“Earlier this week Real stunned the digital music scene with the announcement that its software, ‘Harmony,’ would allow its customers to play songs purchased on Real’s Rhapsody digital music download service and play them on an iPod or other player,” Arik Hesseldahl writes for Forbes.
“One would think Jobs and Apple would run the risk of looking like a villain opposed to consumer choice and innovation. And while that argument may have some merit, the bad vibes aren’t likely to stick to Apple because of the iPod’s pop culture status. Glaser and Real–right or wrong–are more likely to end up looking like the unpopular kid bitter about not being invited to the cool kids’ party,” Hesseldahl writes.
“Appearances do matter. Apple should beware looking like it’s too jealously guarding the door to the iPod party, and should ready a contingency plan under which companies backing other formats, like Real, can join the party, but only under terms that Apple lays out. It won’t hurt Apple one bit over the long term. The market demands openness and flexibility, and Apple, of all companies, should have learned this lesson by now. There was a time Apple owned the personal computer business. We all know how that turned out,” Hesseldahl writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If iPod holds a significant share of the market, there is no reason to let anyone into the party, as long as Apple’s iTunes Music Store offers similar content to the other stores. And iPod does hold quite a significant share of the market. This is not a matter of developers having to choose which platforms to support, as it was with the Mac vs. PC. The developers in this case are the musicians (in most cases shackled to the music labels). Encoding a song into AAC/Fairplay is just as easy as encoding in WMA. Musicians don’t have to rewrite each song for AAC or WMA. iPods demand AAC/Fairplay from an online music store (they also play MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible, AIFF and WAV formats). And consumers seem to be demanding iPods. Sorry, Real.
Related MacDailyNews article:
RealNetwork’s CEO Glaser crashes Apple’s music party – July 30, 2004
I disagree. Real is halfway towards having the same format as Apple–they already use AAC. If Apple can convince Real to use Fairplay, then they’ve got a big ally in the format wars. Apple shouldn’t let Real backdoor a way onto the iPod, but they should figure out a way to work together on this.
This is the ‘Real’ Ron Glaser back with an update.
First off, who is this idiot claiming that were not cool? Again, I stress that the iPod was Real’s technology before Apple stole our blueprints before we had a chance to patent the technology. Ask Steve Jobs he knows the truth.
Second, Real offers the best music system hands-down. Apple’s isongs music store is nothing but a copy of our superior software.
You Apple crybabies need to get a life. You can’t stop the ‘Real’ train that is coming straight at you.
Sorry about harmony not being supported for macs. You deserve it because your CEO is a smelly arrogant punk who deserves a slap in the face. I’ll decide to open it up one day when I feel like it, AFTER we take over the online music business.
Have a nice day losers.
p.s. try a computer with a ‘Real’ operating system. Mac os x is dead in a few years anyway
Ron Glaser
CEO Real
rglaser@real.com
hairbo, I agree with your opinino. I don’t think Apple should keep the iPod closed however, if they are to open it up they need to license Fairplay, on their terms, and make sure these “backdoor” intrusions are defeated early. Otherwise they will look like a big bully not sharing his toys. Further, although the MSN music store is still supposedly coming soon (August I read), if Apple were to license Fairplay to Real now they would have an even greater leg up on Microsoft when the format wars REALLY get started!
LOL I love it when people come on here trying to impersonate others. It must be great not to have a life! Oh, what I would do with all the free time…
If Apple stole REAL Blueprints why don’t you go to the law and get it back. It would save a lot of time and trouble wouldn’t it?
LOL I love it when hypocrits come on here acting so self righteous. It must be great not to have a life! Oh, what I would do with all the free time…
Hey Chad! Talk to me when you have a woman to brag over and not just a computer! Get a life geek! lol
hehe…just had to add that!
“The market demands openness and flexability” well, the market is open. There are hundreds of different Mp3 players out there.
They all have their own OS. You can’t choose a different OS for any of them.
They all use their own brand of DRM’ed music. Until Harmony came along you couldn’t use a different brand of DRM’ed music on any of them.
iPod owners made their choice when they bought their Mp3 player. They got an iPod, iTunes and iTMS. It’s a package deal.
Apple a villain. Real Networks is the one who is pirating technology, calling it their own and implementing it. Anyways how is Apple limiting consumer choice. They have the same music, the same prices. Earlier Real said something to the extend of “you not apple should be the ones who deiced which music goes on the iPod,’ at what point did Apple say what can go on the iPod?? They just control where PROTECTED music can come from. By request of the Music Companies. Now that Real has hacked Apple technology what is to stop some little nerd from going into Real’s offices, steeling the information, and implementing it into little hackie program and releasing it on the net? What real is saying is “It’s okay to copy and reverse engineer other people’s products as long as it still works basically the same”. Just because it isn’t used to strip the AAC of DRM Protection doesn’t mean the information they obtained is used in that way. What is to stop one of Reals’ employees of using the technology the found for their own use. Has Real required any of their employees to sign contracts. If so what right does Real have to control the information they obtained? Is isn’t their right to control the information in the first place. It’s the right of Apple so even if they did internally control what they discovered by reverse engineering it… what right do they have? So real is in no now legal way able to control what they have discovered. Only it’s implementation into the Harmony can be controlled. I don’t care if this will benefit anyone, the way they went about it is wrong.
They have basically said “we are a legitimate company so we can honestly implement this technology, even though we got it throughout pirate means doesn’t mean we are going to do anything dishonest with it.” So dishonestly obtaining information doesn’t mean you are going to implement it dishonestly and that’s okay? What does it matter that they have striped Apple of it’s rights to license it’s own technology? I’m done. I could go on forever. I would put into all my license agreements for any software that I make stating “this program can’t be used by Real Networks in anyway, not can any description of this program be given to real networks.” basically not allowing them anything to reverse engineer any more since that seems to be their new business. Their slogan should be changed to Real Networks Media and Media Cracking solutions for those of us who don’t have time to crack and pirate it our selves.
I do not love cock.
Hey Chad! With a name like “Chad Cox”, do you ever get any of those “hanging chad” remarks? To quote Matt earlier, I’ll bet you’re into those “backdoor intrusions”.
Al, right on!
If you want the high-quality user experience, then you should choose the iPod platform – iPod, iTunes, iTMS as a package. The integration plays a huge role in ensuring that experience.
If you want choice of music stores and choice of players today more than you want the high-quality user experience, you can pick any WMA store and player. Enjoy!
If you want long-term choice of WMA and Helix players more than you want the high-quality user experience, then you need to pick the Real store and jukebox. Enjoy!
But don’t force Apple to spend resources testing and supporting Harmony songs on the iPod so that its users can maintain the experience. Apple has more important things to do with its resources for 99% of its customers – enhancing and extending its high quality experience to the home, the car, the cell phone, and more!
Even if Apple doesn’t sue, it should keep warning its iPod users that using the Real store is fraught with danger! And if an iPod user buys Real songs and has problems and complains to Apple, Apple should send him off to Dell for their trade-in offer!
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”smile” style=”border:0;” />
When is Apple going to stop hacking into Windows Networks by shipping Samba with MacOS X?
Brad, what a stupid argument about Samba.
First of all, Microsofo’s SMB is based on work that IBM did. Secondly, Samba is a FREE distribution of SMB, meaning Apple and ANY OTHER COMPANY IS BY LAW ALLOWED TO LEGALLY INCLUDE IT IN THEIR SOFTWARE.
Apple did NOT give license to Real to circumvent the iPod’s functionality. The Samba group DID create software that is legally distributable and is usable by anyone. Huge difference.
>The developers in this case are the musicians (in most cases shackled to the music labels).
Which is now being substituted to being shackled to iTMS (if they want to reach most listeners)
> And consumers seem to be demanding iPods. Sorry, Real.
precisely why they shouldn’t be locked only into iTMS.
When will APPLE update the Ipod firmwar and kill REAL’s harmony crap in one fell swoop??
I for one can’t wait for the download in software update!!
Maybe then this subject will finally come to an end!!
To be fair, I think it’s safe to say that people should be able to listen to what they want on their iPods.
But the problem is, Apple has invested millions of dollars, effort and time into the iPod/iTunes/iTMS only for some third-rate POS company to come along and piggyback in on the ride to glory? I don’t think so. As much as I believe that the iPod should be open, there is a legal, professional way to do this. But this is a cutthroat business…
What makes me even more angry, is that Real is piggybacking onto not just the iPod revolution, but they are using someone else’s music to make money as well. For all intents and purposes, Real has done little innovation to actually warrant their pseudo-success. They are just the middle-man peddling wares because they have actually maintained some sort of market with their crappy Real player, only because people download their software to listen to something or watch something on the Internet.
So let me get this straight…Real gets money from ads. They get money from people buying from their store, now open to working on the iPod. And the only thing they did was hack Apple. All they do is continue to be the MIDDLE MAN and they get paid for this! I’m not surprised if they aren’t running this operation out of some back-alley somewhere, laughing all the way to the bank.
I just hope that Steve has got something up his sleeve to really fist-f*ck Real. Pun INTENDED.
My friend used to call people such as this “swoopers.” People who would swoop in at the last minute and get credit for something that someone else has accomplished. Real fits that bill.
And, if that weren’t enough, now Apple has to waste precious energy trying to figure out this mess instead of innovating more on their product.
g, calm down.
So what they’ve invested money in it?
They invested in making the music store easy to use. In making it integrated.
What does DRM have to do with this?
THink about this when your emotions calm down… with a rational mind.
I’m getting Real tired off this.
What no-one here seems to have mentioned yet is that there is also a massive format war going on. Apple doesn’t want Real to gain more traction over the QuickTime format.
I think that’s the main reason they’re objecting, but to state it that bluntly would be a marketing faux pas.
won
*yawn*
The thing that none of you seem to understand is that Real’s hack creates a large support problem for apple. If a customer tries to use their iPod with the real misic store and they have aproblem, they will call Apple. If their music one day stops working because of an iPod update, they will blame apple. So, apple will be obliged to test every future update with Real’s music store, as well as every other music store that uses Harmony. This is a large cost for apple. The reason Apple’s computers work so well is because Apple doesn’t have hundreds of configurations to support.
Another big potential is that these other music stores could weaken the iPod/iTunes brand. You cannot underestimate the importance of this brand – that is one of main reasons for the iPod’s success. People need to associate music with the iPod and iTunes. And they need to associate both with apple, spurring future mac sales.
Music stores, unlike computers, do not require inter-compatability. Your music is your music. You aren’t meant to share it with other people, unlike computer documents.
I think Real’s move will force Apple to do one of two things:
1. Lock out iTunes and iPod further (which is what I expect they’ll do, starting an endless game of leapfrog)
2. Open up iPod like they should’ve done a long time ago and give people a choice. I know that’s not something Apple is comfortable with since they’re accustomed to providing the total solution for their customers. However, in the end, I think people will appreciate Apple for letting them shop where they want to shop, and use the format they prefer. (I still think OGG sounds better and, God forbid, Apple should allow people to download something in better quality than 128kbps)