Slashdot Mirror
Google Demands Microsoft Pull YouTube App For WP8
First time accepted submitter exomondo writes "Google has given Microsoft until May 22nd to pull their Windows Phone 8 YouTube app from the marketplace and disable it on customer devices. It not only includes a built-in ad blocker but also allows users to download videos and doesn't impose device-specific streaming restrictions outlined in the YouTube Terms Of Service. A Microsoft spokesperson said in part: 'YouTube is consistently one of the top apps downloaded by smartphone users on all platforms, but Google has refused to work with us to develop an app on par with other platforms. Since we updated the YouTube app to ensure our mutual customers a similar YouTube experience, ratings and feedback have been overwhelmingly positive. We'd be more than happy to include advertising but need Google to provide us access to the necessary APIs. In light of Larry Page's comments today calling for more interoperability and less negativity, we look forward to solving this matter together for our mutual customers.'"
We'd be more than happy to include advertising but need Google to provide us access to the necessary APIs
I don't get this. As I understand it, the only thing they need to include advertising is... "nothing".
Just remove the ad blocker and the ads will be back. The ads are there by default.
Similar with the downloading; you don't need access to the API's in order to prevent you from adding a download option in your app.
Although both features would be highly appreciated, the reasons MS provides are a bit odd.
Slashdot social media options: AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber and Mobile Text. Why no MySpace?
It's not googles decision to block the content, it's the content owners. Google has been taken to court by big media and have requirements they must meet to allow content owners to restrict access. As far as I remember if google are to continue providing video with big media they have to actively stop clients that download music. This isn't google trying to screw you, it's **AA...
If I was witty I'd put something funny here but, as it stands, I am not and have just wasted seconds of your life
When this is exactly what Microsoft has been doing to everyone else for the past 20 years?
[citation needed]
Karma's a bitch.
Karma also has no standing with the courts.
#DeleteChrome
Nudge, nudge - you already can.
https://github.com/rg3/youtube-dl
I have left slashdot and am now on Soylent News. FUCK YOU DICE.
Microsoft were in negotiation with Youtube to provide an application for Windows Phone using the same api they do for the Xbox 360 application (which includes ads). Word came down from Google on-high to kill the negotiation.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDIQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2011%2F12%2F18%2F2643094%2Fnovell-microsoft-wordperfect-lawsuit-mistrial&ei=leGUUf27HvKx0QGUw4GgCw&usg=AFQjCNG99T_YDIThKmwHH3xjAtp91HaAeQ&bvm=bv.46471029,d.eWU
When you cant win, ad hominem.
ABP does not provide access to YouTube, it modifies the way you browse. It also does not a use YouTubes APIs
When you cant win, ad hominem.
Yeah, 2 of those users bought their phones last month, that's 50% growth in a month! Eat that Apple. (my intention is not to request that you eat an Apple)
If you think someone isn't free to have a different definition of "freedom" you may be a tyrant.
Technically Youtube has a mobile website which Windows Phone users already had access to so it isn't really similar at all.
The API comes with terms of service. Saying it's OK to ignore them is like saying A DDOS attack is perfectly fine since it too uses the API.
I think what Microsoft done is no less then an exploit. And unlike some script kiddie, this is for money.
It is possible.
Those engineers also would have needed to be aware of every Microsoft program that used those unpublished APIs so they could give them a heads up.
Or. Engineers in completely different parts of Microsoft not only found the hidden APIs and started using them but magically made changes to the software that would have broken with the API changes that so happened to work around the problems that would have come up under the neew "unpublished" changes to those APIs.
It is much more possible that the system was designed to give Office and IE a leg up.
Why is it so hard to only have politicians for a few years, then have them go away?
Breach of contract, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, unauthorized access to a computer system and circumventing security systems under the DMCA, shall I go on?
In this particular case, Microsoft isn't asking Google to develop the application, just to give Microsoft access to the APIs so that Microsoft can develop the application. Google is not doing that, even though they've given Apple access to the same APIs. So taken by itself, Microsoft is in the right and Google is in the wrong.
But the rumor is that Google is doing this as a "fuck you" to Microsoft because Microsoft has filed patent lawsuits against most of Google's Android partners and is running the "Scroogled" anti-Google publicity campaign. This is just a way for Google to fight back.
Google is not doing that, even though they've given Apple access to the same APIs. So taken by itself, Microsoft is in the right and Google is in the wrong.
Actually, Google makes the iOS Youtube app.
If you can't convince them, convict them.