(Posted 1:00AM 26/12)
VLC Media player changed quite a lot when it reached version 1.0, but I never expected this! After watching a video last week in VLC I was met by something quite unexpected and amusing at the end. Instead of just displaying a traffic cone (the VLC logo) on a black background as it usually does at the end of a video, the following screen appeared:
Not only had the image on the screen changed, but the program icon too!
This raises the question of whether essential basic software should become “involved” in the celebrations of some cultures but not others? VLC has many applications in the business world, and this may be considered inappropriate in some sectors there too.
To answer my own question the writers of the program have every right to place the image there, however should provide a clear path to turning it off if they want the program to be taken as a serious competitor to commercial products.
Don’t get me wrong – it actually was really funny! (It is probably because this is a serious program that it was so funny)
***UPDATE***(26/12) – I’ve just made a quick search and found that this Easter Egg also appeared in 2008 with the traffic cone being a Santa hat. I stand corrected!