News RealNetworks readies new music service

Real is betting on a 'second coming' of Rhapsody, to help it grow it's share of the digital music pie. This from news.com:

Ten years after the release of its first RealAudio multimedia software, RealNetworks is hoping to kick-start its second decade with a new push into digital music.

In New York on Tuesday morning, during a fete complete with a free concert in Manhattan's Radio City Music Hall, the company is slated to make what it has called a "groundbreaking" announcement for the future of its digital music business.

Though executives have not released details on the announcement, the company has previously said it's been nearing the release of a new version of its popular Rhapsody subscription-based music program. That new version would support Microsoft technology that would let songs be downloaded to some portable MP3 players, the company has said. ​

No, Really - there is more here

Does anyone here actually use Rhapsody? I know there was all that hoo-har over them ripping off fairplay, but that's really all I know about Raspberry - as with all things Real I leave well enough alone.

 

The only reasons I have RealPlayer on my PC is so that I can listen to the track previews at Amazon.co.uk and use the "Listen Again" feature at the BBC radio web site, if it weren't for them I wouldn't use it.

I don't know whether it's the fault of RealPlayer or the Amazon and BBC web sites, but it seems terribly slow and buggy to me. Despite having a 2Mb broadband connection a tiny track preview from Amazon can take ages to load, if it loads at all. I really wish these sites would offer an alternative to the Real format.

If Rhapsody is anywhere near as <sarcastic>good</sarcastic> RealPlayer, the words "barge-pole" and "wouldn't touch it with" spring to mind.

 

Installing Real Alternative should work as an alternative to realplayer(real alternative an alternative to realplayer?! who would've thought )