Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Real's Reality

Posted by timothy on from the best-wishes dept.

prostoalex writes "While Real Networks claims its market share and low profit numbers are the result of Microsoft's anti-competitive behavior, there are some alternative views. News.com has an article on Real's reality, which reveals many interesting practices that Real resorted to. "Although RealNetworks had already licensed Microsoft's formats for use in its media player, it didn't have Windows Media licenses for its server technology. Undeterred, the company found a way to essentially replicate the Windows Media code, trumpeting its new software as the Internet's first "universal" streaming system", says News.com." Read on for more.

"There's also an interesting conversation going on at Jogin.com, which started with this post from the author, basically a rant, describing how inconvenient and even hostile Real Player is. It would be like any other rant, except an employee of Real Networks replied with some insights into the company's wrongdoings and somewhat explained Real's undeterred hostility towards those who downloaded the free version of its player. Furthermore, a consultant, who used to work at Real Networks, replied, sharing some questionable practices Real engaged in, such as hiding a variety of "add-ons" at the bottom of the page, hoping that the user would not scroll down to un-check the selections, and then charging his credit card for add-ons when he signed up for paid version on Real One."

5 of 460 comments (clear)

  1. Car Talk by Twid · · Score: 5, Informative

    I like what the car talk guys had to say about Real:

    http://cartalk.com/Radio/windowsmedia-switch.html

    Car Talk will now be available via the Windows Media Player, rather than RealMedia. That's right, we're unceremoniously dumping RealMedia.

    Why? Because, for a long time, we've had tons of complaints about RealNetworks. And the one that ticks us off the most is the perceived trickery they use to sell their premium products. This is just our opinion, mind you, but it's shared by enough of our listeners, that we finally decided to take action.

    Here's the problem. In order to hear our audio, you have to go to Real.com and download their "free" RealPlayer. But when you get to the web site, the free player is harder to find than Osama Bin Laden at night. And the site seems to do everything it possibly can to get you to "buy" a player instead. You have to work very hard to get the free player. And we think that stinks. And get this. It stinks so much that it even makes Microsoft look good by comparison. That's something, huh?

    We've heard from many of our fans that have been duped, and who have accidentally shelled out their hard-earned dineros. And we won't even get into the ways that the RealPlayer tries to take over your computer once you install it. So, after surveying the alternatives, we're switching to Windows Media Player (which works on Macs, too).

    --
    - "When you want something with all your heart, the entire universe conspires to give it to you" -Paulo Coelho
  2. Real Spy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I stopped using Real products after reading this

  3. Real sucks ass and here's why: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    -BIG ASS LINK to their paid player, and damned near invisible links to their older, free download players.

    buffering... buffering...

    -Huge application window hogged by distracting crap.

    buffering... buffering...

    -When people download a media player, it's probably because they want to view some media right fucking now, not after filling out a long-ass registration thing and setting a shitload of preferences.

    buffering... buffering...

    -That stupid Goddamned tray icon that will not die. Where's the "FUCK OFF" button when you need it? Anytime I see that shit in the systray on a client's machine, I go right into regedit and nuke it because the incessant blinking drives me into a rage.

    And last, but certainly not least:

    buffering... buffering...

  4. Re:What do... by The+Snowman · · Score: 5, Informative

    Not if you're using a Mac OS X, all you gotta do is delete the folder the player is installed in. This works for the free version anyways...It also (amazingly) works to copy a folder from one computer to another and it still functions.

    This is one thing the Mac does right -- a program's binaries and configuration data are all self-contained. No registry, no /etc. This has advantages. Of course it makes it easier to pirate software. I read here on Slashdot a year or so ago about a guy in Texas who witnessed a man walking into a CompUSA, hooking up his iPod, and downloading Mac Office over Firewire. Because everything is self-contained, all he had to do was drag and drop the "Office" folder and he was done.

    When I write software for Linux or for Windows, I try to do the same thing. My Windows software uses the "deprecated" INI files in the executable directory instead of the super-bloated registry, and I try to set up sensible defaults and make programs load from ~/etc if possible in Linux.

    --
    24 beers in a case, 24 hours in a day. Coincidence? I think not!
  5. why hasn't anyone mentioned this? by bugg_superstar · · Score: 5, Informative

    real alternative allows you to play all realmedia files without having to install realplayer.