Newsmaker: Glaser on finding harmony with Microsoft

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aspects. So interoperability is one thing, and if everyone agreed on interoperability, it might be less of a rallying cry, but it would still be very important.

If the question is, was this an example of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend"? I would say no--it's much more multidimensional and nuanced than that. If the fact is that Apple is a company that is not very open, and that's something that might motivate people to find ways to work together, that's just human nature. But it's not a simple Hatfield-McCoy kind of thing; it's more multidimensional than that.

How do you think this positions you and Microsoft jointly against Apple, at this point?
Glaser: With regards to services for consumers, which is our focal point, I think it positions us both extremely well. I think the missing link, at this point, is hardware that a consumer finds compelling, in terms of the portable-music category.

For the portable space, I think it's fair to say that the iPod is still the best product. I think we and Microsoft have an incentive to work with the hardware community to create better solutions than have been created thus far, and I think we'll do it, but I think that is something that plays out over time.

This Christmas, the iPod will be the biggest seller, no matter what, and I think odds are good it will be the biggest seller next Christmas. I'm hopeful that next Christmas, by '06, there will be a worthy competitor from the device side, but we have to get our brethren in the hardware business to help us on that one.

The deal seems to be mostly about music and games. How does this affect Real's other businesses?
Glaser: In terms of our systems business, it's very helpful. One of the things we can now offer our customers is interoperability, for in-the-clear and secure content, on a level that goes way beyond what anybody's done today.

Was it the case that previously, you couldn't read a protected Windows Media file?
Glaser: If someone had a piece of content on a Windows device that had security rules, there would not be a trivial way to move that content into a device that had Helix or OMA (Open Mobile Alliance) or what have you. Our relationship with Microsoft puts us for the first time--and I think puts anybody for the first time--in a position of being able to solve that problem.

We went from a relationship where we were somewhere between walking and running in opposite directions to where we're walking--and maybe in some cases even walking briskly--together in the same direction.

So when we talk to the big (mobile-phone) carriers we work with, that's definitely something they're interested in. The big media companies as well. It enhances the competitive position of our system software.

The same is true for RealPlayer. We have a set of things we've done to make the experience of using RealPlayer on Windows a smoother experience than it's been before.

Even on the music side, it sounds like Microsoft hasn't given up their subscription service completely. Do you ultimately plan to compete against it on that?
Glaser: Microsoft has agreed for this Christmas and next Christmas and the period in between to promote no service on MSN (and WindowsMedia.com and a number of other places) more prominently than our service.

Clearly, there are multiple people who use Microsoft technology, and we didn't ask, nor do we expect, that Microsoft would no longer return their phone calls or no longer give them distribution. There won't be anything in that period of time that's promoted more prominently than what we do with Microsoft, including anything that Microsoft might do. So we're very happy with that. It gives us a stable foundation.

We haven't done something that guarantees we'll be partners 10 years from now. I'm sort of a crawl-walk-run guy, and we went from a relationship where we were somewhere between walking and running in opposite directions, to where we're walking--and maybe in some cases even walking briskly--together in the same direction.

Do you expect this kind of relationship to be expanded to other product areas?
Glaser: In the last couple of weeks, we've been able to put together some demos that were actually compelling and actually represent our specific intentions or in a number of cases were specifications from the contract. There will be a lot more that's already in the plan, beyond what we showed in today's press conferences. Whether there will be more than that will play out over time.

What are you going to do with the money you've gained from the settlement?
Glaser: We're going to do smart, rational things because we endeavor to be rational, long term-oriented people. We will have, by the end of this quarter, over $800 million on our balance sheet, and we will use it wisely and productively.  

More Newsmakers

[DoohanOK]

Onya Rob, what about Real's player

Way to "spyware-esq" for my liking. At least with competitors like WMP or MusicMatch we get a choice.

Unless you have vastly improved the Real Player I won't be touching it.

Another Joke

>Apple is a company that is not very open

Wow Glaser, there's the pot calling the kettle black. Last time I checked, Real and Microsoft were as closed as Apple. Here's a concept, instead of ad hominem attacks on Apple, why don't you focus on building a reliable quality product instead of the spyware-junk you foist on the public?

desperation

this is glaser's last desperate move to reach some level of significance. my prediction - he's out in a year, real gets purchased by ms! no more real!

[DemiHampster]

A marriage made in jail.

Rob Glaser is a pathetic Bill Gates wannabe. They deserve each
other. A marriage made in jail.

[jawaidbazyar]

Real Networks is irrelevant

As has been for years, which is why they had to dredge the bottom of law and file an "anti-trust" suit.

What you cannot achieve in a free market you can always convince some stupid jury of, if you confuse them enough.

And frankly Microsoft deserves it, having given in every single time in the past, set them up to have every Tom, Dick and Harry sue them for anti-trust. "Hey, they rolled over for THESE guys, let's sue them too and get a nice fat check."