A blogging colleague of mine did a review of an app that lets Mac users download YouTube videos and store them locally.
I’ve highlighted a few such apps myself. Some videos posted online are worthy of storing in a collection, but I can understand the problem Google has with such apps. My friend was asked by Google to cease and desist; either remove the app review, or lose advertising.
There are many such YouTube video download apps available to Mac users. One of my favorites is Downie, but there are others, including Get Tube for the Mac. What does Get Tube do? Find a video on YouTube that you like and download it to your Mac.
Using Get Tube is delightfully simple. Browse YouTube for a video. Click the Download button.
The video is downloaded and converted to run on your Mac, adding videos to your collection.
So, why doesn’t Google like this app?
YouTube makes money the old fashioned way. Advertising. Every video is supported by an ad or two, which, in turn, is supported by clicks. If the video lives on your Mac there’s no advertisement to view because the middle man, YouTube, has been eliminated.
So, if my commentary and mini-review of Get Tube disappears in a few days, you’ll know that Big Brother was watching (I’m flattered) and used the digital boot heel to get my thoughts censored (I’m pragmatic).