Apple Rejects RealNetwork's Pleas

TheJoKell writes "In a followup to a previous article, Apple has denied a meeting with Rob Glaser, Chief Executive of Real Networks, to discuss an alliance between the two companies. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Steve Jobs said, 'The iPod already works with the No. 1 music service in the world, and the iTunes Music Store works with the No. 1 digital-music player in the world. The No. 2s are so far behind already. Why would we want to work with No. 2?'"

Comments

jobs is stating the obvious

[weekendwarrior1980]

I like Real's Rhapsody service a lot and wish that it integrated well with iPOD. Having said that, it is just a business decision that is both logical and obvious to follow. Why would apple who has the number one music delivery service bow down to real? Doesn't really make sense to me. Unlike most people in ./ I dont bear hostility against Real, I think their player is easy to use and portable across many platforms.

Re:jobs is stating the obvious

[MoonBuggy]

Compared to an iPod it's big, ugly, extremely heavy, poorly engineered, badly integrated with the computer and generally not in any way cool. The iPod is image blended with great functionality, the Zen has no image value and average functionality at best.

Arrogance?

[gtshafted]

Considering Apple doesn't make really make money on iTunes, and the real profit is in selling iPods - does this really make sense?

Why would anyone want to partner with Real

[gad_zuki!]

Its not even bowing down, its a partnership. Real is synonymous with poorly written software, nagware 'message centers' most people cant turn off, messing up file associations, hiding the free product on the website, etc. These guys are one step removed from penis pump spammers.

Apple's approach is user-centric and user friendly. Real hates the user and does *everything* it can to fool you buy their product when you just need the free one. They'll do anything to take over your system. They'll push 'message center' ads for a penny an ad.

In short: fuck Real. The sooner they go bankrupt the better off everyone is. There is room for a good company with a nice media player out there and Real has shown itself over the years that they are not this company.

Re:Why would we want to work with No. 2?

[mst76]

Like, say, Microsoft. Gates urged Jobs to license, but he didn't listen. And the rest is history.

If you're referring to this letter, that was addressed to Sculley, not Jobs. And remember, with the Mac they didn't want to license even when they were far from No. 1 in the market.

Maybe it's because of QuickTime

[phatsharpie]

I think part of Apple's reluctance to team up with Real is because Apple want to make QuickTime ubiquitous. The latest stats I can find about media players place QT at the number 3 slot (WMP is #1 and Real is #2). Keeping in mind that Apple is trying to fortify itself as THE media creation company. For Apple to have more clout in the creative industry, especially in motion pictures and music, it needs to make sure its formats (even though they are all pretty much based on open standards) are the standards. And the only way to really do that is to have QT become much more popular than it is today.

Think about it. How does iTunes work? By using QuickTime. QT has had very bad rep in the PC world (flaky player, etc.), and many Windows users don't install it before. But now, with the iPod and iTunes Music Store, people are starting to install QuickTime again. iTMS won't work without it! Now if Real comes in and offers the same service but bypassing QT, people would no longer be installing QuickTime.

-B

Re:Maybe it's because of QuickTime

[No. 24601]

(Apple) needs to make sure its formats (even though they are all pretty much based on open standards) are the standards. And the only way to really do that is to have QT become much more popular than it is today.

Hate to burst your bubble, but Quicktime has about as much of a chance of becoming ubiquitous as Real. In other words, not gonna happen. Sure, quicktime has gained a lot of ground in the movie trailer circles, but it's still a cpu-hog and memory whore. That alone makes it Real's partner in decline.

Sure Apple is making headway with the iPod, but when it boils down to it... the iPod is Apple's latest fad. Although the company has literally risen from the dead, they still appeas to subscribe to the philosophy that consumers want proprietary technology. They got it all wrong: consumers want innovation and Apple has a lot of that but Apple's products always lose in the long run because the company simply can't sustain its markets.

Both these guys are fools - Glaser should quit trying to save his real crap and Jobs isn't in any position to be cocky.

Re:humptf, jobs is getting wrong again :P

[MBCook]

The Mac still provides sales for Microsoft. PowerPCs provide value to IBM in many ways (low power, something to use against Intel for lower prices, etc).

Real is nobody. I don't know ANYONE that has half a clue about computers that is even ambililent about Real. They all dislike (up through hate) Real. Real doesn't have a large customer base. Real doesn't have lots of users who like them. Real doesn't have a good reputation.

To agree to this would be like Bank of America partnering up with a local loan-shark (who has, supposedly reformed and is no longer crooked and evil). It doesn't do anything for Bank of America except lower their reputation.

If someone worthy came to Apple, I think they would have been more likely to say yes. If Amazon had said "let us integrate iTMS into our website" that would help Apple. If Barns & Noble had done it, that would provide value. If Walmart, Blockbuster, or even Sam Goodey had asked, there would be value there. Those compares are at least respected by many people. They have many returning customers that they would provide.

As far as I'm concerned, Real is a company that is up to it's head in quicksand and covered in Ebola. They are reaching for ANYTHING to stay alive (MS settlements, partnering with Apple, who knows what tomarrow) but no reasonable company wants to help them because they would then be associated with them (catch Ebola in my example).

For Apple, Real would be more of a paracite than something that could provide a symbiotic relationship for Apple.

Shrugging off one of the companies I listed above would be one thing, and your argument would have legitimacy. But since it's Real, I can't believe your point.

Re:Good...

[jocknerd]

I'm an Apple fan. I own an iBook. I own an iPod. And I have a .mac account. Steve Jobs was ousted in 1985. He went and started Next Computers. In the early 90's Apple had about a 10% market share. Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997. By then, they had about a 5% market share. For 2003, only about 2% of all personal computers sold were Apples.

Apple will never return to the 10% numbers until they get serious about the consumer market. Apple is pretty much gearing themselves to the prosumer and professional markets. Their consumer line of computers don't come close to the performance of entry level PC's.

Apple is selling a lot of iPods, but I think its got a short lifespan. Within the next couple of years, you will see flash-memory based players that hold about 5GB's of storage. And these will sell for under $100 at some point. By then, the price will win out over the glamour of the iPod. And once again Apple will be left behind. They just can't see that the DRM is the future and if they don't license theirs, Microsoft will win this market as well. And online music sites will continue to have only one option, WMA. And eventually it will win by sheer volume.

Re:Good...

[IntlHarvester]

Apple is pretty much gearing themselves to the prosumer and professional markets.

I think that's a tactful way of saying that Apple is milking their installed base. (Similar things said about other 'dinosaur' platforms like VAX or Sun workstations.)

Not that far in the future, good PCs are going to cost $500 each, and the cognitive dissonance between that and a $1500 Mac is going to be too much for even the most loyal Mac Fan to swollow. I'm willing to bet that Steve Jobs understands this better than most of his customers do.

Re:Mod me down if you must, but...

[antic]

Exactly. Does this mean that the number one group of Office applications doesn't have to work with the number two operating system?

Bill, show Steve how arrogance works...