Apple, Real, and others are all vying to become the standard format to which the music industry targets its content. Generally speaking, the music industry will not use a format that fails to implement DRM (digital rights management) to protect the music content from redistribution. So MP3 -- the almost universal interchange format between the players -- isn't really an option for online music sellers. Apple will not license its DRM format to companies such as Real, etc, because it wants to be the sole online provider for the music industry. And you can see from the compatibility chart that Apple isn't as compatible with the available formats as many other planers. In some ways, I don't blame Apple for this strategic move. It makes good business sense. But if Apple prevails, it means that consumers will pay more for music than they would if there were a diverse competitive environment. Apple's response to Real's encroachment has been to issue firmware updates to defeat Real's reverse-engineering. This is sleazy. If MSFT had done this, Mac partisans would be screaming like stuck pigs -- but, somehow, when Jobs does it, they merely genuflect and cross themselves.
"if Apple prevails, it means that consumers will pay more for music than they would if there were a diverse competitive environment. "
Exactly. That's the reason I post on this thread despite the hysteria. I'm more interested in the idea of how music is distributed in the future than with which player is the niftiest. Apple is trying to force out other music services. Apple is using a similiar M.O. to force out Real as Microsoft did with respect to Real's streaming media software. I would rather use a non-pod device than contribute to Apple's predatory music distribution agenda.