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My first thought was "yuck, no thanks, the BBC has done just fine up to now thanks", but if it invoves technology transfer that the BBC wouldn't otherwise be able to get then it is possibly a good thing. The one thing I wouldn't want to see is MS profiting from innovation paid for by UK licence-fee payers, but since MS is a profit-making company they will always be looking to gain revenues from whatever they do.

My concern with this is more about increased Microsoft lock-in, driven by BBC services that use Microsoft technology, where they could otherwise have used more open technology. As a Brit and a licence-fee payer, I've already paid for this stuff to be made once; I realise that it's an important part of the BBC's budget that people in other countries to have to pay towards it too, but I certainly don't want people having to pay Microsoft in order to enjoy content I've already paid for them to have.

Peter