Apple today released the following statement regarding RealNetworks “Harmony” technology:
“We are stunned that RealNetworks has adopted the tactics and ethics of a hacker to break into the iPod, and we are investigating the implications of their actions under the DMCA and other laws. We strongly caution Real and their customers that when we update our iPod software from time to time it is highly likely that Real’s Harmony technology will cease to work with current and future iPods.”
MacDailyNews Take: Go get ’em, Apple! To those who would scream about “choice,” you have the choice to buy a Dell DJ and use the Real Music Store as much as you wish. Enjoy your experience. We prefer to choose Apple’s iPod working with Apple’s iTunes Music Store and have found no other legal music service/player combo that even remotely compares to Apple’s solution.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Real cracks Apple’s Fairplay; to sell iPod-compatible songs without Apple’s authorization – July 25, 2004
RealPlayer Music Store announces iPod harmony – July 26, 2004
Test of Real’s new Harmony Technology works with Apple’s iPod – July 27, 2004
BusinessWeek writer: Apple needs to firmly squelch Real’s Harmony – July 27, 2004
even thurrott admitted the lawyers would be getting some work on this one… no one ever said this Harmony was a permanent fixture… well.. Okay.. Real said it would change the face on online music..
When one choice is beneficial and the other choice is not, then there really is no choice. The ability to choose becomes nothing more than an illusion. If we still insist on choosing something that is not in our best interests, then our decision making ability is based on ignorance and not freedom.
Apple was slow on this. Normally they attack in seconds now it was days..
Alvarez, are you referring to picking an iPod over a Dell DJ or something else?
MacDailyNews’ Take has no credibility as it is always blindly pro-Apple. From now onwards, please do not even bother commenting.
While I take Apples side on this one and believe that Real had no right to do what they did, I would eventually like to see Apple license the iPod to perhaps a few other select music stores. True, none of the others are even comparable to iTunes, but people like choice, and as long as they choose to put their music on an iPod, it is good for Apple.
However, I hope Sony gets a bunch of shit for releasing the Walkman WD2001-k-NDS-2-1000T and only letting it work with the Connect Music Store.
How is that any different than iPod and iTunes?
It’s worse, actually. Connect is absolute torture.
If you think the MDN folks are “blindly pro-Apple,” you haven’t read enough of their takes. Perhaps in this case they actually believe company 2 should not break into company 1’s tech because company 2 is flailing and without it, they’ll be out of business soon?
I agree with MDN’s take.
I love reading the MDN take!
Ed,
Yes, in part. A Dell DJ is one choice that we have the freedom to make. If the Dell DJ was never created, would that have limited our freedom of choice? Not really, most of us have not and probably will not ever purchase a Dell DJ. Our choice of purchasing an iPod was in no way influenced by the existence of other inferior products, so there really is no choice to make when there is only one good choice. In this respect, any other choices out there are merely illusory if we are not interested in choosing them anyway.
I feel this is the same philosophy when it comes to purchasing from iTunes or Real. From iTunes you get (what I consider) a comparable product at a comparable price as that of Real. The only main difference is ease of use and operability. Since I don’t feel there are any substantial benefits from using Real, I don’t really see much of a choice out there. Either iTunes or some inferior alternative. Some people want that choice to make to ensure themselves of their freedom of choice, but if there is only one good product out there, then the choices are nothing more than illusions.
Keefe…
Actually Sony’s Walkman is even worse than the iPod. The iPod plays multiple formats, where Sony’s “iPod Killer” only plays Sony’s proprietary format. That’s it. That sucks!
Oh and Mel…
If you don’t like the pro-Mac commentary on a pro-Mac website (Hint: read the name), then go find a different site.
er.. why lisence Fairplay? Apple has 70%+ marketshare in online music…
THey said when they started falling they woud consider different strategy..
This talk of ‘choice’ is overrated. No way am I willing to get give up my iTunes/iPod integration. I’ve got one application to handle all my music with numerous playlists.
The future of choice is to create a way for Apple to license FairPlay and iTunes – to allow other stores to plug-into iTunes. In this manner we might have 2-3 other stores listed in the menu and we choose. The key part is they would all integrated directly into iTunes and the iPod.
I think a firmware update is in order immediately! Go ahead and license your harmony product because it WON”T WORK! I wonder how many dumb companies like Real would actually buy a license for an illegal product? Real is sounding more like SCO who thinks that they own unix yet will never put up the proof to show it. I can’t believe a company would break the law and then try and openly make a product out of it. Then try and license it out to others to do the same? Apple should have a field day with this one. I agree with Mac daily go get’em Apple. iTunes has all the choice I need with a lot more freedom to use my music where and when I want too.
I agree with MDN’s take except for one thing, I just have a hard time believing that MDN has actually acquired and tried other combinations. I certainly haven’t, and I have no desire to. I’ve read the reviews, and I agree with king_alvarez, there really isn’t a choice because there is only one good product combination.
I also agree with iSteve, choice is WAY overrated. If people were actively pursuing choice, Bill Gates would have significantly less money.
Everyone forgets one vital point in this whole RealNetworks mess and that is: American Business Ethics. RealNetworks has stolen a companies product for their economic gain. What makes it even worse it that they did it after they were refused access to Apple’s technology in the first place. And they are trying to hide behind an “open source” defense when they don’t even offer a Mac version of the software. Most American companies don’t operate this way. iTunes is not a hard application to crack. Microsoft and others could have done it at anytime. What stopped them? Ethics. There are not only copyright issues at stake as well as potential lawsuits and theft of artists copyright laws but the issues of American Business Ethics. Would your company want to let it’s proprietary information be available to a company that operates such as RealNetworks has shown? The reason digital copyright laws seem to be so open (vague) at the time is so that companies aren’t scared away from innovation thru litigation. This case will help to further mold our current digital copyright laws. What people should be furious at is that as Apple says “RealNetworks” hacked their product. Is this the type of company you feel safe paying money to and supporting? Whether you do or not let them know in emails. Lots of email.
Apple has always been about “making the whole widget”. They want to insure that they can control the entire user experience. At times, this may make them look like elitists, and often this puts their products at a premium. But, no one can say that using an Apple product isn’t leading-edge and enjoyable.
The recent news from Motorola is proof that Apple is very willing to work with others with licensing. I am sure Motorola had to conform to some terms of quality and easy of use; to follow Apple’s guidelines. Others, such as Real were not so willing and as such were not able to enter into an agreement with Apple.
Their press statement was very accurate. Apple is always innovating, and there is a high probability that any “hacks” of their coding will soon become obsolete. The two day delay was to reassess their legal position. If Real didn’t use any code from FairPlay, but instead they made they own compatible code/software (i.e., and emulator) then Apple probably doesn’t have any easy course of action. They can probably sue under some more nebulous laws, but that would consume time and money. It is much easier for Apple to simply upgrade with quality and security, and make anything from Real obsolete. As a result, Real’s users will be very upset.
I fully agree with Apple that Real’s actions were nothing less than those of a high school hacker; a VERY desperate move by a very desperate (and bitter) company.
I escapes me how any company would take such a gamble that has such obvious pit falls.
What an arrogance from Apple, just stunning. After I made the switch 2 years ago, this is the first time I am deeply ashamed as an Apple-user in the way Apple tries to pursue a monopoly. Reverse enginering is a just means by which the stranglehold on the propriety-standards/monopoly can be broken. Apple is (should) probably applying it themselves with AD and MS-Exchange.
I am also deeply ashamed of the blind following of many Apple-users.
After the release of the 4G iPod, I was considering the purchase of an iPod, now they can forget it. Apple is spoiling a lot of goodwill.
STEVE/APPLE STOPT IT!!!! THINK DIFFERENT.
I have a question that has been bothering me: How many times have you heard, or have said yourself, that you want to be able to buy a song from the RealPlayer Music Store, or Napster, or Musicmatch, or OD2, or My Coke, or Wal*Mart BEFORE the incident with Harmony?
Since any of these stores have opened, I cannot recall ANYONE ever saying that they want to buy from a different store. Why complain now??
Hey Matthew24…
Are you really “Sputnik” in disguise, because boy are you bitter.
Sue ’em and take a settlement — $1 mill for legal expenses, lisence at 3-cents a track for the Apple DRM, and co-brand an iPod like HP — call it “rPod.”
But encrypt the DRM first before another one gets in.
Eeets be-sneeze, you know?
rep MacMan:
No I am not, but I am upset to see Apple aply the same stragegies for which I was disgusted with M$.
What is the set of songs available on Real’s site that are not available on ITMS? If =0, no point bitching about this hack, except if Real’s songs get massively cheaper. If >>>>>0, then Apple had better sign the missing groups/Media companies/… fast onboard the ITMS.
Matthew24,
Real cracked a DRM scheme and is now planning on licensing the crack to other companies and Apple is upset, justly so. How does this correspond to anything MS ever did? MS blatantly stole intellectual property when constructing their OS, copying Apple’s ideas, metaphors, etc. quite obviously, but they never cracked any sort of security in one of Apple’s products. Actually, the most equivalent thing I can think of is someone reverse-engineering the MS Office file format so they can open/save them (i.e., profiting from another company’s product), but even then they aren’t really cracking anything. If those files were encrypted or protected by a DRM of some sort, that’s something else altogether.
Matthew24…
I’ll tell you what…go spend millions of dollars of your own money creating a product as amazing as the iPod, and when someone else comes along a “hacks” into it and steals all of your time, effort, technology and money, then resells it to make a prophit…come back and tell me how “upset” you are. Because that is exactly what Real did.
Is our content safe at RealNetworks?
Mathew: It is real applying the same strategies as M$ (stealing) not Apple. Thankfully Steve is around now to defend Apple IP as it deserves to be defended.
Laws are their to be respected, not circumvented.
Also Mathew, dont forgt that it was M$ who stole Apple IP from Quicktime in order to make its windows media player. Not the other way around.
Matthew24,
No one is forcing you to buy into the iTMS, iPod platform. If you’re buying a game console you have to decide between XBOX, PS2, etc. . The same situation applies here. If you still want to blame someone, blame the music industry for not licensing iTunes as the standard music “operating system” and AAC Fairplay as the standard encoding scheme for purchased digital music. Anyway, that’s my take on the situation.
Honestly, if you don’t buy an iPod, I think it’s YOU who will be losing out, not Apple. They created a great product and a great store. You have all these copycats trying to mimic the experience as close as possible. Real tried, couldn’t do it, and now has resorted to this.
Have fun with your Dell DJ and enjoy all the iTunes lookalikes out there. I’m sure the experience will be great!
Right or wrong?
Intentionally breaking a lock on the front door of someone else’s house?
Designing a key that will fit the lock and selling it to others?
Designing a lock?
Designing a lock that is similar in function (it secures a front door) to others and compatible with the front door of most houses and selling it to home owners thereby competing with other lock vendors?
Designing a lock exactly like someone elses original design by copying it piece for piece and selling it to homeowners?
Look, Apple has a right to be angry. If real can make a deal with recording companies to sell MP3’s then there is no problem and Apple has no complaint. We bought the iPod with the understanding that it would play MP3’s and Apples Fairpaly stuff.
Our desire to use the iPod must conform to the terms under which it was purchased. Terms which I willing accept and terms that I think are more than fair. 99 cent songs with distribution limitations or songs ripped and burned from my old technology CD’s. That gives me access to 100% of the music market on legitimate terms. If I don’t want to be “gouged” by the recording studios and be forced to pay $15.00 to acqire one good song, then I can usually get that song for 99 cents. I can choose or I can forgo (or make the wrong choice and just steal).
Real’s option is to make a digital music player that can play the Real format and sell it. They can reverse Apple’s stategy sell the player at a loss and make a profit on the music. It is their option.
Real broke the lock to the front door of Apple’s store and is trying to move inside to set up shop.
Is this wrong? If you were Apple, how would you feel. As an iPod owner, should I cheer Real? Sure, I may have more options, more choices and that makes me feel good, but IS IT RIGHT? You decide.
Looks like Real will have to rename their product Discord, ehh?
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You know what I don’t get? If Real can magically turn Helix into Fairplay, the result is still Fairplay, right? With Fairplay’s rules and restrictions, not Helix’s.
If Harmony turns a Helix AAC into a Fairplay .m4p file, there’s really nothing to stop you from using a shareware utility to copy that .m4p into iTunes. Then you get 5 computers, 7 CD burns, all the good stuff.
Are Helix’s restrictions identical to Fairplay’s? And if not, does the RIAA understand just what they’ve allowed?
How about “Dissonance”?
Does anybody even care about Real anymore? They have been so cheesy and spyware-ish for so long that consumers could care less about them.
If they wanted to play on the iPod, they should have done it the right way, not by hacking into it.
Hang ’em high! Corporate cattle rustlers ain’t welcome ’round here!
Bizarro Jeff
play fair, Apple. Your beautiful iPod predated iTMS.
iTMS is your music store, iPod is your music player… they may be integrated to work well with each other, but you’re not afraid of competition, are you? Please tell us that all that talk of using open-source software wasn’t all hypocrasy on your part. Oh, say it isn’t so…
Oh Apple, your door was never locked… you always held the door open for MP3, AIFF, non-DRM AAC. Sony would have more of a leg to stand on… being that they ONLY allow ATRAC on their player. Don’t be Sony, Apple… and don’t be a M$.
Matthew,
You probably bought your Mac to enjoy the computer experience that it provides. That “experience” is there because Apple controls the whole environment and they are going to sick their lawyers on anyone who tries to screw with it.
Same with the iPod. The put the resources (time, money and a lot of very bright, innovative people) into developing a new experience for the music world. The response from consumers has shown that they have done a fantastic job. If anyone tries to screw with it they are going to sick their lawyers on them, big time.
Don’t want to buy an iPod? Fine, find another “music experience” you like better. Just don’t go wishing that people will screw the one we love.
P.S. Does anyone know if Harmony is decent software or a piece of crap that will infect your computer like a sexually transmitted disease?
I can’t figure out what the hell Real’s thinking is here. Rob Glaser is sounding more and more desperate. First they sue MS, now this. I sense an Enron-type scandal, but it’s like they’re begging to be punched down.
Apple’s handling it well so far. I think we’re all stunned, ‘cos it’s like throwing a drink in Mike Tyson’s face. What do you think’s going to happen?
ken… Apple still controls the experience, no different than when you buy 3rd party apps for OSX.
Unless you only buy software that Apple makes.
Apple controls the Hardware experience, and the software experience.
The only thing they don’t control is the DRM experience… wow, what an experience… DRM is such a thrill ride.
Hello Guys:
Why I bought a Mac:
-because of OSX gui/unix
-PPC hardware
-because of M$
-Apple’s support of open standard’s. ( I thought )
I think that it is OK for an OS to be propriety, but if it comes to communicating / file-formats I want open standards because this is the only means to prevent a monopoly. In this sense I do agree with atomic flower.
Apple does have the best MP3 player and the best music-store and I am not going for second best.( Although the 128kbit songs of the iTMS are not good enough for me ) Because of Apple’s standard they don’t need to be afraid of anybody (Real) anyway.
Like I said before: If I buy a Sony CD player would it be right for them to force me to buy only Sony-CD’s and miss out the CD’s of my favorite band?
I don’t believe that Real will ‘screw’ anything they only want to be able to sell songs for any MP3 player, this is the fair right of a producer and the fair right of the consumer in a free market. Real did some clever enginering only they were forced to by Apple. (They did approach Apple). Apple tries to lock users in, they don’t need to, and (non-Apple) people are not gonna like it.
If Apple wants to gain mindshare, this is the wrong way to go.
There are a lot of convincing arguments against what Matthew is saying, but I can’t help but think IF. If Apple hadn’t made the iPod or iTunes or were later to the game and someone else had the dominant position and we Mac users were being left out or ignored and Apple went and did the same thing Real is doing, how many of those saying what Real is doing is unfair or stealing would be justifying Apple doing the same thing. Granted this is a what if, and there’s no reason to believe Apple WOULD ever do such a thing, but I can’t help but think a lot of you would be saying “Go, Apple!”. “Screw them if they exclude us. Apple has every RIGHT to do that if they are going to (insert various justifications here)”.
If Real had a huge and better selection of songs then iTunes, offered higher bit-rates then 128, or was better in any other way, a lot of us might be glad that we have that choice while still using the superior iPod… If your argument is regardless of the quality of Real or iTunes then it has more legs to stand on.
What-if games are for the weak minded. If pigs had wings, they could fly. If shit were brains, you’d be a genius.
Things are what they are, because that’s the only way they can be. If they could be different, they would be different. Why do some people have such a problem with reality, and have to retreat into a fantasy world? BTW question mark, what are the Mysterians up to these days?