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Mozilla Partners with Real Networks
engineer_uhg writes to tell us that Mozilla has just entered into a multi-year agreement with Real Networks to have Firefox distributed with downloads of RealPlayer, Rhapsody, and RealArcade. The Mozilla team cited Real's estimated 2 million downloads per day as a great tool for distribution. However, many Firefox supporters question the move, complaining of questionable practices by Real.
We don't have to get RealPlayer or any of Reals other crap crammed down our collective throats with our FireFox downloads, i don't care what they do.
~Mozleron
Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups
I keep tryi.... *buffering*.... ng to read.... *buffering*.... the story...
Yeah, well as long as we don't get infected with real's products when we download firefox, what's the problem?
MABASPLOOM!
Bundled downloads suck, especially for people with slow internet connections.
Just give me what I requested, don't add a bunch of crap to the download that I don't need or want. Does Mozilla want Firefox to become "That crappy browser that came with the music player"?
...a partnership with the government of Nigeria.
Opera will tout itself as a new standard as the preferred Acid 2 compliant browser of 419 scammers.
I already use Opera over Firefox because of, among many other things, the excessive memory footprint of Firefox. I don't think bundling it with bloated software like RealPlayer is the best way to improve that perception or problem.
Einstein, read the story again. Realplayer download will include firefox and will give users the option of installing firefox while they install realplayer. No one is embedding realplayer inside firefox.
They may get more people downloading their browsers, but Firefox's core market has always been geeks. Associating themselves with a company that is almost universally reviled by geeks is a huge slap in the face to Firefox's core group of supporters.
This move really underscores the rift in the Open Source community as to what the goal of Open Source really is. Should we be spreading a philosophy, or just trying to get as many people using our favorite software as possible? If we're trying to spread the Open Source ideal, then partnering with a company known for distributing spyware and generally embodying all of the worst aspects of closed source software is a bad idea. If all we're trying to do is get everyone to use the same software that we do, why do we even care if that software is open source to begin with?
This move indicates a lack of sensitivity to the Open Source philosophy, and seems to complete Mozilla's move from a community-driven project to a market share obsessed company.
I wish there was a link to the complaints.
5 4250
Ask and ye shall receive:
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/08/02/21
KFG
Why do you say realplayer doesnt affect you because you run linux?
I vastly prefer Realplayer over Quicktime because they distribute a decent linux client.
Without Realplayer more content would probably be in that shitty QT sorenson (or whatever) format which I cant play.
It amazes me that even MS content (Non-DRM) can be played back under linux but all the latest Quicktime encoded stuff is Apple / MS only.
Disclaimer -
If someone knows of a way to playback sorenson content under linux without resorting to wine running Quicktime please let me know.
I dont read
I use RealPlayer as Windows Media Player replacement since around 2 years ago and what I can tell is that your description of RP seems to be about a totally different software. Worse than a virus?! What about some facts that support what you are saying?
RealNetworks did a lot of shit in the past, true, but that doesn't mean they will always keep doing it. That's the same as saying that someone who was convicted by a crime will always behave as a criminal.
It really bothers me that most people who bash Real latest software do so without even trying the thing.
Should we be spreading a philosophy, or just trying to get as many people using our favorite software as possible?
Spread software. People are resistant to others telling them how to believe.
I'm fine with it. Of the "big three" (Windows Media, Quicktime, and Real), Real is closest to actually having an open, Free Software, system (Helix.) It's not perfect, they're still insisting on "binary blobs" for supporting some codecs, but it's far closer to what's wanted than the other two.
On top of that, Real's the only one of the three that officially supports GNU/Linux. Windows Media and Quicktime survive under GNU/Linux because of reverse engineering efforts and DLL-wrapping, not thanks to support from the multimedia system's inventor.
Real has a poor reputation only because their Windows client was once a hotbed of malware and kludges. It isn't today, hasn't been for years, and it's hardly the only benchmark you can judge them by.
Something tells me that if this was Apple, there'd be none of the bitching and moaning about how Apple's "not a good net citizen". Real is certainly a better citizen today than Apple.
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
No, I'm not using Real Alternative, it's the real thing.
This is how it looks when I open a music file. See? Pretty simple, opens really fast, doesn't get in the way, good eye-candy, no ads.
This is how it looks in full-mode, with media library open. It is bit slow to open in my computer (PIII 1GHz), but that is also because of the large amount of music files in the DB. Anyway, I only use it when I specifically want to and that's not often. Again, I can't say much against it.
When I open a video, it looks the same way as when I open a music file, except it also shows... the video. All in the same window and the same I said before.
Actually, for those concerned with privacy, Real Player gives easy access to privacy control options. Just check the options screen.
There is also something called message center. I'm not sure what it is, because I turned it off right after install, but I guess those ads and pop-ups you talk about come through here. However, it is kids play to deactivate it. Just click on the option to do so.
I understand all the rage against Real, I shared it too when using the old players, but today it is way better. Not perfect, but much better. Ok, it might not come optimized for privacy, but with little effort you can do it. Really little effort, considering that, as it plays most media formats, you only have to configure one player. This is specially good with quicktime formats, because it also gives the benefit of full-screen video.They may get more people downloading their browsers, but Firefox's core market has always been geeks.
What? I stopped using Firefox as soon as I saw it mentioned in the major media. Then I started using K-Meleon, until I found out that uber-geeks use Lynx. Or so I thought. Real geeks stopped using the Internet altogether in the early '90s when it started to get so commercial. Now I just sit in my (parents') basement and play Tennis for Two my oscilloscope all day. I'm so l33t.
If you can read this sig, you're too close.