Several months ago, I finally got sick of RealPlayer once and for all, and uninstalled the dang thing. The software was useless for playing anything other than the formats that they wouldn’t allow anyone else to play, it really wasn’t very good at that either. Add in the constant crashing and utterly swallowing my system’s resources, I decided it wasn’t worth it.
Today, when I was cleaning out my registry after a slight mess (my fault) with AIM, I noticed that there was still a lot left of it. In fact, it was like the uninstall program had not only left my registry untouched, it made sure I’d know it. Not only were there entries for programs I HAD downloaded, there were entries for programs I never wanted! This thing was more or less trying to integrate itself into EVERYTHING. After spending quite some time tracking down and removing each component of the freaking thing, it still escaped me WHAT use the program had. Or, why the heck ANYONE would want to use their formats. From what I see, there are better alternatives to ANYTHING they offer, and much more powerful ones at that.
So can anyone direct me to some merit to this worthless thing that I’ve missed?
Nope. I remember an abortive attempt I once made to install RealJukebox. I uninstalled it within minutes, but it had already made itself the default player for every file type - even though I had expressly told it NOT to - and changed all the icons. It took me hours to get everything back the way I like it. Bastards.
I have been Real-free for about 6 months now. Unfortunatly, I have tons of downloaded Simpsons episodes in RAM format. Is there any way I can convert them to a respectable format?
GOD I hate RealMedia. DivX rules all for straight-up downloads, and for streaming media, Windows Media cannot be beat. RealAudio does have the advantage that you can embed streams at several different bitrates to accomodate dialup and broadband users alike, and RealAudio does seem to be about the most listenable audio there is at 16kbps, but still. It’s ass nasty.
I just wish NPR would use something other than RealAudio 2.0. I mean MY GOD, it sounds like CRAP. At least use RealAudio G2 or something, geez.
I do have the RealOne player, and I’ve managed to coax it into not trying to snatch up every video file I have. The main reason I have it is because there’s some nice porn clips I have that are in Real’s format. Altering the format, however, would be preferable, because the RealOne player looks like a refugee from 2001: A Space Oddysey. Dear Spam, whatever happened to the good ol’ plain box window with a stop, play, and pause button?
I can listen to both my local NPR station (WNYC) and the NPR broadcast on Windows Media. I even had MusicMatch playing WNYC before I told it (MM) that I only wanted it to come when I called. (Don’t ask me how I got MM to play the station, as I haven’t been able to replicate the feat).
I’d found a site that had a copy of the old “Time Out for Timer” commercial in which Timer shows you how to make your own snacks. Unfortunately, it was in the RAM format. So, I stupidly downloaded RealOne. After about a day of its evilness, I deep sixed it. AOL, though, requires RealPlayer for some of its features. So, I installed 7.0 and got back the basic player. I also have some old South Park clips that are in the RAM format as well so I have to keep the damned program if I want to watch them.