It’s always a hard decision on when to put the version 1.0 seal of approval on commercial software, but we just did it. Graboid 1.0 is now available on our website. It is more stable and easier to use than previous versions, but if you’re using 0.95 (the beta) and are fine with it, then there is no need to upgrade. Version 1.0 removes the capability to stream files > 1GB so if you use that functionality a lot, definitely don’t upgrade unless we force you to. That said, both versions can co-exist on your PC quite nicely, so you can install 1.0, see if you like it, and use 0.95 instead whenever you prefer that.

Just one HUGE caveat - do not set your file destination folders for the two versions to the same locations, or they WILL interfere with each other.

Now that most everything technical is handled in our community forums, we’re going to start using this blog as an area to just discuss TV and movies in general, as well as developments in the viewing of such - but we’ll stay away from commenting on Graboid itself unless we feel absolutely compelled.

I saw the news today on Slashdot that Netflix and LG are coming out with a new piece of hardware for watching downloaded shows on your TV. Kind of like Apple TV, but likely to be even less successful. I already hate my DVD player just because it has its own remote control that I have to dig out of a drawer every time I want to use it, and the default volume setting on it is 2x that of my settop box, so when I play a DVD I have to remember to instantly lower the volume or risk blowing out an eardrum.

Who the heck wants another box? If Apple can’t make one that enters the mainstream, then LG is going to do it? Lately I’ve been distracted from this techno stuff because a new Famous Players (Canada’s big theatre chain) has opened up near my house and it has a bowling alley! I guess the idea is to make movie theatres nicer so people will be ok with the $8.95 popcorn and $14 tickets. Now with $100/barrel gas I have to choose between seeing a movie and making my monthly mortgage payment. But ahhh, that bowling alley beckons.

Tonight I’m trying to decide if I should watch “I am Legend”. That’s a big-screen movie if ever there was one. Or stay at home and play World of Warcraft. Hmmm.

To anyone who downloaded the app today, 0.936B, from the site - after you install and launch, you’ll see that there’s been an update already to the software. This fixed a small bug this morning that resulted in the status update bar being invisible until you resized the application window. Make sure you click ‘update’, which will take you to 0.937B.

We’re not posting much on this blog lately because our launch of the Graboid Community has had such success. If you haven’t already, visit the forum at www.graboid.com/forum and post/comment/complain/praise to your hearts content. Our intent is to make the Graboid Community the destination for anyone who loves videos. Something has to come after mySpace and Facebook….

We’re looking for a batch of avid Graboid users to beta test the next-generation of Graboid software. This new version is coded from scratch, and incorporates a built-in media player, a refined web-based interface, auto-updating, and many more exciting new features.

UPDATE: E-mails to accepted applicants have already gone out (be sure to check your spam/junk folders for an e-mail from beta@graboid.com). We are no longer accepting new beta testers.

On some computers, when installing Graboid 0.96 for the first time, there will be an error during preference setting, indicating that the directories could not be changed. The application will then leave preferences and then not buffer properly. Restarting the application will fix this, and the directories will be set properly.

If you haven’t already, visit our new Graboid Community Forum.  

There are a few people who’ve experienced a problem with downloading/buffering after downloading update version 0.96. We’ve testing upgrading internally with no issues, so we’re trying to figure out what is causing the problem for those users.

If you’ve experienced a problem with the update, first try closing Graboid, waiting 5 minutes and restarting it. This should reset any existing connections to the service, which should then clear up any connection issues. But if the problems persist, please e-mail us here and include your Graboid log files. You can find these log files in your download directory, in a folder called “Graboid Temp”. The files are called “graboid-debug.log” and “graboid-simple.log”. In case you don’t know where your download directory is, you can find out in the Graboid application under “File -> Preferences”.

If you are experiencing any of these problems and want to revert back to the previous version, you can download it here.

There is no problem with the Graboid Video service in general - all servers are up and running.

In the course of developing the new version of Graboid, we discovered a simple fix for some problems in the current version. That’s the reason for the minor release 0.96 you’ll see today when you launch GraboidTV. It’s not mandatory, but it may fix a few of those nilObject exceptions.

We’ve been hard at work on the next revision to Graboid Video, and we’d like to give you a sneak peek at one of the most exciting new features: playback INSIDE Graboid. In this screenshot, you’ll also get a glimpse of the new graphical design and layout of Graboid — the look and feel may change before release (around Christmas), but we hope you like what you see.

* The content depicted is not representative of any file you might find using Graboid and is for demontration purposes only.

We’ve never been hesitant to address legal issues relevant to Graboid Video, but please keep in mind that we are not lawyers, and our own legal jurisdiction is in Canada, where we have researched the law extensively. So here are a few thoughts in response to questions raised in the commentary of the last blog post.

1. The License Agreement point about using your bandwidth to deliver service to other users is an artifact of using legal language from other services as a starting point for our own. We should’ve caught this before now, and we appreciate having it pointed out. That clause will be modified immediately. There is no element of Graboid usage that allows or encourages you to share video with others.
2. Graboid Video (the company) is completely legal in Canada. If we were located in the US, we would be completely legal as well, although we might have to slightly modify some of our operating principles to comply with elements of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) that don’t apply in Canada. We didn’t move to Canada so we could start this service. We actually like it here. Universal health care, no guns, and it’s easy to get a job driving a snowplow!
3. Users of Graboid Video are not breaking any laws that we know of, and we know of a lot. Sharing copyrighted material, without permission, is illegal. We have not been able to find case law or media reports of anyone, anywhere in the world, ever being charged with illegally VIEWING copyrighted material. All such reports involve sharing, not viewing. We’ve made this point before in this blog, asking anyone who knows of such a case to let us know. We haven’t received any responses.
4. We won’t be turning over names to the RIAA. Particularly because they’re the music industry guys, not the movie industry guys. As for the MPAA or anyone else, if we’re served with a court order to release the names of our users, we will comply. However, we do not keep records of what individual users are doing with our service, just the amount of bandwidth used.
5. Nothing we do, nothing we say in this blog, and nothing your own lawyer tells you, can prevent you from being sued or charged with a crime. That’s just the way the legal system works. If you think that OUR comments on YOUR legal situation somehow protect you, they don’t. We’ve paid for great legal advice from multiple legal firms, and even they say that their advice is simply advice and they’re not responsible if we get sued. The same applies to us - we’re just telling you what we think, because you asked. We’re not your lawyer or your mother. Make your own decision.

Thanks for using Graboid. If you feel like being argumentative about any of these points (especially you, Brent), then we’d love to entertain a discussion, but not in this blog. Send me an email. I’ll add to this post if warranted.