17 Aug
We’ve spent much of the past 2 weeks experimenting with different feature sets and versions of Graboid. One of our core beliefs is that there should be an ongoing, free basic version, so everyone can have the Graboid experience and really discover the world beyond peer to peer and torrents.
So we’ve now introduced a series of options that include a really fun basic version as well as pretty inexpensive full access plans. For just $1.97 you can either watch great free videos in your own living room, or ride the subway all night. Take your pick.
We’ve also introduced a video tutorial that you can click to from the home page, and the very latest - HIGH DEFINITION movies and tv shows!
Of course, the application itself remains in a somewhat beta state as we’re finding that user PC configurations and performance levels can cause havoc with the performance of Graboid. We’re continually making the application more stable and technically easy to use. We hope you agree though that the minor difficulties you encounter while using Graboid are well worth what you get from the software.
3 Responses for "Getting Better"
I have installed version 0.9.2 three times and have encountered the same error everytime. It is a class key error so the program is not adding something to the registry. So now everytime I click on a subcategory, Graboid crashes. I can click on a main category like movies or television and it lists all the files fine, but as soon as I click on a subcategory like “Comedy” I get the class key error. And this happens in every category i.e. television/movies/HD movies. Here is a screenshot….
http://www.pointlessworld.com/pics/classkey.jpg
And sorry if you guys are getting tired of me posting screenshots to bugs, but I really like this program and just want to help make it as stable as possible!
[moderator: This has been fixed in the latest release. Thank you very much for your vigilance! Genres have also been updated and should be much more accurate now.]
I bet I am not the only one who has noticed many glitches and many more re-buffers than there should be. Perhaps this is your plan; get users frustrated with the streaming service so they buy a dl package. If you would have included more options in your surveys you would have people would be willing to pay a couple dollars for downloading 5GB, It would have been better if cost was on a sliding scale.
On a 1Mb DSL connection I can watch youtube for free.
Even if I wasn’t already 256k or higher, I could pause playback and let 3/4 or all of it cache to insure smooth playback. When I pause a 35MB cartoon, even up to an hour, it is still resumes with 5+minute buffer interruptions. perhaps it would be better if i could define the buffer amount, lets say at 60%?
I do not doubt in the near future everyone will have a 5gb fiber connection for the cost of cable.
I am one who will tell the cable companies to shove their exorbitant price in favor for you.
The truth is, you should have listened when users were telling you not to release this beta as final, with such limited testing.
I doubt anyone was really interested in testing its streaming capabilities, when most beta testers were downloading and test burning to test the overall quality as well.
I for one was very impressed with the speed being able to top out my connection at 167k/sec; however, not having a “user defined” throttle, made most of my other online activities suffer. If I could have set my own speed I would have left it running more often.
Azureus has a good media center with plenty of exclusive video and lots of seeders, and a rating system.
Your service has the ability to preview before dl commitment. But I still find the beta semi-useless and still buggy as hell. Perhaps I will check back in a year, when the program gets cleaned up and with more user defined settings added.
We are working on improving all features of the application, and I can assure you that streaming is one of our top priorities. Allowing the user to define the buffer amount is a cool idea; we will consider it for future versions of Graboid.
As far as listening to users goes — we did listen. During the beta, we had several thousands of users who asked to be in on the action. Now they’re happily using Graboid.
Speaking as a developer, I would love to offer a free, open beta that lasts for several years, but there are various limitations in this case that rule out the possibility (i.e. there’s no such thing as a free lunch).
I’m sorry to hear that you’re unhappy with your experience. Personally speaking, I use Graboid often and I am willing to work around the app’s shortcomings, just because I know that if I wanted to go elsewhere to access to the same range of content that Graboid offers, I’d have to work a lot harder, and have a lot more patience!
Paul. (Graboid Developer)
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