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maryellencarter · 9 months ago

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YouTube Downloads through VLC: Step by Step

So this guide to easily downloading off YouTube is super helpful, but there's enough important information hidden in the reblogs that (with the permission of OP @queriesntheories ) I'm doing a more step-by-step version.

Please note: these downloads will be in YouTube quality. My test video download is coming through at 360p, even though the video I'm starting from is set to 720p. They're legible, but they won't look great on a TV. For high visual quality, you'll want to seek out other methods.

This guide is written for Windows 10, since that's what I can test on. It's been tested on Firefox, Chrome, and Edge (which is a Chromium browser, so the method should work in other Chromium browsers too). So far, I haven't tracked down a way to use this download method on mobile.

BASIC KNOWLEDGE:

I'll try to make this pretty beginner-friendly, but I am going to assume that you know how to right-click, double-click, navigate right-click menus, click-and-drag, use keyboard shortcuts that are given to you (for example, how to use Ctrl+A), and get the URL for any YouTube video you want to download.

You'll also need to download and install one or more programs off the internet using .exe files, if you don't have these programs already. Please make sure you know how to use your firewall and antivirus to keep your computer safe, and google any names you don't recognize before allowing permission for each file. You can also hover your mouse over each link in this post to make sure it goes where I'm saying it will go.

YOU WILL NEED:

A computer where you have admin permissions. This is usually a computer you own or have the main login on. Sadly, a shared computer like the ones at universities and libraries will not work for this.

Enough space on your computer to install the programs listed below, if you don't have them already, and some space to save your downloaded files to. The files are pretty small because of the low video quality.

A simple text editing program. Notepad is the one that usually comes with Windows. If it lets you change fonts, it's too fancy. A notepad designed specifically to edit program code without messing it up is Notepad++, which you can download here.

A web browser. I use Firefox, which you can get here. Chrome or other Chrome-based browsers should also work. I haven't tested in Safari.

An Internet connection fast enough to load YouTube. A little buffering is fine. The downloads will happen much faster than streaming the entire video, unless your internet is very slow.

VLC Media Player, which you can get here. It's a free player for music and videos, available on Windows, Android, and iOS, and it can play almost any format of video or audio file that exists. We'll be using it for one of the central steps in this process.

If you want just the audio from a YouTube video, you'll need to download the video and then use a different program to copy the audio into its own file. At the end of this post, I'll have instructions for that, using a free sound editor called Audacity.

SETUP TO DOWNLOAD:

The first time you do this, you'll need to set VLC up so it can do what you want. This is where we need Notepad and admin permissions. You shouldn't need to repeat this process unless you're reinstalling VLC.

If VLC is open, close it.

In your computer's file system (File Explorer on Windows), go to C:\Program Files\VideoLAN\VLC\lua\playlist

If you're not familiar with File Explorer, you'll start by clicking where the left side shows (C:). Then in the big main window, you'll double-click each folder that you see in the file path, in order - so in this case, when you're in C: you need to look for Program Files. (There will be two of them. You want the one without the x86 at the end.) Then inside Program Files you're looking for VideoLAN, and so forth through the whole path.

Once you're inside the "playlist" folder, you'll see a lot of files ending in .luac - they're in alphabetical order. The one you want to edit is youtube.luac which is probably at the bottom.

You can't edit youtube.luac while it's in this folder. Click and drag it out of the playlist folder to somewhere else you can find it - your desktop, for instance. Your computer will ask for admin permission to move the file. Click the "Continue" button with the blue and yellow shield.

Now that the file is moved, double-click on it. The Microsoft Store will want you to search for a program to open the .luac file type with. Don't go to the Microsoft Store, just click on the blue "More apps" below that option, and you'll get a list that should include your notepad program. Click on it and click OK.

The file that opens up will be absolutely full of gibberish-looking code. That's fine. Use Ctrl+A to select everything inside the file, then Backspace or Delete to delete it. Don't close the file yet.

In your web browser, go to https://github.com/videolan/vlc/blob/master/share/lua/playlist/youtube.lua

Click in the part of the Github page that has a bunch of mostly blue code in it. Use Ctrl+A to select all of that code, Ctrl+C to copy it, then come back into your empty youtube.luac file and use Ctrl+P to paste the whole chunk of code into the file.

Save the youtube.luac file (Ctrl+S or File > Save in the upper left corner of the notepad program), then close the notepad program.

Drag youtube.luac back into the folder it came from. The computer will ask for admin permission again. Give it permission.

Now you can close Github and Notepad. You're ready to start downloading!

HOW TO DOWNLOAD:

First, get your YouTube link. It should look something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abc123DEF45 If it's longer, you can delete any extra stuff after that first set of letters and numbers, but you don't have to.

Now open VLC. Go to Media > Open Network Stream and paste your YouTube link into the box that comes up. Click Play. Wait until the video starts to play, then you can pause it if you want so it's not distracting you during the next part.

(If nothing happens, you probably forgot to put youtube.luac back. coughs)

In VLC, go to Tools > Codec Information. At the bottom of the pop-up box you'll see a long string of gibberish in a box labeled Location. Click in the Location box. It won't look like it clicked properly, but when you press Ctrl+A, it should select all. Use Ctrl+C to copy it.

In your web browser, paste the entire string of gibberish and hit Enter. Your same YouTube video should come up, but without any of the YouTube interface around it. This is where the video actually lives on YouTube's servers. YouTube really, really doesn't like to show this address to humans, which is why we needed VLC to be like "hi I'm just a little video player" and get it for us.

Because, if you're looking at the place where the video actually lives, you can just right-click-download it, and YouTube can't stop you.

Right-click on your video. Choose "Save Video As". Choose where to save it to - I use my computer's built-in Music or Videos folders.

Give it a name other than "videoplayback" so you can tell it apart from your other downloads.

The "Save As Type" dropdown under the Name field will probably default to MP4. This is a good versatile video format that most video players can read. If you need a different format, you can convert the download later. (That's a whole other post topic.)

Click Save, and your video will start downloading! It may take a few minutes to fully download, depending on your video length and internet speed. Once the download finishes, congratulations! You have successfully downloaded a YouTube video!

If you'd like to convert your video into a (usually smaller) audio file, so you can put it on a music player, it's time to install and set up Audacity.

INSTALLING AUDACITY (first time setup for audio file conversion):

You can get Audacity here. If you're following along on Windows 10, choose the "64-bit installer (recommended)". Run the installer, but don't open Audacity at the end, or if it does open, close it again.

On that same Audacity download page, scroll down past the installers to the "Additional resources". You'll see a box with a "Link to FFmpeg library". This is where you'll get the add-on program that will let Audacity open your downloaded YouTube video, so you can tell it to make an audio-only file. The link will take you to this page on the Audacity support wiki, which will always have the most up-to-date information on how to install the file you need here.

From that wiki page, follow the link to the actual FFmpeg library. If you're not using an adblocker, be careful not to click on any of the ads showing you download buttons. The link you want is bold blue text under "FFmpeg Installer for Audacity 3.2 and later", and looks something like this: "FFmpeg_5.0.0_for_Audacity_on_Windows_x86.exe". Download and install it. Without this, Audacity won't be able to open MP4 files downloaded from YouTube.

CONVERTING TO AUDIO:

Make sure you know where to find your downloaded MP4 video file. This file won't go away when you "convert" it - you'll just be copying the audio into a different file.

Open up Audacity.

Go to File > Open and choose your video file.

You'll get one of those soundwave file displays you see in recording booths and so forth. Audacity is a good solid choice if you want to teach yourself to edit soundwave files, but that's not what we're here for right now.

Go to File > Export Audio. The File Name will populate to match the video's filename, but you can edit it if you want.

Click the Browse button next to the Folder box, and choose where to save your new audio file to. I use my computer's Music folder.

You can click on the Format dropdown and choose an audio file type. If you're not sure which one you want, MP3 is the most common and versatile.

If you'd like your music player to know the artist, album, and so forth for your audio track, you can edit that later in File Manager, or you can put the information in with the Edit Metadata button here. You can leave any of the slots blank, for instance if you don't have a track number because it's a YouTube video.

Once everything is set up, click Export, and your new audio file will be created. Go forth and listen!

#reference #vlc media player #youtube downloader #youtube #uh what other tags should i use idk #how to internet #long post

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torillatavataan · 3 months ago

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Linux creator Linus Torvalds wrote:

"Ok, lots of Russian trolls out and about. It's entirely clear why the change was done, it's not getting reverted, and using multiple random anonymous accounts to try to "grass root" it by Russian troll factories isn't going to change anything. And FYI for the actual innocent bystanders who aren't troll farm accounts - the "various compliance requirements" are not just a US thing. If you haven't heard of Russian sanctions yet, you should try to read the news some day. And by "news", I don't mean Russian state-sponsored spam. As to sending me a revert patch - please use whatever mush you call brains. I'm Finnish. Did you think I'd be *supporting* Russian aggression? Apparently it's not just lack of real news, it's lack of history knowledge too."

What is Linux?

Linux is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds.

Linux was originally developed for personal computers based on the Intel x86 architecture, but has since been ported to more platforms than any other operating system. Because of the dominance of Linux-based Android on smartphones, Linux, including Android, has the largest installed base of all general-purpose operating systems as of May 2022.

Linux is the leading operating system on servers (over 96.4% of the top one million web servers' operating systems are Linux) leads other big iron systems such as mainframe computers, and is used on all of the world's 500 fastest supercomputers (as of November 2017, having gradually displaced all competitors).

Linux also runs on embedded systems, i.e., devices whose operating system is typically built into the firmware and is highly tailored to the system. This includes routers, automation controls, smart home devices, video game consoles, televisions (Samsung and LG smart TVs), automobiles (Tesla, Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, and Toyota), and spacecraft (Falcon 9 rocket, Dragon crew capsule, and the Perseverance rover).

#linux #linus torvalds #russian aggression #russia is a terrorist state #war in ukraine #stand with ukraine #suomi #finland #russia #venäjä #*

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andmaybegayer · 1 year ago

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Hello. So what's the deal with computer chips? Let's say, for example, that I wanted to build a brand new Sega Genesis. Ignoring firmware and software, what's stopping me from dissecting their proprietary chips and reverse-engineering them to make new ones? It's just electric connections and such inside, isn't it? If I match the pin ins and outs, shouldn't it be easy? So why don't people do it?

The answer is that people totally used to do this, there's several examples of chips being cloned and used to build compatible third-party hardware, the most famous two examples being famiclones/NESclones and Intel 808X clones.

AMD is now a major processor manufacturer, but they took off in the 70's by reverse-engineering Intel's 8080 processor. Eventually they were called in to officially produce additional 8086 chips under license to meet burgeoning demand for IBM PC's, but that was almost a decade later if I remember correctly.

There were a ton of other 808X clones, like the Soviet-made pin-compatible K1810VM86. Almost anyone with a chip fab was cloning Intel chips back in the 80's, a lot of it was in the grey area of reverse engineering the chips.

Companies kept cloning Intel processors well into the 386 days, but eventually the processors got too complicated to easily clone, and so only companies who licensed designs could make them, slowly reducing the field down to Intel, AMD, and Via, who still exist! Via's CPU division currently works on the Zhaoxin x86_64 processors as part of the ongoing attempts to homebrew a Chinese-only x86 processor.

I wrote about NES clones a while ago, in less detail, so here's that if you want to read it:

Early famiclones worked by essentially reverse-engineering or otherwise cloning the individual chips inside an NES/famicom, and just reconstructing a compatible device from there. Those usually lacked any of the DRM lockout chips built into the original NES, and were often very deeply strange, with integrated clones of official peripherals like the keyboard and mouse simply hardwired directly into the system.

These were sold all over the world, but mostly in developing economies or behind the Iron Curtain where official Nintendo stuff was harder to find. I had a Golden China brand Famiclone growing up, which was a common famiclone brand around South Africa.

Eventually the cost of chip fabbing came down and all those individual chips from the NES were crammed onto one cheap piece of silicon and mass produced for pennies each, the NES-on-a-chip. With this you could turn anything into an NES, and now you could buy a handheld console that ran pirated NES game for twenty dollars in a corner store. In 2002. Lots of edutainment mini-PC's for children were powered by these, although now those are losing out to Linux (and now Android) powered tablets a la Leapfrog.

Nintendo's patents on their hardware designs expired throughout the early 2000's and so now the hardware design was legally above board, even if the pirated games weren't. You can still find companies making systems that rely on these NES chips, and there are still software houses specializing in novel NES games.

Why doesn't this really happen anymore? Well, mostly CPU's and their accoutrements are too complicated. Companies still regularly clone their competitors simpler chips all the time, and I actually don't know if Genesis clones exist, it's only a Motorola 68000k, but absolutely no one is cloning a modern Intel or AMD processor.

The die of a Motorola 68000 (1979)

A classic Intel 8080 is basically the kind of chip you learn about in entry level electrical engineering, a box with logic gates that may be complicated, but pretty straightforwardly fetches things from memory, decodes, executes, and stores. A modern processor is a magic pinball machine that does things backwards and out of order if it'll get you even a little speedup, as Mickens puts it in The Slow Winter:

I think that it used to be fun to be a hardware architect. Anything that you invented would be amazing, and the laws of physics were actively trying to help you succeed. Your friend would say, “I wish that we could predict branches more accurately,” and you’d think, “maybe we can leverage three bits of state per branch to implement a simple saturating counter,” and you’d laugh and declare that such a stupid scheme would never work, but then you’d test it and it would be 94% accurate, and the branches would wake up the next morning and read their newspapers and the headlines would say OUR WORLD HAS BEEN SET ON FIRE. You’d give your buddy a high-five and go celebrate at the bar, and then you’d think, “I wonder if we can make branch predictors even more accurate,” and the next day you’d start XOR’ing the branch’s PC address with a shift register containing the branch’s recent branching history, because in those days, you could XOR anything with anything and get something useful, and you test the new branch predictor, and now you’re up to 96% accuracy, and the branches call you on the phone and say OK, WE GET IT, YOU DO NOT LIKE BRANCHES, but the phone call goes to your voicemail because you’re too busy driving the speed boats and wearing the monocles that you purchased after your promotion at work. You go to work hung-over, and you realize that, during a drunken conference call, you told your boss that your processor has 32 registers when it only has 8, but then you realize THAT YOU CAN TOTALLY LIE ABOUT THE NUMBER OF PHYSICAL REGISTERS, and you invent a crazy hardware mapping scheme from virtual registers to physical ones, and at this point, you start seducing the spouses of the compiler team, because it’s pretty clear that compilers are a thing of the past, and the next generation of processors will run English-level pseudocode directly.

Die shot of a Ryzen 5 2600 core complex (2019)

Nowadays to meet performance parity you can't just be pin-compatible and run at the right frequency, you have to really do a ton of internal logical optimization that is extremely opaque to the reverse engineer. As mentioned, Via is making the Zhaoxin stuff, they are licensed, they have access to all the documentation needed to make an x86_64 processor, and their performance is still barely half of what Intel and AMD can do.

Companies still frequently clone each others simpler chips, charge controllers, sensor filters, etc. but the big stuff is just too complicated.

#computer stuff #silicon #vlsi #ask #video games #thehylianbatman

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definitely-zen-browser · 2 days ago

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fuckin hate when people say the software thay're promotingis "available for PC and mobile" but they really mean "available for windows 10/11 x86, iOS, and android"

there's more than 3 fucking operating systems.

are devices running linux not PCs?

what about Macs?

How about KalibriOS? do you support that?

And HarmonyOS? that has roughly the same market share on mobile that linux does on desktop.

can it run on ARM or RISC-V?

if it does support linux, what package managers can you install it with?

and for fucks sake if it costs money at least say how much

if you mean windows 11 x86 then just fucking say windows 11 x86, it's not that hard.

#rant #rant post #say what you mean goddamnit #anyway zen browser is available for linux AND mac AND windows #both x86 and ARM #can be installed on linux with flatpak install zen OR yay -S zen-browser bin (on arch-based distros) or from an appimage #for macos either get it from zen-browser.app or with brew install --cask zen-browser #on windows you can download the exe from zen-browser.app or use winget install --id ZenTeam.Zen-Browser #zen is not currently available for mobile operating systems

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definitelynotafox · 1 year ago

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had this lying about and figured itd be good to put here, those of you on android who use youtube, do this! other apps too, but this tutorial is for youtube. its the same basic steps. you got this.

the tutorial is markdown formatted, even though tumblr doesnt use markdown. sorry! it wasnt ment for this site, and the only changes i made were updating information. i wanted to be quick about it.

eta: this may not work on all devices. if it aborts, sorry. try revanced builder. its more difficult to use, but seems to work even when the manager fails. i dont have a gide for it yet, but the link has instructions.

this is a sequel to my general adblocking guide for android

Goodbye Vanced, hello ReVanced!

1. Install ReVanced Manager: https://github.com/revanced/revanced-manager

2. Install Vanced MicroG: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/team-vanced/microg-youtube-vanced

3. Open the manager, switch to the "patcher" tab, and find the reccomended version (ex: `18.23.35`)

4. Go to APKMirror and download the Universal APK (not bundle) for that version (ex: https://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-inc/youtube/youtube-18-05-40-release/youtube-18-23-35-2-android-apk-download/)

5. Go to *⚙️ Settings > Apps > See all apps > YouTube* and tap **🚫 Disable** (optional)

6. Go to *App details* and tap **Uninstall** (optional)

7. In ReVanced Manager, go to *🔧 Patcher > Select an application > __💾 Storage__* and pick the downloaded YouTube APK (ex: `com.google.android.youtube_18.23.35-1538252224_minAPI26(arm64-v8a,armeabi-v7a,x86,x86_64)(nodpi)_apkmirror.com.apk`)

8. In *Select patches*, tap **Recommended** a few times to make sure you have 50+ patches selected

9. Tap *✔️ Done > 🔧 Patch > Install > Install anyway*

#o #t #x #adblocker #adblocking #revanced #youtube #android #<-normal readable tags to actually help people find this post...

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goof320 · 2 years ago

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random goof ramble omg,,,

i hope whatever the valve deckard is is its Good and the same price as psvr2?? but i also dont care about new vr,, i only want valve deckard or new valve vr headset or whatever because it means they'll come out with a new game at the same time

half life alyx was *so* good and i dont think there's been a vr game to come close to how good it was and still is 2ish years later. i think half life 3 coming out with their new, not super expensive (~$500 please valve) headset would probably bend over and spank the other 5 billion standalone vr headsets coming out. half life 3 should *not* be only vr, fucking Obviously, but if it didnt have native vr support id be pretty upset because holy shit the end scene of hl:a ***you were HOLDING the fucking crowbar*** i need that for a 10-15 hour long campaign

valve,,, if yoy use tumblr,,, please.,.,.,.. youd make so much money hl3 wouldn't even have to come with the headset it could be $70 and youd be PRINTING money for the rest of time PLEASEEEE

also, it'd be really cool for a new valve game that's not a tech demo,,, i dont think hl:a was a tech demo for vr, but it.. kind of was? a really really good tech demo, but they probably wouldn't have made a spinoff half-life game if not for New Cool Technology. im pretty sure all of the recent valve games have been glorified tech demos. which i like them!! they're fun!!!! i adore hl:a and aperature desk job. and their vr game with the minigames is cute. the aperature game with the hand robots is cute, too. im probably missing one but all of them have been cute fun lil games.

hl3 tho,, new full valve game not just for a specific new tech thing? wooh.,.,. works on their new (and old) vr thing, steam deck, and a normal pc? Wooh,,,,, money printer right there.

more deckard rant... i hope to got its not a standalone.

maybe a standalone that doesn't play games.. hear me out wait hold on

valve doesnt like splitting up steam im pretty sure. if it was standalone, itd run on the xr2, an ARM chip, whereas all of steamvr is x86 because fucking duh yeah its for computers. i don't think valve is gonna have that thing running proton and like.. box86 or whatever. itd be TERRIBLE!! and theres no way in fresh hell they're putting the steam deck chip in there, or any other x86 thing, because it'd SUCK!!!!!! but if it was like... xr2 without steam. you can stream from your desktop, play those games wirelessly (or with displayport pls valve) or just look at your monitor in vr and browse the internet Whatever. i do wonder if a valve standalone with ARM would run linux ARM or android... knowing valve i bet it'd be linux. something thatd be SO fucking cool is- ok hear me out again this is a long one

steamvr home is cool... it sucks right now because valve hasn't done anything with it forever, and it just tanks your computer the second it starts, and there's.. not much to do BUT WHAT IF there was... what if it was like.. steam home (corny idc) and-

hello. i just spent 10 minutes describing neosvr. i deleted all that because i realized, i want valve to buy neosvr and put it in steam. just, right in the client. the whole thing. share media with ur friends, have a home world u can do Whatever the Fuck you want with and custom avatars and whatever you Want. neosvr is in a weird spot and if valve just fucking swallowed them whole and rebranded it as a Steam Home thing id ascend into the 6th dimension. neosvr is so fucking cool.... it makes me very sad though because again its in a weird spot and im sure they'll figure it out but Eeeeee,,,

anyway as i was saying... neos but in steam .. u start ur Valve Deckard or whatever its called.. new shiny vr ... and you sign into your steam account and ur put into steamvr+neos. its some new home lobby, there's a desktop sitting somewhere that you can boot up and its just fucking. linux arm with kde. because that'd be insane. or u could set it up to stream your big beefy desktop (maybe a vr headset modeled sitting next to it u can physically put onto your head to turn on the streaming as long as ur pc is accessible on the network). but also you could go outside or maybe just open a menu and go into whatever public world and do social vr things and neosvr things. please. itd be so cool,,, all the deckard could run would be steam home 2.0 and game streaming but itd be So Cool.... kind of a tough sell to people without computers untill vr cloud streaming becomes viable but i think people with computers (already valve's main demographic lol) may consider it.

#half life #valve #vr #hl3 #hla #i havent actually beaten half life episode 1 and 2 #i just beat hl2 last night and i thought it was really cool #i will bootlick valve till the day i die #im not ashamed to admit it #they are my comfort corporation /j #neos #neosvr #ramble #awesome #words

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aetherspoon · 2 years ago

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I can chime in a bit here, as I've been de-googlifying my life. Now, I'm not fully off of Google; I use an Android smartphone and can't really separate myself from google services there due to requiring use of DRM for "protecting" my banking applications, but I've been working on reducing it down as much as possible.

I agree completely with Kashmir - this is HARD. And I'm a techie who has the ability/knowledge/knowhow to just self-host everything! I literally host my own alternative to Dropbox, to Google Sheets, to OneNote, and even to Spotify. I would never expect most people to go to those lengths to insulate themselves from the tech behemoths, nor should they have to.

The problem is the monopolization of computing as a whole. Here's a great example. I'm a gamer, who records videos to show people. In order to play most games, I need to use a Microsoft product (Windows). While yes, Linux gaming has come a long way (especially in the past year and a half) and I'm certainly competent enough with Linux to pull it off... some things just don't work, and most companies don't target the market because it isn't worth it when you can target the 7000 kilo gorilla OS instead.

My videos go up on YouTube, a Google company. They go up on YouTube because that's where people watch video on demand; YouTube's only real competitor in this market is Twitch... an Amazon company. Both of these organizations are parts of their parent company due to being acquired. Sure, I could self-host a video streaming platform if I had enough money, but no one would watch it unless if I advertised it on popular social media... so Twitter (Elmo-world) or Facebook (Zuckerworld).

The gaming machine I run these games from is something I built myself from parts, so I got to avoid a lot of the technology monopoly that way... except not really. My video card is from nVidia, as they are one of three GPU manufacturers we have left. My CPU is from AMD, one of three CPU manufacturers we have left, using an x86 design (also only one of three we have left). My network adapter is from Intel (one of three manufacturers for network adapters at this point). To further reinforce things, two devices I have do not have proper support under Linux anyway, so I couldn't run what I need to do to begin with without using Microsoft products.

Speaking of Microsoft products, my roleplaying tablet is a Microsoft Surface Book - which doesn't have drivers for some major components under Linux because why would Microsoft make them?

What about my work? Well, if you're working for an enterprise company, you're using Microsoft Office, likely via Office 365 (Microsoft) which is hosted by Azure (Microsoft) or using Apple products in a similar stack. Heck, my work laptop is a Microsoft Surface Laptop and we communicate over Microsoft Teams and utilize Microsoft Visual Studio (Code) - and I'm a Linux developer!

Imagine how little choice I have in using these products, even though I'm trying very hard not to but still trying to do my normal things... and make it so much worse for the average person because they literally don't have a choice.

Break up the monopolies.

Writer tries to use the internet without relying on Amazon, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, or Apple. Writer struggles. A lot. Not because she can’t stop googling things, but because Google is integrated with everything, and anything it isn’t is hooked into is partnered with at least one of the other four.

For an example, she details the long process of figuring out how to send a large file without relying on the Google iCloud or Amazon Web Services:

My Gmail alternatives—ProtonMail and Riseup—tell me the file is too large; they tap out at 25 MB. Google Drive and Dropbox aren’t options, Dropbox because it’s hosted by Amazon’s AWS and relies on Google for sign-in. Other file-sharing sites also rely on the tech giants for web hosting services.

…O’Brien directs me first to Send.Firefox.com, an encrypted file-sharing service operated by Mozilla. But… it uses the Google Cloud, so it won’t load. O’Brien then sends me to Share.Riseup.net, a file-sharing service from the same radical tech collective that is hosting my personal email, but it only works for files up to 50 MB.

O’Brien’s last suggestion is Onionshare, a tool for sharing files privately via the “dark web,” i.e. the part of the web that’s not crawled by Google and requires the Tor browser to get to. I know this one actually. My friend Micah Lee, a technologist for the Intercept, made it. Unfortunately, when I go to Onionshare.org to download it, the website won’t load.

“Hah, yes,” emails Micah when I ask about it. “Right now it’s hosted by AWS.”

The troubling implications of tech monopolies on our private data are discussed, as well as potential solutions that don’t sound very appealing at all:

An uncomfortable idea I keep coming up against this week is that, if we want to get away from monopolies and surveillance economies, we might need to rethink the assumption that everything on the internet should be free.

So when I try to create a fourth folder in ProtonMail to organize my email and it tells me that I need to upgrade from a free to a premium account to do so, I decide to fork over 48 euros (about $50) for the year. In return, I get a 5 GB email account that doesn’t have its contents scanned and monetized.

However, I’m well aware that not everyone has $50 dollars to spare for something that they can easily get for “free,” so if that’s the way things go, the rich will have privacy online and the poor (and most vulnerable) will have their data exploited.

#technology #spoon rant #capitalism

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hauntedqueenking · 10 days ago

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[ad_1] John Moore / Getty ImagesWhen I first explored ChromeOS Flex, it felt like a minor miracle. Here was a platform that breathed new life into aging x86 hardware, transforming dusty laptops into lightweight, secure, and efficient devices. At the time, I saw it as a solution with great potential -- not just for reducing e-waste but for extending the usability of older systems in an increasingly fast-paced tech world.But even then, I recognized its flaws. As innovative as ChromeOS Flex was, the lack of native Android app support stood out as a glaring limitation. Google's extensive ecosystem couldn't be fully leveraged, and for many users, that was a dealbreaker. On top of that, its reliance on x86 architecture made it feel like a relic in a market shifting rapidly toward Arm-based computing. These shortcomings left me wondering whether ChromeOS Flex could ever be more than a niche solution.Also: How Google turns Android into a desktop OS in 5 stepsWith reports seemingly confirming Google's plans to consolidate ChromeOS and Android, the company clearly is pivoting to address these issues. Having observed Google's strategies for years, I view this merger as both a necessity and a chance for the company to redefine its position in the Arm-based laptop and tablet market. This comes in light of reports this week that the DOJ is seeking to break up Google's monopoly on web browsers and search by requiring it to divest Chrome.Why the merger makes senseThe reality is simple: Google can't afford to cede the Arm-based laptop and tablet market to Apple. The iPad has been an undeniable juggernaut, and Apple's M-series-powered MacBook Air set new expectations for what laptops under $800 can deliver. For years, I've watched Apple dominate this space with a mix of innovation and ecosystem synergy.Also: 7 reasons why a Chromebook is the best laptop for most peopleToday, you can find an 8GB MacBook Air for as little as $650 if you are willing to go for an older (but still very well-supported) M1 model, though it's worth noting that Apple's latest SKUs are 16GB M2 models starting at $799. Retailers are clearing out older M2 and M3 Macbook models from inventory, flooding the market with discounted stock in the pre-Black Friday rush. This surplus has created an unbeatable value for students, educators, and casual users -- the exact demographic that Chromebooks have traditionally targeted.Even more challenging for Google, Apple's M2-based iPad Air ($599) and base-level iPad ($349, often sold for less) are narrowing the gap further. Pair an iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard, and you have a highly capable alternative to a Chromebook, backed by Apple's optimized apps and robust hardware ecosystem. I've seen firsthand how these devices dominate classrooms and casual use cases, making the competition tougher for Google.Chromebooks, including Arm-based and x86 models in the $300 range, have long supported Android apps, unlike ChromeOS Flex. However, there's a significant issue: these apps were not optimized for laptops. Using Android apps on Chromebooks was similar to using iOS or iPadOS apps on a Mac. While functional, it was often frustrating. Apps designed for touchscreens did not adapt well to keyboard and trackpad navigation, and multitasking frequently felt cumbersome. Additionally, ChromeOS lacks a true "desktop" user experience, as it was not designed to support one.Also: AI just gave us the Star Trek farewell we always wanted - watch it hereAs a result, many consumers are shifting their decision between a Chromebook and a discounted Apple product from purely cost considerations to capability. Apple's products are setting new benchmarks for performance and functionality, while Chromebooks struggle to compete due to their limited app support and ecosystem integration.AI as the X-factorAs I've watched the industry evolve, one thing has become clear: AI is becoming the defining differentiator in personal computing. Google knows this, and integrating Gemini across its product portfolio highlights how seriously it's taking this shift. From Android to Workspace and beyond, Gemini powers everything from conversational AI to productivity-enhancing features, seamlessly embedded into Google's ecosystem.Also: This absurdly simple trick turns off AI in your Google Search resultsImagine an Arm-based laptop with Gemini's capabilities deeply integrated. Picture real-time predictive text, intelligent task suggestions, and advanced data processing working harmoniously to enhance workflows. This level of AI integration could transform Google-powered laptops into uniquely compelling tools for students, professionals, and creatives alike.Apple's M-series chips are remarkable, and Microsoft's Copilot is making waves in Windows. Still, neither company has matched the scale of AI integration that Google is building with Gemini. If done right, this could be Google's ace in the hole -- a chance to redefine what an AI-powered device can offer.The Arm-Qualcomm dispute: ripples in the ecosystemWhile Apple continues its dominance in the Arm space, I've closely monitored Qualcomm's legal battle with Arm Holdings. The stakes in this dispute could reshape the entire Arm ecosystem. Arm's claim that Qualcomm's acquisition of Nuvia invalidates its architecture license -- and Qualcomm's insistence otherwise -- has created significant uncertainty.Also: The best laptops: Expert tested and reviewedArm's recent 60-day notice to cancel Qualcomm's architectural license raises the stakes further. If enforced, this move could block Qualcomm from shipping chips using Arm IP, disrupting its processor roadmap and affecting countless OEMs in the PC, mobile, and automotive sectors. A ruling in Arm's favor could even push some OEMs back toward x86 processors from Intel and AMD.Still, Qualcomm's confidence is notable. The company appears unfazed with a history of winning high-profile legal battles (including against Apple). However, I see this dispute as a destabilizing force that could delay Arm-based innovation for Microsoft and others, potentially giving Google a window of opportunity to solidify its position in the Arm laptop market.Google's custom silicon: the long road aheadGoogle's efforts to build custom silicon have been fascinating to watch. The upcoming Tensor G5, expected alongside the Pixel 10 in 2025, represents a critical step in its journey. Designed using TSMC's second-generation 3nm process and InFO-POP packaging, the Tensor G5 is expected to bring improved thermal efficiency, smaller chip size, and better power management -- all key elements for next-gen Arm laptops.Also: Why I recommend this Google Pixel phone to most people Having observed Apple's success with its A-series and M-series chips, I can't help but see parallels in Google's approach. By tightly integrating hardware and software, Google could unlock performance and efficiency gains similar to Apple's. But Google is years behind, and catching up won't be easy, especially with competitors like Qualcomm and Microsoft racing to innovate.If the Tensor G5 lives up to its promise, and with Gemini's AI capabilities fully integrated, Google could finally deliver an Arm-powered laptop that stands out in a crowded market. The potential is there, but execution will be everything.A pivotal moment for GoogleFor years, I've seen Google's hardware efforts oscillate between bold ambition and strategic missteps. The merger of ChromeOS and Android feels like a turning point -- a chance for Google to address long-standing flaws and redefine its vision for personal computing.But success isn't guaranteed. Apple's dominance in the Arm space is unmatched, and Microsoft's Copilot-enhanced Arm laptops are gaining traction. Google must execute flawlessly and innovate in ways that differentiate its products from those of its competitors.Also: How to upgrade an 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11: Two waysThis is Google's moment to prove it can deliver on its vision. If it succeeds, we could see the rise of a new era for Android-powered laptops. If not, it might be another chapter in Google's history of unrealized potential.For now, I remain cautiously optimistic. However, as someone who has followed Google's pivots for years, I'll reserve my final judgment until I see a "Droidbook" in the wild. !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function()n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments); if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)(window, document,'script', ' fbq('set', 'autoConfig', false, '789754228632403'); fbq('init', '789754228632403'); [ad_2] Source link

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ezraworld1 · 10 days ago

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