Real Networks - Buffering ... Buffering ... Buffering ... DEAD
Recently, RealNetwork’s CEO Rob Glaser
realized his people were revolting enmass as technology was bypassing them - he
sent a secret envoy to the enlightened lands of ipod & itunes ... and? No
response was given as none was needed. Why return to the 20th century of
thinking?
So, now the (literal) blockhead
ruler of RealNetworks decided to call the open ipod itunes systems "the
soviets."
He seems to have short term
memory loss about exactly what his company does. Which company insists that all
audio formats be encoded on their servers and paying them a license for it? Does
that sound more Soviet or more free
choice?
Not only that - what company had
to release 10+ versions of a player before they got it right and somewhat
stable? Not to mention the infamous ... buffering .... buffering ... buffering
mantra of Real Networks ... So, what exactly is their credibility when it comes
to technology? ZERO.
Or credibility as a
company? What did you do with all that ad money from the first 9 versions of RA?
Or you tout a "free" player but does EVERYONE think their website is an
excellent example of 'bait & switch.' Contract that with the Quicktime page
where you can upgrade to QT Pro but they don't bait and switch
you.
Yes, once RA was necessary - if you
can't afford a horse, a donkey is better than walking but not by much. When we
had dial-up and storage space was expensive, it made sense to compress audio
files to 8-bits and we had to live with severe limitations to get an audio file
over the internet but now, RN is the donkey of the
internet.
As for the ipod & itunes -
never mind the Apple/Steve Jobs/microsoft/fashion factors - here's the bottom
line.
what is the ipod & itunes? It
is a combo that lets you store Mp3's you ripped from your (hopefully) personal
CD collection. It lets you store Mp4's you ripped from your personal CD
collection. It plays back VBR MP3's, WAV & AIFF - these are files that are
changed in any way by ipod or itunes and can be reused or played in other
devices.
It also plays back two
"restricted" file formats - audible books and AAC Mp4's. But only as choices
that you can CHOOSE to pay for. Now, I don't know much about the audible books
format so I'll skip that but as for the so-called locked AAC MP4's, I can
convert them to an unlocked Mp3 or AIFF by highlighting and clicking
CONVERT.
Sounds pretty free to me. Sounds
NOTHING like the oppressive soviet system where you could not come & go as
you please.
And there's no real monopoly
on these files. Sure, there are some exclusive tracks but you can buy most of
the tracks in WMA format if you choose (not to mention CD's) and of course,
there are still audio books you can buy in bookstores.
So, what does RA's player do? Does it
let you convert RA files to another format by selecting CONVERT? (not the AAC
version)? Does it? Does the RA player even fast forward correctly? Or do we get
to revisit he infamous buffering, buffering, buffering again and
again?
Same with the ipod. There are
hundreds of competitors - personally, I think they're inferior but in a free
society, you can choose your poison - any files you load into the ipod can be
loaded onto any other portable device with the exception of Apple's AAC MP4's
(but then highlighting and clicking CONVERT on that file name is hardly
oppressive). So, you are free to come & go from the land of the land of ipod
- in fact, you can even make a profit leaving the land of the ipod mini right
now.
So, the itunes & ipod system is
only closed in the sense that Glaser and his company entity is only allowed a
tourist visa.
And why exactly would we
want more to do with RN? A company with a track record of poorly designed
players, a harshly closed and expensive DRM and last century technology
(buffering, buffering, buffering) ... with a music store that rents you music at
$120 a year (you own nothing when you quit) ... and now a boorish CEO who thinks
the internet & Apple owes his old technology more than 10 chances to get it
right?
So when we do NOT choose him and
reject his company and his technology (didn't they have 8 years to get it
right?), he accuses of Apple of being Soviet (aka: not offering a choice) -
buddy, we have made a choice - we choose FREEDOM.
You've confused your own misguided
management skills and poor technology choices with the ENTIRE system being
closed. In fact, you built your own closed wall to keep others out. Don't forget
that. You tried to keep consumers walled off with your technology choice, your
website design and your business decisions. You got your wish. We too don't want
much to do with you now either.
RN is
still useful for those who are happy with dial-up and the internet of the last
century so you're not entirely done but your relevance is buffering ...
buffering ... buffering ... DEAD.
Posted: Wed - April 21, 2004 at 12:53 PM