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Kickstarted Firefox OS HDMI Dongle Delayed, DRM Support Being Added

Posted by Soulskill on from the surprise! dept.

An anonymous reader writes: You may recall last September when Mozilla and a new company named Matchstick announced a Kickstarter project for a new device that would compete with Google's Chromecast. It was an HDMI dongle for streaming media that runs on Firefox OS. They easily quadrupled their $100,000 funding goal, and estimated a ship date of February, 2015. Well, they emailed backers today to say that the Matchstick's release is being pushed back to August. They list a few reasons for the delay. For one, they want to upgrade some of the hardware: they're swapping the dual-core CPU for a quad-core model, and they're working on the Wi-Fi antenna to boost reception. But on the software side, the biggest change they mention is that they're adding support for DRM. This is a bit of a surprise, since all they said on the Kickstarter about DRM was that they hoped it would be handled "either via the playback app itself or the OS." Apparently this wasn't possible, so they're implementing Microsoft PlayReady tech on the Matchstick.

106 comments

  1. WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am so disappointed in the open source community. It's like they don't care about the very foundation this community was built on. They don't care about users freedom what-so-ever. All they care about is market share. If I wanted to use Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X or Google Chrome I'd have just bought that instead. I've got a system already running DRM-free, but unfortunately with adobe flash. I'm trying to move AWAY from that crap not towards it.

    1. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by arbiter1 · · Score: 3, Informative

      Pfft can't do anything via HDMI without HDCP to keep movie studios happy.

    2. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by mcl630 · · Score: 0

      No DRM means no Netflix app, no Hulu app, no Amazon app, etc, etc, etc.

    3. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Isn't HDCP a broken hardware measure and therefore more or less irrelevant at this point? The fact that an organisation like mozilla, who stand for digital freedom and user rights, have implemented a proprietary software DRM method does make you wonder what the point of this device is.

    4. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anrego · · Score: 1

      Idealism hits up hard against pragmatism. Software is one thing, but when you are selling a physical device with a real cost to manufacture, it has to actually do stuff for people to buy it.

      I'm all for fighting DRM, but building what would be a mostly useless device and having it sit unsold serves no purpose.

    5. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Funny, I can access all of those things without any sort of hardware DRM, which is what the topic of discussion is.

    6. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Kjella · · Score: 2

      Pfft can't do anything via HDMI without HDCP to keep movie studios happy.

      Yeah... just hoping this is the last round, DVDs were a huge upgrade over VHS but they hated that CSS was broken, BluRay was their chance for a do-over but AACS, BD+, Cinavia and HDCP 1.x all failed them in the end. This time they've added all the bells and whistles, the resolution is on par with DCI 4K - natively 4096x2160, but they never use all the pixels as they crop for 1.85:1 or 2.39:1 so at most they'll use 8.6k pixels versus 8.3k for UHD, wider gamut than cinemas (DCI P3 is 72% of Rec.2020), 10 bit color - okay DCI gets 12, high frame rates (up to 60 fps, cinemas only do 48), 32 channel audio - double the 16 tracks cinemas get, hdr and so on.

      What I hope this means is that if you break it a third time after it's firmly established it's three strikes, you're out. An almost 100GB HEVC encoded movie is probably so close to the master that trying to make a better-than-4k format would be nonsense. If they "have to" sell their best version in a DRM-broken way maybe they'll stop the madness and become more user-friendly. And if you say "when hell freezes over" it did happen with music, which seemed equally unlikely at the time.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    7. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by jopsen · · Score: 1

      The fact that an organisation like mozilla, who stand for digital freedom and user rights, have implemented a proprietary software DRM method does make you wonder what the point of this device is.

      AFAIK Mozilla isn't involved in the development... Other than the fact that Mozilla develops Firefox OS.


      That said, I would much rather have properly containerized DRM provided by an organization I trust, than say flash...

    8. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by kesuki · · Score: 3, Informative

      "Pfft can't do anything via HDMI without HDCP to keep movie studios happy."

      not true at all. my alienware laptop will only accept inbound HDCP codes from modern updating gaming consoles, as such trying to display a desktop on the laptops display doesn't work because HDCP is not fully implemented in windows linux etc. yes if you use powerdvd to play a bluray it will use HDCP but in truth the windows and linux devices don't use HDCP by default unless software with the current HDCP key is used. to protect that key it is not included with windows. and powerdvd uses encryption to protect its key. make a roll your own home theater pc based on an open source distribution and all your 'ripped' or 'downloaded' content will play to any hdmi device and it will play just fine

      --
      https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
    9. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by jedidiah · · Score: 2

      > Pfft can't do anything via HDMI without HDCP to keep movie studios happy.

      Sure you can. This is how you can connect Macs and PCs running Linux to a TV with an HDMI port. I am not quite sure who they were supposed to be pandering to with this move. Hooking up an HDMI connection should be a simple thing that requires permission from no one. Shouldn't matter if it's wired or wireless.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    10. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Mike+Buddha · · Score: 1

      On your TV via HDMI? Fat chance.

      --
      by Mike Buddha -- Someday the mountain might get him, but the law never will.
    11. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Funny, I can access all of those things without any sort of hardware DRM, which is what the topic of discussion is.

      You can't access the full quality Netflix stream on any open platform.
      Consoles, Rokus, "Smart" TVs, etc. get full quality streams. PCs don't. (You can't even fucking get surround sound.)

      So I don't use Netflix.

    12. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by jedidiah · · Score: 1

      I can do all of that on Linux without a "protected path" of any kind. The same is true for MacOS.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    13. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by jedidiah · · Score: 3, Informative

      Clearly the ignorant gits that want to perpetuate corporate friendly (and Microsoft friendly) urban legends have never actually tried any of this stuff before. A PC, a real PC, will just treat the HDMI port as yet another output. A TV is also nothing special. It will just treat your PC as just another set top box.

      Encryption is NOT required. It's an available OPTION if you happen to be foolish enough to have something like a Sony BluRay player (which ironically happens to run Linux).

      There is really nothing distinctive about a "television" any more.

      --
      A Pirate and a Puritan look the same on a balance sheet.
    14. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Immerman · · Score: 0

      So go ahead and move away - nobody is forcing you to install adobe flash or any other proprietary platform on your system.

      Oh, I'm sorry, did you want the community to dedicate massive resources to attempt to illegally reverse engineer DRM systems to create a fully open and compatible alternative to an intentionally obfuscated and ever-moving target? Ask the WINE and ReactOS folks how effective that is, even without the law getting in your way.

      Or did you want the many people outside the open source community to stop posting media in proprietary/DRM formats to cater to your preferences? What's their incentive?

      Or are you hoping the open source folks will pursue "ideological purity" and produce a device that even you probably wouldn't use because it doesn't support the most popular formats? After all you're one of those impurists who chose to install flash on their own system, even while you rant against it.

      There's a limited number of options here, so what exactly are you hoping for?

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    15. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Chrome forces a Flash runtime on its users.

    16. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It didn't seem like mozilla were directly involved, but all the announcement articles suggest that it's a joint project.

      Just being able to stream content without DRM of any kind would be nice, it's all available via bittorrent or shady file hosting sites anyway, and HDCP can apparently be stripped if people really care, how do the content providers not understand this yet? Failing that, surely netflix and amazon could provide their own apps for kodi.

    17. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Immerman · · Score: 1

      So? Don't use Chrome. Chrome isn't even open source software, so how is it relevant to the discussion? I'm fairly certain its open-source cousin Chromium does no such thing, so why aren't you using it instead?

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    18. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by wisnoskij · · Score: 1

      You must talking about some different type of OS than what I have encountered. In my experience OS simply stands for developers who have an ideological reason not to care about their users or community.

      --
      Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
    19. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I've got a system already running DRM-free, but unfortunately with adobe flash.

      So, except for the DRM that your system has (in Adobe Flash), your system is DRM-free?

      I would hope you see the problem with that statement.

    20. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      i can pirate shit and use it on hdmi however i want...

    21. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      But none of those are a GOOD thing. That means people are not giving those idiots money.

    22. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This's what will happen when you talk about open source, and not about Free Software.
      RMS told us so!!!

    23. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by aliquis · · Score: 1

      I'm all for fighting DRM, but building what would be a mostly useless device and having it sit unsold serves no purpose.

      You so like totally don't work for the government / state / municipals / .. whatever is the flavor which work for you :)

    24. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      <sarcasm>I am so disappointed with the ACs. It's like they don't care about the very freedom of choice this community was built on. They don't care about users freedom what-so-ever. All they care about are their own principles. If they wanted to use a decent, free, fast, secure, customizable and even hackable operating system, web browser or you-name-it they could just buy one, download one, compile one or write one themselves. Most of these systems have even a pref to turn DRM support off. Whatever they're trying to accomplish, it's quite hard to get.<sarcasm>

      Ok, this one apparently wants to rid the world of DRM, by itself a noble stance. But just expecting others to do the heavy-lifting won't work. Neither will complaining without spreading the word about or contributing to one af the already proposed alternatives.

      Insightful parent? Pfffffft...!

    25. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Opensource is about Social Justice, Women's rights, and Faggotry now.

      If you don't support those things you get kicked the fuck out.

      http://esr.ibiblio.org/?p=1310

    26. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > It's like they don't care about the very foundation this community was built on. They don't care about users freedom what-so-ever. All they care about is market share.

      Nope. That's not what happens. A lot of F/OSS moves are plainly against more market share. I could cite many instances like KDE4 where developers went for higher technical levels even at the price of infuriating users. Had it happened in a commercial venture and lay-offs would happen instantly. In fact, I like F/OSS exactly because it doesn't brake in the run for innovation.

      DRM is about living in a legal environment. Even RMS had to create the GPL to thrive inside legal constraints. That's why that license is brilliant when compared to simpler ones which are so permissive that they fail to protect the sources from abuse by big corps.

      Having no DRM is not an option, because it is mandatory in some countries. In other, people have more freedom and are not subject to tyrant-like information control. If you live in such a free country, you can opt for being DRM free and either automatically be excluded from viewing some content or use liberating add-ons to cut off DRM controls (which would be illegal in countries where DRM is supported by law).

      In my country, we have no such laws. Yet I want sometimes view content produced in countries with DRM use. But for the most part, I recommend simply boycott DRM-protected content. There's no better preventive action than showing greedy folks that cutting our liberties means less money.

      Unfortunately, people still didn't understand the true value of Liberty and would rather have some instant gratification instead of solving the problem definitively. Even in my family. *sigh*

      We should probably have world accessible repository for DRM-free content. Of course, it's important to reward creators well enough that they don't feel compelled to resource to the intermediaries who lobbied for DRM. Again in the wise words of RMS, it's not about denying pay to authors, but must they eat "sushi" in expensive restaurants?

      > I've got a system already running DRM-free, but unfortunately with adobe flash. I'm trying to move AWAY from that crap not towards it.

      I'm in the same situation; as I said, the way to break DRM is not technical, but through economic Gandhi-style boycott (like making our own salt). That's why piracy actually helps the bad guys: it can't make content legally liberated. It just promotes more sales for those who want to respect laws. It's great marketing for the big video and audio monopolies.

    27. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Yes, but they still need a key. When a manufacturer of GPUs or bluray players or whatever implements HDMI they have to pay the licence fee and embed a key. Without the key it won't work. If one day Hollywood decides that your TV allows ripping HDMI content (say due to a security flaw) new bluray discs will refuse to display on it.

      This has already happened to software bluray players, which had to be updated with new keys. There are cards available that can rip HDMI streams using chips intended for TVs, and so far Hollywood hasn't had the balls to brick them. It's technically possible though.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    28. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > And if you say "when hell freezes over" it did happen with music, which seemed equally unlikely at the time.

      The only reason it happened with music is because the RIAA companies could not stand giving control to Steve Jobs. Apple's monopoly on itunes DRM forced them to chose between Jobs dictating terms to them or them giving up control over customers. They had to shake lose of Jobs and so they sacrificed DRM.

      If the video market is going to lose DRM it is going to take some other motivation. The MPAA companies paid attention to the RIAA's fuckup and have worked to make sure no single video service has enough dominance to do the same thing to them.

    29. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ask the WINE and ReactOS folks how effective that is, even without the law getting in your way.

      So seems like it is effective, as wine basically works for me flawlessly for almost all of my software and gaming needs (and if it doesn't work flawlessly, then it usually work's "well enough" after some basic fiddling).

    30. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yup, I have connected to my entertainment center, via HDMI: A laptop, Chromecast, PS3, Hacked AppleTV2, etc, and I have never, EVER, had a problem playing any ripped or streamed HD video file of any sort. Not once.

    31. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Immerman · · Score: 1

      Sure - eventually, when the goal-posts finally stop moving so quickly. Heck, I'm a huge fan. But the WINE project is what, 22 years old now? And has the lofty goal of enabling basically every x86 Unix system to run the vast library of software available for the massively dominant monopoly OS that showed no signs of losing its stranglehold on the market, to both the benefit of Unix users and the satisfaction of poking a dragon by granting its hostages an escape route.

      Contrast that to a Flash "emulator" - whose goal would be what? To duplicate what is widely regarded as a poorly designed platform whose dominance is already being steadily chipped away at by superior technology? With the end goal of allowing open-source purists and people on unsupported niche hardware/OS combinations to run crappy flash games and watch obsolete cat videos? Somehow I just don't see such a project having the same developer appeal, even before you throw in the legal hurdles.

      --
      --- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
    32. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      simple solution: 'pirate' all your content and it will play drm-free, be commercial-free and also be nicely compressed so it won't eat your nas, alive.

      if I could buy a cheaper tv without hdcp, I'd be totally happy with that. the only BD drive I have came with a laptop I bought years ago, I never once init'd it or used it and I doubt I ever will (unless bd-blanks come down in price and become a viable backup option, which I kind of doubt, anyway).

      since when does the reader of a forum like this care about movie studios' wishes? pfff!, as you already said.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    33. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      afaik, cinavia has not been broken yet and the anydvd/slysoft guys say its not going to be an easy fight on this one. they actually have no good ideas on how to break this one, sad to say.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    34. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      you are almost right; but its hdcp not hdmi. hdmi does not include drm; hdmi is just dvi interleaved with audio (and now, ethernet) in a new cable connector. its hdcp that you are referring to, and hdcp is not required to connect video to a pc - its only certain content (which I'm sure you realize) that insists on an end-to-end secure path.

      for regular desktops and such, hdcp never enters into it.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
    35. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by linuxrocks123 · · Score: 1

      Uh, what about this: https://torrentfreak.com/dvd-r...

      Cinavia's not really important anyway because it only blocks you if you use a Blu-Ray player for playback. All you have to do is play the the files on a computer with a FLOSS video player like mplayer or vlc and the Cinavia will be ignored.

      --
      vi ~/.emacs # I'm probably going to Hell for this.
    36. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So you don't want to be able to play anything on it?

    37. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Netflix's and Amazon's applications require DRM. It's part of their legal agreements with the companies that provide them with content.

      Implementing a software secured DRM is difficult/expensive on a new platform so there's basically no hope of Netflix releasing an app for the dongle. But if they provide PlayReady support on the dongle, they'll probably be able to use the Netflix web application. I'm sure that's the reason they're going down this path.

      But I've got to wonder why they chose PlayReady over Widevine.

    38. Re:WTF- DRM-free please! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does this make the average sucker feel like a backer? Wait... I meant that the other way around...

      Enjoy waiting another season and then some for your media streamer. You do realize that the march of technology is such that by the time they come out with it, assuming they actually even do, it will be obsolete, right?

      Enjoy your DRM'ed POS vaporthingie. I'm going back to reading my dead-tree book, which is titled, "The Joys of Being a Technological Luddite."

      Hey, at least I don't have to worry about DRM, or my book's battery dying...

  2. A Bit Late to the Game by rmdingler · · Score: 1
    and they just got a little later.

    What do we have out there besides the Chrome dongle? Amazon fire TV box or dongle, Playstation, Xbox, smart televisions, and the beat goes on.

    How much market share is left?

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

    1. Re:A Bit Late to the Game by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      well i for one dont want a "smart tv" My blueray player has "smart" capabilities in it, yet 1/2 of the apps are broken, and there is no support whatsoever from panasonic. it hasnt had an update since i got it 3 years ago (new). I would much rather buy a 30 dollar dongle that gives me the functionality, that i can move to difference displays as wanted/needed instead of spending 200 bucks extra on the TV for features that from past experiences will not work within a few years.

      There is a market for this kinda thing but as you pointed out, between chromecast and fireTV (in the cheap options side of things) got the area cornered

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    2. Re:A Bit Late to the Game by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Also:

      "This looks like a better solution than the ChromeCast"

      "I have no wait another 6 month?!"

    3. Re:A Bit Late to the Game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

      Mozilla is always playing catch-up these days.

      Firefox? Well, Mozilla has spent the last few years doing everything they can to imitate Chrome. They've gone so far as to basically clone Chrome's UI. They're even trying to copy Chrome's process model, but Firefox's Electrolysis project is not going very well. They've been working on it for years, and even now it's still very buggy and broken.

      Firefox for Android? Well, this is basically Mozilla's half-assed imitation of Chrome for Android. Pretty much nobody actually uses it.

      Firefox for iOS? Trick question, it doesn't even exist! They have absolutely no presence on iOS today.

      Firefox OS? Well, this is Mozilla's attempt to get into the mobile space, a good half-decade too late. Every review I've read of Firefox OS and the devices it runs on has been very, very negative. I mean, these are some of the most negative reviews I've ever read about any device, ever. We've seen Mozilla try to get poor third-worlders to adopt Firefox OS, but even they don't want anything to do with it, it's that bad!

      Rust? Well, this is Mozilla's attempt to compete with Google's Go programming language. But while we've seen several stable releases from Go, and lots of useful software built using it, Rust is still spinning its wheels going nowhere fast. The 1.0 release will always be ready "within a few months". It's getting to the point where even Perl 6 is looking more likely to hit 1.0 than Rust is!

      This useless device? Yet again, it's Mozilla trying to imitate what Google has successfully done, but again managing to do a very bad job at it.

      Mozilla is a joke. Mozilla's projects are a joke. I've never seen an organization fail so badly, so many times over.

    4. Re:A Bit Late to the Game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      well i for one dont want a "smart tv" My blueray player has "smart" capabilities in it, yet 1/2 of the apps are broken, and there is no support whatsoever from panasonic. it hasnt had an update since i got it 3 years ago (new).

      Yep, I've had a similar experience with a Samsung "smart tv". Samsung's just not interested in maintaining the software stack so the "smart" side of the TV quickly degrades and becomes less worthwhile.

    5. Re:A Bit Late to the Game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is a market for this kinda thing but as you pointed out, between chromecast and fireTV (in the cheap options side of things) got the area cornered

      I think you're better off with a cheap x86 system that you just plug into your TV like a Zotac Zbox pico or a tablet. That way you can run whatever desktop software you like and you get the long term compatibility and upgrades a desktop system offers.

    6. Re:A Bit Late to the Game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, I just use Chrome, Android, Chromecast and the other offerings from Google. I get them years earlier than Mozilla's shitty clones, and they actually work okay.

      Mozilla and their advocates like to talk about "openness" and "freedom" a lot, but I've never really seen much of that from them. They sure aren't open to listening to users; they'll just force more shitty, unwanted changes on them, even after those users vocally object to such changes. And don't you even dare exercise your freedom to hold an opinion about gay marriage that differs from theirs!

      At least I know what Google's motives are. I can't say the same about Mozilla.

      Really, I don't want to have to complain about Mozilla. I just wish they wouldn't constantly fuck up everything they do. I wish they'd go back to giving me a reason to be impressed with what they've done, like I was years ago when Phoenix was first released. But they seem totally inclined to imitate whatever was "cool" 5 years back, and they manage to do a really bad job at it.

    7. Re:A Bit Late to the Game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      well i for one dont want a "smart tv"...

      Sorry, this is the *new smart world [order]*. Smart TV, Smart home, Smart car, Smart Farm machinery... all waiting for the next Stuxnet. BZZZZT!

    8. Re:A Bit Late to the Game by mSparks43 · · Score: 1

      Ive got a chromecast

      Horrible. Horrible waste of an HDMI port.

      Kinda ok to plug into an old TV and stream downloaded low quality vids from your phone and not much else.

    9. Re: A Bit Late to the Game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dont forget the the roku/roku stick

    10. Re:A Bit Late to the Game by linuxrocks123 · · Score: 1

      Firefox for Android? Well, this is basically Mozilla's half-assed imitation of Chrome for Android. Pretty much nobody actually uses it.

      I use it. I don't think Chrome for Android even works on Android 2.3 anymore. Firefox for Android is a pretty solid browser.

      --
      vi ~/.emacs # I'm probably going to Hell for this.
  3. well, the Matchstick Men by turkeydance · · Score: 1

    are the Status Quo.

  4. Too much money? by OzPeter · · Score: 1

    There have been stories before about kickstarter projects going off into the weeds because they were oversubscribed by so much that the projects didn't know how to handle all the extra $$$.

    Is this a similar case? (EG going from dual to quad core because now they have the $$ to do it)

    Or is it just a bad project design? (EG going from dual to quad core because their original design was shit and they couldn't make their original promises with a dual core system)

    --
    I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
    1. Re:Too much money? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      I would assume more the DRM and Wi-Fi-antenna is part of "stuff we couldn't figure out in time"/"didn't work as intended."

    2. Re:Too much money? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2
      It's just that everything coming out of Mozilla has a habit of succumbing to feature creep and bloat and blue-sky thinking.

      They never heard of the RCA engineering principle - once it works, start taking out parts until it stops working.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    3. Re:Too much money? by SeaFox · · Score: 1

      There have been stories before about kickstarter projects going off into the weeds because they were oversubscribed by so much that the projects didn't know how to handle all the extra $$$.

      Is this a similar case? (EG going from dual to quad core because now they have the $$ to do it)

      So you're complaining that they're improving the product over what was initially announced? As long as they deliver the device as originally spec'd in the Kickstarter they are meeting their obligations. They delay might have been inevitable regardless of how much money they received. They could have just pocketed the extra money from all the extra pledges (if they get a higher margin from production economies of scale, etc), but they're going to use the money to upgrade the processor (giving a more responsive UI) and work on the wi-fi (improving network connectivity). Damn them!

    4. Re:Too much money? by honestmonkey · · Score: 1

      They are not improving shit. I wanted the original product. I was FINE with that, that's why I signed up. And I'd like it when promised. Since they are announcing it now, it's obvious that they could not manufacture it correctly on time, and they knew this months ago, given the lead time needed to make something like this. So they are trying to placate people with "we added more cores" and "now it'll run Netflix" and crap like that. And in August, they'll come back with "We think we can put 6 cores in by December", if they come back at all and don't just skip out to Cancun or something.

      I expect nothing now except getting ripped off. Should have seen it was too good to be true.

      --
      Everything you know is wrong, Just forget the words and sing along.
    5. Re:Too much money? by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      So you're complaining that they're improving the product over what was initially announced? As long as they deliver the device as originally spec'd in the Kickstarter they are meeting their obligations.

      Absolutely! Why? Because they've FAILED to deliver!

      I don't know if the spec creep necessarily "caused" the failure, but it sure as Hell didn't help!

      If they wanted to give people more for donating more, they should have delivered as promised first, then worked on some kind of bonus (maybe a discount on 2.0 or something).

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    6. Re:Too much money? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're an ass and this is why we can't have nice things. The reality here is that things can and do come up. I'm a bit curious as to why they waited this long to mention it; my guess is that they knew there was going to be a delay and saw the money they had and wanted to have a more definitive answer before announcing it.

      I don't personally think this is such a bad thing. The board itself was mostly stock to begin with, swapping one for another doesn't seem like such a bad idea. Especially if you've bothered to read the comments in the comment section the beefed up specs help with that.

      The thing that I don't like is the DRM, and quite honestly, I suspect that it's unavoidable thanks to those asshats in the MAFIAA.

    7. Re:Too much money? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You are the ass here. They promised something built on an open source model, and were promising at CES delivery in Feb. They even claimed that a certain number have already been manufactured.

      If you look at the other things they have been doing it looks like they have been using kick starter money to actually fund a product in China, and what they ship will actually be a clone of that.

      So go fuck yourself, they need to offer immediate refunds to those who want them.

    8. Re:Too much money? by cfalcon · · Score: 2

      Sounds like an awful way to design. You get design by minimalism, and of course where software "stops working" is divined by some high priests or whatever. That's how you get shit like, one button mouse, inability to block ads, no close button on your window, inability to customize UI, loss of familiar UI elements. All it takes is redefining "works" to exclude some set of users or potential users. "Our users shouldn't be X" -> GNOME happens. That sort of thing.

    9. Re:Too much money? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2
      It's actually quite good because it forces you to stick to the original spec. If you read the 1400 comments on Kickstarter, a LOT of people are really angry because they've changed the specs just as they were supposed to start shipping product.

      People have figured out that they knew long before they announced the change that they were not going to ship in time but kept lying about it right up until the end.

      Also, since they're now including DRM. that's become another flash point. The commenters lay it all out pretty well. The Matchstick sounds like it's being run by the Matchstick Men. Accusations of fraud, bait-and-switch, lots of demands for refunds, being in bed with content providers ...

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    10. Re:Too much money? by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      (EG going from dual to quad core because their original design was shit and they couldn't make their original promises with a dual core system)

      If I had to guess, and I do because I'm too lazy to look, the new CPU was necessary for the DRM. Either the DRM comes with the CPU, or they needed more CPU to implement it since it wasn't built in.

      Either way, the DRM will make the device more useful to more users, so I guess it makes sense. And either way, it's one less reason to buy what they're selling. Might as well just buy a google tv device. I hear razer is claiming to be bringing out the moonshot of google tvs, but I've heard this kind of crap before so I'm not holding my breath. I will drop a bill on the box if it comes out and isn't lame, though. Ouya! heh heh.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    11. Re:Too much money? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Look up Muntzing, I think Ed Muntz pioneered that.

  5. MS PlayReady allow Netflix? by WiiVault · · Score: 1

    Will Microsoft PlayReady enable things like Netflix?

  6. The HDMI dongle I want by Snotnose · · Score: 2

    Plug it into my TV, then let me stream music/video from my laptop. My laptop is harder to lose than a small remote (hello Roku, lost your @!#$$ remote over the holidays), usually within arms reach, can access my 3 TB NAS, and is easy to get content onto. My TV is plugged into my stereo, and the stereo remote is not only nice and big, but gets used several times a day. Currently the only way to play my music on my stereo is to burn a CD.

    / not picking on you Roku // I seem to have issues with small, seldom used remotes

    1. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by Overzeetop · · Score: 1

      Welcome to 2006: http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...

      Welcome to 2012: http://www.amazon.com/Actionte...

      --
      Is it just my observation, or are there way too many stupid people in the world?
    2. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by jonwil · · Score: 1

      Better yet, why not make a dongle that can pull content directly from the NAS via SAMBA, supports every codec known to man (including the obscure ones) by using something like FFMPEG (with hardware accelerated decoding for the codecs where the hardware can do it) and can be controlled via a normal remote or via an app (one that exists on all the necessary platforms).

      As for DRM (which is necessary if you want Netflix etc) just get Adobe to port the same DRM blob being used for Firefox on Windows to the new device and let the blob handle the DRM.

    3. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by psergiu · · Score: 3, Interesting

      A bit larger than a dongle but does what you want: Raspberry Pi + any XBMC-based distro
      Has HDMI CEC si you can use those "useless" media buttons on your TV's remote to control XMBC, no extra remote needed = you can hide the RPi in the back of the TV.

      --
      1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
    4. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google Chromecast does exactly this. $35 HDMI dongle that can stream Hulu, Netflix, youtube, and anything on NAS via Localcast app.

    5. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by sexconker · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's called a PC. Hook it up to the TV (or receiver if applicable) and the network. Play anything video you want. Play any audio you want. Access the full internet. Play games. Do all the fucking things. Laugh at DRM. Torrent to your heart's content.

      There is no substitute.

    6. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by cfalcon · · Score: 0

      ...and engage in all manner of hoop jumping to get HD content.

      It's reasonable to not care about that (I generally do not), but some do.

    7. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or, if you find using an onscreen keyboard with a remote deeply frustrating, how about grabbing a full size wireless keyboard that you can't possibly lose down the back of the sofa, this one is particularly pretty. It's RF and has a decent range, so you can still hide the pi.

    8. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by visualight · · Score: 1

      For some stupid reason all the set top boxes shun smb/cifs/nfs support in favor of nfc or dnla or some other bullshit "works sometimes" completely unfucking necessary *why the fuck did anyone think we need this* abstraction.

      --
      Samsung took back my unlocked bootloader because Google wants me to rent movies. They're both evil.
    9. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Welcome to 2006: http://www.amazon.com/gp/produ...

      I have the bluetooth adapter and love it, save one annoying feature: you cannot turn the thing off without unplugging it. This means that it grabs my phone's signal whenever I walk in the house, regardless of whether I want it to or not (I have a speaker upstairs I sometimes use also). Other than that, it's a great product and solved the streaming issue via the stereo. Not sure the neighbors are so happy though...

    10. Re: The HDMI dongle I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://www.tronsmart.com/
      That is the 'dongle' to get. Based on kikat 4.4 and has everything from usb3 to any video you throw at it playback. Not to mention it's quad-core arm cpu.
      Btw, without the drm capabilities mozillas dongle would essentually be crippled, not that I would ever buy it. Hell, a fitlet-I is what would be too sweet. Strap it to the back of monitor or tv and your good to go.

    11. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      (click click click) pirate file... wait 12 minutes. play file.

      yeah, thats a lot of hoops.

    12. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Hoop jumping? I'm not jumping shit for my HD content. Plenty of streaming services that have been around and doing HD streaming LONG before youtube even had 720p.

    13. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by jez9999 · · Score: 1

      It's called a PC. Hook it up to the TV

      Am I missing something here? How do you do that without having a big ugly PC sitting next to the TV?

      --
      == Jez ==
      Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
    14. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by Megane · · Score: 1

      By getting a big pretty PC? There are PC cases intended for living room use, with big slow fans and rubber shock mounts for hard drives. If you get an old-school horizontal case, they fit nicely on a shelf. I actually have two, one to play games that need Winderz, and the other running MythTV on Linux.

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    15. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You've just invented XBMC/Kodi.

      Perhaps you should look into it.

    16. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by Jeremy+Allison+-+Sam · · Score: 1

      Another "feature" brought to you by the poisonous gift of software patents.

      Dongle vendors don't want the potential of getting Microsoft knocking on their door asking for royalties by including (or even just turning on) the CIFS client in the Linux kernel they all ship.

      Thanks Microsoft ! Great job on promoting SMB technology !

      Fuckers (not the Microsoft engineers, with whom I have a *great* relationship - I mean Microsoft legal).

    17. Re: The HDMI dongle I want by sexconker · · Score: 1

      http://www.tronsmart.com/
      That is the 'dongle' to get. Based on kikat 4.4 and has everything from usb3 to any video you throw at it playback. Not to mention it's quad-core arm cpu.

      I guarantee you it won't play higher quality h.264 bluray rips, let alone h.265 rips.

    18. Re:The HDMI dongle I want by sexconker · · Score: 1

      Ignore how it looks.
      Put it behind the TV.
      Get a good looking case.
      Get one of them thar mini PCs.
      Get one of them thar mini PCs AND put it behind the TV.
      Not exactly a difficult "problem" to solve.

  7. 2010. by westlake · · Score: 1

    Netflix goes with Microsoft PlayReady DRM for upcoming streaming devices (May 25, 2010)

    1. Re:2010. by WiiVault · · Score: 1

      Thanks for the link!

  8. Microsoft PlayReady by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Welp, there's another project for the dumpster

  9. I'm a backer by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Very disappointed by this. Wanted this because it was an open hardware / open software solution. If I'd wanted some Netflix/DRM ready stick I'd have just bought a Chromecast. Very unhappy with Matchstick.

    1. Re:I'm a backer by sectokia · · Score: 1

      I'd bet it has nothing to do with DRM. These guys are interesting in starting a big company. They realised that the stick was going to fail on the market because of its specs and price point. So they took the money and are using it to make a completely different product.

    2. Re:I'm a backer by sectokia · · Score: 2

      Oh look.... they were on Twitter not even two weeks ago claiming they were producing and on schedule. And now its a 6 month delay. I would pretty much say this is 99%+ a scam now.

  10. Another failure followed by product swap. by sectokia · · Score: 2

    Looks like they were using the kick starter dollars to try and fund a competitive USB stick computer. Half way through they realised they were about to get 1-up'd spec wise basically making the stick uncompetitive and DOA at their targeted retail price. This happens a lot of with kick-starters. When it does you are expected to follow through, get the backers the item, and then close down, never getting a good product to a wide market. However in this case they taken the money and used it to invest in a completely different product.... There last update is basically telling backers that they have taken all the money, won't be shipping the stick, and will be using it to work on a new product. The backers are all rightly furious. I wonder what the T&C's are....

  11. Open source was never about software freedom by jbn-o · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I am so disappointed in the open source community. It's like they don't care about the very foundation this community was built on.

    The open source movement was started to never raise a user's software freedom as an issue. Read the FSF's essays (older essay, newer essay) on how open source differs from free software and you'll get a very clear explanation of how open source's goal to speak to business means accepting proprietary software and whatever other anti-user stuff businesses want to implement with proprietary software (DRM, spyware, back doors, patent traps, etc.). Mozilla's partnering with Adobe, the Linux kernel accepting and distributing proprietary software as part of the project (code which GNU Linux-libre removes), and Mono developers celebrating Microsoft's releasing .NET software under the MIT X11 license without acknowledging the danger of Microsoft's patent promise are just a few examples of how the philosophical differences between the older ethically-minded free software movement and the younger developmental methodology-focused open source movement play out on the ground.

    --
    Digital Citizen
  12. Practical Pig by westlake · · Score: 1

    They don't care about users freedom what-so-ever. All they care about is market share.

    The product that can't stream protected media has no market --- which means that it can't and won't be used to introduce DRM-free streaming media to users.

    Many premium content providers such as Netflix require DRM support. Matchstick has undertaken the mission to develop DRM as an independent project with the open source community...We plan to use the Microsoft PlayReady technology and are excited to bring premium content to Matchstick. We'll keep you updated as we work to contribute newly developed source codes for DRM back to the open community. It's our goal to make sure open source technology doesn't mean 2nd tier content and experiences!

    February Update --- Product Delay, Hardware, DRM, Content, and more!

    There is a lot to be said for a standardized DRM platform based on open-source code. Time is short, It is becoming almost impossible to buy an HDTV without integrated WiFI and its own suite of apps.

    VIZIO E241i-B1 24" 1080p 60Hz Razor LED Smart HDTV $178.

    1. Re:Practical Pig by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 1

      I just bought a new hdtv; upgrading a nearly 10 yr old set that was still from the dvi era.

      wanted to go to costco for safety (so many tv's are poorly made; having a good warranty and return policy is mandatory) but the only tv's bigger than 39" were ALL so-called 'smart'.

      fortunately, the vizio I came home with does not insist I enable smartness mode. for one thing, the updates (that you can't refuse if you enable IP) have caused more problems than they fixed. and 2nd, once you enable IP, all your privacy is lost. so, just refuse to accept the EULA, don't ever connect it online, and they tend to work ok as dumb sets. I run a htpc anyway (nice fanless i7, yum!) and so having a smart tv only dumbs down my whole experience ;)

      I hope that refusing the eula stops the set from even trying to scan for an open AP in wifi. I'm almost tempted to have a disconnected AP (almost like a honeypot) to associate with the tv. that way, the only connection it would get would never connect to the net, and yet it would keep trying and hopefully never try some other open AP. so far, not accepting the eula has not caused it to 'start up' in smart mode, but I do worry since its all closed source and there's no way to tell what is really going on.

      --

      --
      "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  13. Good on them. by mdkathon · · Score: 1

    Anti-DRM folks will be rightly pissed but I for one welcome having the ability to use it in our current climate of control. No reason to ship a product that can't use current video markets just to make an anti-DRM point. If they want to be a part of the conversation they need to stay in business.

  14. General Boycott Is In Order. by marienf · · Score: 1

    Dear concerned netizens,

    I believe the correct message to send would be for backers to retreat en masse and generally boycott this project. They could always come back when a more sane plan is announced.

    While this is a sad development in itself, we can also take it as a great opportunity to create awareness around the many dangers of DRM: A general boycott now would, IMHO, get press attention and make a clear statement to media companies that buyers are sick and tired of being treated like farm animals. /. can make it happen!

    -f

    1. Re:General Boycott Is In Order. by kbrannen · · Score: 1

      I'm not a backer, I've never heard of this project before. But if I was a backer, I'd ask for my money back. Is that possible? That's a serious question, I really don't know if that's possible with kickstarter campaigns (in a case like this, it seems that you should be able to get your money back if they change the project you signed up for.

    2. Re:General Boycott Is In Order. by westlake · · Score: 1

      A general boycott now would, IMHO, get press attention and make a clear statement to media companies that buyers are sick and tired of being treated like farm animals. /. can make it happen!

      No it can't.

      This 24" Vizio HDTV from Walmart has integrated WiFi, a full suite of apps including Netflix and costs $178.

      We have reached the point where it has become almost impossible to buy any random piece of home video hardware or accessory that does not include integrated WiFi and a basic suite of Internet apps, with protected streaming media services like Netflix at the top of the list,

  15. Global Warming by benjymouse · · Score: 1

    This is bad. Research has shown that extra crypto operations needed for DRM will add to energy consumption and contribute to global warming. This is an immoral product!

    --
    Reading slashdot one-liner: (irm http://rss.slashdot.org/Slashdot/slashdot).rdf.item | fl title,desc*
  16. Evil Twin by speedlaw · · Score: 1

    HDMI is a licensing scheme. HDCP is the evil twin that you must bring along..... At the outset of HD TV, the industry was afraid that some flavor of DVI would be the open source plug, so invented HDMI. I've read the licensing docs (at least the ones you can find on the web) and an HDMI dongle that does not protect the MAFIAA will find itself sued out of existence.

  17. What????? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let me get this straight.. you are wanting to take other peoples money to add a feature nobody likes nor wants (DRM).

  18. hello by baymakhidrofor · · Score: 1

    selamlar

    --
    baymak hidrofor
  19. If Microsoft NO soft Quit using the DRM they push by __aanbvm4272 · · Score: 1

    I have Chromecast and would have considered a Firefox dongle. But not now thanks for the warning" MS DRM included." Those rights management dingles are part of Bill's vision that 'rights management was the way of the future' I remember that right after win98 went to WinXP and all my 'free cracked programs' no longer worked. My $200 musical keyboard from Soundblaster quit working (because it would record to MP3 format) samples that were protected??? WTF One of the best software supported keyboards offered and not it's useless? This all came about AFTER he had his empire planted in cement. Kind of like the Porn scene and how he encouraged it because he believed in it evidently. MSN used to be the best at serving searchable pics etc. remember?

  20. http://www.24entertainmentnewsbd.blogspot.com/ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    awsome