RealNetworks plays to Linux developers
RealNetworks on Wednesday will announce plans to release the source code of its audio and video player to run on the Linux operating system.

The Seattle-based company will announce details of the code-sharing plan at the LinuxWorld Conference and Expo in San Francisco. With the source code, developers can build tailored versions of RealNetworks' audio-video player to run on Linux and Solaris systems. Linux is an open-source OS based on Unix; Solaris is Sun Microsystems' version of Unix.

The code release also complements RealNetwork's strategy to promote its multiformat system over proprietary systems, such as Microsoft's Windows Media. RealNetworks has taken this approach to recoup market share in the media software business that Microsoft has gained in recent years.