Microsoft Gives Real a Big Hug

[James Fee]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.designtechnica.com/article8496.html' target='_blank'>http://news.designtechnica.com/article8496.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"The last major antitrust Battle in Seattle came to an end today: Microsoft and RealNetworks have announced they've resolved Real's antitrust case against the Redmond-based software giant. Three separate agreements have Microsoft forking over $761 million to RealNetworks and create a new partnership between the two companies to "innovate and promote digital music and games." The three agreements settle all of RealNetworks' antitrust disputes worldwide, enable "wide-ranging" digital music collaboration between the companies (including marketing support for Real's Rhapsody music subscription service on MSN properties), and an agreement to offer RealNetworks' digital gamed through Microsoft's MSN Games and Xbox Live Arcade for Xbox 360."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/real_ms.jpg" /><br /><br />Microsoft has been dishing out tons of money to settle all these antitrust cases over the last few months and I can only assume this one will cause the EU case to collapse as Real was the start witness. Anyway I suspect in the end one of two things will happen out of this deal.<br /><br />1. Microsoft buys Real in the next year to gain access to Rhapsody<br />2. Real dumps its own format in favor of WMA/WMV

[Felix Torres]

Microsoft has been dishing out tons of money to settle all these antitrust cases over the last few months and I can only assume this one will cause the EU case to collapse as Real was the start witness. Anyway I suspect in the end one of two things will happen out of this deal.

1. Microsoft buys Real in the next year to gain access to Rhapsody
2. Real dumps its own format in favor of WMA/WMV

0- Don't hold your breath; as long as MS is a US company the EU will continue to make war on it by trying to litigate it out of existence. Expect at least two more eurosuits to follow by next year on VISTA security features and DRM. If nothing else, the fines will keep the Brusselcrat lawyers fully funded.

1- Possible, especially if Yahoo stays at $5 a month, but first Rhapsody has to eat through the settlement money.

2- They pretty much have already. Rhapsody is a pure WM-tech operation and the Real-format business is stagnant at best... No big (or small) splashes in ages.

[Kent Pribbernow]

If I were Gates, I would have told Glaser to kiss my world's richest ass. Real Player is a plague upon humanity, or Windows PCs at any rate. :snipersmile: