Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2016/09/28/youtubes-new-offline-first.html
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The Free Market, at work!
/s
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yay the free market…
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Cory writes:
The idea of Youtube Go is that users can choose to download their videos
in one place (like the office or home, where they have unmetered or
cheap broadband) and watch those videos somewhere else (out and about on
mobile internet).
Of course, this option is already available to anyone with at GNU/Linux computer. it’s called youtube-dl, and its use is AFAIK strongly discouraged by Google.
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This option is available to anyone through a variety of measures across multiple platforms, but this appears to be a phone app that’s being discussed in the OP.
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Remember, the Free Market means that everybody is free to purchase as many elected representatives as they want.
Can’t afford a million-dollar bribe? Work harder, slacker!
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Basically we’re watching to see which of the giant T-Rex gets to eat the fluffy little mammal. Telcos, Google, Apple: choose your master. No, actually they’ll choose among themselves. You just keep consuming.
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Yes, but the fact that Cory is lauding Google, expecting such a move to necessarily come from a player like them, also goes to show how digitally disenfranchised we have become. Communities could easily build “YouTube GO”-like apps, combining e.g. youtube-dl with simple web servers to share over WiFi, but we expect them to be unable to and to feel “empowered” when Google comes along and throws their petty contributions in the shape of an app that supports an offline video download that Google normally strongly discourages and to some extent sabotages.
Rural communities don’t need white saviour companies to empower with YouTube GO-shaped handouts, they need the strength to build the infrastructure they need, offline-first as may be, themselves according to their own needs.
Disclaimer: I’m involved in doing something similar myself, namely in the Baobáxia project, where offline multimedia sharing between Afro-Brazilan communities is supported in a way that starts with that culture’s own paradigms - by the community, for the community.
In other words, these people shouldn’t have to be “grateful” that an advertising company as Google builds infrastructure for them as part of their marketing strategy, they should be provided with access to the free technology that will allow them to build said software infrastructure themselves.
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I also think it’s hilarious, because YouTube probably DRMs the shit out of the videos to keep them from being downloaded out of their ecosystem. The idea that Cory, Mr. DRM-is-Evil would so heavily laud this product, without calling for DRM to be stripped out of it first, is an idea that’s very amusing to me.
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Well, we don’t know that, or at least I don’t, not having access to the app in question.
YouTube videos are not normally DRM’ed, I believe, which is why it’s easy and legal to download offline copies even if Google don’t like it.
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Offline videos control your cheap broadband is controlling your apps and downloading them with out your knowledge broadband controlled all of that witch like they did to me invade your 4th amendment rights but illegally watching you on cameras and that means anyone or them having that device (streaming) can activate it while your in the restroom like they did me in my bedroom it’s like hacking to me
How long before i can get a copy for my tablet? Given how… sporatic my connection gets seems smart to have.
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