Another YouTube Conversion Site Clipped 94
Hodejo1 writes "[Tuesday] morning we learned that Google fired the first volley against YouTube conversion sites by blocking YouTube-MP3.org's servers from accessing its service and sending a letter threatening legal action. It looks like the fast growing Clip.dj also got the letter based on the note posted on the site: 'We're sorry to announce this, but Clip.dj has shut its service down for good.'"
That's okay (Score:5, Insightful)
It's okay. I've got a firefox plugin that'll do it for me.
Re:That's okay (Score:5, Insightful)
Personally, I use Video DownloadHelper because it applies more generally than just to YouTube; But search the FF addons for "YouTube" and you'll see at least a dozen plugins that will let you download whatever the hell you want. Some even transcode it for you on the fly, for those who can't bother with trying to figure out what to do with a FLV or MKV file.
Give it up, Google - If I can see (or hear) it, I already have a copy. I thought you understood that better than the Big Media morons.
Re:That's okay (Score:5, Insightful)
Much worse... you'd either be storing raw PCM or you'd be re-encoding. .flv or .mp4 file.
Better to get the mp3 or aac stream from the
ffmpeg -i zomg_justin_bieber_baby_baby.flv -codec copy zomg_justin_bieber_baby_baby.mp3
Re:When are they going to learn? (Score:2, Insightful)
What you say is true TODAY, and may continue be true for a while. But don't make the mistake of thinking that it will always be true. When it's only possible to boot cryptographically signed "secure" OSs, and only for a few "trusted" OSs that will not allow you to run such software, it will no longer be possible without hardware mods to your computer that most people are not able to do. They ARE working on a whole "trusted path" through the entire OS to your display device, with the final decryption being done in the display device itself.
Make no mistake that is the direction of the industry for a long time, it just takes a long time to get there because there was so much inertia around open platforms. Sure, you could point a video camera at your screen but the quality will suck. Sure, a tiny number of hackers will figure out a way around the "trusted content path", but not enough to matter. As long as they close out 99.99% of everyone, that's all that matters. Even without such a trusted content path, on the most open OS out there (Linux), how many people are succesfully playing BluRay discs on Linux machines? A handful sure, but it's just not accessible for the majority - and again that's on an OPEN OS. Think how it can be on one that's cryptographically secured down to the hardware.
Every little step is only a little step. Every little step can be circumvented. But the walls ARE closing in and have been for decades. Don't think it won't continue, and get harder and harder.
Captcha: Shaken
All part of the problem a lack of balance. (Score:3, Insightful)
Everyone complains that DRM is keeping them from having what they want. And Those producing what people want, would like to be paid for what they produce.
And companies find they can use some GPL code to keep from having to develop their own bit of code, while people decry that that company isn't giving the source of their product back like the GPL requires etc. etc.
In the end it really comes down to some very basic things that are weakening in the 'moral' spirit of humans. People don't really question any more if they can do something, should they do it?
I can convert any video I choose into a file I can play anywhere any time on a number of machines, but if a friend wants to see it, why shouldn't I offer it to them as well? Or am I a dick for saying. Sorry man, I'll send you the dvd if you like?
Companies try to heap more intrenched DRM into things because they don't see anything working. Media assholes spout nonsense numbers about how much money they are losing, when if you did the math there is no possible way they could have made that much. etc etc.
Politicians pile crap into bills for their own good and when it fall apart they blame someone else for it not going through.
In every case, it's people who think because they are in a position to do something that they want to do, that they can simply do it without there being any consequences.
And we have this idea that's given to us through Hollywood and oodles of books that just one person can make a difference. Almost always that's applied to improving things. Freeing the slaves, ending a war or slaying a Sith. In movies where one person does something really wrong that messes things up for everyone. like destroying the world or creating a new world order, they are considered evil and the bad guy. But it's really just an amplification of the result of when many people decide to do a small bad thing instead of the right thing.
The thing is if you look at say the analysis of the Stock market crash of a few years ago, you will see time and again, the magic plan that made so many so much money worked just fine, till everyone started doing the same thing. Every win requires a loss, it's the order of balance in the world.
I could run on this for days but that's not what posting to something like this is about. I do hope someday people will start to realize that everyone can't have everything, and just because you don't have something, doesn't mean you're not going to have a worth while life.
Cheers.
DS.