Comments on: Antitrust truce frees rivals for bite at Apple

Steve Jobs rebuffed RealNetworks 18 months ago. Today's deal with Microsoft now bolsters an anti-iPod alliance.

[shadowself]

Interesting next couple of years...

At least Real has enough money (and direct support from Microsoft) to survive another couple of years of losing money almost constantly.

Maybe that will give the pair enough time to come up with a viable competitor to the iTunes/iTunes Music Store/iPod trilogy.

We'll just have to wait and see.

[bobby_brady]

Apple's got nothing to worry about as long

as they don't infest their music with more DRM. I believe one reason Ipod is popular is because you can strip away the DRM by creating a CD.

As far as I know, you can't do this on the Microsoft side.

[SystemsJunky]

Rip CD's

You can rip the DRM from any store, by simply burning a cd and riping it back with a lossless format or MP3. ANY DRM

[Bellette]

Real/Microsoft versus Apple.

Apple has nothing to worry about, and quite frankly never has,
Microsoft Windows is still a difficult to use as it ever was,
perhaps more so considering better plug n play and chip design
of the last twenty years, so I say please go ahead and try and out
preform Apple in any area.

Bill Gates has been unable to produce better products and I
suspect, never will, a sad indictment of the "weakest link in the
chain theory".

These arguements about compettition are still moot until
Microsoft 'actually' produce a competitive model, something I
doubt could ever happen.

Ross Bellette/.