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Media

Boxee Launches New API 69

Posted by Soulskill from the take-that-hulu dept.
A recent post on the boxee blog announces the release of a new, fully documented API that will allow developers to create and share new apps and plugins. "The new boxee API enables developers to build sophisticated applications (such as the Pandora and RadioTime apps) using a set of API calls in Python and writing the GUI using XML. ... Users can install new applications via the boxee App Box, the beginnings of our app store. Unlike other app stores, boxee does not want to be a gate keeper (or bottleneck) in deciding which applications are published so anyone can become a publisher." A complete description is available at their developers page. I'm sure this will help in their ongoing battle with Hulu.
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Boxee Launches New API More

Boxee Launches New API

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  • Say what? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by qoncept ( 599709 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2009 @10:54AM (#27504577) Homepage
    A boxee app store? I understand that they are working on getting hardware created, but they are expecting people to pay for little applets that will run under boxee on hardware that you either had to build yourself or hack to even run it in the first place? And even after their own device is out, how many people are going to buy it [b]and[/b] buy plugins for it?

    I also understand that if they aren't thinking big, they might as well not even try (think you can or think you can't..) but I just don't see this being even remotely successful. People use their iPhone because its "cool" and want it to do everything their computer does while they're on the road. If you want the functionality of a computer while you're in your living room, get up and walk to your office.

    • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

      by LiquidCoooled ( 634315 )

      And even after their own device is out, how many people are going to buy it [b]and[/b] buy plugins for it?

      isn't that the iphone model?

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by aj50 ( 789101 )

      If you want the functionality of a computer while you're in your living room, get up and walk to your office.

      If you want the functionality of a computer while you're on the road, get out your laptop.



    • An app store is an excellent incentive for developers to invest the time to create Boxee plugins. That's something missing from MythTV. For instance, I'd like to see a MAME plugin for Boxee. Who's going to integrate it? With an app store, there's the possibility people will pay a buck or two for each installation.

      Also, the barrier to entry for Boxee is much less than other set-top platforms. It runs as a standalone application on Mac OS X (intel), Ubuntu, and WinXP. You can install the application, start

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Gord ( 23773 )

      > I understand that they are working on getting hardware created, but they are expecting people to pay for little applets that will run under boxee on hardware that you either had to build yourself or hack to even run it in the first place?

      Um, I don't think anywhere it suggests that this will be a paid for store. It looks to be a directory for people to distribute plugins. Publishers are then free to set up their own repositories of apps. More like the 'Podcast Directory' in iTunes than the 'iTunes Store

      • Actually the Plex Media Server is closed source even through Plex itself is open source. I like Plex a lot but I don't like the fact that they don't want to share it with XBMC or Boxee. So I'll probably be switching soon.

    • ... but they are expecting people to pay for little applets that will run under boxee on hardware that you either had to build yourself or hack to even run it in the first place?

      I just installed the new release with Pandora and it works fine om my mac mini so far. No hacking required.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Eil ( 82413 )

      Although the Boxee developers release builds for Windows, Mac, and Linux, it's always seemed to me that they hope to get their product bundled with set-top boxes sold by hardware manufacturers. Even now, Apple TV users form the largest part of their user base. Boxee is basically taking XBMC, building social networking around it (they even go so far as to *require* you to create an account), and releasing the result as a semi-proprietary bundle.

      Now that Apple has shown just how profitable an app store can be

  • What BS. They only do this to make money. They think (and probably rightly so) that by opening the floodgates they can make a crapload of money. Either now or later when Google buys them out.

    I hope it works, but don't try to scam me into thinking it's for the good of the community.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by qoncept ( 599709 )
      Who said that? Why do you think Canonical supports Ubuntu? For the good of the community?

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by musicalwoods ( 1115347 )

      What BS. They only do this to make money. ... I hope it works, but don't try to scam me into thinking it's for the good of the community.

      Why are people so enraged over this? To me it sounds like they built a repository system where other repositories can be added, which is, in my opinion, essential for a remote-driven system. Why would you want to get up, go over to a keyboard, find the plugin from the site you want, download, and then install it when you can just click over to the 'app store' and push one button to download and install.

      Also, if other people want to put a lot of time and effort into their plugins and then charge for them,

  • Curious how different this is from creating plug-ins in XBMC? Seems like Boxee = XBMC + Pretty Skin + Marketing $$$....
    • XBMC>Boxee, boxee is just a pretty skin. You can write/download python scripts for either one and just place in the appropriate plugins folder.

  • Upcoming Boxee features include:

    • A mother, who will marry a central character then immediately die
    • An asthmatic cyborg Ewok-thing
    • A flying motorcycle with inviso-power

    • An asthmatic cyborg Ewok-thing

      I knew General Grievous was evil, but he was an Ewok too? Wow, that blows my mind.

  • Been done on Plex (Score:4, Informative)

    by DCstewieG ( 824956 ) on Wednesday April 08, 2009 @11:57AM (#27505523)

    This looks very similar to what they're doing with the Mac fork of XBMC, Plex. It's very cool how they implemented it, basically making Plex a frontend for Safari with the plug-in defining the area of the browser that the video is in. This way, as far as the site is concerned, someone is using the browser like normal.

    They also have an App Store but it's not designed to be for pay, and I would doubt the Boxee one is either. I had never used Python before but I was able to whip up some plug-ins which are now available in the store.

    http://www.plexapp.com/ [plexapp.com]

  • I signed up for boxxee to check it out, but the only machine I have that would possibly be capable of playing with it on is runing 64 bit ubuntu. Grrrr.

    Maybe I'll give the xbmc livecd a try instead.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by r1ckt3r ( 302503 )

      While not a deb solution, this thread provides a script that will completely build boxee 0.9.10-5534 on your Ubuntu 8.10 x86_64 machine.

      http://forum.boxee.tv/showthread.php?t=7497 [boxee.tv]

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by SlashdotOgre ( 739181 )

        I'm actually the author of that thread, and should have a new version for the 0.9.11.5591 release out soon (hopefully tonight). There are still some bugs on the 64bit version (I think there's a bug in their md5 hashing script), but it's not difficult to make it work.

  • Did anyone else think the title referred to "box lunches"? Maybe I'm just hungry.

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