Re: Rob Glaser's note about realnetwork problems

[unsafe at any speed <erich@niobium.compecon.com>]

Here's my interpretation after reading the two pages:

Microsoft wants there to be a unified streaming media standard, and they
want the Windows Media Player to be the default player for that standard
to "make the consumer experience simpler and more satisfying."

It looks like Media Player's default behaviour is to step on whatever was
there before, but it specifically looks for RealPlayer 4 and 5 to avoid
stepping on them because it knows it can't play files in their formats.
And because G2 is new beta software, Media Player's install hasn't yet
been updated to avoid stepping on that too.

If RealNetworks is in the wrong, it is because they hope to avoid being
a casualty of Microsoft "integrating" more features into Windows, not
because their software does anything it shouldn't. Setting a few registry
entries during install isn't rocket science.

Eric Hedstrom
erich@compecon.com

Ben Drasin wrote:
> 
> I gotta say, I think RealNetworks is in the wrong here.  The fact that
> the issue Glasser demonstrated did not occur with the 5.0 version of
> RealPlayer but did with the G2 beta is particularly telling to me;
> RealNetworks ought to have known this and been able to remidy the
> situation by comparing differences in the two products.  The use of
> instillation scripts to make a company's product the default player for
> files which may currently be used primarily by another _is_ a legitimate
> issue, but it seems Microsoft is not disabling RealPlayer in the way
> alleged by RealNetworks.
> 
> bye-Ben
> 
> James Love wrote:
> 
> > This is the RealNetwork page on their dispute with MS.
> >
> > http://www.real.com/corporate/rn723/wmp.html
> >
> > This was MS's press release on the issue.
> >
> > http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/7-23realprfin.htm
> >
> > jl