
Apple Approves VLC For iPad - xonder
http://appadvice.com/appnn/2010/09/apple-approves-vlc-ipad-anytime-app-store/
======
ugh
I would be really interested to know what triggered that massive policy
change. (Not just VLC but also all the other stuff.) It came out of nowhere.
No advance warning, no step by step relaxation, no big reveal.

Fairly recently Steve Jobs defended Apple’s old App Store policy [+] – just
imagine the hearts and minds Apple could have won if Jobs had announced their
big policy change right then and added a big mea culpa. Why didn’t that
happen? This seems a lot like some sort of last minute decision, something
happened and caused Apple to move quickly. Ah, well, we will probably never
know.

[+] D8 interview, july this year

~~~
jad
The risk of government intervention seems the most likely reason to me. Better
to maintain control and relax restrictions on your own terms than risk having
the terms dictated to you by a judge.

~~~
nonane
Another reason, which I find more likely is the market pressure Apple is
starting to feel from Android and the slew of new iPad-esque Windows 7 tablet
devices coming to market soon (even Windows Mobile 7 is a threat). They need
to make sure they can compete on the apps-level with the alternatives.

~~~
Qz
Is Windows Mobile 7 really a threat?

~~~
nonane
Not yet, but probably it in the future.

Microsoft may not have got Windows Mobile right in the last 10 years but they
now have a good template to follow (user interface, user experience, even the
business model) thanks to Apple. You can see this with Windows Mobile 7 -
they've 'rebooted' and are following Apple's lead.

They're definitely the underdog but I wouldn't count them out.

~~~
Gormo
Microsoft is launching Windows Phone 7 with a more restrictive development
model than Apple.

The OS is just as locked-down as iOS, and as with Apple users are only allowed
to install software from the official 'marketplace'; but Microsoft also
restricts what license developers are allowed to release software under, and
limits how many free applications they can offer without paying additional
fees to MS.

The one advantage that Microsoft has traditionally had over Apple - the
openness of their platforms - has been squandered.

Couple that with a featureset that is competitive with the first-edition
iPhone, but nowhere matches current iOS and Android devices, and you have a
recipe for a flop.

------
jonknee
I wonder what the battery life hit is like. Apple has maintained that hardware
H.264 decoding makes a huge difference and is why that's the only format
supported.

~~~
wmf
Previously asked and answered here:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1676756>

~~~
RyanMcGreal
I sometimes worry that the HN archives will eventually become so authoritative
that actual discussion devolves into a chain of deeply idiomatic references to
previous discussions, a la _Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra_.

~~~
Ogre
Pg and the top idea. Jobs, when the walls fell.

~~~
elblanco
In this metaphor, who's the invisible beast we have to work together to
defeat?

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thewileyone
Wow! I can stop converting all my fricking video to H.264 AAC now!

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mgrouchy
So just tried this with divx episodes of mad men, The software was great and
syncing files from itunes was a breeze(Same interface as syncing files with
pages and keynote). The video itself though was pretty choppy. Not sure how it
will work for other filetypes but not super impressed, but I imagine it would
be hard to do any better with similar hardware.

Kind of really lets you see the value of apples H.264 hardware decoding on the
iPad.

~~~
jbk
Disclaimer: VLC dev here

This is the first version of VLC on iOS and it isn't the best yet, especially
for performances... The important was to put one version of VLC out on the
AppStore and iterate quickly small updates and fixes... (you should understand
this way of thinking, being on HN ;-) )

It will get better and faster.

~~~
CaptainZapp
This is completely off-topic, but may I nevertheless take the chance to extend
a big _THANK YOU_ towards the whole VLC dev team for gracing us with arguably
the best, platform independent media player.

~~~
jbk
You are welcome...

You know, people usually scream at us, not thank us :D

~~~
merijnv
This likely because a lot of people (the majority?), like me, find VLC to
"Just Work" (TM) and don't find any reason to sign up for the forums. I try
and make it a point to thank authors of open source software I use, but often
times I don't get around to it.

Me, my family and friends have been using VLC for about 4 years know and the
only we've needed is to occasionally update to a newer version or download an
installer for a new system.

So, thanks for that :)

------
equark
Will it have airplay support?

~~~
grinich

        Apps using the built-in media controller views 
        get AirPlay out for free. Apps that don’t (like 
        Hulu) need to roll their own using AVFoundation.
     

_via_ [http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/09/17/weintraub-
airpla...](http://daringfireball.net/linked/2010/09/17/weintraub-airplay)

~~~
ZeroGravitas
Just guessing but I'd assume that only applies to the standard set of Apple
approved codecs.

------
patrickaljord
Isn't VLC GPL? I thought the AppStore was not compatible with the GPL.

~~~
mansr
The VLC authors seem not to think so. It's their call.

~~~
patrickaljord
There are tons of VLC authors, only one needs to complain. This sounds like
it's going to happen sooner or later.

~~~
mansr
What is there to complain about? The source code is available for anyone to
download.

~~~
jcl
Clause 6 of the GPLv2 says that you "cannot impose any further restrictions"
on recipients of the software. One possible interpretation of this clause is
that the App Store terms of service impose further restrictions on recipients.

Thus authors of GPL software might have a basis to object to other people
distributing their software through the App Store, even if full source is
provided. ...at least, this was the rationale given by the FSF when they
objected to GNU Go in the App Store:

<http://www.fsf.org/news/2010-05-app-store-compliance>

~~~
mansr
Apple doesn't own any rights to the VLC application being distributed. I thus
see no legal basis for them to impose any restrictions, try as they might.

That clause in the GPL seems intended to cover distribution of a derived work,
where the distributor owns the rights to additions they have made.

Edit: IANAL

~~~
silentOpen
My understanding was that to publish to the app store, the publishing
developer must agree to certain GPL-incompatible terms and restrictions. Apple
seems to think that their terms have been fulfilled but FSF has said that GPL
and App Store terms seem to conflict. I think Apple is in the clear wrt GPL
but the publishing developer may have violated its terms.

------
shawndumas
Google Voice, C64 BASIC, and now this! Yay Apple!

~~~
someone_here
Yay Microsoft for allowing those on Windows! Yay Google for allowing it on
Android! Yay Canonical for allowing it on Ubuntu!

~~~
shawndumas
When someone makes a bad decision I like to encourage them when they do an
about-face.

~~~
someone_here
_No, you're right. When someone makes a bad decision let's hate on them for
life; even if they do an about-face._

Apple is a _corporation_ , and isn't human. Don't be fooled; they are only
responding to market pressure.

~~~
dzlobin
Market pressure? Apple acted the same way for two years until this recent
change in policy, and they were doing _swimmingly_.

No need to call out _the man_ , just applaud a company for taking a step in
the right direction.

~~~
drpancake
Perhaps they know something we don't i.e. their own sales figures in intimate
detail. I think this sudden openness is a response to Android.

------
sullichin
This is amazing news; I feel like Apple's lifting of restrictions has
something to do with modifying your phone's software now being legal in the
US. It's probably only beneficial to them to have all of this content
available through their App Store outlet if people can easily get it anyway.

~~~
city41
I think you greatly overestimate the percentage of iOS users that even know
what jailbreaking is.

~~~
CamperBob
I don't know about that. I know a lot of people with jailbroken iPhones, whom
we'd all think of as "computer-illiterate" at best. Jailbreaking is very much
a mainstream activity these days.

Edit: I'll go so far as to speculate that the large proportion of jailbroken
iOS devices is what is driving the _glasnost_ at Apple lately. They are faced
with keeping some control over their customers's devices, or losing the
control they still have. With widespread jailbreaking, the market has
decisively rejected Apple's attempt at total control, while simultaneously
embracing the products themselves.

~~~
loewenskind
>the market has decisively rejected Apple's attempt at total control

If it's so decisive you must be able to cite it pretty easily, eh? I'm plenty
"tech savvy" but I've never jailbroken my phone. I like the safety the App
Store gives me. I don't have time to vet every damn application and I'm happy
that some else does, even if they fail to let few a few things I might have
liked.

~~~
CamperBob
_If it's so decisive you must be able to cite it pretty easily, eh?_

Google returns "about 1,150,000 results" for the term _jailbreakme_. I think
that'll do.

~~~
loewenskind
You're pretty easy to convince. Even if every single one of those results
represented a person who jail broke their phone then there are still several
times more people who _haven't_ then have. I don't think the phrase
"decisively rejected by the market" means what you think it means.

~~~
CamperBob
Translation: "I don't like the data."

~~~
loewenskind
what data? One Google query? Again, you seem to not understand how this whole
"research" thing works. I really hope you're not a real life reporter because
you're either being extremely intellectually lazy with your "argument" or
you're trying to be purposely deceptive (again, in an extremely lazy manner).
The only real data that's actually been provided shows the exact opposite of
your ignorant "decisively rejected" quote.

It's funny when people spend so much effort trying to defend an obviously
nonsensical statement. You were wrong. So what? We all say things that turn
out to be incorrect, it's no big deal.

------
Flemlord
I wonder if Apple's policy changes are from worries about Windows Phone 7.
They largely eliminated Microsoft's biggest selling point to app developers
and redirected a lot of development talent that may otherwise have spent the
next two months building apps for the WP7 launch.

~~~
wmf
I doubt WP7 is even on Apple's radar. My favorite theory is that now everyone
can see that Flash for phones sucks so there's no need to ban it; it will fail
on its own. That and the FTC investigation.

~~~
borism
except that it doesn't. Flash works wonderfully well on my Android.

~~~
bad_user
I don't buy it ... on my iPhone I only have apps that have been approved prior
to this change of policy, and the battery is piss-poor already.

Having owned multiple lower-end Nokias + I currently also have one E71 + one
N97 ... I kind of assumed the iPhone's battery can last for 2 days or even 3
if I'm only using it for phone calls.

Phones like the iPhone / Motorola Droid ... are too powerful for their own
good. If I touch it in any way other than making simple phone calls, or if I'm
activating 3G, it lasts less than 24 hours. When playing with it, then it
doesn't last more than 3 hours.

So sorry, but I don't buy that Flash works wonderfully well, quite the
contrary ... but as I said before, it's better to just let customers decide
for themselves and good devs can probably create good apps even with Flash,
and banning alternative frameworks makes no sens.

The other argument was that it's better for apps to use native UI elements,
instead of dropping to a common denominator. Personally I get annoyed when an
iPhone app doesn't have standard behavior when interacting with it, and it's a
lot more annoying than on a desktop because of the small screen real-estate
... so that demo of the Flash app that ran without changes on iPhone / Android
wasn't very flattering.

~~~
borism
Dude, you may not buy it all you want - I just watched hour worth of cartoons
from YouTube with my daghter so I don't care.

~~~
kaiser
using html 5 on your ipad ??? ;-) You don't need Flash to watch video on the
web. The problem is that most flash content out there is designed for big
screens and mouse interaction. Therefore the flash experience on mobile
devices is far from optimal.

~~~
Qz
The 'designed for mouse interaction' thing is total nonsense. This has been
debunked repeatedly, but people still believe it because Steve Jobs said so.

------
cschep
I thought I had to convert the videos to get them on the device at all? This
is awesome.

------
vkdelta
Quick question: I dont have an ipad in hand right now. Does iOS 4 support
multicast? If yes, does this VLC version receive multicast from LAN or WAN?

~~~
jbk
This hasn't been tested yet. But, it should.

------
joezydeco
So combine this with a HDHomeRun, which encodes over-the-air HD and turns it
unto a UDP stream.

Broadcast TV in your lap. Nice.

~~~
aditya
HDHomeRun does want a dual-core box...

------
damienfir
Too bad we can't remotely access video files on the computer.

~~~
d_r
For that, Air Video has worked great for me. (There's a free version that
shows up to N files in a folder, if you want to try it out first.)

~~~
damienfir
Air Video is nice, but you can't store movies for travelling.

~~~
grourk
ZumoCast has that functionality (a download button, for offline viewing).

------
zentechen
Does it support .rmvb format?

~~~
warwick
It doesn't seem to. I put three videos on: an avi, an rmvb, and an mpg. Only
the avi is showing in the app, and it's only playing audio properly, though it
does generate a thumbnail correctly for the menu.

(Edit: wrote 'auto' instead of 'audio' originally)

------
lotusleaf1987
Is there a reason there isn't an iPhone version?

~~~
jbk
Disclaimer: VLC dev here

Yes, a very simple one... Someone needs to patch the interface to scale nicely
on the iPhone :D

You have to understand that we are volunteers working on our free time. People
work on what they want/care/need, not based on external thoughts (no market
research, no marketing, no boss orders... just fun)

~~~
code_duck
Don't disclaim that, proclaim it! Clearly it adds credibility. Thanks for the
info. I'd consider working on VLC.

~~~
jbk
:D

Still, I have to mention it on those comments, so people know I am biased...

~~~
amirmc
Biased? Maybe, but in a good way. In any case, it definitely brings a degree
of relevant authority to the topic.

Thanks for joining in :)

------
photon_off
This is why it pays to be the platform.

------
Swizec
WOOHOO! \o/

