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RealNetworks Files Suit Against Microsoft

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Apr 12, 2001
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ZDNet reports that RealNetworks filed suit against Microsoft on antitrust charges alleging that Microsoft "pursued a broad course of predatory conduct over a period of years...resulting in substantial lost revenue and business for RealNetworks."

The complaint is reminiscent of Microsoft's previous antitrust lawsuit which found that Microsoft abused its monopoly position and control of the operating system to unfairly promote its browser over competitors. Similarly, RealNetworks' lawsuit alleges a similar pattern with respect to digital media players.

Real's 64-page complaint accuses Microsoft of "tying" its Windows Media Player to its Windows operating system, shutting out competitors such as Real and instantly achieving "virtually universal distribution."
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Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2003/12/18/realnetworks-files-suit-against-microsoft/
Here we go again! WOOT!

Ya know at this point companies are going to kill MS simply from suing them into the ground! A win here. A lost there. A couple wins over there.
 
Well, all I can say to real networks is that you build a OS, and not tie in any of your own software. Just like apple incorperates quicktime into their OS, microsoft incorperates their software in to Windows. But, I will say that microsoft dose mac everything within windows revolve around windows media player. Also that it helps promote the WMA/WMP format which I fell should just go away.
 
Originally posted by SiliconAddict
Here we go again! WOOT!

Ya know at this point companies are going to kill MS simply from suing them into the ground! A win here. A lost there. A couple wins over there.
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Somehow I doubt they could sue all of MS' billions out of them. It would be nice, but completely impossible.
 
I think it's getting ridiculous though...

I mean really, it's really not MS' fault for "gotten" chosen as THE os for PCs and grew so big... and they had to incorporate more functions such as web browsing, digital music player...
you can't sue them for expanding Windows, no?! Just cuz they are bigger...
write better apps to compete, Real!
or strike deals! work with apple! ;)
What's next? are they going to sue MS for their own implementation of the calculator? clock?

just my 2 cents...

I'm glad I am not Bill...nothing goes right with that company...or something. ;) no offence...
 
Back in the day I would have had more sympathy for RealNetworks, but since their track record over the past few years have nothing but garbage software, I really don't care one way or another.
 
While the zealots cheer...

Apple has virtually the same thing with Quicktime on the mac side.

Also, I agree that its getting stupid sueing microsoft over this.. I mean, you can't uninstall IE, but WMP will go away if you want it to, and its not "integrated" into the OS.
 
I've used real player for years (shutter), its got to be the worst media player made. Go MS! :p
 
True, but

Real Player is only needed for streaming RealNetworks content over the internet. I use RealOne to watch BBC News and occasionally the local news, other than that, I have no other use for it. Unfortunately, everyone else is using Windows Media format in the place of what used to be Real's market. Even the BBC is was wanting to dump Real for WM. Why more people do not choose to use Quicktime is beyond me, but RealNetworks should have stayed more competitive with Windows Media and stopped adding more bloat to their Windows client.
 
Originally posted by Computer_Phreak
While the zealots cheer...

Apple has virtually the same thing with Quicktime on the mac side.

Also, I agree that its getting stupid sueing microsoft over this.. I mean, you can't uninstall IE, but WMP will go away if you want it to, and its not "integrated" into the OS.
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agreed, but

why are you so critical-sounding of mac zealots on a mac rumors site?
 
Originally posted by pb1212580
I think it's getting ridiculous though...

I mean really, it's really not MS' fault for "gotten" chosen as THE os for PCs and grew so big... and they had to incorporate more functions such as web browsing, digital music player...
you can't sue them for expanding Windows, no?!
just my 2 cents...
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What is RealNetworks wanted to bundle RealPlayer with Dell Computers.... but Microsoft had in their contracts that Dell was not allowed to bundle any other Media Players with Windows or Microsoft would cancel their contract with Dell... leaving Dell with no OS to bundle.

Is that ok too?

I'm not saying it happened, but I think there were similar circumstances with browsers... but this is an example of the real abuse of power.

arn
 
I agree that Real needs to work on their own faults. Their customer service is terrible and their products leave a lot to be desired. I for one have been burnt by them when I ordered their premium player for my Windows system and then the key became corrupt and I was told I would have to pay a second time for something that really should have been free in the first place. Between WMP, Winamp, and now iTunes, there's already a good choice out there and if Real is losing money then perhaps they need to look at the real reason for it.
 
Originally posted by Computer_Phreak
While the zealots cheer...

Apple has virtually the same thing with Quicktime on the mac side.
Click to expand...

Hello??!!! You do not need QT to make your Mac work.. of course, with it, your Mac will work better. Still, the comparisons are not the same and moreover, if you choose NEVER to use QT, but any other crap you want to put on your Mac, you can! And it will still work. MS is a scourge when it comes to freedom. (oh, and don't mention the iPod - to all who might- because that is not at the same level of compulsary proprietaty usage at the end of the day).
Mac supporters are not necessarily zealots, though many may be, and you know what? Thank goodness they are, otherwise we'd (that is 100% rather than 97%) would all be subjected to that major degradation of life known as Windows. Be glad that there are non-lemmings out there. They help to ease the banality and misery of MS imposed mediocrity!
 
Originally posted by rjwill246
Hello??!!! You do not need QT to make your Mac work.. of course, with it, your Mac will work better. Still, the comparisons are not the same and moreover, if you choose NEVER to use QT, but any other crap you want to put on your Mac, you can! And it will still work. MS is a scourge when it comes to freedom. (oh, and don't mention the iPod - to all who might- because that is not at the same level of compulsary proprietaty usage at the end of the day).
Mac supporters are not necessarily zealots, though many may be, and you know what? Thank goodness they are, otherwise we'd (that is 100% rather than 97%) would all be subjected to that major degradation of life known as Windows. Be glad that there are non-lemmings out there. They help to ease the banality and misery of MS imposed mediocrity!
Click to expand...

Actually, I don't use Quicktime at all, besides catching the movie trailers from www.apple.com/trailers

Between VLC and MPlayer, quicktime doesn't seem very useful for my needs.
 
WOW!

This is the first time I've ever seen an article rated with zero negatives on this site! :D

Actually I agree with several of the posters here - I am no Microsoft fan, but when Real is involved...

- Real is the company that bundled Gator's spyware with their products.

- Real is the company that gave away a jukebox program that itself was a piece of spyware.

- Real is the company that gave my state Senator Maria Cantwell.

- Real is the one company that makes Microsoft look saintly by comparison.
 
Real Sucks. MS is worse.

The point is not that "QuickTime is integrated into the Mac OS," because it is. So is Safari, Webcore, Quartz, and any number of apps and facilities. But it's a snap to install Real, Windows Media 9 for Mac OS X, VLC, DiVX, ffmpeg, etc., and all kinds of other players, codecs and the like. Apple makes it easy, because they use MP4, which is an open standard, as well as many other well-known, understood formats. QuickTime Streaming Server is open. None of the smoke and haze of Windows Media 9.
 
What Apple does in the integration of its products is very different than the use of Microsoft's monopoly position to force other to use its products. If Apple was in the same position as Microsoft maybe some judge would rule that Apple is abusing its market share to give them dominance in other markets. However, that is not the real world. It is Microsoft that has a history of destroying better consumer products by virtue of there illegal business tactics. RealNetworks has a good case, but getting a timely and effective ruling is almost impossible in the current climate
 
Real i believe made the mistake of not allowing everyday chaps to create content and stream it easily without paying a small fortune or fees to Real. Their technology has been trumped, but i'm glad to see them raising hell.
 
Real made its bed...

If RealNetworks does not like WMP's "virtually universal distribution" they should be more supportive of operating systems other than Windows. They have not been very supportive of the Mac OS in the past; all the Real Player updates have been cut-down versions of their Windows versions. Now Microsoft does not need them and neither does Apple. If Real gets crushed by Microsofts' "virtually universal distribution" then that would be a good ridance.
 
I'm going to have a simple, imature answer.

Real's products suck, but Microsoft is a huge monopoly. Hopefully the suit will go in Real's way and then Real won't get anywhere off of it, and Microsoft will still be a monopoly.
 
first of all, you couldn't sue MS into the ground. no one could and no hundreds of cases could. second of all, it's RealNetworks, people! they of the instrusive software that tries to take over all multimedia on your computer. not that i love MS or anything, but seriously, go away RealNetworks.
 
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