Re: MCSTRM service failed to start
- From: bensig <bensig.3cxbbd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2008 04:51:45 +0530
First and foremost, I wanted to clarify that I'm not telling anyone that
they should install Rhapsody or Realplayer - but, if they are
malfuctioning and you would like to continue using them, see my solution
above if you are having a problem with MCSTRM.SYS.
I'm happy that there are some good alternatives for people instead of
Realplayer, I'm all for open source and free software and codecs. I'm
not a fan of Realplayer at all, but I think it's unnecessary to call
Realplayer "spyware" and Rhapsody "crap" - they are both programs that
lots of people use and enjoy, both have made breakthroughs in their
respective fields of music and streaming media.
As far as your criticism of my solution goes, my goal was to attempt to
help people who have a malfunctioning system file - not to tell them
that they shouldn't use whatever software they preferred because it was
dangerous to their system. I always try to work together with my clients
and help them to do things the way that they want, not the way that I
think they should do them - unless some program really COULD harm their
computer, in which case I would advise them.
Therefore, because it must be that the problem with MCSTRM.SYS that
people are discussing in this forum was already due to already having
Realplayer installed - my advice on how to get things running normally
again is actually the correct way to get the system functioning as the
end user wants it.
I don't think anyone can dictate what the "typical end user" would or
would not do in this case because the "typical end user" would not be
reading tech forums, trying to solve a problem from their sys logs.
Real's response to StopBadware (I don't know why you wouldn't have
posted this on here for people to read) clearly states that the
stopbadware alerts have been addressed:
Real’s Response to stopbadware.org
The folks at stopbadware.org have sent their second alert in less than
a month calling RealPlayer “badware” because the
organization takes exception to the Message Center in an older version
of the player, and a flaw in the un-install process in our current
version.
I actually admire what stopbadware is trying to do to keep consumers
safe. But in this case the only thing bad is the report itself.
Here’s why: Not a single claim raised by stopbadware actually
hurts anyone.
Yet the report cites such egregious practices as promoting movie
trailers or security software that consumers can enjoy by using
Real’s software.
Message Center tells consumers about video they can enjoy using
RealPlayer (film.com is owned by RealNetworks) or security and
performance software they can download from McAfee because they are Real
customers.
The truth is that I actually found the Message Center in the old
RealPlayer to be annoying too. So I turned it off. Not rocket science.
And certainly not the sin stopbadware alleges.
And here’s the thing: lots of our customers told us they
didn’t like the Message Center either. So guess what? We turned
it off in our current version so not a single person ever sees it unless
they go and turn it on. Stopbadware even gives us credit for this
improvement in the user experience. But that’s old software so
I’m not sure why we’re talking about it. We announced the
availability RealPlayer 11 on May 31st of last year¬ nearly a year ago.
RealPlayer 11 is the default application you download from RealNetworks
today. And it has won the acclaim of The Wall Street Journal
(subscription required), USA Today, Businessweek and Wired for being
consumer friendly and innovative. That’s why millions of people
around the world have downloaded it since.
Stopbadware raises a second claim with respect to the current version
of RealPlayer: That we install the Rhapsody music player engine without
explaining the connection between it and RealPlayer, and then we fail to
remove it during the RealPlayer un-install process. Well, they have a
point here. But it’s not that consumers will be hurt by this
oversight. It’s that someone failed to explain the connection
between the two (RealPlayer is a universal media player, so we install
support for all major media formats like Windows Media Player, QuickTime
and, yes, our own Rhapsody), and that we also didn’t catch that in
the un-install process. (though to be fair, the Rhapsody player engine
is listed in the windows control panel add/remove programs and can
easily be uninstalled from there) As far as we know, no one has been
hurt by this mistake. In the software business we call that a bug and
we fix it in our next version of the software.
We will continue to make improvements to RealPlayer, and I think
you’ll see that just like we did in our current version those
changes are intended to give consumers more innovation ¬like being the
first to give people the ability to simply download Internet video ¬and
a better experience. That’s why we simplified the installation
process and why removed extraneous features and promotions.
Let us know what you think.
-Jeff Chasen, vice president for RealPlayer
--
bensig
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