If format control was what Apple cared about, they wouldn't have approved the app in the first place. Really, they would have left it at that.

I doubt it had anything to do with format control, seeing as CineXPlayer was on the App Store well before VLC was and is still available: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id384098375?mt=8

Apple didn't ban the GPL from the App Store.

The GPL banned the GPL from the App Store.

It's a bit fatuous to assign blame to a license agreement. You can assign blame to people that choose license agreements. In this case, that's the VLC developers for choosing the GPL, and Apple for choosing the App Store restrictions. VLC was under the GPL long before the App Store existed. It's a bit silly to say that they chose this particular incompatibility. Apple when drafting their license terms probably did not even consider the GPL, but their choice of terms is, in actual fact, banning GPL licensed transactions from using the App Store.

Their rules are mutually incompatible.

Which changes nothing, as it still isn't a conscious act by Apple to explicitly ban the GPL.

The GPL banned itself from the App Store, plain and simple, yet everybody will still make it about big bad Apple censoring libre software from the App Store. You chose the GPL when you started your project, Apple didn't. If the license that YOU chose for YOUR software doesn't allow you to distribute YOUR software under Apple's EULA, that isn't Apple's fault.

There's also no financial incentive for them to modify their EULA to be more GPL-friendly. They're going to say, gee, those hundreds of thousands of apps on the App Store have succeeded with the EULA we have, why get into legal battles over two publicized apps? The publicity is negative for us, so why bother?

On the same basis the USA bans GPL software, you aren't allowed to export stuff to naughty countries if you are American. The GPL doesn't allow you to block Cuba so nobody in the US is legally allowed to use GPL.

This doesn't seem to led to IBM, Oracle etc stopping selling Linux. Apple put a line in it's\ EULA about only being able to use app store for non-commercial use, which is ridiculous businessmen do use iPhones and iPads

IMO Apple's removal of VLC has only to do with honoring a complaint issued by a copyright holder. Nothing more, nothing less.

> While MSFT is announcing more open source support.

Erm... They may support it in some instances.

OK you aren't about to see Balmer and Stallman together in a hot tub. But MSFT haven't banned GPLed software from their platform

> MSFT haven't banned GPLed software from their platform

Apple didn't ban GPLed software from their platforms. Apple has terms of service for their software distribution mechanism that conflicts with GPL'ed software. I agree the terms are restrictive and disrespectful towards the users, but I am not sure why are you implying that Microsoft is doing much better. Have you read any recent EUAL from them?

I'm guessing these terms are to protect against piracy. I don't think distributing apps via ad-hoc distribution (with the developer license) or through their enterprise program would have these restrictions.