Real Distributing Google Chrome
There has been discussion in the blogosphere this morning about RealPlayer distributing the Google Chrome Web browser. Google Chrome has been one of the most exciting developments in the browser world in some time. It’s fast. It’s easy. And it’s innovative, something that we value at Real. The millions of people who download RealPlayer 11 every week now have the option to include Google Chrome.
RealPlayer users have the ability to download Web video from thousands of sites, and share that enjoyment with friends around the world. RealPlayer is the only major media player to offer this video downloading capability, an innovation that garnered acclaim for the product from BusinessWeek, ArsTechnica, the Wall Street Journal, and many others when we introduced it at the Wall Street Journal’s “D:All Things Digital” conference in May 2007.
Check out RealPlayer here.
Posted by Bill Hankes, VP, Corporate Communications
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This is too bad. I have avoided RealPlayer for years because it was such an impolite application. It would install fine, but then (without asking) automatically associate with various filetypes. And it would (without asking) decide it was the default media player. And it would itself (without asking) into the application startup queue. All three of these actions are, to me, improper and impolite.
So if Chrome and RealPlayer are bundled, and if RealPlayer is as rude as before, I may have to stop using Chrome.
Hey Ted, Bill from RealNetworks here. I understand your objection to RealPlayer and, you won’t be surprised to hear, we’ve heard it before. That’s why the last version of RealPlayer we introduced (v.11) in May of ‘07 does not automatically assign file types or other, as you put it “impolite”
behavior. I understand if you keep avoiding RealPlayer, but if you decide to give it another shot, you can find it at http://www.realplayer.com. In either case, you should know that Google Chrome is only an option for RealPlayer installations. Thanks for taking the time to post.
Ive always had priblems with real player. I personally like windows media player.
So Bill, until May of 07, Realplayer had been invading the users’ PCs?
…..You sir just made my day already, and it is only morning now (10:00 AM)
Glad I stopped using Realplayer 8 years ago.
Thanks everyone for taking time to comment. Wnmnkh: Although I think your comment is intentionally suggestive (and an incorrect inference), I’ll use the opportunity to be very specific. In version 11, we made changes that our customers asked for, including:
- Making the install process much faster,
- Removing offers for other products that customers didn’t find useful. We still offer the Google Toolbar and Google Chrome (as options) because customers really like Google products.
- Assigning file types to RealPlayer 11 that are not assigned to other programs.
- As a default, turning off Media Center, the function in the lower-right of your screen that suggested entertainment you could enjoy with RealPlayer (for those who like this function, they can turn it on),
These are some of the changes we made, and the response has been positive. If you, or anyone else reading this string, has suggestions you’d like to submit to the product team, leave them here and I’ll make sure they get in the right hands.
Actually I am using RealPlayer since when I am beginning to learn using internet and my mom install it on our computer until now. Im glad that you can now include it into Google Chrome.
I used to always use RealPlayer back when it was a media player, but now it’s so bloated with extra stuff I already have in other programs I like that it kind of became redundant. Plus, at least in my circles, it’s pretty much a dead format. I know sites still use it, but I haven’t installed the RealPlayer suite for years and I never run into situations where I can’t play something. In fact, many of the big sites offer options (WMP, Quicktime, Real) for more compatibility, or have thrown away all of them and use Adobe Flash which seems be far more versatile and seamless in terms of embedded clips on websites. I let the Real Media format go a long time ago, and I have enough media players installed already. Of course, this is just my personal situation, YMMV.
I think the inclusion of RealPlayer into Google Chrome is a great move. I have been using Chrome now for 6 months, and I love its intuity and usability, and the addition of RealPlayer adds to the user’s experience.