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Technology Stocks : RealNetworks (NASDAQ:RNWK) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Paul K who wrote (212)	1/29/1998 12:59:00 PM
From: Scott Patrick Adams	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5843

Excuse me, I was not refering to the agreement with Sun. I was refering to the license agreement with Microsoft and the fact they "Microsoft" are not supposed to produce a product that makes Real's product un-compatable. From a "Wired" Magazine Article in July The terms of the agreement allow Microsoft to fully license Progressive's client and server technology, for undisclosed - but "very significant," as one Progressive source puts it - fees. Microsoft also agreed to bundle the latest RealAudio and RealVideo client software in future releases of Internet Explorer, and Progressive's servers with NetShow developer kits. Microsoft has the right to build upon Progressive's technology but must license back to Progressive any improvements it makes. Microsoft is also forbidden from breaking compatibility between its products and Progressive's - a lesson Glaser learned from Sun Microsystems' ongoing nightmares over Microsoft's licensing of Java. Finally, Microsoft bought a 10 percent nonvoting stake in Progressive. Neither side is commenting on the price, but a knowledgeable source puts it at $25 million. The Microsoft deal, announced in late July, gives RealVideo a secure place in Internet Explorer, meaning a secure place in Windows - and thus, the PC desktop. To the extent there had been a question about which streaming media product would be the Internet standard, "I think we've flattened it in a very meaningful way," Glaser says.