There's a huge difference between the two, though. The country restrictions are there due to copyright law."
There is no huge difference. The rights holders don't want to show some clips to other countries. Just as they don't want to show some material to certain devices.
The have the right under the law to chose who they want to license it to.
Flash is not a fucking video format, its a programming language (actionscript), and you can embed video. the programming language has routines to detect the hardware and operating system it runs on. Only level 1 lamers use user-agents - the code itself can check the OS and refuse to stream on a non approved system.
I hope you are just a troll, nobody can be as retarded as you just sounded - not even the inbred sarah palin morons who think Fox news is the voice of god.
"Everyone seems to think that the networks don't know what they're doing. They're banning Google TV, when anyone with half a brain knows this sort of thing is the wave of the future. I'm willing to bet that the network execs do, in fact, have at least one half of a brain between them."
Yes, its the woman who cleans their offices.
"It makes perfect sense if you think, well, maybe they don't really want to ban Google TV. More likely, they want to make a deal with Google, whereby Google pays them for the privilege of using their content."
Google is not using their content. So of course Google is not going to pay them anything.
If they are choosing to be ignored, then that is their choice.
For one thing these streams are available to all in the US. The limitation they are trying to add is filtering out some devices.
The filter is asking a program running on your computer "What is your OS" Is there a law prohibiting your program from lying? Is there a law which says your program must be truth full?
I doubt it.
This is not a closed system that they have created that you are trying to break into.
"Seems like this would be easily worked around by changing some useragent strings."
Since it's easy they don't do that. Doesn't matter what you set the user-agent to (you can change user agent from inside the Google TV browser) - serious sites don't use the user-agent.
Flash has functions which will report on the hardware and OS being used. So the Flash sites can essentially ask "What OS are you running" and when they get the reply "GoogleTV" they are going to say: Go away.
"Not sure why Google wouldn't do that themselves, but I guess they probably care more about their relationship with media companies than I do"
It is not their job. Unlike you they can't just ignore possible legal questions.
With their statement that it is up to providers to decide what to show, they are picking a neutral position. Of course this will play the other way as well when people start writing Android apps which bypass this and the studios ask Google to remove them from the android market - they can see "we are sorry, we don't interfere with what programs people write"
Its illegal and the powers that be could sue you into a bottomless pit.
(Though more than one problem really; normal people don't know how to do this, they don't want to spend time on figuring this out, and they don't want a big ugly computer in their living room)
A lot of people are totally amoral and would rob society blind if they just paid out. Ie, they would lie and cheat to get an ipad. So there has to be limits for what gets paid out, if they had to run background checks that would probably require more people to be hired.
It might be a good idea for them, but Google should clearly say no. Sony are a bunch of closed sourced bastards who have no idea of how to please the market (and to those who say they are making a mint - sure - but they could make even more if they opened their minds)
"But.....Google TV doesn't do much that a PS3 already can't."
It does 500% more than a PS3 - the PS3 can't show most sites because it uses and outdated version of flash - on GTV they just need to update the application which runs in. Its hardware isn't good enough for Sony to upgrade it to have google tv on it either for one.
You can't run any programs on the PS3 you are stuck with the crap they give you (yeah, you can buy games, but that's for kids).
Anybody can make android programs and run on GTV.
Google demonstrated an app which could take the closed caption subtitles, run them through translate and put them back over the picture - in real time.
There is an app that lets you "sling" information from the phone to the tv - you have a link open on the android phone browser - "throw" it to the TV the devices registers the movement and displays the link. Speak a search query into the phone, and have the tv search for it.
There is a huge amount of Android programmers out there, there are selling millions of phones every month, a lot of the buyers are programmers because they know they can improve the device if they want.
Apart from all the commercial interests who might be willing to jump on to make a buck, the army of programmers are going to add anything they see missing.
You want nothing on your screen - you got that, but you want something - you got that too, from facebook updates, to farmville to stock tickers.
Grandma wants to see home movies of the kids? Upload it to youtube and bookmark the link on her tv - all she has to do is select the link called "grandkids".
This is not for the nerd (or kid) who says "i can just plug my computer into the tv" this is for the rest.
Oh, and most of the android market apps already work - want a bit torrent client running on your TV? No? Well don't then;)
The roku is just in america from a little tin pot company. Google TV is for the world - with huge company and millions of dollars behind it - plus millions of Android developers just waiting to get their hands on it.
Slashdot Mirror
" ''You mean like country restrictions?''
There's a huge difference between the two, though. The country restrictions are there due to copyright law."
There is no huge difference. The rights holders don't want to show some clips to other countries. Just as they don't want to show some material to certain devices.
The have the right under the law to chose who they want to license it to.
"Google can't complain about this ..."
Google isn't! Google are saying: Hey, its their site, they can do what they want.
Its the USERS who are complaining.
Flash is not a fucking video format, its a programming language (actionscript), and you can embed video. the programming language has routines to detect the hardware and operating system it runs on. Only level 1 lamers use user-agents - the code itself can check the OS and refuse to stream on a non approved system.
No, they don't mean like country restrictions.
This is inside the same legal domain.
They are getting desperate out there ;)
I hope you are just a troll, nobody can be as retarded as you just sounded - not even the inbred sarah palin morons who think Fox news is the voice of god.
Much like women - you don't complain ;)
One day Oracle will reach the end of the road - perhaps that day is visible in the distance?
"Symbian isn't going anywhere"
Except going straight down. If the current trend holds Android will have outpaced it in 3-4 years.
You stifle creativity.
I wonder how popular this game will be in 10 years.
"Everyone seems to think that the networks don't know what they're doing. They're banning Google TV, when anyone with half a brain knows this sort of thing is the wave of the future. I'm willing to bet that the network execs do, in fact, have at least one half of a brain between them."
Yes, its the woman who cleans their offices.
"It makes perfect sense if you think, well, maybe they don't really want to ban Google TV. More likely, they want to make a deal with Google, whereby Google pays them for the privilege of using their content."
Google is not using their content. So of course Google is not going to pay them anything.
If they are choosing to be ignored, then that is their choice.
I don't think the DMCA would be at all relevant.
For one thing these streams are available to all in the US.
The limitation they are trying to add is filtering out some devices.
The filter is asking a program running on your computer "What is your OS"
Is there a law prohibiting your program from lying? Is there a law which says
your program must be truth full?
I doubt it.
This is not a closed system that they have created that you are trying to break into.
"Seems like this would be easily worked around by changing some useragent strings."
Since it's easy they don't do that.
Doesn't matter what you set the user-agent to (you can change user agent from inside the Google TV browser) - serious sites don't use the user-agent.
Flash has functions which will report on the hardware and OS being used. So the Flash sites can essentially ask "What OS are you running" and when they get the reply "GoogleTV" they are going to say: Go away.
"Not sure why Google wouldn't do that themselves, but I guess they probably care more about their relationship with media companies than I do"
It is not their job. Unlike you they can't just ignore possible legal questions.
With their statement that it is up to providers to decide what to show, they are picking a neutral position. Of course this will play the other way as well when people start writing Android apps which bypass this and the studios ask Google to remove them from the android market - they can see "we are sorry, we don't interfere with what programs people write"
Its illegal and the powers that be could sue you into a bottomless pit.
(Though more than one problem really; normal people don't know how to do this, they don't want to spend time on figuring this out, and they don't want a big ugly computer in their living room)
I thought you would mail them a search query and they would mail you a result back.
That could revive the dying postal industry!
Because discriminating against people with bad eye sight is fun.
A lot of people are totally amoral and would rob society blind if they just paid out. Ie, they would lie and cheat to get an ipad. So there has to be limits for what gets paid out, if they had to run background checks that would probably require more people to be hired.
It might be a good idea for them, but Google should clearly say no. Sony are a bunch of closed sourced bastards who have no idea of how to please the market (and to those who say they are making a mint - sure - but they could make even more if they opened their minds)
Sarah Palin has realised global warming is real, and this is her secret plan to make a lot of money from it.
For a moment there I thought it was "Largest Gnome Ever"!
that it is just in it for the money and greedy.
Copyright is theft.
"But.....Google TV doesn't do much that a PS3 already can't."
It does 500% more than a PS3 - the PS3 can't show most sites because it uses and outdated version of flash - on GTV they just need to update the application which runs in. Its hardware isn't good enough for Sony to upgrade it to have google tv on it either for one.
You can't run any programs on the PS3 you are stuck with the crap they give you (yeah, you can buy games, but that's for kids).
Anybody can make android programs and run on GTV.
Google demonstrated an app which could take the closed caption subtitles, run them through translate and put them back over the picture - in real time.
There is an app that lets you "sling" information from the phone to the tv - you have a link open on the android phone browser - "throw" it to the TV the devices registers the movement and displays the link.
Speak a search query into the phone, and have the tv search for it.
There is a huge amount of Android programmers out there, there are selling millions of phones every month, a lot of the buyers are programmers because they know they can improve the device if they want.
Apart from all the commercial interests who might be willing to jump on to make a buck, the army of programmers are going to add anything they see missing.
You want nothing on your screen - you got that, but you want something - you got that too, from facebook updates, to farmville to stock tickers.
Grandma wants to see home movies of the kids? Upload it to youtube and bookmark the link on her tv - all she has to do is select the link called "grandkids".
This is not for the nerd (or kid) who says "i can just plug my computer into the tv" this is for the rest.
Oh, and most of the android market apps already work - want a bit torrent client running on your TV? No? Well don't then ;)
"I don't want a web browser on my TV."
Its not about you.
"I do want a way to ditch my cable TV and still get access to shows on demand."
There are bittorrent programs for Android. Run them on your TV and have it download torrents - can't be more on demand than that.
The roku is just in america from a little tin pot company.
Google TV is for the world - with huge company and millions of dollars behind it - plus millions of Android developers just waiting to get their hands on it.
Its not about you. Its about everybody else.
He just doesn't have any sense of humor (nor vision probably)