Real Pays For Legal MP3 Playback On Linux

kforeman (aka Kevin Foreman, GM of Helix RealNetworks, Inc.) writes "As part of the free RealPlayer 10 for Linux, Real has paid Thomson for a legal MP3 playback license and then includes it at no cost as part of the newly released RealPlayer 10. As I speak to people, many are under the false impression that MP3 playback patent and royalty rights are free, since there are open source implementations of MP3 playback available. Not true. Nonetheless, we are glad to do our part of making the Linux desktop a first class citizen by legally providing MP3 playback to users via our new RealPlayer."

Comments

Distributions?

[dorward]

I wonder if Real are positioning themselves to get their client distributed with distributions. We might finally see Fedora (et al) with an mp3 player.

I wonder what the license says about redistributing the client? Would Fedora et al be able to distribute it?

In the meantime, I'll stick to Gentoo since they are happy to provide source code for all sorts of mp3 players.

Re:Distributions?

[Nichotin]

"We" should be careful with bundling proprietary applications that are free to use. You end up using all the proprietary applications, and freedom will vanish. It will also slow down Linux adoption on other platforms if the applications people use are proprietary.

Re:Distributions?

[jc42]

Ok, people fall into at least 1 of 2 camps.
1. Zealot: use Free software no matter how painful.
2. "Normal": use whatever software does the best job, is easiest to use, etc.


No, #2 should be called "geek". The real definition of "normal" is:

3. "Normal": Use whatever came with the computer they bought because it was heavily advertised and "everyone uses it". If they can't find software to do the job, they copy some app from a buddy's machine, or as a last resort laboriously download something from whatever web site their browser directed them to.

A major part of the problem with the "market" arguments is that for most people, there really is no market for software. That is, people don't decide in any meaningful sense what software to use, and they don't make informed choices among competing apps (or OSs). They are totally baffled by the supposed "market", and mostly just use whatever someone offers them.

In the computing field, doing comparison shopping immediately qualifies one for the "geek" label.

Re:MP3 Playback IS Free...

[Anonymous Coward]

There's a sizeable difference between being able to do it and being able to do it legally.

oh well

[indianropeburn]

This still doesn't make Real Player a good choice for media playback.

Re:Don't need a license for personal use anyway

[Lumpy]

And, if you don't want to be sued, use a free and better lossy format (e.g.: Ogg Vorbis for music or Ogg Speex for speech).


you mean if you do not want to use your portable devices anymore use OGG.

I love ogg, but it is worthless to 90% of us that use mp3.

my car stereo does not support it, my home stereo's high end player does not support it and the 5 different portable players in the house does not support it.

therefore it is not a choice.

Until people pester the hell out of the player makers to support ogg, it will stay a special segment that very few use.

players like the audiotron and other home stero players can support it but the developers are being asses and refuse to add it. many portables certianly have the power to use it and again, the makers are intentionally refusing to use it.

until large numbers of people ask for OGG support and flood the support channels of the player makers it will never be supported.

I suggest that many here pice a few mp3 player makers and get at least 5 friends to mail the support email address asking for ogg support.

Until then, OGG is not the answer to anyone.

Re:no surprise

[sepluv]

If you don't like people "borrowing" your stuff, keep it to yourself.

Actually the whole point of a patent is that you invent something that takes time and effort and you tell everyone about it instead of keeping it a trade secret. As a reward for not keeping it to yourself, you are given a monopoly on it for a few years (stopping others from using your idea).

Of course, this patent is not really a valid patent as it is not on an invention (and didn't take time and effort and there's probably prior art and it would likely not have been kept a trade secret).

Re:Props to them

[IamTheRealMike]

Apple isn't benevolent in the slightest. They haven't supported Linux whatsoever, and have actively required companies writing software for Linux to license their patents.

Sorry, but of all of them only Real is actually trying to improve - Apple just coast along on the basis of their fans ludicrous brand loyalty, Microsoft coast along on the basis of their monopoly and piles of cash, meanwhile Real has been contributing to open source and cleaning up their software, as well as making it portable to Linux. I say, good for them, and I'm certainly willing to give them a second chance.

I actually have to give them credit.

[Ayanami Rei]

They have always put out their product on linux, it usually worked more consistently than a flash plugin, and IIRC it was always declawed (because they knew how picky we are about that sort of thing, and that'd we'd notice).

Not that I used it all that much what with mplayer and all, but it was nice to think they weren't complete jerks.

Re:buffered stuff..

[pclminion]

Yes... WinAmp tried very hard to look like a physical device that never even existed.

Does a word processing program have a picture of a typewriter that you have to click on in order to type characters? So why the fuck does an MP3 player have to look like a stereo deck?