Linux, the BBC and Your Rights
,----[ Quote ]
| Imagine a world where you were told how to think, feel, and act. You were
| told what to buy...told what not to buy. Having trouble imagining these
| things? Maybe I can help. Check out a short story I wrote on the subject of
| Digital Rights Management (DRM).
|
| [...]
|
| The ultimate reason they’re wrong is that they’re a provider of a
| service...television. Essentially, they’re telling their users what brand of
| television they need to hook up in order to watch their content. They’re
| reaching their hands into the homes of 17.1 million users and demanding they
| use a certain type of operating system or they cannot use the content when it
| is simple to provide for everyone using open formats and cross platform,
| cross operating system tools and programs.
`----
http://linux-blog.org/index.php?/archives/233-Linux,-the-BBC-and-Your-Rights.html#extended
BBC: everyone should use a "Red TV". "Red Industries" is the
government-approved makers of television and all profits go to the government.
No "Red TV", no entertainment. Who needs choice and competition?
Related:
Becky Hogge, Open Rights Group, on the BBC, iPlayer and DRM, interviewed by
Sean Daly
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| The first was that the use of Microsoft-only DRM was not a good way for the
| BBC to go. Now, we've worked since with the Open Source Consortium, and
| they're very concerned about this issue of platform neutrality and of market
| distortion, because with the BBC only using Microsoft DRM and only making its
| services available to Microsoft, there is the potential for market distortion
| there. And we always make the analogy that if the BBC developed a great new
| soap opera, but only let me watch it on a *Sony* TV, the public would be up
| in arms.
`----
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,2214178,00.asp?kc=EWRSS03119TX1K0000594
Apple Users Petition Prime Minister
,----[ Quote ]
| UK Apple users are petitioning the Prime Minister Tony Blair over the
| BBC's decision to make streaming media available to Windows users
| only. The BBC plans to launch an on-demand tv service which uses
| software that will only be available to Windows users.
`----
http://www.digmo.co.uk/misc/apple-users-petition-prime-minister/
Save the BBC from Windows DRM!
,----[ Quote ]
| Clearly, shutting out 25% of your audience sits ill with the BBC's
| remit of serving all of its users...
|
| There is no denying that this is an extremely difficult area for
| the BBC, since it must negotiate not one but three minefields -
| those of technology standards, copyright and contract law. But
| there are still things that it could do without turning into a
| global advertisement for Microsoft's flawed DRM approach.
`----
http://www.linuxjournal.com/node/1000183
BBC admits massive underestimate of Linux users
,----[ Quote ]
| The BBC has backtracked on claims that it has only hundreds of Linux users
| accessing its website.
`----
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/135591/bbc-admits-massive-underestimate-of-linux-users.html
Open Letter to Ashley Highfield
,----[ Quote
| To be honest, Ashley, whilst the BBC, a state-funded institution which is
| supposed to be commercially independent, remains so firmly "in bed" with
| Microsoft, we have our doubts whether what you say is anything other than
| smoke and mirrors, FUD and Microsoft-sourced propaganda.
`----
vhttp://www.opensourceconsortium.org/content/view/77/55/
OSC Analysis: responding to BBC arguments
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| 'It's not exclusively Microsoft'
| The streaming 'version' of iPlayer is not the iPlayer, and the BBC Trust have
| made clear that it does not meet the terms under which your proposal was
| approved. The full iPlayer download software (which is the whole rationale of
| the iPlayer) requires Microsoft DRM and requires a Microsoft operating system
| (currently XP but soon to include Vista) and requires software components
| written to the Microsoft operating system and technology stack. It is
| exclusively Microsoft.
`----
http://www.opensourceconsortium.org/content/view/78/55/
BBC loses 97200 Linux users
,----[ Quote ]
| "We have 17.1 million users of bbc.co.uk in the UK and, as far as our server
| logs can make out, 5 per cent of those [use Macs] and around 400 to 600 are
| Linux users" Highfield is quoted as saying.
`----
http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry1781.html
Confused BBC tech chief: Only 600 Linux users visit our website
,----[ Quote
| Ooops. Highfield goes on to say that these users should be seen in the
| context of the vast majority, who run Windows.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/02/highfield_bbc_linux_website_users_bafflement/
BBC on the iPlayer
,----[ Quote ]
| An interesting podcast with Ashley Highfield, Director Future Media &
| Technology....Clearly there’s a vast amount of money to be made by
| selling “DRM” solutions to gullible old media companies. It is sad that the
| BBC, who don’t even have to protect their profits, do not have the collective
| brains to see through this scam. Perhaps there is light at the end of the
| tunnel? -- "Where do we go from here? … The solution then is to say either we
| look at a future beyond DRM or we’re going to find it very hard to put our
| content onto open source solutions."
|
| But he is just teasing - they don’t actually look at this future, so I guess
| their choice is to not put their content onto open source solutions!
|
| [...]
|
| I think he needs to add Parliament to his list of people to work better with,
| after the recent lunacy from Lord Triesman
`----
http://www.links.org/?p=269
Interview with Mark Taylor, Pres. of UK Open Source Consortium, by Sean Daly
,----[ Quote ]
| Q: Now, when you say a smoking gun, what exactly do you mean?
|
| Mark Taylor: Well, the -- (laughter) -- the thing is, the iPlayer is not what
| it claimed to be, it is built top-to-bottom on a Microsoft-only stack, the
| BBC management team who are responsible for the iPlayer are a checklist of
| senior employees from Microsoft who were involved with Windows Media. A
| gentleman called Erik Huggers who's responsible for the iPlayer project in
| the BBC, his immediately previous job was director at Microsoft for Europe,
| Middle East & Africa responsible for Windows Media. He presided over the
| division of Windows Media when it was the subject of the European
| Commission's antitrust case. He was the senior director responsible. He's now
| shown up responsible for the iPlayer project.
`----
http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20071021231933899
BBC Corrupted
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| Today the BBC made it official -- they have been corrupted by Microsoft. With
| today's launch of the iPlayer, the BBC Trust has failed in its most basic of
| duties and handed over to Microsoft sole control of the on-line distribution
| of BBC programming. From today, you will need to own a Microsoft operating
| system to view BBC programming on the web. This is akin to saying you must
| own a Sony TV set to watch BBC TV. And you must accept the Digital
| Restrictions Management (DRM) that the iPlayer imposes. You simply cannot be
| allowed to be in control of your computer according to the BBC.
`----
http://defectivebydesign.org/blog/BBCcorrupted
Ubuntu Linux maker joins OSC over iPlayer campaign
,----[ Quote ]
| As the Internet becomes part of everyone's lives - we will all go online
| using more types of device. Locking access to BBC iPlayer content to phones
| and internet tablets running Windows(tm) is shortsighted and bad for
| fee-payers. Platform neutral means that we need
| a solution that supports Linux and Apple's OSX."
|
| We fully support the OSC's vital campaign that the iPlayer support Linux and
| trust that the BBC sees why this is in the interest of feepayers."
`----
http://www.sourcewire.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=33204&hilite=
What tricks is the BBC up to with Microsoft?
,----[ Quote ]
| The twin elephants in the meeting room will be Microsoft's Silverlight and
| PlayReady.
`----
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/16/silverlight_iplayer_playready/
|
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