February 1, 2004

NPR show dumps RealMedia in favor of Windows Media

I have always been a bit disappointed in RealAudio - OK idea out of the gate but a lousy implementation and the company never really found focus. Now, one of their public users is dumping them after some issues from their users. I refer you to Click and Clack (the Tappet bros.) Car Talk website: bq. Car Talk will now be available via the Windows Media Player, rather than RealMedia. That's right, we're unceremoniously dumping RealMedia. bq. Why? Because, for a long time, we've had tons of complaints about RealNetworks. And the one that ticks us off the most is the perceived trickery they use to sell their premium products. This is just our opinion, mind you, but it's shared by enough of our listeners, that we finally decided to take action. bq. Here's the problem. In order to hear our audio, you have to go to Real.com and download their "free" RealPlayer. But when you get to the web site, the free player is harder to find than Osama Bin Laden at night. And the site seems to do everything it possibly can to get you to "buy" a player instead. You have to work very hard to get the free player. And we think that stinks. And get this. It stinks so much that it even makes Microsoft look good by comparison. That's something, huh? bq. We've heard from many of our fans that have been duped, and who have accidentally shelled out their hard-earned dineros. And we won't even get into the ways that the RealPlayer tries to take over your computer once you install it. So, after surveying the alternatives, we're switching to Windows Media Player (which works on Macs, too). FREE should be FREE - not misdirected, not hidden, FREE. Adobe does it right and sells a ton of their software. Real doesn't get it. They are flailing at the marketplace and their 5-year performance shows it. Posted by DaveH at February 1, 2004 11:43 PM