Clint,
I might open a trading account with ndb. Don't know if its service is as interesting as its stock movement. Bought a little bit etys and pcln.
The star of the nets today: rnwk
Microsoft Unit To Use Rival RealNetworks Software
By Scott Hillis
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - WebTV Networks Inc., a unit of Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news)
that brings the Internet to television sets, said Thursday it was partnering with RealNetworks Inc.
(Nasdaq:RNWK - news), the software giant's main rival in sending audio over the Internet.
The deal signals an upturn in ties between the two companies, which were strained last year after RealNetworks repeatedly
attacked Microsoft for allegedly disabling its products on the Windows operating system.
Under the deal, WebTV will support Seattle, Wash.-based RealNetworks's newest streaming audio format, called RealAudio
G2, which competes with Microsoft's Windows Media Player. Following the announcement, RealNetworks stock shot up
$8.125, or more than 10 percent, to $77 a share.
RealNetworks, which claims that 65 million computers use its software, said the WebTV agreement would give it access to a
new and growing pool of casual Web surfers.
After a sputtering start in 1996, WebTV was bought by Microsoft in 1997 and now boasts about 800,000 subscribers.
''This agreement opens up that base of content on the Internet to the WebTV network and WebTV customer base,'' Len
Jordan, a senior vice president for RealNetworks said in an interview.
RealNetworks also said it would adapt G2 to play on Windows CE, a slimmed down cousin of the PC operating system that
runs on smaller devices, such as handheld computers, and will eventually power the WebTV box.
WebTV, which enables users to surf the Internet and read e-mail on the television sets through a set-top box, already employs
previous RealNetworks formats, but Thursday's deal was the first upgrade since tensions rose a year ago.
''WebTV has always been about making the Web a fun and exciting experience and RealAudio has been a part of that,''
WebTV President Bruce Leak said in an interview.
''Our goal has been to give customers access to as much Web content as possible,'' Leak said, adding that RealAudio would
be available to subscribers by the end of the year.
The executives skirted the issue of the rivalry between Microsoft and RealNetworks. ''At WebTV, we've always had good
relations with RealNetworks,'' Leak said. Added Jordan, ''We don't compete with primary revenue groups and Microsoft.''
In a separate announcement Thursday, Microsoft said its Windows Media Player also would hit WebTV by the end of the
year. But trumping RealNetworks, Microsoft's software will allow WebTV users to get streaming video as well as audio.
''As a service, WebTV wants to be sure that its end-users have content,'' said Anthony Bay, general manager of Microsoft's
streaming media division. ''The good news is the market is growing so rapidly, it's just growth for everybody.''
Microsoft also said it would bundle the Media technology with its Web browser and WebTV technology in a software
package aimed at bringing the Internet to other cable television boxes.
Iris
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