] "Why is Steve afraid of opening up the iPod?" he asked in
] a telephone interview. "Steve is showing a high level of
] fear that I don't understand."

[ Or maybe Steve realized that Real is a marginal brand these days, and that his plans have been working just fine to date without making the iPod a general purpose media player. We all know the strategy. iTunes Store sells iPods which sell Macs. It may not work, but I don't think Real content is gonna help either way. Am I just being a snob? Do people still care about Real? -k]

RealNetworks Seeks a Musical Alliance With Apple (or Else!)