Filed under: Internet Tools
Tubular finally makes it to public beta
For a fair while, the future of Tubular -- a YouTube-downloading, converting and playback app -- has been in doubt. After a pre-order way back in 2006 to get in on the private beta, the application (and pre-purchasers) haven't really been given the love that they deserve, with the developer seemingly disappearing for swathes of time, giving less than intermittent updates on the Tubular blog.
Today, however, pre-purchasers received an email that a public beta has finally arrived, and that the application will indeed continue to move forward. The developer has committed to fully updating users on the progress of their purchase, and has held up his hands and apologised for the lacking development that pre-purchasers experienced over the last 15 months or so.
While we're pleased to hear that Tubular is still alive (and that customers are going to get the wares they've paid for) we can't help but feel that right now it's entering a particularly busy and well-represented market. With apps such as the long-established TubeSock ($15), CosmoPod and new (free) hard-hitter Tooble leading the pack, Tubular may be alive -- but it looks as though it'll have a struggle ahead of it.
Thanks to all those that sent this in!
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Alan said 3:43PM on 2-04-2008
Let us not forget the excellent donationware TubeTV: http://www.chimoosoft.com/products/tubetv/
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Mark S said 4:26PM on 2-04-2008
I've totally given up on this piece of garbage. I got in on the private beta through MacZOT and it never really worked.
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stainboy said 4:27PM on 2-04-2008
one of the pre-purchasers. after long waits with not much progress from the developer, i wrote it off and picked up CosmoPod, which i'm pretty happy with.
however, it's nice to hear that Tubular is still alive. i think Steve S. is going to have to incorporate some compelling new features to keep people interested in the app and compete with the alternatives that have cropped up in the past year.
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hestermofet said 4:39PM on 2-04-2008
I don't understand prepurchasing. Why would you give the developer an interest-free loan?
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TJ said 6:57PM on 2-04-2008
Pre-purchasing has some benefit\s like cheaper price.
Rob Jones said 6:20PM on 2-04-2008
I use Videobox from TastyApps.com, it's my favorite right now.
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artifex said 7:16PM on 2-04-2008
You can get small scripts for GreaseMonkey (Firefox plugin) that let you download YouTube vids as FLVs, which are playable by VLC, etc. What's the big deal?
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