“Apple has made good its pledge to prevent iPods from playing songs downloaded from Real Networks’ Rhapsody online music store,” Tony Smith writes for The Register. “But the discovery, reported on a variety of online news sites, has left users puzzled: just when did Apple make the change?”
“Apple last issued an iPod update on 15 November, but only changed the firmware on two models: the latest, fourth-generation iPod and the iPod Mini. Older models were previously updated on 20 October, just ahead of the release of iTunes 4.7. That would seem the most likely time at which Apple introduced its ‘disharmony’ code,” Smith writes. “That’s bad news for Real – partly because the move limits the company’s ability to sell to iPod owners, but mostly because no one has noticed until now, almost a month and a half later. That suggests that Real’s iPod-owning customer base is rather smaller than it would like.”
“Real said its remains ‘fully committed to providing consumers with the freedom to use the music libraries they purchase from us on different portable audio devices they acquire, both now and in the future,’ so the prospect remains that it will modify its own code to cope with Apple’s changes if possible,” Smith writes.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Apple disabled Real’s “Harmony” and nobody even noticed for a month and a half! On the day Apple’s firmware was released, you’d think that at least RealNetworks’ corpulent CEO, Rob Glaser, would’ve set down the Krispy Kreme’s for just a moment to scribble a press release decrying Apple’s affront to “music freedom” and bemoaning the crippling of his parasitic and desperate “Harmony” hack. One question remains, of course: if a third-rate multimedia company’s DRM hack fails and nobody’s listening, does it make a sound?
Related MacDailyNews articles:
Apple’s latest iPod updates render RealNetworks’ ‘Harmony’ songs unplayable – December 14, 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
What is harmony? What is RealNetworks. Oh my god, I’m dumb
Hey, you guys gotta stop putting Krispy Kremes down like that!!
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I didn’t hear a sound either
joe
D*mn. Just ruined another keyboard & screen when I sprayed my drink all over it.
Anybody live near Real’s corporate headquarters? Was there any unusual noise recently? Maybe a sonic boom as Glaser fell to the floor?
I hear Krispy Kreme’s had some troubles recently; they need Glaser to consume as much as possible.
why not dunkin donuts?
Don’t worry about Krispy Kreme, between Glaser and Michael Moore, they have a healthy future ahead of them.
That headline made me blow snot out of my nose laughing.
in a related story…
“Earlier today Krispy Kreme announced that due to a problem they are recalling 15,000 containers of dounuts. In fact, today they swung by Rob Glaser’s house and picked them up.”
Glaser probably did complain bitterly about it, but his mouth was so full of doughnuts, no one could understand what he was saying.
Absolute classic MDN take!
I’d like it noted for the record. In all seriousness. Real SUPPOSEDLY has iPods that they test right? I mean, this whole bruha ha over making sure that their music worked on iPods and Real never even noticed it for a month and a half? Don’t they test their songs and their software with the latest updates? What are they using to test their music? 2 doughnuts tied together with a string?
Jesus.
As an iPod owner and a supporter of all apple products I still find it embarrassing the infantile reporting of MDN with regards to Apple’s competitors. I can understand it when it is done by the readers since most of them are perhaps young but the MDN editors must me at least 12 and should know better and possess more journalistic ethics. Let the competition die in their own sword, you don’t have to criticize someone’s food habits just because you don’t approve of their products. Wait… I got this is what I want to say: Grow up MDN
DBS, MDN is appealing to its majority target audience… that’s all.
Personally, I think it’s infantile not to play with other music stores. It’s music… from an artist… if I can buy from any brick n’ mortar store…
Actually, that was what was funniest about this story–that it took people at least a month to notice. And it wasn’t even Real that noticed! It was a customer who, I rashly assume, didn’t get any feedback from Real so they dropped a note to CNET.
DBS, I think you have to take the “MDN take” with a grain of salt. They’re trying to be humorous.
Besides, “Internet Journalism” is the next big oxymoron, right after “Military Intelligence.”
(So I scroll down and what is my MDN Magic Word? “military” Spooky…)
I think the magic word can be a bit spooky too.
(This comment added thanks to the magic word “added”)
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Have any of the moaners that cry that Apple is stifling ‘choice’ ever considered – no seriously – that Apple’s issue with Real isn’t the ‘music files’ themselves, but rather the software needed to use those files.
FYI – if you didn’t already know, and there’s no reason that you shouldn’t have known – Real’s software assumes control of ALL of the music on the iPod.
Explain -rationally- why Apple would want this.
BTW, would Microsoft approve of Real hacking the xBox with their software so that Real’s media would be compatible – even for the benefit of ‘customer choice’? Would all the moaners chastise Microsoft if they shut down Real’s software?
That would be ‘two’ rhetorical questions, wouldn’t it?
Oh my goodness, Linux assumes all control of a PC!….
The PC maker is stunned!
You already gave your money to Apple for the iPod. Now Apple is mad that you won’t be giving them more because you chose to not use iTMS. Whaaaaa…
And yes, we’d would chastise M$ if they shut out Real content on an xBox.
Zupchuck, does it bother you that you can’t play a PlayStation game on an XBox, or vice-versa, even though the same titles are available fore both systems? This isn’t that much different. Apple is protecting their business, that’s all.
From another thread…
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.
[Now Apple is mad that you won’t be giving them more because you chose to not use iTMS. Whaaaaa…]
No, Apple is mad -with Real- that you won’t be using software that they designed to be used WITH the iPod.
[And yes, we would chastise M$ if they shut out Real content on an xBox.]
Real is welcome to develop CONTENT -provided they get a license from Microsoft, which I’m sure MS would be only too glad to give real.
Again, it’s the SOFTWARE that’s the ACTUAL issue.
Doubt me? Look at how MS cracked down on ‘Linux for the xBox’!
Any further debate is moot. You are obviously eager to have more ‘stores’ available to you. Maybe Apple will include them in future versions of ITUNES software. Maybe one day there’ll be an ‘Apple’ (not Apple records
” width=”19″ height=”19″ alt=”wink” style=”border:0;” />) as well as other music stores. All within iTunes software!
ndelc,
I’m not a gamer, so I don’t care. But to answer your question, neither of these game consoles even begins to admit to being standards-based. It’s funny that a good deal of tech writers talk about the closed system of standards-based files that the iPod will play (unlike WMA) when in fact it is the DRM of purchased music online that provides the closure.
Apple makes its real money on the player, not iTMS. The game console makers make their dough on the games (M$ loses lots of money on the xBox hardware). Apple isn’t so much protecting it’s business but that of the record companies on which it depends for iTMS. I will agree that, currently, the iTMS component that becomes available with an iPod does add value to Apple and the consumer.
MacBuddy,
As a consumer, are you satisfied in letting Apple determine which content you can buy online? If so, there isn’t a beef. BTW, how would Apple determine the legality of MP3s on your iPod that were ripped from a CD? They can’t, so they don’t limit it. With DRM of online purchases, they can. So they do.
That’s because nobody cares or uses an iPod with there service.
“Anybody live near Real’s corporate headquarters? Was there any unusual noise recently? Maybe a sonic boom as Glaser fell to the floor?” – r8ix
Hmmm, a month-and-a-half ago… Mt. St. Helens began having a lot of earthquake activity underneath it around that time.
Again FWIW, I agree with you in-as-much that the iPod ‘could’ have more ‘choices’ 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.
Unfortunately you seem ‘stuck’ with the notion that APPLE owes you more choices of ‘download stores’. I’m merely trying to convince you that Apple gets to decide which SOFTWARE is used with the iPod – regardless of the number of ‘stores’ that are available to YOU as a consumer. Please try to reconcile the DIFFERENCE.
I’m sure that WHEN another company – including Real – were to offer up a music store that didn’t demand the use of different software – ie: could be included IN the iTunes SOFTWARE; AND didn’t usurp Apple’s control of the iPod – that Apple would be only to glad to promote that the “iPod can get music from several download stores including from CDs”.
Please take the time to read ALL of the responses that I give to you. This may prove to answer your questions more thoroughly.
Bottom Line: Apple is NOT a monopoly in this area:
1. You can buy an Apple iPod� or not. Buy one of the many, sexy, feature-laden, iPod-Killers out there.
2. You can use iTMS� or not. Rip your own CDs
3. You can use a Mac� or not. Use a PC
4. You can use ACC� or not. Use MP3, AIFF, etc.
5. You can use Real Music service� whoops. I forgot, that doesn’t work with Macs.
The point is, Apple’s terrible, no-good, evil, doomed-to-failure proprietary business scheme is succeeding wildly and if the rumored iPod Flash is true, everyone else will just be fighting over the crumbs. Then Apple might be considered a monopoly and they will probably consider “sharing” their proprietary technology for an appropriate “fee.”