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VLC on the iPhone and iPod Touch? Yep
So this uber smart dude Zodttd, has done something pretty sweet.He has successfully ported the popular VLC media player over to the iPhone. Yes, the iPhone.
Big deal you say? Well check out what you'll now be able to do on your little piece of Apple mobile goodness: Drag, drop and play MPEG/MPG, AVI and MP3 media formats.
Woohooo!
Soon it will play FLAC and OGG and he's checking out how to build support for VCD, DivX, WMA, and WMV.
You will have to break free from the jail on your iPhone to see this baby working, and it's currently in beta.
One question though, Why aren't these formats already supported by Apple? Aren't we all tired of the format wars at this point? If you pay $400 or more for a device, shouldn't you get a say in what plays on it and what doesn't?
What do you think? Comment us up.
[via Gizmodo]
Comments
21
Subscribe to commentsRiddarJun 5th 2008 3:05PM
"Why aren't these formats already supported by Apple?"
Apple has never been exactly open and willing to tolerate competition, this is just one new avenue. Why this has never bothered much of their users is something that perplexes me, but I know it is a major reason I avoid their operating system and other products.
iofthestormJun 6th 2008 2:30AM
Indeed, that's one reason I avoid Apple products like the plague as well. And the other reason is the Apple fanboys/Mac vs PC commercials that lack any basis in fact.
JamesJun 6th 2008 10:07AM
I avoid Apple products as well -- the OS looks neat, it's great that it's now based on an open-source core, etc., but the price premium and the walled-garden mentality still put me off. I did think the "Allow or Deny" commercial was pretty damn funny, though.
Oh, and as for why it doesn't piss off their customers more? The aforementioned "walled garden mentality" means that people willing to buy Apple products are probably content to buy *only* Apple products -- Apple makes it easier to buy a movie or TV show off iTunes (after which they can painlessly watch it on their iPhone) than to torrent it in e.g. DivX or MP4 or whatever, so that's what they do. They know their audience well.
CreepersCreekJun 5th 2008 3:32PM
I hope he can get streaming to work.
SnupherJun 5th 2008 3:36PM
That is kind of an issue with Apple all together. They have done well at, finally, letting go of what DRM was. But when you buy Apple products you are buying just that, Apple. There is no way to truely get what you need, if it isn't made by Apple, without voiding your warrenty. I don't like this method, but enough people apparently disagree with me and feel as though it is no big deal.
conorJun 5th 2008 4:04PM
FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!
SpankyJun 5th 2008 4:48PM
I donated to his cause. That was my hard earned $25 and I support this effort.
Drew OlanoffJun 5th 2008 5:07PM
Spanky, ^5 for you!
Eli GundryJun 5th 2008 4:59PM
I think a purchase of an iPod Touch will be made within the next week =)
Drew OlanoffJun 5th 2008 5:06PM
I certainly love mine!!
Eli GundryJun 5th 2008 5:10PM
Is it jailbroken?
Drew OlanoffJun 5th 2008 5:12PM
Like the Shawshank Redemption.
Eli GundryJun 5th 2008 5:16PM
Gonna un-jailbreak it when the app store comes out?
Drew OlanoffJun 5th 2008 5:18PM
Depends on how much the apps cost.
Eli GundryJun 5th 2008 5:21PM
True enough. I honestly wonder how many developers will be willing to put their apps on the store. I imagine most of the apps are open source, and I can't see many open source diehards giving all the power to Apple.
h0miJun 5th 2008 5:20PM
Hopefully VLC will become part of the 'approved applications' list (won't hold my breath) so it can come to unjailbroken units.
JohnJun 5th 2008 7:00PM
Apple sells mp3s on iTunes, so why would they have a strong interest in supporting so much more than that? I'm glad third party developers are working to help us share our media on our phones. Here is something in that same vein: http://www.zintin.com
JL!Jun 5th 2008 10:30PM
It would be polite to include a link to my photo (Like, ) if you're going to use it. Although I do appreciate the "JL!"
Also, you'll note that the photo is under the Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license, and I see some ads on this site. Can we talk about this?
JL!Jun 5th 2008 10:31PM
Sorry, the link I meant to include in my previous comment was http://flickr.com/photos/joshlewis/1384121895/
Drew OlanoffJun 5th 2008 10:32PM
Sorry about that! No harm intended. I read the attribution incorrectly.