[Wired] Find the Download in a Haystack

"RealNetworks hasn't been doing itself any favors with its affinity for pop-up ads, icon installations throughout users' computers and aggressive (and sometimes misleading) pitches for subscription products, analysts say. Instead of developing user-friendly products, RealNetworks has been focused on getting as much money as possible from users with each registration. [...] RealNetworks has had some success in winning back critics. A couple of months ago, the website of the popular radio show Car Talk dumped Real, citing frustration with the registration process. A newsletter to users said there was "perceived trickery" in getting users to buy a premium version of the player. "The free player is harder to find than Osama bin Laden at night," they quipped.

But on Monday, the hosts of the show announced that they were giving RealNetworks another chance, after the company got in touch with them and said it would fix the problems."

I think the conclusion tells it all: "Yet despite its attempts to update the player to a more user-friendly design, it may be too little, too late."