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RealNetworks Sues Microsoft Over Antitrust Issues

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the not-gonna-take-it-anymore dept.

jamacdon writes "Yahoo! has an article about RealNetworks Inc. filing an antitrust suit against Microsoft, claiming that MS has violated antitrust laws. This claim appears to revolve around how PC makers are restricted from including competing media players. Very similiar to the Internet Explorer issue, but different content. Will the results be the same?"

4 of 491 comments (clear)

  1. Re:It might werk. by badriram · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not exactly, if you go to Add and Remove Windows Components, you can remove WMP. After the Anti-trust suit, microsoft also does not insist that no other media be installed by OEM. Plus Real just sucks....

  2. Re:This is stupid. by scottblascocomposer · · Score: 5, Informative

    The complaint isn't that MS won't package RealCrap on their install disc. The complaint is that supposedly MS is, by predatory and restrictive licencing, essentially forbidding manufacturers from packaging competitors' media players.

    Otherwise, you're right, this would be absurd. If the actual accusation were in fact the case, this would be essentially a smaller "browser war," but it clearly is not, as many Dell customers on Slashdot have attested.

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  3. Re:Will the result be the same? by squiggleslash · · Score: 5, Informative
    Interestingly, though it was headlined differently, charging Mac users for IE is exactly the direction Microsoft is going in.

    IE for Mac is still being developed. However, the only way to get it is via MSN. The MSN suite will not run on your Mac unless you pay the subscription. And, funnily enough, Microsoft has a tariff for those who already have Internet connections and just need access to the MSN software (and those parts of MSN behind MSN's walled garden that nobody really knows about anyway.)

    So IE for Mac costs about $120/year. Food for thought...

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  4. Re:It might werk. by Trepalium · · Score: 5, Informative
    WMP on Windows is hellishly fast. You're given a choice between the new interface(WMP9, fluffy) and the old one(WMP6, minimalist) on XP, and they're both equivalent in functionality due to the fact that they're actually just frontends for DirectShow.
    Not exactly. If you want to play stuff created in Windows Media 9 format, you need to install extra software that isn't well advertised. In addition, WMP6 can't handle streaming media from servers that expect 7 or later. The only way to use version 7 streaming stuff is to use something like Gabest's Media Player Classic, which can also play Real, QT, Bink, and 'Matroska' formatted files if you have the appropriate codecs installed.
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