Real's WMP, Open Source moves risk Redmond ire. Our lawyers don't like us saying 'reverse engineering' [The Register]

When I first heard there was going to be an announcement, I got excited.  The possibilities here to shake things up are very cool.  But now it turns out Real has chosen to keep the interesting bits proprietary.

Microsoft has been remarkably successful in leveraging its monopoly to dominate the digital media streaming market.  Because MS's technology is non-standard, proprietary, and features DRM, this is all bad for its customers.  Historically, Real hasn't been much better.  I'm not sure adding support for Microsoft's proprietary formats to Real's server and client helps anybody but Real.

5:27:43 PM