Why Only Mac Users Can Watch Apple's Event Tomorrow

You can watch a live stream of Apple's fall event tomorrow, the company has announced - but only if you're using an Apple device.

Apple will broadcast the event using its internally-developed HTTP Live Streaming Protocol, which requires either a Mac running Safari on Mac OS X version 10.6, an iPhone or iPod touch running iOS 3.0 or higher or an iPad. It's not because Apple only wants its fans watching, however.

"QuickTime X, a major leap forward that advances modern media and Internet standards"
-Apple

The HTTP live streaming protocol is a feature of the latest version of Apple's multimedia player and framework, QuickTime X. The new protocol lets users stream audio and video over HTTP. This makes things easier for broadcasters, who can use a standard Web server instead of a special media server to stream in almost-real time. Apple claims the protocol also avoids common problems with other streaming protocols.

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