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).
Observer1959 says
I don’t get why people go to the trouble of these extra steps to get a YT video. I have a JavaScript bookmarked in my favorites menu. When at the site of the video I just click the bookmark right in Safari and a yellow menu appears at the top of the page. It lists all possible versions of both video and audio as links. Click on any link and the DL begins. It’s so easy it takes longer to write about it.
In most cases there’s high and low res versions of MP4, flash and MP3.
Candy Mac says
Maybe we use such apps because they’re easier than what you describe. I wouldn’t know where to begin to setup such a JavaScript thing. My app works just fine and worth every penny. It even organizes videos and puts them into iTunes. Does your little thingy do that?
Granville Kennedy says
Wouldn’t thought censorship be evil? They may have google glasses, but even they can’t read your mind… Mind you, censoring your speech is borderline evil as it is!