Like other audio helpers, its job is to download audio files over the Internet and play them. RealAudio's breakthrough is that it plays an audio stream as the transfer is happening, rather than waiting for the entire file to download first. For end users, the key component of this technology is the free RealAudio Player. Release version 1.0 can be used by any Macintosh or Windows user with a 14.4 Kbps or faster connection. The current beta version, 2.0b2, supports live broadcast, and offers better sound quality for 28.8 Kbps or faster connections.
Macintoshes is in the works.
This page also has links to RealAudio sites, a searchable Guide, a RealAudio 2.0 Tour, and product information. Benefits of RealAudio RealAudio technology makes several scenarios possible. Here are just a few of the ways this technology is being used today. You can listen to news stories not just when they air on the radio, but at a time you select. National Public Radio, for example, archives Morning Edition, Talk of the Nation, Science Friday, and All Things Considered on the Web.