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iPlayer must offer download service
The BBC has been told that their planned iPlayer service must be made available for users of all computers. It follows an announcement from the BBC that a download service for Mac and Linux users was dependent on costs and not 100% definite.Reacting to this announcement a spokesman for the BBC Trust advised that the iPlayer service had only been approved on the condition of "platform neutrality", including a download service.
The BBC has stated that it "had not ruled out" a non-windows download system and that they are "committed to platform neutrality".
The BBC's director of Future Media and Technology Ashley Highfield said: "We need to get the streaming service up and look at the ratio of consumption between the services and then we need to look long and hard at whether we build a download service for Mac and Linux."
Platform neutrality has been an issue of contention for the duration of the iPlayer's development.
Open rights advocates complained that the service was only initially planned to be available to Windows users, however 16,000 people signed an e-petition that led people led to a government backing the BBC Trust's requirement for platform neutrality.
The problem with offering it for non Windows users is that there is no Digital Rights Management (DRM) software for Linux to protect the rights' holders content.
The Open Source Consortium was pleased that there appeared to be a move to solving the cross-platform DRM issues.
A spokesman for the Consortium said: "If it's a genuine move towards interoperability, consumer choice and open standards, then certainly we welcome it.
"If, however, it's a cynical ploy by the BBC's Future Media and Technology team to avoid being taken to the European Competition authorities for promoting Microsoft's abusive monopoly, then certainly we are against it."
The first six-monthly review of the progress of player is expected to be delivered by the BBC Trust soon.
Currently the windows system is being used by 250,000 people regularly are using the service regularly and they hope to have 500,000 users by April 2008.
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Published Date: 2007-10-17 10:30:54Subscribe to our RSS News feed:
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