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Open Source VLC Media Player Coming To iPad
Stoobalou writes "The people behind VLC, quite probably the most useful media player available right now, have submitted an iPod version to the Apple software police. VLC — which is rightfully famous for having a go at playing just about any kind of audio or video file you care to throw at it — should appear some time next week, if it makes it through the often unfathomable approval process implemented by Apple. The Open Source Video Lan Client has been tweaked to run on the iPod by software developer Applidium."
What? You mean like how I can't release a windows app as GPL without open sourcing Windows?
I was actually under the impression that u could not release a media player that is not based on the stock one at the appstore because it would be count as replacing standard functionality. Has this changed or am I missinformed at all? Having VLC on iOS could be a dealbreaker for many people who don't buy a iPhone because of the lack of divx/xvid compatiblity.
They allowed the Opera Mini browser, even though it directly competes with (and is ~5 times faster than) Apple's Safari browser. So I'm betting Apple will approve VLC too. - If they do reject it the reason will be something else - like ability to hack into iPad internals (same reason the C64emultator was rejected from iStore) rather than because of fear of competition.
offtopic:
Why isn't SeaMonkey listed on the EU's browser choice screen? I like its old Netscape style. :-|
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
I will send my left nut to Steve Jobs if this gets approved.
Note to Apple: If a cooler appears on your loading dock and it has the shipping info missing please open it. If it contains dry ice and a zip-lock bag holding what appears to be a bloody walnut, please expedite it to Mr. Jobs.
Thank you.
Trolling is a art,
Waiting until Apple can give feedback on it, as long as the wait is not too long, is a way to demonstrate to Apple that you're acting in good faith and attempting to comply with their policies and processes. It shows that if Apple finds a minor fault with the app and requests something be changed, they're willing to wait to incorporate those changes before letting non-compliant versions get "out into the wild".
The wait may not be necessary, but it's certainly a decent idea for someone who wants to work with Apple instead of adopting a "fight the power!" attitude. It's a show of respect. And the gesture probably does appreciably increase the odds that it'll get approved.
For a start: user interface guidelines (which really can make the difference between app approval and rejection), and also OS infrastructure and frameworks (the iPad can support popups/overlays that the iPhone and iPod Touch can't -- Apple added those API calls to the iPad only, because the iPad display is large enough for that sort of thing to make sense).
For another: the iPad can actually act as a USB host (though you need a physical adapter to do it, the circuitry is in there), letting you use stuff like USB keyboards (and a USB bar code scanner -- I've used one myself), and no other iOS device has the necessary hardware at this time.
It's popular to say "it's just a big iPod Touch", and there are elements of truth to that, but it's not really completely accurate.
I'm not sure you've read the developer agreement closely enough. You're allowed to do open source, explicitly. Download the latest version of the agreement right now, and look at section 3.3.20. Right there it says essentially "using FOSS is completely okay, as long as you can follow all the rules in this document and all the rules in the applicable FOSS license at the same time".
The FSF certainly says that the app store is incompatible with the GPL. They also say people should never use GPLv2, just GPLv3. The GPLv3 has an anti-TiVoization clause. Heck, read it in the FSF's own words right here:
http://www.gnu.org/licenses/rms-why-gplv3.html
Focus on the sixth paragraph. That makes the GPLv3 incompatible with the App Store (or with appliances like the TiVo) in ways that simply do not apply to the GPLv2.
(I researched this a bunch while kicking around the idea of taking the last version of Emacs that was under GPLv2 instead of GPLv3 and porting that to the iPad. I ultimately decided against it, but not for reasons of license compatibility.)
OT:
I'm holding out for an Android phone with a flash *and* picture quality as good as an iPhone. The Samsung Galaxy S is the closest but no flash and no image stabilization. VLC would be a must it it existed but I'll setting for a phone/MP3/Camera for now. I'm sick of nursing multiple batteries/chargers and SD cards.
I do not care to join the growing iPhone penile colony.
Are you ejaculating that Apple has erected a large user base of which you do not want to be a member?
You sir are a God among men. Short Men, who aren't terribly bright... more like dwarves with learning disabilities. You are a God among Drawves With Learning Disabilities. Hmm... doesn't quite roll off the tongue that way, I think we should stick with the original, but imply the meaning of the second. Right then.
But seriously, that was a troll par excellence. Your bridge must be enormous, and located in the farthest, darkest, foulest depths of the wilderness simply to accommodate your awesome power.
Try not to take me more seriously than I take myself.
The iPad is just a big iPod touch--in the same way that a swimming pool is "just a big bathtub." People who say that tend to not realize that size alone makes totally different things possible. (Cue corny jokes in 3... 2... )
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
I have a problem, I answer rhetorical questions even though I know they are.
My abacus is can represent 13 decimal digits. The binary number required to do that is 44 bits. So my abacus is can store about 5 1/2 bytes.