“RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser on Tuesday brushed off a recent rebuff from Apple Computer and called on Hollywood to keep new digital technologies open for all to use. Incompatible piracy prevention tools in new digital entertainment services such as Apple’s iTunes Music Store and its iPod portable music player threaten to turn off consumers, he said,” Stefanie Olsen reports for CNET News.
[MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s iTunes Music Store has “turned off consumers” to the iTune of an annual run rate of 130 million songs per year. (source)]
“‘It’s kind of a Soviet model,’ said Glaser, referring to Apple’s closed environment in a remark that drew laugher from the audience at the annual National Association of Broadcasters conference here. ‘Taking secure music off the PC is a morass of incompatibility. This is not going to fly in the mainstream market,'” Olsen reports.
[MacDailyNews Note: Apple’s iTunes Music Store has “not flown in the mainstream market” to the iTune of 2.5 million songs sold per week as of March 15, 2004. (source)]
“RealNetworks has sought to position itself as a technology neutral Switzerland amid an array of competing and incompatible formats from Apple, Microsoft and others. RealNetworks’ Helix multimedia software supports all major formats, but it hasn’t won much support for its own technology among device makers,” Olsen reports.
[MacDailyNews Note: Helix, Schmelix. How do you spell failure? H-E-L-I-X.]
Olsen reports, “The company had approached Apple CEO Steve Jobs with a proposal to create a technical alliance that would allow customers of RealNetworks’ music service to play songs on the iPod, to no avail. That could now force RealNetworks into a deeper relationship with archenemy Microsoft, which has won support for its technology on dozens of players and plans a major upgrade later this summer.”
[MacDailyNews Note: “Dozens of players” that all totaled together do not equal Apple iPod market share when measured by revenue. (source)]
Full article here.
The problem is that Real has nothing to offer. Why partnet with someone who has nothing to add?
If I had a wma player, I’d be scared silly after reading that m$ “plans a major upgrade later this summer.” Should’ve gotten an iPod.
Glaser is a bit of a blowhard. I keep hearing his quotes, but don’t hear any Real music. (Pun intended)
Does this guy ever shut up??? Talk about your sour grapes. Geez, no wonder Steve Jobs told him to take a hike…
The guy is an idiot – no wonder the Real player software is so bad with a CEO like that.
What do you expect, he came out of Microsoft and used to be a good friend of Gates and Ballmer. Wonder if ballmer taught him how to dance
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I just went to Real.com because I’ve been hearing how they’ve been attempting to make the site more accessible and less “As seen on TV” like.
Well, holy crap, it is a bit better. I actually found two text links to the free player on the main page, albeit in very tiny print in random locations. Last time I remember putting Real player on a computer (<shudder>) I had to go like 3 pages in to find the link.
Seriously though, anyone who makes a webpage that inaccessible shouldn’t be pointing fingers at other companies for their financial woes.
Did George say dance?
Get off your feet! http://www.ntk.net/media/dancemonkeyboy.mpg
ole’ slappy is back! Glazer is a god, he knows a little secret about something ole slappy holds near and dear to his iWalMArt connection. It’s called the DJ, the Dell DJ, and it’s going to tear Steven Pee Jobs a new one. Mark these words Dell DJ will have a case made by JCPenny soon. Ha ha why don’t you all go iPotty, mac freaks.
Just so I understand this idiot, the iTunes/iPod threatens to turn off customers? Yet, he wanted really bad to be a part of it? He wanted to join that which he felt turned off customers? Can you say sore looser?
NEXT!
(That would be you Chris Gorog).
Hey slappy, if the Dell DJ is so great, why is even Michael Dell disappointed with it and it’s “features”? Just read Mobile PC magazine’s interview.
hes obviously desperate poor man. he reminds me of all the bums asking me for a hand out in downtown seattle. someone throw him a friggen bone. or not i know i wouldn’t.
The week before…
Bobby Glaser: Apple sucks!
Last week…
Bobby Glaser: We demand that Apple partner with us against M$, or we’ll partner with M$!
This week…
Bobby Glaser: iTunes & iPod threaten to turn off customers!
Ummm… Bobby, take your meds, dude. Then read: Dale Carnegie
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really, does anyone care what glaser has to say any more? (besides himself and his lackies).. It’s a great day and age, a CEO of a company having a childish “temper tantrum” because he had an obviously bad idea and tried to push it upon someone who has very specific ideas and goals for his company… it’s like an airheaded cheerleader trying to ask a picky genius out on a date.. well… you get the analogy..
Serious question for the knowing out there:
Why isn’t Quicktime used by more companies for streaming?
What are the problems with Real Player? I keep seeing people write that it’s crap, but what makes it so bad?
Been listening to AirAmericaRadio from Japan and their stream keeps going down. Very frustrating. They use Real Player. Does that play into why the stream keeps going down, or is it more connected to their servers?
Informative answer would be appreciated. I’m not a technophile, but am interested in the issues.
Thanks.
Well that Glaser…what a bitch.
To Adamac: Hello Tokyo.
Quicktime streaming: Cause MS puts their player on every machine out there. If you know the market share of Apple you should get an idea. Other factors of course but MS dominance plays a key role IMHO.
Real Player: Low quality video, the program is almost viral in nature. Constant messages appear to upgrade or other junk, icons installed all over the place and a few other features obnoxious to a lot of users.
I have found that Japanese servers can be slow and go down, but don’t have much else to offer. Hey, its the net, not that effective yet.
I do agree with Glaser, like I said in another forum, suppose I would buy a Sony CD and could only play it on a Sony CD player! Apple in this area of music has got as low as M$ and its policy is inconsistent with its overall support of open standards. We as Apple-fans should not turn a blind eye to Apple when they are starting to abuse the market like M$ does, instead we are the ones who should correct them. For me this means no ITMS-songs or or an iPod.
I agree with Glasser – and by his logic he should open up the Real player too!
Rob Glaser is the “Baghdad Bob” of the music download arena:
“Everybody hates Apple!!”
“No one wants to buy iPods or visit the ITMS!!”
“Perhaps if Apple comes crawling to REAL we can save them!!”
These people are amazing! (Like Sony, and the others either predicting Apples ‘ approaching failure, or refusal to acknowledge that Apple is in the drivers seat and they are lost in the desert) Do they really think they can spin their way out of this, and that the buying public will be conned into creating this alternate, Bizarro world, that reduces Apple to nothing, merely because the SAY it is so?
If anyone is acting SOVIET, or 1984-like it’s Rob Glaser!!
He is the perfect example of Double-Think!
dv
Real idiot
I do have a complaint on quicktime. I tried to help a coworker download the Quicktime player onto her PC yesterday. I took her to the Apple Quicktime download site, hit “Download Quicktime” and it kept trying to force download iTunes (which I know QT does come bundled with). While I’d like her to discover iTunes I didn’t want to force it on her when she only wanted Quicktime. We finally gave up. Way too Microsoft like for me. Come on Apple!!!
For god’s sake, will somebody flush this turd already?
Jump
You are complaining that Apple gives QT and iTunes free for and bundels those together and forces PC users to try excellent Apple software? They can trash it if they don’t like it. (okay it is PC so that may not be possible)
You want her to discover iTunes… How hard do you want it to be? How long she has to suffer?
Jump,
Here’s your link. I did not see iTunes mentioned anywhere.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120297
If this does not work, here is the basic sequence I used:
Apple:Support(Tab at top of page):Software(Middle left of page):QuickTime.
It’s all there. You may have to register to get the download, but I have not found that to be an issue with Apple as it is with some companies.
“For god’s sake, will somebody flush this turd already?”
It appears he voluntarily jumped into the toilet and is reaching for the handle himself!