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January 8, 2004
Glaser, the feisty founder of the Internet entertainment network, said during a panel discussion Tuesday at PC Forum here that Apple is creating problems for itself by using a file format that forces consumers to buy music from Apple's own iTunes site. (CNET Networks, publisher of News.com, last week acquired EDventures, which sponsors PC Forum.)
Because Apple's iPod music player does not support other proprietary music formats and does not license its own format to rivals, Real's Rhapsody and other song sites are blocked from easily reaching iPod users.
"Apple's (market) share will go down if they continue to do this. The only way to presently put songs on an iPod is to (buy) them from iTunes," Glaser said, referring to downloads purchased from online music stores. In addition to iTunes songs, the iPod can play files encoded in the MP3 format, including tracks ripped from CDs.
Hewlett-Packard, which has partnered with Apple on digital music, is in a position to persuade the company to change its practice, he said.
"There is a good opportunity to say to Steve, 'You've done a good job of promoting this thing, but now one of two bad things will happen,'" Glaser said. "One, Apple's market share will go down to its historical single-digit levels, or two, it will slow down the development of this market."
Glaser predicted that customers will say, "I bought an iPod and can only shop at one store. What is this? The Soviet Union?"
Shane Robison, chief technology officer of HP, shared the panel with Glaser and said diplomatically that discussions on many issues are always ongoing.
Apple could not be reached for comment.
Glaser also applauded actions taken by European regulators to limit Microsoft's ability to bundle technology into Windows. Real has been directly affected by the practice, because it makes a competing media player.
"I think it is a step in the right direction. It is not transcendent," he said. "The specific solutions have not been announced yet, but the outcome suggests that the European regulators did the right thing for the right reasons."
Glaser further said that the European Commission's ruling is not likely to exert massive political pressures because most of the companies directly affected by the decision--Sun Microsystems, RealNetworks and Apple, among others--are based in the United States. The commission, however, has said it entered the investigation on behalf of European citizens.
Microsoft, meanwhile, struck a deal with Major League Baseball to offer live audio and video on its networks. MLB used to have a partnership with RealNetworks.
train following Apple's lead?
iPod owners have more choices than just buying music from
iTunes Music Store. You ever hear of MP3s? You can play those
on the iPod too, which can be encoded from CDs you own. Why
do iPod owners need other choices when iTunes music store
currently has the biggest selection of music?
iPod + iTunes is the slickest and easiest solution for digital
music, there's no need to change that!
"iPod supports the most popular audio formats ? including MP3 (up to 320 kbps), MP3 Variable Bit Rate (VBR) and WAV."
Also, the Apple's iPod tech specs web page (http://www.apple.com/ipod/specs.html) says the iPod supports the following file types:
"AAC (16 to 320 Kbps), MP3 (32 to 320 Kbps), MP3 VBR, Audible, AIFF and WAV"
Could somebody be involved in a "disinformation" campaign?
It spreads like wildfire.
MP3 players access to the iTunes Store but they can't do this. If
they did, the other companies would instantly figure out the AAC
Fairplay encoding and start selling iPod-compatible songs of
their own, perhaps cheaper, ending Apple's monopoly on iPod
download stores.
As long as iPod is #1, Apple really has no reason to allow others
access to the iPod. Unless customers stop buying iPods because
they don't want to use iTunes (which hasn't happened), there's
no reason for them to make it open. If I were Apple, I'd be
watching this very carefully. As soon as large numbers of
customers were being lost because of the forced usage of
iTunes, they would have to open iPod to other store and open
their store to other players, while keeping the iPod-iTunes
syncing superior.
right? For the life of me, I can't find their website again, but the
FairPlay site definitely looked like it's own entity. If I'm right,
how on earth can this be a less attractive solution than those
offered by MS or Real? What's keeping others from using these
technologies?
FairPlay does not appear to be Apple technology - Forgive them
for not jumping into bed with Microsoft or Real! This seems like
a much better solution
defunct) Veridisc DRM solution of the same name.
http://64.244.235.240/info_about.asp
http://64.244.235.240/explained_contentprovider.asp
In typical Apple fashion, they are ahead of the curve, and
discovered this technology. They anticipate its ultimate success
(802.11 anyone?) and have signed an agreement with Veridisc
(creators / owners) of FairPlay to use their DRM. Soon, once the
kinks are all worked out on Veridisc's end, this will become a
widely available form of DRM, and much more appealing than
that of MS or Real. This will all make sense shortly - it's
nonsense to think that Apple has anything to lose by
competitors offering the AAC + FairPlay solution - it can only
benefit them. Apple is embracing standards all over the place,
they wouldn't make the kind of lock-in mistakes they have in the
past.
outselling Apple's iTMS unless Apple allows services like
Glaser's to profit from the iPod.
Glaser's service doesn't even work on a Mac. I predict that
Rhapsody will die unless they open their service to more
platforms.
The concerted disinformation campaign being run by iTMS
competitors and added and abetted by media outlets like
CNET is the only hope for people who cannot produce a
best-in-breed application/hardware combo. Glaser should
worry about competing in the marketplace instead of trying
to manipulate it.
does not play is wma vorbis orgg, and real files. There is a FREE
program that will make it so you CAN play these however.
ACC, iTunes and the iPod ARE the INDUSTRY STANDARD. Why
don't people understand this. WMA is as, or more proprietary as
ACC...actually ACC was developed be companies like Sony and
Motorola....WMA is windows only...hummm
Never happen.
Apple does not have to. Real has to...
To partner with Apple just like Hewlett-Packard.
Smart move on their part to change and get off
the band wagon and smell the roses. iPod is the
future in the present.
okay, they may be proprietary, but they are licensable (is that a
word?) from:
AAC:
http://www.vialicensing.com/products/mpeg4aac/
standard.html
and
FairPlay (Veridisc not Apple)
http://64.244.235.240/explained_contentprovider.asp
Remember the first iMac commercials: "about as unPC as you can get," wasn't it? Well the iPod is about as unReal as you can get, and we love it.
Glaser, everybody recognizes your sour grapes and "me too" attitude. Fix your own product and let Apple worry about theirs.
1) They announced they were using AAC themselves for their
future services but with their own proprietary, Helix DRM added.
Do you expect Apple to support your DRM also?
2) Apple's DRM isn't Apple's at all - Fairplay is from VeriDisc.
Perhaps Real should talk to VeriDisc about FairPlay DRM instead
of using Helix or blaming Apple.
3) When you go to Real's Rhapsody online music store using a
Mac it prominently says 'RealRhapsody music service is not
available for Macintosh users.'. Perhaps Real should support Mac
users before asking Apple to support them.
4) The iPod doesn't use DRM. The DRM is built into iTunes so
that you can only copy DRMd files to you iPod provided it's from
an authorised computer. Real should do their homework before
********.
Real say they're going to lose market share?? If someone is
really butt-hurt about having to buy online music only from
itunes music store then there's dozens of other poorly
designed media players with which they can buy music
from other poorly designed online music stores with their
poorly designed Windows-based PCs.
better. I know people that would believe me if I told them their
computer had a temporal flux capacitor in it with an oscillation
overthruster running at 888GHz.
frankly sad to see them resort to this kind of completely inane
dribble about Apple, the iPod and, oh my God, the Soviet Union.
I like to be the first to announce to Real that they do have a
chance on the online music market. Today. Right now. Here's
how you do it: Instead of waisting eveyone's time complaining
about Apple and the iPod, compete with them, Offer the world a
product that blows the iTunes and the iPod solution away.
Problem is that will never happen. You know it and I know it,
because everyone in your business is too lazy, too stupid, and
lacks any sort of creative inspiration whatsoever to even begin to
take on Apple at that level. And that's precisely what separates
Apple from it's competitors. That's precisely why Apple has
enjoyed 50 million (and counting) downloaded, paid for songs.
That's precisely why Apple's dominant share of legal downloads
will remain just that. Dominant, There is simply no reason for
anyone to look at any solution other that iPod and iTunes, and I
don't see one coming for the foreseeable future. Certainly not
from Real, after reading this article.
By the way AAC comes from Dolby labs, not Apple. Apple uses it
under license. So could anyone else. Even Microsoft. Along with
fair play, AAC sounds great, and you own the songs you buy.
Along with iTunes and iPod, what does anyone else offer that
invites even a cursory look?
Maybe Real should start selling CD's online. How about that?
Even if you can buy CDs and convert them to MP3s or purchase
MP3s elsewhere, there will still be ignorant people that only hear
the FUD second hand from people who regurgitate it without
question. Some people do not even realize there are alternative
operating systems and only hear about windoze their whole life.
- Really not knowing what he's talking about!
- by theusm March 24, 2004 2:16 AM PST
- Isn't real the worst format ever. Can not be converted to
- Like this Reply to this comment
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- Bravo!
- by March 24, 2004 8:14 PM PST
- I couldn't have said it any better. Bravo!
- Like this
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Showing 1 of 2 pages (38 Comments)anything, is only played on real players ... Apple's AAC and MP3
is widely supported on any platform. Why doesn't he just tell us
that he is pissed off and jealous to see the well designed Apple
product taking the market on the fly. Unfortunately most PC
users can not distiguish between trash and well designed stuff ...