AllCast Chromecast App Banned By Google

Last week, we told you about a little gem called AllCast (previously known as AirCast), which is a Chromecast app that bypassed the limited support for streaming service by allowing pretty much anything to be streamed to the HDMI dongle. However, the developer of the app has announced that Google has banished the app.

The developer behind the AllCast app is Koushik Dutta, who is also the developer behind the popular CyanogenMod Android ROM. Dutta said that "Google's latest Chromecast update intentionally breaks AllCast," but he didn't mention specifics as to why the search giant did it. Then again, it's pretty obvious.

Inevitably, Dutta is now wary of Google's plans for the Chromecast and "it confirms some of [Dutta's] suspicions that [he has] had about the Chromecast developer program." Essentially, Dutta thinks that the Chromecast "will probably not be indie developer friendly," with only approved and popular content providers getting the green light.

What is Dutta suggesting that consumers do? He strongly suggests that you hold off on buying a Chromecast "until we can see how Google chooses to move forward on third party applications," noting that Google doesn't seem to be playing nice with open-source software. Dutta suggests instead checking out "other (open) platforms and stacks that one could buy/support as well (LeapCast, NodeCast, etc)."

This is the second time that Google has blocked third-party apps from the Chromecast, which can only mean that Google doesn't want Chromecast to be an open platform — at least not yet. The device is still young, and Google may just be working out the kinks before officially opening the device up to third-party developers.