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Getting Real Friendly (6/12/00)
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Having been present at the infamous "Microsoft is now our ally" Stevenote a few years back, the AtAT staff is quite familiar with the Strange Bedfellows principle. In fact, after hearing the audience's boos, hisses, and strangled cries of "please kill me now" that preceded the appearance of Bill Gates's Big Giant Head on the conference hall's video screen, we figure we're pretty jaded when it comes to corporate collaborations that might leave a bad taste in one's mouth. Heck, even the Apple-IBM teamup at the dawn of the PowerPC age seems tame compared to Mr. Sweater greeting the Macworld Expo crowd as his new humble servants. So yeah, Apple and RealNetworks joining forces may be an... interesting plot twist, but at least it isn't likely to send the Mac faithful into writhing, foaming seizures like that Microsoft deal.
In case you missed Apple's press release (first pointed out to us by faithful viewer Tim Rzeznik), here's the deal: Real has licensed Apple's QuickTime streaming technology for incorporation into RealServer 8, the next incarnation of the company's streaming media server product. What this means is that sites who rely on RealServer to webcast their content will soon be able to stream QuickTime without having to switch to (or add) Apple's QuickTime Streaming Server. So who gets what? Well, Apple gets (hopefully) more exposure for QuickTime on the server side of the fence, which it sorely needs, if the reports of Windows Media's growing lead are accurate. On the other hand, Real gets to offer its customers a "one-stop shop" streaming solution that can handle two popular formats for the price of one. (Okay, well, actually, for the price of two, since QuickTime's always been free. But still.) It would appear that the age of Apple's "No Server Tax" ads are over; Real Is Now Your Friend™.
Now, what we're hoping is that this plan doesn't blow up in Apple's face. According to various and sundry sources, Real has made some serious progress with RealSystem8; MacWEEK, for example, claims that the latest architecture from Real provides a "substantial boost in video quality" that might make QuickTime Streaming look like the dorky sidekick when the two are placed side by side. Here's hoping that the next update to QuickTime, due this summer, can help establish the lead in quality. And we also wouldn't mind if this Apple-Real deal also spawned a Mac-compatible version of RealServer. (Then again, given that Apple hasn't even released a Mac OS 9 version of the QuickTime Streaming Server, maybe we shouldn't hold our breath.)
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SceneLink (2350)
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And Now For A Word From Our Sponsors |
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 | | The above scene was taken from the 6/12/00 episode: June 12, 2000: It's another wacky Marvel Team-Up, as Apple and RealNetworks join forces on the streaming media front. Meanwhile, a small satellite company wants to put a G4 in space, and a prominent rumors site finds itself on the pointy end of an honest-to-goodness Adobe lawsuit...
Other scenes from that episode: 2351: The Final Frontier (6/12/00) It's only fitting; since the Power Mac G4 looks like it came from space, why not send it into space? That's just what SkyCorp plans to do next year-- according to SpaceViews, the fledgling satellite company wants to stick a G4 web server into a satellite and pop it into orbit during an upcoming shuttle mission, thus establishing what it believes to be the first web server in space... 2352: Mess With The Bull... (6/12/00) Okay, somebody tell Adobe and AppleInsider to quit ad-libbing and stick to the script. Everyone knows that the accepted industry-standard way to deal with a rumors web site leaking sensitive information is to have the lawyers issue a stern cease-and-desist order, after which the offending data is hastily removed and replaced with a "REMOVED BY ORDER OF (insert company name here) LEGAL" notice...
Or view the entire episode as originally broadcast... | |  |
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