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Amazon's YouTube App on Fire TV Stops Working Ahead of Schedule (fastcompany.com)

Posted by msmash on from the rat-fights dept.

Amazon has already deactivated its YouTube app on Fire TV devices, four days before a planned blockade by Google. Instead of opening YouTube directly, the app now encourages users to install Silk or Firefox, and will open a link to the site once either browser is installed. From a report: Google has said it will cut off YouTube access on Fire TV starting January 1, citing Amazon's unwillingness to support Prime Video on Chromecast, or to sell Google hardware (including Chromecast) on its website. The companies say they're having productive discussions, and Amazon now has a product listing up for Chromecast, but the YouTube app's deactivation suggests an agreement isn't imminent.

85 comments

  1. Frosty Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Itâ(TM)s a Festivus miracle!

    1. Re: Frosty Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A festivus for the rest of us.

    2. Re:Frosty Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "It's" a Festivus, for the rest of us.

  2. Amazon vs YouTube by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Whoever wins, we lose.

    --
    #DeleteFacebook
    1. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Amazon has the advantage: more Prime subscribers (with Prime Video) than Play subscribers buying videos. It's using one monopoly to try to expand power into another market (streaming devices). Using their online sales monopoly to tie to their streaming video product and simultaneously hobble a competitor's ability to sell streaming devices and stream video to their devices is ... a complex ball of violations of the Sherman Anti-Trust act.

      Didn't Microsoft get bent over for this once or twice?

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    2. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      Didn't Microsoft get bent over for this once or twice?

      MIcrosoft forgot to pay their dues to the politicians. As soon as they started contributing to national campaign budgets, their anti-trust lawsuit conveniently went away. Amazon pays, and so does Google.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    3. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      Yet you're not contributing to mine? ;)

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    4. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by JThundley · · Score: 1

      Speak for yourself (and the sheeple)! My hardware (a NUC running Debian) still plays exactly what I tell it to! I was right to not rely on proprietary hardware and software!

    5. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      How is your campaign going?

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    6. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      Slow. December was fun for door knocking, but everyone is busy and not too many events happening. It's getting time to activate volunteers and try to pull together meetings.

      Everyone I talk to likes my platform, and most people seem to dislike Elijah as a congressman. He's well-liked, just not for doing his job. If I get him out of the way, he'll have a full Congressional pension and can be a community leader (and political activist) full-time without worrying himself with fundraising, so win-win I guess.

      I've had a chance to improve my platform, too. Talking to people has brought more to my attention, and further research is broadening my political horizons. Most folks in and near Baltimore City are concerned with crime, then schools; in Baltimore County, it's schools, then crime. My answer to both has always been primarily to relieve poverty; however, I've recently come into knowledge on better-run prison systems based around restorative justice--my cousin actually wrote a thesis on this because her entire life revolves around social work and obtaining half a dozen college degrees--so I have a more-direct answer for crime as well. If we cut the recidivism rate by more than half, we cut the crime; prisons that develop inmates into working members of society--rehabilitation from day one--will do that.

      Web site's still ugly, but I can win this thing if I can engage with enough voters.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    7. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except your Intel CPU has proprietary microcode and ME

    8. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      my cousin actually wrote a thesis on this because her entire life revolves around social work and obtaining half a dozen college degrees--so I have a more-direct answer for crime as well. If we cut the recidivism rate by more than half, we cut the crime; prisons that develop inmates into working members of society--rehabilitation from day one--will do that.

      That sounds great, but what are you going to do to achieve that?

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    9. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by networkBoy · · Score: 1

      I get that you need party alignment to (effectively) mount a campaign.
      That said (and I am not a direct constituent as I'm almost as far away from you as possible while still being in the lower 48) how do you feel about the DNCs shenanigans in the last cycle?

      It has been evident for quite some time now that our nominally 2 party system is really just an oligarchy of the elite and is no longer (for quite some while) a government by, of, and for the people.
      How do you propose to sow seeds of change?

      I accept that you as one person, in office, would be unable to effect sweeping changes, any thoughts of how to effect small ones?

      Will you make a vow upon your testicles (or any other suitable body part) to *NOT* be involved in any obviously scandalous affairs? Mind you I don't give two fucks about threesomes or dating guys, or whatever, what I want is a vow that you won't do something like:
      * go off about how being gay is so horrible, then get busted in gay sex
      * say how perfect your marriage is and that you'd never stray, then get busted having an affair.

      In other words: Will you promise to say what you do and do what you say?
      If you say: "My marriage is sexless and my wife knows I have a mistress" then coolio, go have a mistress.

      And, as phantomfive wrote about crime: Sounds great, what are the plans?
      How are you going to take on "Big prisons"?

      And in closing:
      Cheers, I hope you win, and I hope that you can sow the seeds of a new government.

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
    10. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You have an interesting interpretation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. So anyone with a competing product can use the Act to force Amazon to not only support it, but purchase it for resale? Please explain the details, I think I may have a solution to my "having to work for a living" problem.

    11. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by DRJlaw · · Score: 1

      Using their online sales monopoly...

      Yes, I certainly cannot buy electronics online from anywhere else without extraordinary effort. Ebay.com, Newegg.com, Walmart.com, Bestbuy.com, Target.com... that monopoly of 45% of online sales in fall 2017 is -- wait, only 45%?

      By that definition, Google is using its YouTube monopoly to try to expand power into the same market (streaming devices) and we should bend them over as well.

      Then we can bend them over for their search monopoly, advertising monopoly, phone OS monopoly...

    12. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Amazon has the advantage: more Prime subscribers (with Prime Video) than Play subscribers buying videos. It's using one monopoly to try to expand power into another market (streaming devices).

      Google has the advantage: a monopoly over Android devices, and their own web store for only their own devices on which they do not carry Amazon's devices. A monopoly over bundling search with Android devices. And of course, a virtual monopoly over user videos on the internet, of anything but gaming, which they are now abusing to try to force Amazon to carry their devices in Amazon's web store even though Google doesn't carry Amazon's devices in theirs.

      Didn't Microsoft get bent over for this once or twice?

      No. The USDoJ did find that Microsoft was guilty of abusing its monopoly position for insisting that PC makers bundle Windows, though. And here Google is insisting that Amazon sell their products.

      Google is the guilty party here, trying to force Amazon to sell something when they don't want to be fair and also sell Amazon's products, and abusing their position (owner of Youtube) to get it done.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    13. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      Well, it's been explored in North Dakota and Pennsylvania, so I imagine pulling some expert input would be the first step. These people actually traveled to Norway to see their prison systems, so they started with expert input, too. I actually have a project management certification, so I tend to rely on other people's knowledge a lot--never underestimate the power of bringing in someone smarter than yourself.

      Chiefly, I'll need to push policy to work toward new approaches to prison. To accomplish that, we need something like the Second Chance Act, which provides additional funding to states and local governments who create reintegration programs for released inmates. The SCA doesn't go far enough: we need to provide funding when States successfully implement lower-recidivism prisons, not just a half-way house for people who came out of the same old American prisons we've always had.

      I'm hesitant to be prescriptive in the new Act (specify that the prisons must be of a certain form) because that stunts exploration of new approaches; yet, at the same time, I understand that requiring front-to-back rehabilitative prisons which integrate inmates into the community where possible, giving additional freedom of movement within the facility, ability to retain employment, and so forth would push them in that direction faster.

      At the same time, a Congressman has much influence. I can use that influence to work with Governors, Mayors, and legislative bodies in Maryland to encourage change within my own state. Talking up the gains in Maryland as a model for the United States would have an impact across the Nation, as people will seek to emulate success--especially when it saves money and gets them good political capital. Everyone wants to re-elect the governor who brought a drastic reduction to crime.

      Recidivism in the United States is 676 per 100,000; in North Dakota, it's now as low as around 250; and Norway hits around 70. While 250 is a good number, we can clearly do better than even that; still, cutting recidivism in half is a good first target.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    14. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      how do you feel about the DNCs shenanigans in the last cycle?

      Bernie the Democratic Socialist versus Hillary who shall take no personal responsibility? A lot of us new candidates have large disagreements with our current representatives in government at all levels.

      A lot of new Democratic candidates think we need more Bernie; but what people want is Social Democracy, not Democratic Socialism. We don't want a nation where the government forces businesses out of business and takes over administration of everything itself; we want a nation where we can get ahead, where there are opportunities. We just don't want to be left behind: we want strong social safety nets, healthcare coverage, pensions that won't go away in 2034.

      We have do-nothing Congressmen who are letting Social Security fail, who won't push for workers's rights, and who give excuses when pressed in closed quarters about it. "It's not a good time to push progressive policy," they say, when they have a Senate and House Democratic Majority and Obama in there passing the ACA. When is it a good time?

      The 2016 election was a circus; there are, however, bigger systemic problems in the party. It has the right ideals, and needs to be knocked back on track to implementing those ideals.

      say how perfect your marriage is and that you'd never stray, then get busted having an affair.

      I'm not married and I don't much campaign on family values. I'm more interested in whether people's kids can eat than whether anyone believes America is the land of the stepford family and a few deviants about whom we don't talk. I care about STDs, not abortion of a three-week-old fetus. I care about lowering crime rates and turning people into functional members of society, not flogging them sufficiently to quench our thirst for blood.

      I accept that you as one person, in office, would be unable to effect sweeping changes, any thoughts of how to effect small ones?

      I don't.

      One person, in one office, has influence. I'm not the only one who thinks these are good goals and good approaches; talking to others and gaining their support creates coalitions. If I have 10% of the Democratic Congress in support, I have the capacity to push sweeping change through sheer persistence. If I keep doing what I did to get that 10% support, I've got even better chances of making it happen.

      That doesn't even account for other stakeholders. The influence of a Congressman over state and local officers is significant. The Dividend isn't a local issue, but prisons are. Bring that to the governors, mayors, and county executives of Maryland, and you'll see discussion. Convince them, and you'll see change. Point to that change, to those improvements, and you can bring Representatives and Senators on-board. They'll work on their own states, and bring new National proposals to change our Federal prisons.

      One man in one office can do a lot.

      And, as phantomfive wrote about crime: Sounds great, what are the plans? How are you going to take on "Big prisons"?

      With expert judgment, influence, and good stakeholder management.

      It's not like I won't stumble along the way; but at least I know which direction I'm going. We need new solutions, and I'm the guy to bring those to fruition, if nothing else. In retrospect, major study and a certification in a discipline entirely centered around making change turned out more-useful than I'd expected.

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
    15. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by networkBoy · · Score: 1

      Well, you don't have my vote because I'm in the wrong state, but to quote Fry from Futureama:
      Shut up and take my money!

      I'll be donating what I can when I get home from work.

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
    16. Re:Amazon vs YouTube by bluefoxlucid · · Score: 1

      Thanks, that's extremely helpful!

      --
      Support my political activism on Patreon.
  3. Firefox by DumbSwede · · Score: 1

    You can now install Firefox on Fire Stick and Fire TV and it is suppose to work with YouTube including fullscreen mode.

    I installed it last week in anticipation. I will try it out when I get home.

    Nice to have a browser on the Fire Stick anyway

    --
    Letter To Iran
    1. Re:Firefox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If Amazon wants me to use a Roku to get my Youtube, I guess I'll oblige them.

    2. Re:Firefox by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Obviously never tried to use the YouTube app on Roku...

      That's one incredibly unstable POS.

      Better just to pave over the fire with standard Android.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    3. Re:Firefox by Kenja · · Score: 2

      It works well, even has a shortcut tile to YouTube so you just launch and click to get to it.

      --

      "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    4. Re:Firefox by omnichad · · Score: 1

      When's the last time you used it? It's gotten a lot better in the last 6-10 months.

    5. Re:Firefox by lactose99 · · Score: 1

      I don't see this with my Roku 2, YouTube delivery is on-par with Google Play, Amazon Prime, and Netflix.

      --
      Fully licensed blockchain psychiatrist
    6. Re:Firefox by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Junked my Roku about 5 or 6 months ago. YouTube app was unusable. 10 minutes maximum between crashes/lockups.

      Google of Forums found this to be typical, slightly better on newer Rokus, but still shitty. Apparently leaking threads based on progressively decreased responsiveness.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    7. Re:Firefox by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      I'm far more likely to get a Fire, now that I know I can just install a browser and play videos from that. I recall trying those mini-Android HDMI plug in things, and (at least when I tried them) full screen in browser video didn't work. Since that's all I wanted...

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
    8. Re:Firefox by perlface · · Score: 1

      Our year-old Roku works fine with Youtube. No glitches no crashes, even when it is left on all night long.

    9. Re:Firefox by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Even still, it was almost certainly Google's developers that wrote the bad code - Roku provides help to big vendors, but they generally don't do the heavy lifting.

      I never actually had issues with Youtube (Roku 3), though I never stay in the app for more than 2-3 videos before going to another app like Netflix. And even for those two videos, I prefer my phone UI for search and then just use the cast button to start playing directly. So I didn't have enough time to lose any real responsiveness.

    10. Re:Firefox by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      It works well, even has a shortcut tile to YouTube so you just launch and click to get to it.

      No, it works like shit, as one would expect. The interface used to be smooth garbage. Now it's choking, choppy garbage. It also means having to log in again, which means recovering the password. Firefox has become shit on every platform in the latest release. Performance went in the toilet, when the goal was supposed to be the opposite, and the new plugin system is inferior to the old one because it doesn't let you do all the same things. It's actually missing functionality.

      Firefox fail.

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

      Performance went in the toilet, when the goal was supposed to be the opposite, and the new plugin system is inferior to the old one because it doesn't let you do all the same things. It's actually missing functionality.

      It gave a whole new lease of life to my crappy old desktop PC. Performance massively improved. And all the really useful extensions either work fine (uBlock Origin, Privacy Badger etc.) or for UI stuff can be pretty much replaced by a one-off setup of a few lines of css.

    12. Re:Firefox by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      It took a reboot to get the Roku to return to normal function. If the Roku didn't end up hard crashing, you typically had to reset it after exiting youtube.

      I think the mpeg decoding hardware/code combination wasn't working right with common codecs. Roku 2...so kind of old. In the end, who cares. Disposable hardware.

      Roku's ongoing denial that there was any problem, when a second on forums showed it to be common, put them off the list for new hardware. I don't expect hardware to last forever, but expect transparent discussion of issues. Make me waste an extra hour...that was worth twice the price of the new hardware...fuckoff forever.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  4. Firefox works fine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I installed Firefox and youtube plays just fine. Either way, Amazon should quit being a pain in the ass about selling competitor stuff and get over it.

  5. Customers are NOT property. by sehlat · · Score: 1

    Big Business doesn't know that, and may end up learning it the hard way.

    A plague on both their houses.

  6. How do you not see the situation as fucked up?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I really don't get your attitude.

    All you want to do is watch something on your TV, but now you have to resort to using one of these "sticks", and you have to install Firefox, and then you have to use YouTube, and only then can you actually get around to watching what you wanted to watch!

    It seems fucking idiotic to me.

    And I really don't understand why you'd be eager to use Firefox. It has proven itself to be the worst mainstream browser, and even then it's barely "mainstream" now that its market share has dropped to probably 5% at most. The Firefox 57 release was, in my opinion, a massive disaster, with it breaking pretty much all extensions for no good reason. Even now, well over a month after its release, we still only have half-assed reimplementations of many important extensions. That's before we even start to consider how Firefox's performance is so noticeably inferior to that of Chrome, Edge, and Safari, even with the alleged performance improvements that Firefox 57 was supposed to contain. Then there's the whole nightmare of it sending data to Google and other companies, as stated in Firefox's privacy policy.

    Everything about this situation makes me wonder why you put up with it. It's not like the content on services like YouTube or Netflix is even that good.

    1. Re:How do you not see the situation as fucked up?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck you, 57 is great. Extension devs had a LONG time to port their shit, and if they didn't then said extensions should be considered unsupported.

    2. Re:How do you not see the situation as fucked up?! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Christ, you are a whiny little bitch.

  7. I was able to chromecast amazon video... by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1
    I bought the season of Air Disasters in Amazon. I was able to use chrome cast to go from my chorme browser in my chromebook to the living room TV.

    There were some minor issues, making me stop and restart the cast, but it worked. What does Google mean by support chromecast in amazon prime?

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:I was able to chromecast amazon video... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Casting a tab from a browser tab means your browser is encoding a video stream to send over to the Chrome Cast plugged into your TV. If a service directly support Chrome Cast, you do not need to cast the entire tab. Instead, you can cast the stream and it will come directly from the service provider. You can then close your browser and turn off your PC while watching the video stream on your television.

    2. Re:I was able to chromecast amazon video... by Avidiax · · Score: 1

      What you did is stream to your computer and then screen capture a Chrome tab and pipe it to Chromecast. Very inefficient, clunky, problematic.

      What Google wants is an Amazon video app. You use your phone to start a video on the Chromecast, and the Chromecast gets the stream directly from Wifi, decodes it, displays it. Your phone only does start/stop and title selection.

  8. Here we see... by AmazingRuss · · Score: 1

    ... how competition benefits the end user in this digital age!

  9. I'm shocked! by blind+biker · · Score: 1

    Well, not that shocked.

    --
    "The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam" - Japanese ministry official.
  10. when corporations act like petulant children.. by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

    Awesome to see two very large, very influential companies act like this. Especially since these are the companies we're inviting into our homes to record us 24/7, And clearly have aspirations to influence every aspect of our daily lives.

    (On an aside, it gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to see that the billionaires running these two companies are still human after all.)

    1. Re:when corporations act like petulant children.. by barc0001 · · Score: 1

      So what would you have done differently? Alphabet(Google) is doing this because Amazon decided that they were not going to sell Chromecast or other Google devices on Amazon - nor would they allow Amazon Resellers to sell them. If a brick and mortar mall was owned by AT&T and they banned the sale of any non-AT&T telecommunications products from the premesis I imagine that would be inviting an antitrust lawsuit of some sort, correct? Amazon is the largest non-brick and mortar "mall" online by far.

      There probably should have been a lawsuit filed already, but if the rumors of Amazon's position softening are true then it seems tit-for-tat is far more effective. People want their boxes to be able to view the online content they pay for, and blocking the biggest video source online sounds like a pretty good way to get a percentage of your customers to return your box. Why just last night I was witness to a relative having a full on meltdown because smart TV 'x' had a CraveTV app (budget Canada Netflix) but new Christmas TV 'y' doesn't so IT MUST GO BACK TO THE STORE TOMORROW!!!!!11!!1! followed by a 10 minute rant speculating on the parentage of the higher ups at TV 'y''s C level execs.

    2. Re:when corporations act like petulant children.. by rogoshen1 · · Score: 1

      Well, this is kind of the problem inherent to a large company with many different business units.

      Should Amazon's core business (selling shit to people) be hamstrung by their other business units? At some point business A will have conflicting interests with business B.. Punishing your customers (which is what this boils down to really) is not the right answer -- we can call this pulling a 'Sony'. it rarely works out in anyone's favor.

      Because really, if you run a store, and you turn a profit on items sold, why voluntarily remove a popular item?

      But that said, maybe work out some kind of deal with big-scary google? (i refuse to call them alphabet) It's another shade of the 'me too' mindset companies employ chasing Apple. Apple can get away with it, because .. it's Apple. Monopolies flexing their monopoly dicks is bad for everyone.

    3. Re:when corporations act like petulant children.. by barc0001 · · Score: 1

      > Because really, if you run a store, and you turn a profit on items sold, why voluntarily remove a popular item?

      Rational actors wouldn't, but in this case Amazon thought they could promote their hardware at everyone else's expense - for a while they also weren't selling Apple TVs, though *that* was in retaliation to Apple not allowing the Prime streaming app for Apple TV... seems this behavior goes deeper, but the common denominator is Amazon.

      > Apple can get away with it, because .. it's Apple.

      They also get away with it because they're not in a monopoly position on anything other than phones that run iOS and computers that run OSX. AFAIK there is nothing exclusive content-wise in Apple's library that you can't get elsewhere.

    4. Re:when corporations act like petulant children.. by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      So what would you have done differently? Alphabet(Google) is doing this because Amazon decided that they were not going to sell Chromecast or other Google devices on Amazon - nor would they allow Amazon Resellers to sell them.

      The Google [web] Store doesn't sell Amazon devices. Google has a virtual monopoly on user-uploaded videos on the internet, and they are abusing that to try to force Amazon to sell their products. But Google also has a web store, and they refuse to sell Amazon's products in it. Why is it fair for Google to insist that Amazon (who clearly does not have a monopoly on web retail) sell Google's devices when they are unwilling to sell Amazon's devices?

      Google is abusing a monopoly position in the market, and is clearly the guilty party in this case. They are hypocrites from stem to stern.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    5. Re:when corporations act like petulant children.. by barc0001 · · Score: 1

      > The Google [web] Store [google.com] doesn't sell Amazon devices.

      Are you seriously attempting to compare the Google Web store that only exists to sell Google products - to Amazon whose proclaimed mission is to sell "everything from A to Z" ? My supermarket doesn't sell Amazon devices either! Nor does the local corner store, or the gas station. When will the madness end?

      > and they refuse to sell Amazon's products in it.

      You might have missed this part, but Google's store doesn't sell ANYONE ELSE'S products. Amazon, however DOES. They sell Roku, Apple TV, a thousand different Android TV boxes, WebOS boxes, just NOT Google products. And they go further by BARRING 3rd party Amazon sellers from selling them too.

      We're ovbiously not going to agree on this but it's pretty clear that Amazon is a bad actor in this.

  11. Conflict of interest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Always been a conflict of interest between Amazon the online retailer and Amazon the device maker and ecosystem of content. I suppose one could argue Google and Apple have been guilty of this too. Clearly a argument that these companies hardly support ecosystem neutrality. One could also say its the pot calling the kettle black.

  12. Just going to blame youtube by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

    This will backfire and people will just end up blaming youtube, searching for another service on their device that will work

    --
    Twinstiq, game news
    1. Re:Just going to blame youtube by rsborg · · Score: 1

      This will backfire and people will just end up blaming youtube, searching for another service on their device that will work

      Maybe they'll stop buying FireTVs instead so they can get their fix of YouTube? It's not like the options aren't plentiful and cheap.

      --
      Make sure everyone's vote counts: Verified Voting
    2. Re:Just going to blame youtube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Good. YouTube is hot garbage anyway

    3. Re:Just going to blame youtube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The hot garbage will do!

    4. Re:Just going to blame youtube by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

      They can't unbuy something they own and use regularly, they can only supplement it

      At this rate we'll need a separate device for each service we want to use... Amazon, Google, Netflix, Disney, HBO, Hulu, is this a ploy to drive people back to cable?

      --
      Twinstiq, game news
    5. Re:Just going to blame youtube by rahvin112 · · Score: 1

      I don't share your opinion, I think most people will blame Amazon.

    6. Re: Just going to blame youtube by kqs · · Score: 2

      The Chromecast works for all of those but Amazon, but that's Amazon's choice.

      The fire works for all of them but YouTube, but that's Amazon's choice.

    7. Re: Just going to blame youtube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For now!

    8. Re: Just going to blame youtube by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      The Chromecast works for all of those but Amazon, but that's Amazon's choice.

      You are a liar.

      The fire works for all of them but YouTube, but that's Amazon's choice.

      That is another lie. That is Google's choice. They disabled the app, not Amazon.

      You are a liar and an ignoramus.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    9. Re:Just going to blame youtube by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why? It's the youtube app that doesn't work. Unless the app starts with some message that explains the situation they'll just blame the app authors.

    10. Re: Just going to blame youtube by CrashNBrn · · Score: 1

      You are either a troll or a moron or potentially both. All while linking to unofficial sources that have wrong and/or purposefully misleading information.

      All while attempting to discredit others. You sir are a shitty human being. Are you sure your name shouldn't be ShittyPoo?

    11. Re: Just going to blame youtube by kqs · · Score: 1

      Your article uses the screen-mirror capabilities of Android and Chrome because Amazon refuses to support chromecast in their app. I'm assuming you've never tried screen-mirroring a video with chromecast (or VNC or any other mirroring tech). Screen-mirroring a video used to give you laughably unusable results; google has improved it so you now get almost-watchable results, which is probably as good as we'll ever get (due to the technical problems of mirroring every pixel wirelessly in real time). So yeah, Amazon's choice.

      Also, Google turned off YouTube because Amazon used unofficial APIs to block ads, so this is much like you blaming the cable company for turning off people with illegal cable hookups. I don't like the ads either, but I can't blame Google for blocking them. Again, Amazon's choice. The new workaround (opening YouTube in a browser) will give Fire users a crappy UI for a TV; I'd be pissed at Amazon if I used Fire. But it's within the terms of service.

  13. Set top boxes... by VeryFluffyBunny · · Score: 1

    Yep, looks like the bit IT and media companies are doing their best to turn the internet into cable TV. You have to buy their streaming devices (the new version of set top boxes) to watch their shows and films. Soon, the "chord cutters" will be able to enjoy the traditional array of boxes/devices, multiple subscriptions, and bundled stuff they'll never watch just like the good ol' days.

    --
    Debate is a form of harassment. Do not question my truth.
    1. Re:Set top boxes... by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 1

      How does "set top box now just runs FireFox, whatever website video in full screen" get distorted in your mind to "set top boxes are locking you in"?

      It's actually the great unburdening of a special app for every website.

      --
      Your ad here. Ask me how!
  14. Or you just get an AppleTV by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

    An AppleTV is now one of the few places you can get Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video, etc. No need to deal with the madness between Google and Amazon. Roku would also work, but even that does not have as many streaming options as an AppleTV.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Or you just get an AppleTV by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      I can't find any Apple TV on amazon.ca, so I guess the problem isn't only between Amazon and Google, although I did get PrimeVideo added to my 3rd-generation Apple TV a few weeks ago (Canada).

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
    2. Re:Or you just get an AppleTV by SuperKendall · · Score: 1

      That's interesting because when Amazon delivered the Prime Video app, they also started selling the AppleTV again at Amazon - but I guess that was the U.S. store only? Hopefully that extends to other countries eventually.

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    3. Re:Or you just get an AppleTV by KingMotley · · Score: 1

      I went the Nvidia shield route and I'm not regretting it at all. Seems to work for every use case I have, including Plex and Alexa integration which is awesome.

    4. Re: Or you just get an AppleTV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Streaming games from your PC which is supposedly its main feature is a bit so-so but I agree it works perfectly for all the streaming services. Crunchyroll as well. And Twitch is integrated into the system (including streaming). My only regret is buying the version with less storage.

  15. uhhhh.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    forgive me but, what is ChromeCast?

    1. Re:uhhhh.... by ledow · · Score: 1

      Gosh if only this website was full of people who could operate a search engine, using a single, easily-copied keyword to discover the answer.

      It's Google's home video-streaming device. Press Chromecast button in compatible app, it finds Chromecast devices on your wireless network, which show the content out over their HDMI.

    2. Re:uhhhh.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's a fucking fishing hook with a fucking anti-rust coating you fucking fucktard.

  16. Google by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    can tongue-jack my ball sack.

  17. Retards bickering over realitive intelligence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is what always happens when you decide to purchase locked down hardware controlled by whims of a vendor. Enjoy your front row seat to power trips and pissing matches over things respective vendors have no business controlling in the first place.

    It's not like open alternatives are not readily available for almost nothing. How much does a raspberry pi or odriod cost? Takes what ... all of 20 seconds to flash an image and boot open alternatives with access to everything.

    I know I know I know... nobody can be bothered with anything other than following the path of least resistance. Enjoy what you deserve lusers.

    1. Re: Retards bickering over realitive intelligence by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yea, I love the fact that I can cast to my Pi from the BBC iplayer app, YouTube, Netflix, Rakuten TV and Google play, oh wait, no, no I can't. I can just tit about with a Web browser and Bluetooth keyboard.

  18. rofl by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    a fucking app... ffs use a browser for watching a website.

  19. sideload by ohgary · · Score: 0

    side load the APK and get on with your life.

  20. Whoever loses, we win by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think you have it backwards. The more they fuck up fucking us up, the more we win.

    Every barrier to media interoperability, every deployment of DRM, every time something breaks it is a strong argument that you should just pirate things, because: pirates don't have problems.

    As more and more consumers withdraw from the market, the harder it will be for the existing trouble-makers to stay in business. When they are gone, they can be replaced with companies that are more into taking peoples' money and the only way to do that, is have things that Just Work.

    There shouldn't even be a "Youtube app." It's absurd. You should just have a video player, and Youtube (and Amazon!) should simply conform to the standards or else those companies should experience loss until they comply. Letting them kill themselves is how we get from where we currently are, to there.

    Everyone, we are once again nearing the end of the month. Have you taught someone how to pirate, this December? You can't just do it, you have to teach too.

  21. Amazon disabled a work app installed by ME. by Proudrooster · · Score: 1

    Amazon deleted/disabled/broken an app installed by ME. Very rude, very rude indeed.

    This is a problem.

    Dear Amazon, I think there is a perceived ownership problem.

    I own the device, not you.

    I decide how to use the device, not you.

    If you want to talk about shared ownership, we can potentially come to an agreement, but you just stepped over a line.

    Don't mess with my stuff or how I have it configured.

    If you look back in history, Sony tried idiotic moves similar to this deciding what content could work on what device and that they could install rootkits on customers PCs.

    It took awhile, but the users figured it out and Sony devices fell out out of favor and market share was lost and never regained.

    You have crossed a line and I will not purchase any more of your devices, unless I can jailbreak them and keep you out!

    I look forward to your apology letter.

    1. Re:Amazon disabled a work app installed by ME. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NO, you already signed up for the shared ownership agreement, but regardless Google stopped your app working not Amazon. regardless you own the device, but you rent/license the apps which in turn talk to servers and those servers are what say whether it works or not.

  22. The Balkanization of the Internet by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We are seeing the internet devolving into alternative parallel, isolated, universes where 'alternative facts" are realized. Ones in which Obama was born in Kenya, global warming is a hoax, and Trump had the largest inauguration crowd ever..In some, the Moon landing was a hoax and HItler is alive and well in Argentina waiting to save America from the black or Jewish menace. A dystopia not even Huxley could imagine.

  23. You are a total fucking idiot by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

    Amazon deleted/disabled/broken an app installed by ME. Very rude, very rude indeed.

    No, they did not. Google did that. Amazon did absolutely nothing. You are angry at Amazon, while the people abusing their monopoly position (owners of Youtube) are the ones who actually made this change. Amazon did not remove or change the app, it just stopped working because Google made a change on their servers. Then Google told you it was Amazon's fault, and you lapped up their shit like a good dog.

    I look forward to your apology letter.

    I look forward to Slashdot without you. The door's that way.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  24. Mine still works! by reboot246 · · Score: 1

    I tried just a few minutes ago and YouTube worked fine on Fire TV. There wasn't even the warning screen about it going to quit working. I watched several videos before turning everything off. I'll try again this evening to see if it's still working.

    I wasn't very pleased with the browser workaround so I'm going to reinstall the Roku tomorrow. That way I can use either the Roku or Fire TV by switching inputs.

  25. Buy chineese TV boxes by sperm · · Score: 1

    I have learnt my lesson (well I hope I did).

    Been burned by Google a few times

    1) 2012, Sony NSZ-GS7 Internet Player with Google TV - 2012. Great keyboard, but Google stopped supporting pretty quickly, 2014?

    2) Now my Amazon Fire TV stick, Google blocks YouTube app.

    My next TV stick/box will for sure be a non name chineese, thanks but you (Google) are a real pain.