Ask RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser

RealNetworks has always been more Linux-friendly than other streaming media purveyors, and is now moving closer to the open source camp with its Helix Community effort. More recently, Real has made a big media splash by selling downloadable tunes in an iPod-compatible format. Does any of this matter, considering that world + dog seems to be jumping on the downloadable multimedia bandwagon? Can Real once again become "the" streaming media leader? Will Real's 49 cent "limited time only" song download price force other music download vendors to cut their prices? We have no idea, but hopefully Rob Glaser does. He's promised to answer your questions personally (rather than have PR people speak for him). So ask whatever you like. We'll forward 10 of the highest-moderated questions to him by email and post his answers soon after he gets them back to us.

RealPod

[Solder Fumes]

If Apple continues to make a

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fuss about this, does Real have any plans

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to develop a competing portable music player?

Obligatory

[Have Blue]

Just so we can move on to the serious questions, please put all "Buffering..." jokes below this post.

Hey Rob G...

[escher]

Remember when you fired us all with no warning and stole all our stock options through a technicality?

That sucked.

Response

[ajservo]

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An very importatnt question: Why...

[Anonymous Coward]

<bufferring>

Re:"Clean" Software - no Cruft?

[oskillator]

So they haven't bothered to port their cruft installation code to Linux yet? That means only 99.9% of their user base is affected by it!

GPL

[SlashDread]

All your products please?

Pretty please?

"/Dread"

Re:When the line between troll and insightful blur

[Lord_Dweomer]

' Real has become one of those companies that geeks put in the catagory of "wouldn't piss on if they were on fire".

I'd only piss on them if they weren't on fire.