A selection of recent comments from the first 333 signatures on the “Hey Apple, Don’t Break My iPod!” petition to Apple Computer to which RealNetworks has linked on their so-called “Freedom of Music Choice” website:
Dear Apple, Your company has long stood for innovation and open competition. Wasn’t it Apple that ran the famous Super Bowl ad encouraging consumers like us to stand up for our right to make our own choices? We’re asking that you do the same now and support the right of your own customers to make their own choices about where they buy music for the iPod. We want Freedom of Music Choice! Don’t lock us in to purchasing digital music from one source. That’s bad for competition. It will stifle innovation. And it will slow the adoption of digital music devices like the iPod. Do the right thing. Stand with us for Freedom of Music Choice! Sincerely, The Undersigned:
333: “When a company comes along that has a better sense of design and usability than Apple Computer, then I will consider using their service instead of iTunes. Until then, the prettiest and most efficient method wins. It’s iTunes all the way, a no-brainer, especially on Mac.”
319: “Real sucks and I’ll continue to use my iPod with iTunes Music Store exclusively, thanks.”
318: “Hey Real, this is nothing more than a two-bit jerry rigged hack.”
307: “This is a damaging & embarrasing site for your company. If I were you I would abandon this ‘campaign’ idea & take a look at why Apple commands such high levels of customer loyalty.”
304: “You’re not dead yet Real? You suck, your software sucks and your days are numbered. Have fun losing this one Real.”
302: “The iPod already supports tons of formats. If I want to purchase music online, I can do it with the best experience for syncing to my iPod with iTunes. Why would I want to use your tool which is inferior? That’d be like using Windows!”
284: “The iPod isn’t broken, and neither is the iTunes Music Store, which is the ONLY music store available to the Macintosh platform as well as serving the WinTel platform. If Real, just like MusicMatch, Wal-Mart, and every other service were interested in “choice”, wouldn’t they want to provide service to ALL platforms?”
282: “The iPod is perfect as it is. I had a choice when it came to Music Players, and it was the iPod. I had a Choice when I decided to buy online music or not, and I CHOSE the iTunes Music Store. As far as I’m concerned, the iPod and the iTMS are the best of the best, and no other music store or player even comes close.”
281: “Apple can make the experience more consistent and reliable, and innovate faster, when it controls all the components. What happens when 1000 different companies make all the pieces – you get Windows, where things are supposed to work, but don’t.”
275: “I actually prefer the synergy of Apple’s iPod and iTunes. I can play several formats on my iPod, including mp3 files. This feels like Real is simply trying to grab a chunk of Apple’s success and offering 49 cent songs seems like a desperate measure to me.”
It goes on and on, some are more, err, “colorful” than what we’ve chosen to highlight above. See for yourself here.
UPDATE 11:01 am ET: RealNetwork’s “Freedom of Music Choice” website has now removed their link to the online petition.
MacDailyNews Take: What’s the matter Mr. Glaser, you like to promote your so-called “freedom of music,” but you don’t like freedom of speech?
Related MacDailyNews articles:
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
Apple ‘stunned’ that Real broke into iPod with ‘Harmony’ – July 29, 2004
Analyst: Apple must not ‘sound anti-consumer’ in the face of Real’s ‘Harmony’ – July 29, 2004
RealNetworks issues statement about Harmony Technology and ‘creating consumer choice’ – July 29, 2004
The Motley Fool: Real’s Harmony ‘is a slap in the face for Apple’ – July 29, 2004
Mac users shut out of Real’s Harmony hack? – July 30, 2004
Forbes writer: ‘bad vibes aren’t likely to stick to Apple’ over Real’s Harmony mess – July 30, 2004
RealNetwork’s CEO Glaser crashes Apple’s music party – July 30, 2004
RealNetworks launces ‘Freedom of Choice’ campaign with song downloads for 49 cents – August 17, 2004
RealNetworks to debut ‘iPod-as-padlock’ ads – August 17, 2004
Text of ‘Hey Apple, Don’t Break My iPod! Petition to Apple Computer’ – August 17, 2004
Rob Glaser interviewed about achieving harmony with Steve Jobs – August 17, 2004
RealNetworks debuts replacement ‘freedom petition’ omitting comments – August 17, 2004
It would be interesting to know how many posters were wintel users, and how many were mac users. i know if it were available for mac, I’d try it out… after all, I can’t evaluate it before I try it, right?
However, the Palm d’or for the stupidest remark goes to this very article:
What’s the matter Mr. Glaser, you like to promote your so-called “freedom of music,” but you don’t like freedom of speech?
This has nothing to do with freedom of speech whatsoever. Next thing we know, you’re going to call that bloke a Nazi, aren’t you?
Ideas have consequences, words have meanings. Try to make sense.
When a problem comes along
You must whip it
Before the cream sits out too long
You must whip it
When something’s going wrong
You must whip it
I think the counter on their site is somehow rigged. I clicked on the link and the count was 717. I closed the window and clicked on it again and it was 874, less than a second after the first one. The funny thing is that I was just there from another site five minutes before and it was at 600 and something.
RIGGED, RIGGED, RIGGED!!!!!
Just need to chime in on the “Real sucks!” campaign here. A few years ago (before I switched to a Mac), I was unfortunate enough to need to download and install RealPlayer for Windows. The “program” (more like a virus) took over the playing of almost every type of media file on the computer WITHOUT ASKING during the installation. In order to change it back, you had to go through a laundry list of file types and change each one individually — they had even managed to shut off the ability to choose multiple files to switch. I wrote Real a pretty nasty e-mail and have hated them and their crap software since then. I have boycotted any website that insisted I have the Real Player to play or view audio or video files on them and then have generally written and told them why I was boycotting. Real’s “integration” into the Windows OS was WAY worse than the “integration” of IE.
I can only hope, pray and light a candle that Real will go under because of this situation. I don’t own an iPod and have only ever purchased 2 songs in iTMS, so this doesn’t directly affect me, but the thought of Real going down the tubes is music to my ears! (Yeah, yeah, pun intended….)