Real Player is a commercial streaming audio/video solution. A competitor to WindowsMedia et al. There is a RealPlayer for Linux; alternatively you can get MPlayer and it can link to the RealPlayer libraries and play Real clips with that. They usually have the extension .rm or .ram.

The best news from Real for a while is the announcement of the HelixCommunity: http://www.helixcommunity.org/

RealPlayer forced MatthiasDallmeier to reinstall Windows after it highjacked all the default settings.
His fault for using Windows in the first place. ;) Wait - you can use Windows? --AristotlePagaltzis

!RealOne? is a disgustingly Bloated piece of software - full of features you don't want but Real wants you to use, such as content channels/browsers or whatever. --SimonCrosby

A word of warning - The people that make RealPlayer (and it's latest incarnation RealOne?) have a long history with SpyWare. Any which one version of RealPlayer may send of all sorts of information to Real.com, and might install other SpyWare without notifying you. (Comet-cursor, Gator, Bonzi-buddy, etc etc) - use with caution! --MarcelVanDeSteeg

I've never seen RealPlayer install any spy ware short of what it reports to Real.com, which is easily turned off. -- CraigBox