Could they licence it? As in, would Apple give them a licence?
The main reason I have no interest in Airplay is that it requires iTunes, and none of my media 'workflow' involves it, not to mention it being a horrible piece of software.
It is true that PCs only have the one workflow: airplay audio out of iTunes. And iTunes is a raging piece of shit.
But it is basically a system service on iOS, which does not require iTunes. And with the next release of the Mac OS, display mirroring will be built in - how hard would it be to implement it in iTunes for windows and short-circuit Microsoft's Play-To and DNLA services?
Every platform vendor needs this device-spanning mortar now. And Google doesn't have it.
The main reason I have no interest in Airplay is that it requires iTunes, and none of my media 'workflow' involves it, not to mention it being a horrible piece of software.