downloads

Today its app has more than 6,000 million downloads and is still free and without ads

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There is software so good that it is difficult to believe that it is free because it constitutes an almost anachronistic technological rarity: an echo of that Internet that no longer exists, where valuable information ran through forums far from ruthless algorithms and the perennial interest in monetizing everything. VLC is probably the most extreme case: a free, ad-free, all-terrain player without a corporate owner that has been essential for anyone who watches videos for almost three decades. In figures. Some data that show the impressive evolution of the project in these 30 years: At CES 2025VLC announced two things: the arrival of AI subtitles and that the figure had risen to 6 billion downloads. In March 2024, the official download figure It was 5,000 million. Of those 6 billion downloads, 4.8 billion correspond to Windows. MacOS is much further away, with 380 million, according to data from the VideoLAN statistical system. The beginnings were difficult: in 2009 and after more than a decade of development, version 1.0.0 of VLC was published. A university project. VLC was born in 1996 at the École Centrale Paris, one of the great French technical schools. The VIA Centrale Réseaux computer club wanted to modernize the campus network, an outdated LAN that made any transfer very slow, but needed a technical argument to justify it. The solution was develop an application to broadcast and display network video that would consume enough bandwidth to make the update inevitable. More specifically, there were two programs: the VLS server (VideoLAN Server) and the VLC player client (VideoLAN Client). They were designed with a modular architecture to be able to adapt them to different operating systems without rewriting the entire code, something they would appreciate later. In 1998 they achieved the first successful broadcast and playback in MPEG-2 format. The liberation of being open source. In the beginning, VLC belonged to the university in a closed way, but the students struggled for years to convince the institution to release the project. In 2001, got it: Obtained the free and open source software license GNU General Public License. This decision was a turning point, a real catalyst for everyone from around the world to contribute, going from a university project to something in the community. Of course, when the Free Software Foundation published the new GPLv3, VLC did not update for a practical matter: I had too many collaborators and libraries to get the yes and along the way I would probably have worsened their compatibility. Goodbye to the Ecole. In 2009, VLC graduated from the École Centrale Paris and completely disassociated himself from the academic organization. Since then it has been managed by a non-profit organization, the VideoLAN Organization and which has one of the people who started the project as president, Jean-Baptiste Kempf. It was not a bed of roses. In 2010, VLC arrived on the Apple App Store, but a few months later He was removed due to problems with his license.. Its license at the time, GPLv2, required that the software be completely free of restrictions, something incompatible with Apple’s distribution conditions. The team had to relicense the VLC engine with a more permissive license (LGPL) compatible with App Store policies. Of course, it was a long and legally tortuous process (it required the consent of its authors). VLC finally returned to the Apple store in 2013. Advertising? No, thanks. VLC is free and has no ads by philosophy, as Kempf tells it in this video. For its co-creator, money can be a prison, a limitation if it becomes his main objective. In short: monetizing the most important thing means that the software and its users take a backseat. And there has been no shortage of offers. When we asked Jean Bastiste Kempf for these offers, he confirmed it to us: “We received several offers to buy VLC or to receive millions a year, but that meant adding some type of crapware either adware on users’ computers (changing the home page, inserting ads on web pages, toolbars, etc…), and we reject it. Basically, even if everyone does it, it’s making everyone’s life worse. It’s unethical, and we didn’t do it.” He summed up his philosophy in one sentence: “the search for money cannot be done at any price.” Your business model. The million dollar question if VLC does not have ads or charge a subscription or have premium payment options is: how does it make money? Essentially, in two ways: through donations from its users and with VideoLabsa business branch that has first class clients like Microsoft, Acer or Amazon. Despite its enormous volume of downloads, VLC maintains a light structure, since it is supported by a community of volunteers. In Xataka | 16 years ago a student from Barcelona was looking for an easy way to edit PDFs. The website he created is one of the most viewed on the internet Cover | Ibrahim Boran and By Axelle Manfrini (Wikipedia)

There was a time when Megaupload conquered the world of downloads. And their king was Kim Dotcom: Crossover 1×39

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At the beginning of the 2000s there were practically no legitimate alternatives to access film, series or music content through streaming, so there were those who took advantage of the circumstance to propose “dark” options. P2P networks were clearly one of those options, but we also attend at that time at the birth of phenomena like Megaupload. This platform became an absolute internet giant, and its creator, Kim Dotcom, is already a living part of the history of the network of networks. This hacker and entrepreneur managed to put an entire industry in suspense while making gold and living like a king. However, justice ended up going after him, and that spelled the end of Megaupload. The raid that ended with his arrest It became news with worldwide coverage, and that marked the definitive end of that platform. Two years later, Mega would appear, a much more “formal” and less obscure alternative, but Dotcom would end up breaking away from it shortly after creating it. Since then this entrepreneur has become a kind of political activist who tries by all means to ensure that justice I couldn’t unload all my weight against him. Whether he does or not remains unknown, but one thing is certain: the story of Kim Dotcom and Megaupload They deserved their own episode. of Crossover. On YouTube | Crossover In Xataka | Megaupload, rise and fall from grace of the portal that changed downloads on the Internet forever

The chaos of streaming is causing a phenomenon that we thought was in recession: downloads are increasing

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The market fragmentationhe price increase of subscriptions and a user experience increasingly less friendly are the main factors pointing to an uptick in unauthorized downloads. Since Netflix began raising rates and banning shared accounts, customers have raised the threat of a return to downloading. Now, for the first time in years, the numbers seem to back them up. Temporary drop. The emergence of services streaming like Netflix devoured unauthorized downloads. With the promise of a wide and accessible catalog for a fixed rate, the platforms significantly reduced the consumption of movies and series outside of conventional channels. However, the utopia of that completely legal market subject to companies has faded. Recent reports show an uptick in access to this type of content, reversing the trend of the previous decade. The data. According to the Observatory of Piracy and Consumer Habits of Digital Content of 2024, digital piracy in Spain increased by 9% last year, reaching a record figure of 42,782 million euros in value of content defrauded through 7,330 million illegal accesses. In addition, the study indicates that for the first time access to platforms has been recorded through apps, social networks and decoders, growing the aggregate figure even more (an additional 14% compared to the previous year).​ Because? As we pointed out, this rebound is due to a series of circumstances that have changed the outlook for the streaming: Streaming is no longer convenient. Although perhaps the main reason for the public’s disenchantment with the streaming is that the supply is increasingly dispersed– To access all relevant content, the user must subscribe to multiple services. The exclusivity strategy that studios use to attract and retain subscribers has broken that ideal convenience of accessing content legally thanks to the streaming. To watch a series with multiple seasons, the user may need to subscribe to different platforms or wait months for the service to change. This dynamic clashes head-on with the immediacy that consumers expect from digital content. All of this is made worse by the licensing war: each studio wants its own titles on its platform exclusively, and leads to the need to subscribe to very specific platforms to access such popular franchises as Marvel, Star Wars or Stranger Things, for example. Technically poorer service. In addition to price and fragmentation, the service offered by some platforms has also worsened, further eroding user loyalty. Many services They have reduced the bitrate in their transmissions to save costs, leading to worse image quality. This loss of quality is often a trigger for users to search for an illegal version that offers a better viewing experience, which makes no theoretical sense: an unauthorized copy of a film often looks and sounds much better than the one available online. streaming. lUnauthorized downloads have evolved. But in addition, traditional downloads by torrent consumption on websites is now added streaming built outside of unofficial platforms, unauthorized IPTV services and the distribution of content through social networks like Telegram and WhatsApp. 96% of movie and series consumption in 2023 was done through streaming Unauthorized: you no longer have to download anything, which reduces the risks. It is a very tempting panorama. Gabe already said it. Specifically in 2011, Gabe Newell said that “Piracy is not a price problem, it is a service problem“. Faced with a legal market that is expensive, fragmented and inconvenient, users see unauthorized downloads as a kind of alternative “service” that offers all the content with better quality and for free. It can be said that it is a problem that the industry itself has partly created. In Xataka | Spaniards “torrenteros” around the world: when you go to live in Germany and discover that you can’t download anything

The most obsessively competitive gamers have found a trick to win their rivals: Give Electric Downloads

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Today video game developers are really strict in terms of cheating in their creations, with different systems Anti -che that They even affect kernel From our computer as is the case in ‘Valorant‘. But a new generation of Modders It is demonstrating that traps can be done without touching a single line of game code: with electrical discharges. If I can’t hack the game, I’m looking for alternatives. For some people, it is good for it is the same as Apply different tricks to games that they use daily to be able to cross walls, be immortal or have an automatic point when talking about Shooters. But this is something that leaves the rest of the players of a game. Having the player himself. Two Youtubers They have put the solution on the table to skip the barriers that are applied at the hardware level. One of them is ‘Basically Homeless’ that has led the concept of ‘player improvement’ to a new level. And instead of installing software that points for it in Counter-Strike 2, has created a system that electrocutes your arm to react at a superhuman speed. The mechanism is fascinating. An external software analyzes the screen in search of enemies. As soon as one detects one, it sends a signal to a Raspberry Piwhich in turn activates muscle stimulation diodes placed strategically in its forearm and hand. These little cramps force their muscles to get contracting, moving the mouse towards the target and clicking. Surprisingly, it is something that works. The results are very good. The own Youtuber He managed to reduce his reaction time of about 200 milliseconds approximately at only 100 milliseconds. According to its calculations, using an Ethernet cable connection instead of Wi -Fi to communicate the PC with the Raspberry Pi, it could lower this figure to 40 ms, a practically unbeatable speed for a human being. It does not consider it a trap. For this creator this is not something that threatens ethics when playing against other people. It is only a help, or as he calls it, ‘neuromuscular aim assistance’, since it is technically his own body who performs the action, although induced by a machine. Although it remains to be seen what large companies would say if this is popularized. Robotic carpets that point for you. In a similar line, the Modder Kamal Carter has presented another solution of hardware to dominate in Valorant. In his case, the protagonist is not his arm, but a robotic platform located under the mouse mat. And the system is similar. A screen reader identifies the enemy bots in the game’s shooting field in the first place. Next, a program that emulates the techniques of aimed at professional players sends instructions to the platform. This moves with a millimeter accuracy, displacing the mouse to achieve perfect shots. After adding a system that automates the click, Carter achieved almost perfect scores in practical mode. The most advanced anti-cheat systems are weak. “Made the law, made the trap,” says the saying. And in this case it is fulfilled. Large companies no longer know what to do to avoid tricks in their games, coming to ‘invade’ the kernel of our computer with maximum Windows privileges. Something that is designed to detect the use of unauthorized software. And there are many consequences that are being presented by cheating. Valve managed to block 40,000 cheats In ‘Dota 2’ or in ‘Deadlock’ They transformed into frogs to the most cheats to become aware that they should not do that. But also in Warzone they bet on Block the opening of the parachutes with the aim of crashing directly with the ground. But now these new tricks can be more difficult to detect and apply a punishment. In Xataka | Nintendo Switch 2: 17 tricks and tips to squeeze the portable console to the maximum

Their downloads have fallen 72% and a rival begins to take their place

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Who has followed the frantic race of the AI will remember the “moment Chatgpt” of Deepseek: That point where an almost unknown name jumps to the global debate. The Chinese chatbot sneaked into the conversations of Silicon Valley and there were those who presented it as The greatest threat that The American technological ecosystem had seen Asia out of generative. All this stir had reasons. Deepseek circulated with striking performance comparisons and with the promise, always attributed to the company itself, having reached those results with a fraction of the budget and the calculation power of its western competitors. About six months have passed since that peak of attention. Then we ask ourselves: at what point is now? The Deepseek phenomenon has begun to lose strength. As SCMP collectsa Questmobile report with National Business Daily reveals that its monthly discharges collapsed 72% in the second quarter, staying at 22.6 million on average. Just a few months ago, the thrust of its V3 and R1 models had made it the most disruptive alternative in the market. Although it continues to lead the Chinese ranking with 170 million monthly active users, that number has fallen 9% compared to the previous quarter. Bytedance has taken advantage of the situation with Doubaoits own chatbot, which already exceeds Deepseek in downloads (29.8 million per month) and grows strongly in active users, 30% more until reaching 130 million. Deepseek’s situation is not an isolated case. Other general chatbots are also losing traction, such as Yuanbao (Tencent) or Kimi (MoNshot AI), which have seen their downloads descend by more than 50%. Everything indicates that Chinese users are prioritizing applications of AI oriented to concrete tasks: office tools, study assistants or educational platforms. Productivity and study: where is the growth now. The interest of Chinese users is moving towards AI applications with direct utility in the day to day. Office tools such as IMA.Copilot (Tencent) and 360 Wenku (360 Security Technology) have grown strongly: +190% and +135% in active users in the last quarter. In education something similar happens. Kuaidui AI (Zuoyebang) and Doubao Aixue (Bytedance) have already sneaked among the six most used AI apps in the country. Doubao offers the possibility of having personalized avatars That migration is also seen in user flows. The report cites the case of the Baidu search app, which integrates Ernie Bot and Deepseek models: 59% of those who abandoned the Depseek app in May ended up using Ernie Bot the next month. An indication that users are looking for platforms with several combined services, not a closed experience. To this context is added another setback: the delay of the R2 model. Deepseek had planned to launch it in May as R1 relay, but it was postponed mainly because the CEO considered that the model was not yet ready, a circumstance aggravated by US restrictions. to the nvidia chips, According to Reuters and The Information. Now that H20 chips sales could be resumed soonDeepseek would have room to rearm your road map. Half a year later, the big issue. Deepseek passed from a global surprise to a reference that disturbed Silicon Valley. Today a more demanding market faces, in which the conversation is no longer enough: productivity, learning and integrated ecosystems mark the step. When R2 arrives (and if it arrives with the promised technical muscle), we will know if that “moment” was a flash or the beginning of a second life. Images | Xataka with chatgpt In Xataka | Nvidia is at the top because the blows are anticipated and fits them better than anyone. I just did it once again

How to accelerate Chrome downloads by activating the secret parallel download option

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Let’s tell you How to accelerate Chrome downloads activating the hidden option of parallel discharges. By default, Chrome makes a connection with the download server of the discharge to lower the file, but this option makes several connections, each lowering a part of the file, and then unites them once they are downloaded. In most cases, having several connections with the same server this can make The whole set is notably fasterespecially in the event that they are large files. To activate it you will need to access the Chrome flags and look for this option. Activate Chrome’s parallel downloads The first thing you have to do is open a new tab and write chrome: // flags In the address bar. When you do Enter and you will enter a special page. Within the Flags page, which are Chrome hidden and experimental options, Look for the option of PARALLEL Downloading. For that you can use the search engine you have above all. To the right of PARALLEL DOWNLADING And your description you have a picture. Click on him and Choose the option Enabled To activate it. Once you do, Chrome will tell you that you have to restart it to activate the function. Do it and that’s it. In Xataka Basics | Change Chrome for a European alternative: I follow and what you should take into account

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