"Microsoft Corp said on Tuesday it would pay RealNetworks Inc $761 million (£436 million) to settle an antitrust suit accusing the world's largest software maker of using its dominance to promote its own media software. RealNetworks, maker of Real Internet media software, has said Microsoft's decision to bundle Windows Media Player for free within the Windows operating system was to blame for slower sales at RealNetworks, shares of which rose as much as 48% in midday trading before slipping back a bit," reports Reuters.
"RealNetworks' suit, filed nearly two years ago, was the last remaining major antitrust action against Microsoft, which has spent the last three years reaching agreements with several US states, the European Union and other companies including International Business Machines Corp, Time Warner Inc, and Sun Microsystems Inc."
Comment: This s a great deal for Real, especially when you remember that (a) Real's founder, Rob Glaser, had spent a decade as one of Bill Gate's merry men, and Microsoft supported him by buying 10% of his company; and (b) Real's player was so obnoxious it made the company one of the most hated on the Internet. The experience certainly made me unwilling to touch a Real product ever again -- though to be fair to Rob, the last time I saw him, he was apologetic and said Real had learned from its past mistakes.
Users who missed the burning excitement of those years should have a look at Real Proof and Real Obnoxious, a "rant about Real's fantastically crappy product".
Real Proof concludes: "the saddest part of the story, the part which really tears you up, is the fact that Real Networks didn't die an agonizing death when the industry bubble burst." Well, it not only survived, it's now due to collect $460 million in cash from Microsoft.
