Real benefits from Intel deal

That old Seattle 'rivalry' with Microsoft takes a new turn

RealNetworks is to benefit from having its RealOne Player software shipped on Intel PC motherboards. The move is significant because most of these components from Intel will end up in PCs that run Microsoft's Windows operating system, an OS which now prominently features Real's main rival application, namely Windows Media Player. Since pioneering streaming software - for both audio and video content - since the mid-nineties, RealNetworks has been hauled back by Microsoft and its offering. However, yesterday Real's shares rose 24 per cent on news of the Intel deal. Financial terms were not disclosed, though last week's Intel Developer Forum showed the world's largest chip-maker is keen to pursue various strategies to increase the amount of multimedia content on PCs.