As a license payer why should I have to use M$ rubbishware. Make the iplayer available to all operating systems!!

Paul C Brennan, Luton, England

Progress! huh

Lets spend even more time sat in front of the idiot box. Get of your backsides and DO something!

Mrs F, spalding, lincs

Yet again I'm disappointed with the BBC's anti-Mac and anti-opensource policy.

Firstly. the attitude of their IT/Technology programs is predominately Microsoft-centric. Probably down to laziness as much as anything. Secondly, the lockin on Windows Media Player/Realplayer to watch or list to broadcasts and now the Microsoft lockin with iPlayer.

Philip Lindsay, London, London

Ray, it's not free, just an additional service paid for by your licence fee. Makes up a little for all the services the BBC no longer provides but we still pay for, eg, most major sports.

Rob Williams, Sudbury, England

Rather sweet of the BBC. They appropriate a brand created and owned by Apple and then, according to this article, withhold their service to any Apple users. They're walking into the future backwards.

David Masu, Zürich,

It'll only be free until people get hooked. Then watch for the subscription fee.

Harry Lime, Lansing, MI

£130m sounds like a rediculous amount of money to spend developing a file shareing program. Chinese viewers round the world have had this sort of technology in the form of PP Live and similar programs for several years now. They should just have let independent programmers develop their own viewe and giv them access tothe library.

Also limiting the use to the UK is rediculous. With hundreds of thousands of brits living abroad why should they not also see the programs? Allowing foreigners access to British TV would do wonders to increase the understanding of the UK and our values around the world.

Wade, London, UK

I don't understand all the restrictions - any of the programs can be recorded on VHS or DVD and watched whenever and for as long as anyone wants. Maybe they think the Internet will be slowed in the beginning just for the novelty value.

Really all broadcasters should be preparing for unrestricted downloads of all their programming.

Alan Chesterman, BOURNEMOUTH, UK

Treating viewers are genuine consumers at last - but how will they ensure only licence-fee payers can download or not copy programmes?

John, Manchester,

Great - but only if you're in the UK.

I'm sure that most Britons abroad would list the BBC as one of the
things they miss the most.

As an expat, I'd be more than willing to pay a subscription charge to be able to download programmes.

Eleanor, Sèvres, France

I've been using the i-Player archive service since the 21st June, this has programmes going back to the 1940s, it's a trial service, you had to register for the trial a couple of months back, but so far it's been very good.

C Parkes, West Midlands,

Not sure that I can afford £130 million for an I-player (para 1 above) !

Danel Murphy, Dorchester,

That's nice. I am restricted by my ISP as to how much bandwidth I can have during every evening, so tend to download a lot during the night. This is now going to be curtailed by the BBC using all the bandwidth at night time. This system may be great for those in cities, where 8Mbit+ downlaod speeds are achievable. It's not much good in rural areas where 2Mbits is a dream.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

The BBC is using the compulsory BBC tax money to pay Microsoft a license for the media player video CODEC and instantly locking out 10% of BBC viewers who use the superior Apple Mac or Linux systems. Typical BBC.

There is a free video CODEC which everyone could use, why is this not being used? Maybe something to do with the free day long coverage the BBC gave to Microsoft Vista earlier this year.

Michael, Dover,

I hope that the BBC does not take to long in making the service compatible with Apple computers.

We Mac users pay our licence fee too!

Jordan , York, UK

I can well do without Dr Who and the Apprentice but what about archived documentary programmes going back to the days of black-and-white television, and the excellent dramas that used to be broadcast [Dickens etc]? Any chance we we will we be able to see them again?

John Tetlow, Coulsdon, UK

"The £130 million iPlayer "?
Sounds great, but I don't think I can afford one.

Paul, Singapore,

This is all brilliant news, let's just hope it works. I can't understand why it is free though, that's going to put others out of business without bringing in much needed revenue to the BBC!

Ray, Newcastle, UK

dont mind that crap big brother on channel four the programes on the bbc like trawlermen are excellent real life viewing i loved every minute of it ou showed us how hard there work is on the rough seas fair play to the camera crew they done great work filiming the fishermens hard life bring back trawlermen soon its badly missed.

noel mc gealy, dublin, ireland

great news

RiCH, UK,