Microsoft pays RealNetworks $761m

[acmejack]

Microsoft is to pay $761m (£436m) to US software rival RealNetworks to end an anti-competition lawsuit over computer music players.

RealNetworks had alleged that Microsoft forced PC makers to fit its rival's Windows Media Player software at the expense of its own Real Player.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4332426.stm

[LizMoonstar]

1. RealPlayer is awful. It's basically spyware.

[McKenzie]

4. yup, this has been known for years

I would never use RP...ever. Any proggie that tries to initialise unbidden and then connect to a server is not to be trusted...that's why I'm tempted to put up with the hassles of Linux again. Automatic Updates is yet another nasty of the same ilk - NOT a means of keeping you up to date with M$'s crappy coding.

There is an alternative to RP though if you need to use files with .rm or .ram extesnions.

[BadGimp]

2. The funny thing is...

If you had asked a MSFT manager involved back in the day, if he/she would risk a $1billion fine to ensure market place dominance in near absolute terms, he would have said "hell yes!!". $1billion is a small price to pay for what MSFT achieved as a result of their practices. Their market dominance in the rich media space is worth BILLIONS and BILLIONS.

$761million is a frickin steal.

I started watching Microsoft back in the early days when they put the screws to Apple over Applesoft Basic. This was way before IBM or MS DOS.

Those guys are brilliant.

[acmejack]

3. You're right a billion is change to megasoft.