“Apple Computer has quietly updated its iPod software so that songs purchased from RealNetworks’ online music store will no longer play on some of the Mac maker’s popular MP3 players,” John Borland reports for CNET News. “The move could render tunes purchased by many iPod owners unplayable on their music players. For the last four months, RealNetworks has marketed its music store as the only Apple rival compatible with the iPod, following the company’s discovery of a way to let its customers play their downloaded tunes on Apple’s MP3 player.”
MacDailyNews Take: Come now, let’s get “real.” How many iPod owners were really running off to buy songs from RealNetworks?
Borland reports, “Apple criticized RealNetworks’ workaround, dubbed Harmony, as the ‘tactics…of a hacker,’ and warned in July that RealNetworks-purchased songs would likely ‘cease to work with current and future iPods.’ Apple offered no further statement Tuesday, but confirmed that the software released with its Photo iPod will not play music purchased from RealNetworks’ music store.”
“The changes Apple made were to the iPod’s ‘firmware,’ which is the low-level software that powers hardware such as MP3 players…” Borland reports. “The notes that accompanied the release mentioned several enhancements, but did not comment on Harmony. It was not immediately clear whether iPods older than the Photo edition had as a result also been rendered incompatible with RealNetworks’ technology.”
Full article here.
In November, RealNetworks was among the “big winners” at the first annual Billboard Digital Entertainment Awards. RealNetworks’ Rhapsody won Best Downloadable or Subscription Music Service, and the company’s Harmony service won Digital Music Innovation of the Year. No one outside Billboard has really been able to figure out why. More info here.
MacDailyNews Take: Break out the Krispy Kremes! We only wish Apple had done this sooner. It’s RealNetwork’s responsibility to care for their customers. If they sold these so-called “Harmony” files as “iPod-compatible” and they now don’t work on iPods, Real has a problem. It is not Apple’s responsibility to make sure Rob Glaser’s hack works.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
RealNetworks ‘Harmony’ stops working on iPods but nobody notices for a month and a half – December 15, 2004
Bono-Glaser photo caption contest now open – October 25, 2004
Real’s CEO Glaser: ‘Harmony’ hack legal, Mac lovers are very sensitive to Apple criticism, and more – September 14, 2004
Analyst: Rob Glaser’s ill-advised war against Apple ‘is going to bite RealNetworks on the ass’ – August 30, 2004
Rob Glaser interviewed about achieving harmony with Steve Jobs – August 17, 2004
RealNetwork’s CEO Glaser crashes Apple’s music party – July 30, 2004
Real CEO Glaser: Steve Jobs’ comments on Real ‘not succeeding’ are ‘ridiculously humorous’ – April 29, 2004
NY Times: Real CEO Glaser was close to having ‘iPod’ before Apple, but let it ‘slip through his fingers – April 24, 2004
Real’s CEO Glaser: Apple’s iPod/iTunes combo ‘threatens to turn off consumers’ – April 20, 2004
Jobs to Glaser: go pound sand – April 16, 2004
Real CEO Glaser begs Apple to make iPod play nice with other music services – March 24, 2004
i agree with zupchuk on this one…
I should be able to buy 89 Octane Regular Unleaded from Exxon or Shell or Mobil or 76 or… it’s all the same to my ears.
SJ is known to have never wanted DRM in the first place… he didn’t like DRM. When he got into the music business after the ipod hit a critical mass, and realized that monopolize the digital music industry by using DRM…
MacBuddy,
The whole point of DRM is to make sure you purchase music legally. If your player is a standards-based player, yet you lock out the standards-based content of a competitor, who is benefiting? The consumer or the manufacturer?
Your turntable arguement makes mine, thank you. Only difference is that the records are all made with the same standard (say MP3), yet at the store, the clerk punches a trianguler hole in middle ensuring only a fit with the BrandR (Apple) turntable. BrandX (Real) creates a widget to make the spindle universal thereby making multiple stores available. And you’re complaining?
It’s not like I bought the Pep Boy’s alternator that worked fine until I brought my car in for service for my muffler at the dealer. And the dealer disabled my alternator because I didn’t but it from him?!….
Again,
If BrandR invents the turntable, is it up to BrandR (uh, RCA?) to insure that the vinyl platters that ‘others’ make play on their equipment – or vice versa?
My argument is that Apple ‘invented’ the ‘iPod’. Apple gets to ‘choose’ which software that they want to interoperate with it, not Real.
I think you need to consider what has been done – and what the ‘collateral damage’ is.
If I may… Apple disabled ‘Harmony’, the ‘collateral damage’ would be that Real’s AAC files are now ALSO (unfortunately?) disabled.
And if you extend my ‘observation’ further, you’ll notice that Apple doesn’t seem to be worried about whether or not all of people’s MP3s are legal – they still play WITH ITUNES! Get it? The optimum solution for Apple to SUPPORT is – iPod is ‘controlled’ by Apple iTunes software.
FWIW, I agree with you in-as-much that the iPod ‘could’ have more ‘chooses’ for legal downloads (perhaps more ‘stores’ available, WITHIN iTunes!). But as an Apple iPod user I’ll ‘side with’ Apple in the belief that iTunes is the optimum software solution when using an iPod.
In Addition, Ford doesn’t control what fuels the vehicle like Apple does. Real isn’t offering aftermarket chips or batteries or alternators (they are giving “alternatives,” however
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Remember Apple produces “zero” amount of music, so really, they’re just a distributor, they don’t manufacturer any of the content in the first place.
If an Apple Music CD store opened up, would they “Fix” iTunes to only play or rip “apple approved” CDs?
Apple is just looking out for number “one”
I’ve noticed that this thread is continuing on a newer ‘Harmony’ thread. See ya there
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