] [Real] has created a jukebox that will play all the media
] formats used by its own and other song stores--including
] secure downloads from the iTunes store.

it uses QT in the background. apparently it's native format is also AAC, though probably with a different DRM wrapper.

the potentially major coup here is that Real player should work in Linux since it's all based on their common Matrix platform. This could be the first of the new generation to work in linux. Of course, since RealPlayer is an all-in-one audio/video player, they could move towards movie distribution as well.

However:
] The company concedes that, like its rivals,
] it doesn't expect profits from the song store
] itself, since the cost of licensing music,
] distribution and credit card fees reach close
] to the retail price of the songs themselves.
]
] But Real hopes that exposing consumers to digital
] music though the relatively familiar pay-per-song
] model will ultimately whet appetites for the
] all-you-can-eat model of its $10 per month Rhapsody
] service.

i'm still undecided on the validity of this approach. i have no interest in what is effectively a choose-your-own-adventure radio service, but perhaps other people will?