VLC is open and free. So that’s why Apple hates it? In the US, most of us have Flash or VLC alternatives that are not open-source installed on our machines. This isn’t true world-wide. The advantages of VLC are magnified in areas where connections are slow or sporadic, where people don’t have money to buy commercial software like Flash, or where they can’t afford huge memory on computers. Apple pulled VLC from the iDevice stores recently, and we may never know exactly why. The VLC developer thinks that the GPL is at the heart of the dispute.

But I am inclined to believe what Eben Mogel, from the Software Freedom Law Center, foretold me 2 months ago: Apple would remove VLC simply because it cannot stand software distributed under the GPL on its stores. But, it is Apple’s choice and business decision, therefore Apple would have no reasons to expedite the process. It could also be that they do specifically not fancy VLC on their platforms. That would account for the removal from the Mac Store a long time ago.

I know this would be disappointing to the many Apple fanboys who have insulted or slandered me on the web or over email in the last few days. But I might not be the (anti-)hero people made me.

via Planet VideoLAN.

Related articles

• As VLC for iPhone, iPad Pulled from App Store, What’s the Future for GPL Apps? (readwriteweb.com)
• Apple’s Case Against the GPL Culminates in Another Ban (techrights.org)

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