On Tue, 31 Oct 2017 09:04:50 +1300, Peter Reutemann wrote:
'"Kodi and the plugin system and the people who made these plugins have just dumbed down the process," says Dan Deeth, spokesperson for network-equipment company Sandvine.'
Sandvine ... Sandvine ... where have I heard that name before? Ah <https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/09/companies-that-sell-network-equipment-to-isps-dont-want-net-neutrality/>: Thirty-three companies that make equipment used by Internet service providers today called on the US to avoid regulating Internet service as a utility. IBM, Cisco, and Intel signed the letter to US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, along with ... Sandvine, and others. ... If ISPs create different levels of service for different applications, equipment makers could make more money. In 2007, Comcast was caught blocking peer-to-peer traffic using a product from Sandvine, which has long opposed net neutrality rules.
'And with a legal crackdown looming, the Kodi ecosystem's present may matter less than its uncertain future.'
In the UK there have been crackdowns on sales of these “fully-loaded” Kodi boxes <http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/847496/Kodi-TV-block-ban-illegal-stream-add-on-metakettle-block>, but it’s hard to see how you can legally shut down an open-source project--that would set a rather concerning precedent...