BBC 'Windows users only' petition

[ice60]

here's a petition for people who disagree with the windows format being used for their iPlayer. i don't know anything about it, but i think only windows users will be able to use the bbc iPlayer.
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/iplayer/

if you live in the uk and have a tv you have to pay the bbc for a license even if you don't use their services!

[samschoice]

Government run media makes me cringe.

[lingnoi]

Good its only funded by the government and not run by them then isn't it.

[Footissimo]

BBC isn't government-run

I've signed - BBC should be the first to support other operating systems.

[Cyfr]

Signed.

[tmatt95]

I have fired a signature onto the website and will also be writing to "Click" to express my opinion (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/default.stm)

Matt

[diesel1]

I have fired a signature onto the website and will also be writing to "Click" to express my opinion (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/default.stm)

Matt

'Click Online' seem to be one of the worst offenders for plugging Microsoft and ignoring the rest.

Join the campaign....

http://www.freethebbc.info/

Diesel1.

[bobbocanfly]

Signed the petition at the Government site and at FreeTheBBC. Also submitting formal complaints to the BBC about this.

[ice60]

Good its only funded by the government and not run by them then isn't it.

100% correct, we are all members of the government in the uk, now i'd love to stay and talk about this but i have to get to a vote in the house of commons lol

[samschoice]

Funded by the government makes me cringe, because the burden is on the people. :( I suppose the BBC is a form of Bread and Circuses for the British.

[DrMega]

Good its only funded by the government and not run by them then isn't it.

Unfortunately its the exact opposite. It is funding by the people, and "influenced" by the government.

[ice60]

the bbc is almost completely funded by the license fee and isn't state run or anything like that. i was joking when i said i was going to vote at the house of commons.:rolleyes:

i thought that was clear in post#1

[curuxz]

I have already filled a formal complaint, i hate the bbc and havong to pay for its racist anti-whote anti-british bias reporting

[DoctorMO]

its racist anti-whote anti-british bias reporting

I'll expect you to state your evidence for that slander or deem you to have problems with bias yourself.

[DrMega]

I have already filled a formal complaint, i hate the bbc and havong to pay for its racist anti-whote anti-british bias reporting

I, like many, am currently a bit annoyed at the BBC, but generally think they're quite good. Certainly a lot less biased than many media agencies. I'd be very interested to learn why you believe them to be racist or anti British?

I'm not having a go or anything, I'm just intrigued because maybe I'm missing something here.

[Rudidudi]

'Click Online' seem to be one of the worst offenders for plugging Microsoft and ignoring the rest.

actually it was click that broadcast a couple of weeks ago that pimped ubuntu and got me back in the fold.
so its not all bad fortunately.

[ice60]

I'll expect you to state your evidence for that slander or deem you to have problems with bias yourself.
there are 1000s of articles about it. here's one link.
http://www.biased-bbc.blogspot.com/

just put the word biased in to google and see how many results are about the bbc!

[puppy]

The most constructive things to do (in fact the only ones that might have any effect, and I speak from personal knowledge here) is to write to a member, or members, of the BBC Trust, or to write to your MP if he or she is a member of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee in the House of Commons. Believe me, signing a petition on the No10 website, or emailing some school leaver at the BBC will achieve nowt.

I have done both of the things I suggest above, I singled out Diane Coyle and David Liddiment as they're probably the only members of the BBC Trust who have any idea what we're on about here :sad: Most of the Trust are sad old duffers who've probably never sat in front of a computer in their whole lives...

[DrEmpire]

the bbc will not only allow ppl to use its video service for windows users only,use it looks like windows users will get it 1st but thats understanderbvle as most use windows we all will get to use it and dont forget realplayer tho i hate it

[koshatnik]

BBC isn't government-run

*cough*

its about as close to being Government run as a media entity can be.

[curuxz]

I, like many, am currently a bit annoyed at the BBC, but generally think they're quite good. Certainly a lot less biased than many media agencies. I'd be very interested to learn why you believe them to be racist or anti British?

I'm not having a go or anything, I'm just intrigued because maybe I'm missing something here.

I believe them to be racist and bais for their moderation of the sites have your say section in which any comment about how racist and controling islam can be is filtered and yet many middle eastern people get away with disgusting comments towards white people. Factual complaints about their culture are ignored yet comments like "I have never seen a non-white pedofile" get through their moderation process. Btw on that particular one my compalint was upheld. Its disgusting. If your going to have bais it should be in the favour of the poeple that pay for the bbc not against them and personaly i think it should be free speach for anyone who pays a licence!

But back to the topic of the Iplayer i just got this, possibly a standard response Im unsure:

"Dear Mr Hughes

I understand you feel proposals on the BBC's TV catch-up online player are favouring a Microsoft application.

The BBC Trust recently published provisional conclusions regarding the BBC's proposals for these services. Please see pdf:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/assets/files/pdf/review_report_research/pvt_iplayer/iplayer_pvt_provisional_conclusions.pdf

Regarding the proposal to provide seven day TV catch-up over the internet - the Trust suggested the BBC Executive adopts a "platform agnostic" approach to rights management within a reasonable timeframe. To this end they recommend an alternative Digital Rights Management (DRM) framework to a Microsoft Windows solution be offered (one that will allow Apple and Linux users to access the Seven day TV catch-up over the internet proposal) and advise that this should be made available within 24 months of launch.

Provisional conclusions by the Trust are subject to public consultation through the "Public Value Test" framework (a mechanism for weighing public value against market impact).

I hope this provides some reassurance to you that the BBC is committed to providing its media player to as many operating systems as possible while ensuring the best value for money from the Licence Fee. Please be assured your complaint was registered on our audience log and brought to the attention of senior BBC management.

Thank you again for contacting the BBC to make your views known.

Regards

Erika Graham
BBC Information"

[DrMega]

I believe them to be racist and bais for their moderation of the sites have your say section in which any comment about how racist and controling islam can be is filtered and yet many middle eastern people get away with disgusting comments towards white people.

Ok, I agree with your point. But I don't think this is just the BBC. We all have to be extremely careful about voicing our opinion (unless we are going to demand that someone be beheaded for suggesting that any certain groups are fundamentally violent), otherwise we are racist. It is not just the BBC that demands that we sit quiet while we see our flag being burnt on TV, in our own country.


. If your going to have bais it should be in the favour of the poeple that pay for the bbc not against them and personaly i think it should be free speach for anyone who pays a licence!

I agree here also, but free speech should be for everybody, as long as it is not malicious and hateful and untrue or unjustified. Also, I suspect that the TV license is paid by just about every demographic in the country.

[samschoice]

From what I understand you must pay this license fee to the BBC to get television?

I see only problems when a tv station operates outside of the free market. In a totally free market, the radical Muslims and radical British could both have their own stations, saying whatever they want (except for threats of violence), and never the twain shall meet. However, when large groups are coerced to pay for something, everyone wants something different, and none are satisfied.

[DrMega]

From what I understand you must pay this license fee to the BBC to get television?

I see only problems when a tv station operates outside of the free market. In a totally free market, the radical Muslims and radical British could both have their own stations, saying whatever they want (except for threats of violence), and never the twain shall meet. However, when large groups are coerced to pay for something, everyone wants something different, and none are satisfied.

You have to pay the TV licence if you own any equipment that is capable of receiving the BBC's broadcasts. That means if you own a small, battery operated radio that can receive BBC Radio 3 that nobody even listens to, you have to pay the TV license. It's like a tax. Generally, it is a fairly good scheme, as it is largely unbiased and good quality. Its just from time to time, like all organisations, they step out of line slightly.

I don't agree with the idea of "radical" groups of any kind having their own TV stations though. Wouldn't it be better to try and understand each other, and integrate while at the same time maintaining our own beliefs and traditions, rather than having uneducated, misinformed and exaggerated opinions of each other?

[diesel1]

You have to pay the TV licence if you own any equipment that is capable of receiving the BBC's broadcasts. That means if you own a small, battery operated radio that can receive BBC Radio 3 that nobody even listens to, you have to pay the TV license. It's like a tax.

You do not need a TV licence to use BBC Radio, this is completely free to air.

Diesel1.

[forestpixie]

It used to be a licence to receive radio signals, which included TV, I think - anyway I signed as well.

[curuxz]

Its own report recently said its bais, and I think its extreamly racist to have Asian specific and Black Specific networks, since it not only offends white people who dont get their own "white radio" (unless your cynical and count radio 4 as being that) but also to the asian and black communitys for suggesting they are incapable of listening to the same radio as the rest of the populas.

In trying to be policaly correct and multiculutral they have become racist and out of touch. This combined with a very poorly defined IT policy wich favours the likes of MS (esp with the coverage of Vista's launch) makes the BBC a large orginisation that people arnt objecting too the licence fee on the grounds of cost but simply on grounds of its against the morals of the people that pay it.

I also think that me being made to pay for it when all I use my TV for is as a large screen for my computer is wrong. I only use the bbc website which the rest of the world gets for free!


There are so many reasons not to like the bbc :(

[wondering_jew]

Give me BBC news over Fox news any day.

In response to above- All universities (in the US) have african american studies, womens studies, latino studies and so on and so forth...you're not going to find any white studies but will see american studies...
Recognizing that certain things are going to be more culturally relevant to a distinct group of people isn't racist nor are any of the courses of study i mentioned above.
Personally I find BBC news to be a better source for world news than most others news sources and sites...i can't comment on any other bbc content. I would also tend to argue that a bias that challenges people is better than one that panders to them.

[bobbocanfly]

Submitted an official complaint 3 days ago and still havent got back to me. Bit slow for the BBC. Anything else i get a reply in a few hours. Still better than Edinburgh Council. 5 Months and counting for a reply asking why they shut down the only Rehearsal Studios in North Edinburgh worth going to, to build flats.

[curuxz]

Give me BBC news over Fox news any day.

In response to above- All universities (in the US) have african american studies, womens studies, latino studies and so on and so forth...you're not going to find any white studies but will see american studies...
Recognizing that certain things are going to be more culturally relevant to a distinct group of people isn't racist nor are any of the courses of study i mentioned above.
Personally I find BBC news to be a better source for world news than most others news sources and sites...i can't comment on any other bbc content. I would also tend to argue that a bias that challenges people is better than one that panders to them.

That may be so but the problem is in the UK if a black man does not get a job he has legal recourse if he suspects it was to do with his face (fair enough) but if a white man does not get a job because they have a 'quota' to fill he NO legal protection because the presedent simply will not support his case as there being racism.

Briton has some major major problems at the moment with imigration and in particular intergration, the bbc being our media flag ship and considering the power of the media should be leading the way in helping intergration and supporting British culutre instead they galavant around like a tabloid paper attacking anyone who is pro-british, encoraging articles on the disalution of the union and helping 'cultural preservation' of ethnic minorities. If I move to an african or middle eastern countries they dont bend over backwards to protect my culture in fact quite the opposite their media is against it and I and my family (esp my girl friend being a woman) would be expected in public to strictly adear to their way of life.

However if we expect the same of them we are acused of racism, my complaint is nothing to do with race its to do with culture and certain groups attempt to subvert the British way of life under the flag of 'religion' as a technocrat I believe in science, technology and equality but the BBC every night sits there mocking me by taking my hard earned money to crap on all that my anncestors died to protect.

The media of Briton are corupt, but we pay for the BBC its OURS and its bais and lack of quality is disgusting.

I dont mean to sound like a rant but I dont just oppose the BBC on this DRM issue which is just another in a long line of screw ups by them but I opose the whole media and its continued drive to make us into some multicultural experiment where we are told to consume consume consume and asume the culture of others we are slowly paying to be brainwashed and mark my words orginistations like the BBC and govenment that supports it are going to cause a civil war they are fed up of this island!


I should not feel so depressed about something I pay for! Sorry to rant :(

[dougleduck]

Forgive my ignorance but can´t someone in the community circumvent this problem?

Is there some reason this can be made to work on wine? There obviously is some problem but I´m just interested.

[BigSilly]

I dunno but thanks for raising this.

/signed

Many thanks. :)

[Paqman]

Forgive my ignorance but can´t someone in the community circumvent this problem?

Is there some reason this can be made to work on wine? There obviously is some problem but I´m just interested.

It's not the technical issues that have people's knickers in a twist. The BBC operates according to a royal charter, which requires it to provide high quality information and education to the entire nation. It's a legal document. By restricting some of it's broadcasting to certain platform's it's not fulfilling it's charter obligations.

Personally, I think it's a disappointing move. The BBC is usually pretty savvy when it comes to exploiting trends in new media. They were internet pioneers in the early days of widespread internet adoption. Clearly there's a lack of understanding of open source and free software issues at the decision making level of their online media branch. Web-based aps are the way forward for this kind of thing, IMO.

They're reporting this spat quite closely themselves, so hopefully it'll be an education for them.

[eiffel]

Seems like the petition is taking off - http://www.dvd-recordable.org/Article3426.phtml

[dougleduck]

I'm aware of why people are up in arms about this, and I agree. Though I don't neccessarily agree that they should simultaneously release this software on all platforms. They can't be expected to develop for every single OS there is; though this makes the arguement for not using software to give access to their content stronger obviosuly.

If the community developed a way around it would at least send a strong message that 'we' take things into our own hands if not provided for.

Perhaps if someone does develope a way around it its a good thing that they didn't release for linux straight away. At least this way companies may continue to inspire innovation in our community. If everything was easily accessible on linux but not 'free' then wouldn't this only damage the community?

[supergrapeman]

Thanks for point this out - I've signed.

[newbie2]

Seems like the petition is taking off - http://www.dvd-recordable.org/Article3426.phtml

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/02/fsf_bbc_protest/

[Obor]

Well, it looks like they've listened.

In the case of the iPlayer, following the consultation, the Trust noted the strong public demand for the service to be available on a variety of operating systems. The BBC Trust made it a condition of approval for the BBC's on-demand services that the iPlayer is available to users of a range of operating systems, and has given a commitment that it will ensure that the BBC meets this demand as soon as possible. They will measure the BBC's progress on this every six months and publish the findings.
Full response to the petition here. (http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page13090.asp)

[bobbocanfly]

Bit skeptical over that response. Not got a real date for anything happening plus progress reports are every 6 months, plus taking into account the 3 years of delays to get the public-beta going, i dont think we will be seeing it for a long time.

[Beamerboy]

The worst thing about the government's official response is that it is just a regurgitation of what the BBC Trust stated several months ago. They clearly haven't paid any serious interest to the petition or the letter writing campaign I started several months ago.

Paladine