Apple Computer is close to vindication in a long-running dispute with Web researchers over the popularity of its QuickTime multimedia technology--a victory that could help speed adoption of new digital video and audio standards.
QuickTime laid the groundwork for bringing multimedia to the PC in the early 1990s and has been a favorite digital authoring tool in professional production studios for years.
But on the Internet it has battled a perception problem, based partly on Apple's small PC market share and statistics that consistently portray QuickTime as an also-ran in a race dominated by rivals Microsoft and RealNetworks.
The tables may be turning, however. On July 1, Web statistics giant Nielsen/NetRatings is scheduled to release research based on new counting methods that will result in a sharp increase in QuickTime's market share compared to earlier reports.
Media Metrix, meanwhile, the other major Web measurement firm, said it plans this month to phase out its reports on the usage of Internet media players and to evaluate how it will measure market share in the future--a move that could also raise Apple's ranking.
News source: Cnet
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