BOB
10th April 2004, 19:59
First and foremost I should say I stopped using Real Player the moment I discovered Media Player Classic and Real Alternative.
However, i'm always open to trying something semi-new.
So here's my step by step review of real player itself and not its playback/codec capabilities. In otherwords is it worth downloading and installing?
Installation
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/1.gif
As can be seen above you have the first window, the all encompassing EULA, don't you just love them?
A few things came to mind whilst reading it.
Copied and pasted from the EULA Section 6 (AUTOMATIC COMMUNICATIONS FEATURES) sub-section a.
"The Software consists of interactive Internet applications that perform a variety of communications over the Internet as part of their normal operation. A number of communications features are automatic and are enabled by default. By installing and/or using the Software, you consent to the Software's communications features. Once you log into the Software, user information including your user id will be sent in communications with RN's servers. This information is used to access your regular account, premium content, non-premium content, services, features, and other personalized services. RN may match the user id to personally identifiable information in order to provide you with products, services, and software that you're entitled to and to provide you with relevant information. You are responsible for any telecommunications or other connectivity charges incurred through use of the Software."
If you notice the above italic bold text Real appears to have a questionable bit here, i'm not 100% certain but I believe this is illegal under EU privacy laws. Real may not do this without explicit consent of the user (ie. select this tickbox if you want us to personally identify you by your user id).
The rest contains all the usual legal blubber about how you agree that if the program causes your computer to explode etc you won't sue Real etc.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/2.gif
The usual select your bandwidth bit, i've got a 2mbit ADSL line so I click on whats nearest.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/3.gif
Hold on! There's something wrong here, there are less options than Real Player 9. Only the three options? Well, i'll untick them and see what happens later...
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/4.gif
Please wait whilst Real installs and starts screwing with your system.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/5.gif
Oh dear, dear oh dear...
Why oh why would I want Real to associate itself with music? Let alone other video formats?
Sorry Real, but Winamp is superior to not only your player but all other players out there for audio, wake up and smell the turd, untick all audio stuff by default.
Infact, Real should by default on setup only have Real media stuff ticked.
The plus to this bit is I can now untick Real media associations in the Advanced selection, only useful if I use another player to play Real files.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/6.gif
Aww, look.. its calling home now, isn't that nice? </sarcasm>
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/7.gif
And now it wants to install the Google toolbar, pointless.. I use browsers which have this capability built-in. (Avant & Firebird^H^H^H^Hfox)
Getting itself selected to not install.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/8.gif
And now it wants me to register, why? If all other media players out there can work without requiring me register why can't Reals?
It gets cancelled only to have...
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/9.gif
A popup annoying me, yes.. I've decided I want to cancel, get lost. I'm quite capable of the human choice to choose NOT to register. This was highly annoying.
Using Real
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/14.jpg
I could show you what Real shows when it first starts up, which is some annoying little "Real can play anything you like" (as long as its DRM'd and we get to screw up your system) but Real decides it wants to take up the entire screen, which putting up on a board would probably be a bit too big.
So, i'll show you just a pic of the media player with the "browser" part of the player closed (did I mentioned it opens by default? how annoying is that? I've got a browser thank you, I don't want my media player to be one)
As you can see, as is the annoyance nowadays all applications want to use skins (or themes). I would blame Nullsoft for probably being the first successful company to use skinning, but I can't because well... they actually do that very well.
Whereas Real gives the alaskan turd look, not only that but all.. let me emphasize this.. ALL of the skins/themes available for Real Player 10 are awful, its like a turd emporium or something.
Wake up real, do one of two things. 1. Get rid of the skinning/theming and go back to using the Windows API's for normal window drawing which in your case would be a step up or 2. Provide a skin/theme that uses the windows api's so it Real looks like a normal windows application.
A few more notes, see the "Real Guide", "Music & My Library" and "Music Store"?
You can't get rid of them, even though you'll never use them you don't have an option to be rid of them.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/10.gif
So, Real doesn't do anything dodgy still does it?
Sorry, but see all those ticked boxes? I class that as dodgy, all of those should be unticked by default. Another annoyance.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/11.gif
Oh look, Real wants to annoy me with messages that serve no purpose.
It gets itself unticked.
Message Center, have it disabled by default Real.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/15.png
And now we go back to near the start, remember when I mentioned how at installation there were less selections? Well, this was one of those missing selections. Like it or not this gets stuck in your start menu and you can't delete it without farting about in your systems registry.
I don't like that, I don't use it and I don't want it. Get rid of it Real.
Uninstallation
What? You didn't think i'd be keeping it would you?
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/16.png
Now, you'd think by selecting Uninstall it'd be a single click process...
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/17.png
No! It doesn't, what part of "uninstall" does Real not understand?
This should be a one click process yet Real manage to make it a four click process.
Conclusion
My overrall advice to anybody thinking of installing Real Player 10:
Don't, it's a hassle to install and if anything is worser than Real Player 9. Stick with Media Player Classic and the Real Alternative codec pack.
My advice to Real, get a f'ing clue.
Read the issues I raise in this post and address them.
Make installation as short and simple as possible, get rid of the phoning home. (which users DO find offensive)
Have all formats other than your own unselected by default, don't install crap all over my system. (the link in my start menu search is just such an example)
And for crying out loud, either provide some good skins/themes or go back to using the normal windows api's for drawing a window. (it'll be a step up from the awful skins/themes)
However, i'm always open to trying something semi-new.
So here's my step by step review of real player itself and not its playback/codec capabilities. In otherwords is it worth downloading and installing?
Installation
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/1.gif
As can be seen above you have the first window, the all encompassing EULA, don't you just love them?
A few things came to mind whilst reading it.
Copied and pasted from the EULA Section 6 (AUTOMATIC COMMUNICATIONS FEATURES) sub-section a.
"The Software consists of interactive Internet applications that perform a variety of communications over the Internet as part of their normal operation. A number of communications features are automatic and are enabled by default. By installing and/or using the Software, you consent to the Software's communications features. Once you log into the Software, user information including your user id will be sent in communications with RN's servers. This information is used to access your regular account, premium content, non-premium content, services, features, and other personalized services. RN may match the user id to personally identifiable information in order to provide you with products, services, and software that you're entitled to and to provide you with relevant information. You are responsible for any telecommunications or other connectivity charges incurred through use of the Software."
If you notice the above italic bold text Real appears to have a questionable bit here, i'm not 100% certain but I believe this is illegal under EU privacy laws. Real may not do this without explicit consent of the user (ie. select this tickbox if you want us to personally identify you by your user id).
The rest contains all the usual legal blubber about how you agree that if the program causes your computer to explode etc you won't sue Real etc.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/2.gif
The usual select your bandwidth bit, i've got a 2mbit ADSL line so I click on whats nearest.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/3.gif
Hold on! There's something wrong here, there are less options than Real Player 9. Only the three options? Well, i'll untick them and see what happens later...
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/4.gif
Please wait whilst Real installs and starts screwing with your system.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/5.gif
Oh dear, dear oh dear...
Why oh why would I want Real to associate itself with music? Let alone other video formats?
Sorry Real, but Winamp is superior to not only your player but all other players out there for audio, wake up and smell the turd, untick all audio stuff by default.
Infact, Real should by default on setup only have Real media stuff ticked.
The plus to this bit is I can now untick Real media associations in the Advanced selection, only useful if I use another player to play Real files.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/6.gif
Aww, look.. its calling home now, isn't that nice? </sarcasm>
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/7.gif
And now it wants to install the Google toolbar, pointless.. I use browsers which have this capability built-in. (Avant & Firebird^H^H^H^Hfox)
Getting itself selected to not install.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/8.gif
And now it wants me to register, why? If all other media players out there can work without requiring me register why can't Reals?
It gets cancelled only to have...
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/9.gif
A popup annoying me, yes.. I've decided I want to cancel, get lost. I'm quite capable of the human choice to choose NOT to register. This was highly annoying.
Using Real
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/14.jpg
I could show you what Real shows when it first starts up, which is some annoying little "Real can play anything you like" (as long as its DRM'd and we get to screw up your system) but Real decides it wants to take up the entire screen, which putting up on a board would probably be a bit too big.
So, i'll show you just a pic of the media player with the "browser" part of the player closed (did I mentioned it opens by default? how annoying is that? I've got a browser thank you, I don't want my media player to be one)
As you can see, as is the annoyance nowadays all applications want to use skins (or themes). I would blame Nullsoft for probably being the first successful company to use skinning, but I can't because well... they actually do that very well.
Whereas Real gives the alaskan turd look, not only that but all.. let me emphasize this.. ALL of the skins/themes available for Real Player 10 are awful, its like a turd emporium or something.
Wake up real, do one of two things. 1. Get rid of the skinning/theming and go back to using the Windows API's for normal window drawing which in your case would be a step up or 2. Provide a skin/theme that uses the windows api's so it Real looks like a normal windows application.
A few more notes, see the "Real Guide", "Music & My Library" and "Music Store"?
You can't get rid of them, even though you'll never use them you don't have an option to be rid of them.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/10.gif
So, Real doesn't do anything dodgy still does it?
Sorry, but see all those ticked boxes? I class that as dodgy, all of those should be unticked by default. Another annoyance.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/11.gif
Oh look, Real wants to annoy me with messages that serve no purpose.
It gets itself unticked.
Message Center, have it disabled by default Real.
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/15.png
And now we go back to near the start, remember when I mentioned how at installation there were less selections? Well, this was one of those missing selections. Like it or not this gets stuck in your start menu and you can't delete it without farting about in your systems registry.
I don't like that, I don't use it and I don't want it. Get rid of it Real.
Uninstallation
What? You didn't think i'd be keeping it would you?
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/16.png
Now, you'd think by selecting Uninstall it'd be a single click process...
http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~mccasey/17.png
No! It doesn't, what part of "uninstall" does Real not understand?
This should be a one click process yet Real manage to make it a four click process.
Conclusion
My overrall advice to anybody thinking of installing Real Player 10:
Don't, it's a hassle to install and if anything is worser than Real Player 9. Stick with Media Player Classic and the Real Alternative codec pack.
My advice to Real, get a f'ing clue.
Read the issues I raise in this post and address them.
Make installation as short and simple as possible, get rid of the phoning home. (which users DO find offensive)
Have all formats other than your own unselected by default, don't install crap all over my system. (the link in my start menu search is just such an example)
And for crying out loud, either provide some good skins/themes or go back to using the normal windows api's for drawing a window. (it'll be a step up from the awful skins/themes)