On Editing Or Converting Real Media

Lisa2682 asks: "What software programs are available for editing real audio files? Are programs available to convert from real audio to mp3? I have several large real audio files (~20mb, 2hrs), and I only want to keep about 2 minutes of the file. I haven't found a way to directly edit a Real Audio, or convert from RA to another audio format (like WAV, MP3)." Slashdot tackled a similar question waaay back in 1999, and aside from tricks surrounding grabbing the data as it hits the sound card, most readers either hadn't found or didn't think there was a decent solution. It's been about 2 years since this article. Has this changed at all? If it's this bad with Real Audio media, I can only imagine what it's like for Real Video. As always, feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions, observations and anecdotes on this issue.