What happens next with the GUI API/Python API ?

[Severus]

hi there,

I would like to know how it goes with the GUI programming of the Boxee in the future.
If the GUI API/Python API interface is developed/fixed/ in the future or will there just HTML only?
How do you think?

Severus

[mofle]

Before the summer I chatted with one of the Boxee staff about the Python API, and how it has stagnated and contains a lot of bugs. He (can't remember his name) told me that the Python part of Boxee is basically deprecated, and will not get any further love, and that HTML5 is the future for Boxee.

The problem is that the Boxee web browser is shit. It's really slow, unintuitive, and it doesn't really expose enough to JS to be usable for big apps.

[viljoviitanen]

Before the summer I chatted with one of the Boxee staff about the Python API, and how it has stagnated and contains a lot of bugs. He (can't remember his name) told me that the Python part of Boxee is basically deprecated, and will not get any further love, and that HTML5 is the future for Boxee.

This is SO bad First they abandon the win/mac/linux version, then I hear this.

Can anyone with personal contacts inside boxee try to get a confirmation?

[bartsidee]

Well I can understand it in a way. Almost all major connected tv patforms are html based and this makes an easy port to the boxee box. Known to both platforms I can honestly say that working an native app is much much more convenient. Coding and performance wise. We are actually creating a javascript platform that represents somewhat the best between boxee and xbmc coding style The skinning engine of boxee/xbmc cuts so much in dev time, if you compare the two I think save 4x to 5x the total dev time.

[darcilicious]

This is SO bad First they abandon the win/mac/linux version, then I hear this.

Can anyone with personal contacts inside boxee try to get a confirmation?

Try contacting http://twitter.com/#!/shawnrieger

[bartsidee]

This is SO bad First they abandon the win/mac/linux version, then I hear this.

Can anyone with personal contacts inside boxee try to get a confirmation?

I actually also do not understand completely the decision making behind the drop of the platform versions. I think they want to compete with the big tv platforms, but instead I they should actually target the users in between the xbmc and average tv user. These are the basic skilled users who know to connect a NAS.

By dropping the pc version and (maybe) native apps they are really targeting the regular (non tech) users and big content providers. But I think the power of the boxee platform is/was that it is easy learning. Not that technical as using xbmc, but providing much more then other media players and or connected platforms. This is where boxee is/was making a difference.

A regular user just buys his tv and uses the connected platform already preinstalled. There is no use in competing against, samsung, sony lg etc who are pumping millions and millions of dollars in the connected tv thing (provided free with your tv). Just notice how much has changed in tv-land the last year and compare it to the progress boxee has made in comparison to for example samsung smarthub and or xbmc.

The platform versions are I think an essential part of the community and this is what makes boxee strong. I understand they have to make some money, but there are other ways this can be accomplished. Think of ref shares from paid apps etc (like the IOS apps store)

Last but not least I think a lot of devs are actually developing their apps on a windows/osx pc. It is really a no go to fully develop an app on the box other then basic/QA testing....

I really hope someone in the team will have a good strategy for the future, because if it they will continue this way I think boxee will be a lost platform (I really hate to say this but it is true)