So, VLC. You probably know it; right? Like, the thing you fire up when you need to watch something that isn’t Netflix or YouTube. It’s been around forever; feels like it’s always been there. Turns out, it’s a big deal. Like, 6 billion downloads big. Seriously. That’s… a lot of people watching questionable videos.
It all started way back in ’96; some students at a school in Paris were trying to stream videos around campus. Pretty simple goal, really. They built this thing; called it VideoLAN, and VLC came out of that. It was just a student project; now it’s this global phenomenon.
And get this; they’re adding AI subtitles. Yeah, you heard me. AI. It’s wild. Basically, it can generate subtitles in real-time. And not just in English; it can translate them too. The cool part? It all happens on your computer. No sending your video to some random server in the cloud; it’s all local. They showed it off at CES recently; looked pretty slick. No word on when it’ll actually be available, though. Just… keep an eye out.
What’s really interesting is how they’ve managed to keep it going. Most open-source projects; they’re begging for donations; right? Like, “Please, buy us a server!” VideoLAN? Not so much. They’ve somehow figured out how to stay free and ad-free without relying on that. No ads; no tracking your data; no selling your soul to the highest bidder. It’s just… there. Doing its thing.
Jean-Baptiste Kempf; the president of VideoLAN; he said something pretty interesting on LinkedIn. He pointed out that even with all the streaming services out there; the number of people actually using VLC is still growing. Which is kind of amazing, isn’t it? People still want a reliable, no-nonsense media player. They want something that just works.
It’s a weird little success story; honestly. A student project that became a global staple; funded by… well, nothing really. And now; they’re adding AI. It’s like; what’s next? Holographic video playback? I wouldn’t put it past them.
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