Good news, fellow subjects of the Crown! The BBC are going to be rolling out the pointless iPlayer service on Mac and Linux. Not on my box they aren't. I don't do DRM. No negotiation. No compromise.
But if downloading time limited, digitally encumbered chunks of television you've already paid for through the TV License, it's great news. The rest of us will find... ahem... other methods.
Adobe Flash is at least marginally closer to open, widely-available standards than the current, bitter-tasting cocktail of Windows Media.
But, of course, this is a big step into the Web 2.0 world. Good for the BBC. I'm sure we'll be see Mark Thompson getting shit-faced on tequila at one of Mike Arrington's pool parties soon! Keep checking the Flickr, folks.
I wonder, though, would "it's encrypted, DRMed iPlayer content" be a valid defence for a section 39 notice under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act? Worth a try. I mean, "I'm sorry, sir, but I cannot decrypt this file, because if I do, I will implicate myself in my EULA conditions with the British Broadcasting Corporation" could be a possible get out from letting PC Plod read your e-mails. This Web 2.0 thing might be okay after all.
