[opendtv] Re: ARM conference switches on Web TV
- From: Kon Wilms <konfoo@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 3 Nov 2010 12:48:56 -0700
On Wed, Nov 3, 2010 at 12:18 PM, Manfredi, Albert E
<albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Who knows how long it will take before the pundits realise that hard-wiring
> only select web sites to these new Internet TVs will only be a recipe for
> instant obsolescence?
>
> We can see what the real objective of this game is. Set up a restricted set
> of "anointed" web sites, then shut the wide open door to them.
It's a little more complex.
Yahoo functions off the concept of widgets (akin to Apple's 'apps').
You can develop your own and upload it to their widget backend where
it becomes available in the widget gallery ('app store') for user
download/install.
No walled garden. Gatekeeper.
Google's app store takes the same approach. Code your app, submit it,
and it becomes available on Google's app store (or TV app store when
that is available).
No walled garden. Gatekeeper.
So the obvious problem here is that of the single gatekeeper. There
are ways around it but not for the regular user. If google or yahoo
decide they cant make a buck, you're screwed in the name of planned
obsolescence. Boy do we like to repeat our past. Was Microsoft WebTV,
ActiveDesktop, etc. not enough for us to learn?
Roku, XBMC and Boxee have the best approach, however, in that they use
the notion of 'repositories'. The default install uses their central
repository for 'widgets' but you are free to install your own from
third party repositories. The devkit is completely open. The box does
not require any connecivity to the gatekeeper. That way, if the
gatekeeper dies, a 3rd party open source repository can provide full
source for and update free remakes of the original widgets (and new
ones).
And regarding your constant harping on 'this is a walled garden due to
the fact that I need a custom version of every site' well, no you
don't. Most platforms these days allow the developer to make a widget
encapsulating a browser engine i.e. webkit. Problem is, rendering a
regular website 9/10 times looks like crap, hence the fact that
companies will reformat their site for mobile and tv displays. For
those that don't, you just install a 'browser' app, make your own, or
use the default one provided on the platform, making this a non-issue.
Cheers
Kon
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