Canvas Complaint #5 Comes From Open-Source Software Fans

Earlier letters from Virgin Media (NSDQ: VMED), IP Vision, Six TV and United For Local Television have prompted another submission to Ofcom.

This time, it’s The Open Source Consortium (OSC), a group calling itself “the UK trade body comprising SME organisations that provide services and support based on open standards”.

The OSC is a small body, with 23 members from small development and consultancy firms, and it’s objection is largely philosophical – that Canvas isn’t “open” in the same way Unix and Linux lovers regard “open”.

In truth, few devices out there are actually “open”. Canvas may run on Linux under the bonnet, but few consumers would expect the ability to tinker with this software in the same way Unix lovers might.

But the OSC does hit on a key issue about how standards inform the future of technology hardware…