Glaser's iPod criticism may fall on deaf ears
RealNetworks CEO says Apple's refusal to make iPod work with music services other than iTunes is result of Steve Jobs' "pig-headedness."
Rob Glaser has never been known for his reticence, and Monday was no exception. The founder and CEO of RealNetworks said Apple Computer's refusal to make the iPod compatible with music services other than its own was the result of "pig-headedness" on the part of Steve Jobs.
Perhaps Glaser felt particularly emboldened to speak out since the $761 million settlement he extracted from Microsoft a couple of months ago. Or perhaps he just felt as if he doesn't have much to lose, given that RealNetworks--once the market leader in digital music--is often an afterthought today.
Glaser's words and actions toward Apple, most notably a much-publicized hack of the iPod's digital format last year, have won some support among those who fear that Apple will soon have a monopoly in digital music. Yet, if responses in the blogosphere are any indication, his calls to rally opposition may be viewed as either hypocritical or simply too late.
Blog community response:
"Glaser right now--and the other download services--need Apple to open things up or they are dead in the water unless or until the iPod loses its appeal. Let's not kid ourselves: All these other companies in either the download or MP3 market would do the same thing if in the same position."--80 dash 89 dot com
"It looks like RealNetworks is expected to make a Web version of its Rhapsody music service. Although I assume this move is to help Real expand its user base, I'm not sure how this helps them. Will expanding to Mac and Linux really make a noticible impact?--digitalmerging.la
"Can anything be better than iTunes? And why now? I think Rhapsody's getting in too late. Since I've started using iTunes, I've never used any other music application."--Switchblog