Speaking of Microsoft, it looks like their going after RNWK in a big way. I wonder if this had anything to do with RNWK's price decline the last couple of days. Seems to me Microsoft might be the ultimate internet company.
Microsoft launches multimedia software
Reuters Story - July 07, 1998 20:19
SEATTLE, July 7 (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. Tuesday
launched the latest version of its "streaming" media technology
aimed at bringing near-broadcast quality audio and video to the
computer desktop.
The launch of the products was the latest step in
Microsoft's effort to adopt technology seen as key to making
the Internet a mass-media platform capable of providing video
on demand and other television-like services.
For now the bandwidth to deliver true video on demand
exists only in closed networks such as hotels and corporate
offices. But several major content providers announced plans to
take advantage of the new Microsoft technology to offer
improved delivery of news and information over the Internet as
well as new features such as online video advertisements.
"Streaming audio and video are quickly becoming a standard
vehicle for richer communications," Microsoft Chief Operating
Officer Bob Herbold said in a statement, referring to the
technology that allows users to access audio and video content
almost immediately rather than wait for lengthy downloads.
Seattle-based Real Networks Inc has more than an
85 percent share in the market for streaming media players and
servers, according to company spokesman Jay Wampold, who said
he saw nothing new in the Microsoft announcement.
"We have not run into situations where we have lost
accounts to Microsoft," Wampold said.
Microsoft licenses some of Real Networks' technology and
owns a minority stake in the company.
The new Microsoft products, which have been in testing,
include Windows Media Player, a free add-on to Windows 95,
Windows 98 and Windows NT Workstation that plays back most
multimedia file types.
Microsoft also released the latest edition of Windows NT
Server NetShow Services, which a company executive said would
provide video quality about twice as good as the previous
version. The product is free to Windows NT Server licensees.
And Microsoft announced availability of Microsoft NetShow
Theater Server to deliver broadcast quality video over
high-speed networks. The product sells for about $2499
including five client access licenses.
|
