James Delahunty
9 Sep 2007 19:58
The UK Government has responded to calls for the BBC's iPlayer software to be opened up to more operating systems than Microsoft's Windows XP. The Government responded to an online petition which gathered more than 16,000 signatures since it was set up in June. The BBC Trust has made it a condition of launching the iPlayer that it worked with other operating systems in response to the call.
The iPlayer allows UK users to download and watch TV content from the BBC after it airs. However, it only works with Windows XP and this upset many TV license payers in the UK. The BBC Trust has now promised that versions of the player for alternative platforms will be available "as soon as possible."
As for goals, there is expected to be a Mac version of the player this Autumn followed by versions for several mobile gadgets and for Windows Vista. The Open Source Consortium (OSC) has also criticized the closed nature of the iPlayer and has called for versions that work with Linux and has met with the BBC Trust to discuss its views.
Source:
BBC News