM »
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

  • Friend of the Site
  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 4,776
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #6 on: December 31, 2009, 10:47 PM »
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

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 1,164
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #7 on: January 01, 2010, 01:39 AM »
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.

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."



Good one! Simply put....

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

zridling

  • Friend of the Site
  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,299
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #8 on: January 01, 2010, 05:07 AM »
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

  • First Author
  • Administrator
  • Joined in 2005
  • *****
  • Posts: 40,896
    • View Profile
    • Mouser's Software Zone on DonationCoder.com
    • Read more about this member.
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #9 on: January 01, 2010, 05:30 AM »
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

  • Friend of the Site
  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 4,776
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #10 on: January 01, 2010, 08:42 AM »
all it takes is one house fire
There you go Kindling again!

cyberdiva

  • Supporting Member
  • Joined in 2006
  • **
  • Posts: 1,041
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #11 on: January 01, 2010, 08:49 AM »
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 :)
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

  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • default avatar
  • Posts: 2,266
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #12 on: January 01, 2010, 12:33 PM »
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.  :)

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

  • Friend of the Site
  • Charter Member
  • Joined in 2005
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,299
    • View Profile
    • Donate to Member
Re: Apple "blocking" VLC Media Player
« Reply #13 on: January 01, 2010, 06:59 PM »
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.  :P