Kimball made the remark at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference in San Francisco Tuesday afternoon.

Kimball says the Rhapsody spin should be done by the end of the quarter. When that’s done, they will decide how to separate the company’s casual games business; he says Real will take the “value maximizing path.”

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Real’s (RNWK) share price Wednesday when we broke the news of Glaser’s departure? About $3.80.

Clearly, investors are hoping a shift in strategy will follow this sudden management reorganization and that it will transform Real into a more profitable company.

“There is clearly a lot of work still to be done at Real, but Glaser has set the foundation, leaving a pristine balance sheet, at least one business that is in great shape today (TPS), one that has tremendous value potential in the future (games), a couple of cash cows (RealPlayer, Superpass),” Morgan Keegan & Company Tavis McCourt wrote in a note to investors today.

“Glaser and Real management have also returned Rhapsody to a cash flow neutral position after years of significant losses, and based on an 8K, may be looking to divest more of its ownship in this business in the near term,” McCourt added. “In any event, there are plenty of opportunities for new leadership to create value from a base of some very unique businesses and capabilities.”

Indeed. First step: Unload Rhapsody and the games business.

To work on a mysterious cloud-computing project, which has something to do with mobility and entertainment. That’s per TechFlash, which reported on the deal Sunday.

Probably best not to make too much of this one. Given that Real didn’t announce the deal (let alone report it to the Securities and Exchange Commission), it can’t be for much money (note that the last purchase Real bothered to announce was for $4 million). And the Lala deal aside, you can “acqhire” a group of engineers without laying out a lot of cash these days.

But it is a good reminder that RealNetworks (RNWK) wants to make itself a player in the next phase of entertainment–the one where you buy or rent the stuff over the Web and consume it wherever you want.

That’s at least partly why CEO Rob Glaser is still wrangling with Hollywood over his “RealDVD” system, which is supposed to let you rip copies of DVDs you already own. Because once you’ve done that, the next logical step is moving the file to your iPod or your tablet or just to different rooms in your house.

The problem, of course, is that everyone else wants to play there, too. And many already are in some form.

There are the hardware guys like Sony (SNE), who are selling TV sets and game consoles with Web connections, and cable guys like Comcast (CMCSA), who already control the pipe that brings the stuff to your living room. And telcos like Verizon (VZ), which want to do the same thing. And, of course, retailers like Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Netflix (NFLX), which are already selling digital entertainment. Etc.

During the first Web boom, it seemed Real would be in this list as well, since its back-end technology and its RealPlayer were commonly used to move entertainment around the Internet. Now the company is best known for its Rhapsody music service and its collection of casual games, but it doesn’t have pole position in either sector.

You’ll hear plenty more about this stuff over the next week at the Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off Wednesday. But Real will probably be mum.

The company doesn’t have any announcements planned and isn’t renting space at the convention’s main show floor. Not a terrible idea to lie low at CES, where lots of people make a lot of noise about stuff that never comes to pass. But at some point, it will be interesting to see how Real plans to compete.

Now, we have two Googlers, who are demoing Google’s new Chrome browser and its features and user interface.

“Friendly” tabs, knowing your history better graphically, auto-typing, simplicity, easier downloading with a new window that one guy is calling a real app like “Pinocchio, because we wanted to build a real boy.”

Well, Pinocchio was wood for most of that story, but I like the effort!

Also, they show off the “Incognito” feature, where you can hide Web searches you don’t want others to see, which basically means porn and Barry Manilow fan sites.

Except the Google (GOOG) guys use a toe fungus search!

This is gross, although hiding toe fungus is a good idea related to Web navigation software.

Now, another smart-looking guy comes on, who looks like the other guys, and discusses the architecture, including rendering, security and so forth.

Also a speed test, from another Google guy, from Denmark, where Google’s Chrome–incredibly–beats Microsoft’s Internet Explorer! It is like one of those blind taste test commercials on television.

My mind starts to wander and I wonder if Microsoft Founder Bill Gates is watching this and getting plenty steamed up north at Microsoft (MSFT) HQ.

At this point, I suggest you please watch the Webcast of this demo to listen to the details, available through both Windows Media Player and RealPlayer.

Because once the Googlers start talking “plug-in bugs,” I start staring at Google co-founder Larry Page–who is here sitting with with top Google exec Marissa Mayer off to the side–to see if both are paying rapt attention.

They are, natch. (I should have eaten a tasty pastry.)

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.

It was an astonishing offer at the time, especially coming from Glaser, who had been a vocal critic of Apple and its decision to make digital music sold through its iTunes store playable only on iPod (“I bought an iPod and can only shop at one store,” Glaser once said. “What is this? The Soviet Union?”)

But it was an offer that Jobs found unappealing. The Apple CEO rebuffed Glaser, declining even to meet with him over lunch to discuss it.

Glaser, of course, took it poorly and spent the next few years slagging Apple and Jobs for declining the partnership. “We think Apple Computer, and Steve personally, are making a mistake by making the software proprietary,” Glaser said at the Digital Living Conference in 2005. “There’s no reason we should penalize Apple customers for Steve’s pigheadeness.”

Course, in the end Real didn’t penalize Apple’s customers. Apple’s customers penalized Real. And today Apple’s iTunes is the largest music retailer in the states. And Real? Well, Real’s “embracing” the iPod.

Funny how that worked out.

This morning the company announced a new MP3 store whose unprotected music files can be played anywhere–even on an iPod. Like Apple’s iTunes, the Rhapsody MP3 Store offers music from all four major music labels at 99 cents per track, or $9.99 for an album. Over five million songs will be made available, at 256k-bit rates. Visitors can preview them in their entirety instead of the 30-second samples offered by iTunes and the like. And, if they’re Verizon (VZ) subscribers, they can download music directly to their phones with the company’s V CAST Music with Rhapsody service.

“We’re no longer competing with the iPod,” said Rhapsody Vice President Neil Smith. “We’re embracing it.”

Pigheadeness, be damned.

It was an astonishing offer at the time, especially coming from Glaser, who had been a vocal critic of Apple and its decision to make digital music sold through its iTunes store playable only on iPod (“I bought an iPod and can only shop at one store,” Glaser once said. “What is this? The Soviet Union?”)

But it was an offer that Jobs found unappealing. The Apple CEO rebuffed Glaser, declining even to meet with him over lunch to discuss it.

Glaser, of course, took it poorly and spent the next few years slagging Apple and Jobs for declining the partnership. “We think Apple Computer, and Steve personally, are making a mistake by making the software proprietary,” Glaser said at the Digital Living Conference in 2005. “There’s no reason we should penalize Apple customers for Steve’s pigheadeness.”

Course, in the end Real didn’t penalize Apple’s customers. Apple’s customers penalized Real. And today Apple’s iTunes is the largest music retailer in the states. And Real? Well, Real’s “embracing” the iPod.

Funny how that worked out.

This morning the company announced a new MP3 store whose unprotected music files can be played anywhere–even on an iPod. Like Apple’s iTunes, the Rhapsody MP3 Store offers music from all four major music labels at 99 cents per track, or $9.99 for an album. Over five million songs will be made available, at 256k-bit rates. Visitors can preview them in their entirety instead of the 30-second samples offered by iTunes and the like. And, if they’re Verizon (VZ) subscribers, they can download music directly to their phones with the company’s V CAST Music with Rhapsody service.

“We’re no longer competing with the iPod,” said Rhapsody Vice President Neil Smith. “We’re embracing it.”

Pigheadeness, be damned.

Thanks to faster computers and higher bandwidths, many Web sites now contain video of one kind or another. Slow, stuttering footage is a thing of the past, and video-sharing Web sites are hot commodities, demonstrated last year when Google bought YouTube for $1.6 billion.

You can browse the Web watching videos until your eyes glaze over, but you can’t easily save any of that video footage to your computer in an organized library. So while your photos, music and email can be neatly categorized and revisited on your computer’s hard drive, videos that you see online may never come your way again.

This week, I tested the newest version of RealNetworks Inc.’s RealPlayer, which offers a distinctly useful feature: the ability to copy any video from the Internet onto your PC, as long as it isn’t protected by a copyright. This player, which was just released in its beta (or testing) version last month, is available as a free download from www.realplayer.com.

RealPlayer 11 copies videos from the Web to a PC with one click; a progress window shows the status of multiple simultaneous downloads.

Once downloaded, RealPlayer 11 smartly runs on Microsoft’s Windows XP or Vista machines in the background, only making its video-copying capability known when a video appears on a Web page in your browser. A tiny message labeled “Download This Video” pops up from the video viewing screen, and when selected, this initiates a download of the entire video. You don’t need to be at the start of the video to copy the whole clip. In fact, you can copy an entire video without watching it (I used RealPlayer 11 to copy videos for watching later when I didn’t have a column to write). Saved videos can be shared with friends, organized into playlists or burned onto CDs.

I tried RealPlayer 11 on my Windows XP desktop and on my Vista laptop, using both Internet Explorer 7.0 and Mozilla’s Firefox 2.0 without problems. Being able to copy videos made me realize how many clips I watch online, footage that might otherwise have been forgotten had I not saved it on my computer. Granted, not all the videos that one watches online are worth capturing, but it’s nice to have the ability to save them with just a mouse click.

I missed being able to use RealPlayer 11′s video downloading on my Apple computers, but RealNetworks says it will make its player usable on Macs before the end of the year. The company also says it is working on plans to make these saved videos transferable to portable players, including Apple’s iPod, so that after downloading numerous videos, you need not be tied to your computer to watch them. In the case of longer videos, downloading took more time, and I wished this RealPlayer made it possible to watch videos shortly after they started downloading, like Apple does with movies downloaded from its iTunes Store.

Downloading this new RealPlayer was surprisingly painless — a welcome change compared with my experiences downloading the company’s previous players. In three quick steps, I downloaded RealPlayer 11, accepted a license agreement and adjusted a few settings such as whether or not I wanted to use RealPlayer 11 by default for playing all videos on my PC. I was never prompted to enter my date of birth or email, like RealNetworks downloads in the past.

I visited various sites to retrieve video footage, including YouTube, AOL videos, Google videos, sports Web sites, television network sites and news sites like WSJ.com and AllThingsD.com. Every popular video file format is supported. To save time, RealPlayer 11 lets you download multiple videos at the same time; a small window shows the status of each download, including how much time remains for each download and an option to cancel the download. There are no limits to the number of videos you can download simultaneously, as long as your Internet bandwidth can manage.

I copied numerous videos, including the first episode of my new favorite TV show, ABC’s “Traveler,” a music video from country singer Keith Urban and a National Geographic video on bowhead whales. After gathering a bunch of clips, I organized some of them into playlists and sent others to friends by selecting “Share Video Link” from the top of the screen, entering emails and a personal message about each clip. These emails are sent with embedded links to other sites, like YouTube, and the recipient doesn’t need RealPlayer 11 to see the videos, though a link for this free download appears at the bottom of the emails.

If a video is copyright protected, the “Download This Video” message that enables copying is replaced by a message that says “Video Cannot Be Downloaded” with a one-line explainer on digital rights.

(To the chagrin of content owners, this isn’t as much of an impediment as they hoped, because a large amount of video content is illegally posted online. Even if a video was originally posted in a protected format, someone may have copied it and re-posted it illegally with the protection stripped off. RealPlayer will copy these clips, as it can’t tell whether they were originally meant to be protected.)

In a couple instances, videos didn’t display messages about downloading or not downloading, in which case I wasn’t able to copy the video. RealNetworks says this is a rare occurrence.

RealPlayer 11 can also be used to record live streaming video in real time, like the constantly recording panda camera that was set up to document every move made by Tai Shan, the giant panda born in Washington’s National Zoo two years ago. I tested live recording by capturing a live stream of video from CNN.com for 35 minutes. But RealPlayer 11 can’t be set to record certain programs or at certain times like TiVo does with television.

Though I focused on its video-copying capability, RealPlayer 11 is still a media player in its own right. It is divided into six categories at the top of the screen: Now Playing, My Library, Real Guide, Games, SuperPass and Burn/Transfer. If you pay an extra $30 for RealPlayer you’ll be able to burn your videos onto DVDs rather than just CDs. Real Guide serves as a link to RealNetworks’ suggestions of videos and also lets you search for more videos. If you visit the My Library section while a video is playing, a miniature view of that video appears in the lower right corner of the screen.

Many sites offer to help you email videos or obtain a video’s URL for embedding into your own Web site. But these options often appear only after you’ve watched an entire video, and they don’t help you save videos onto your PC. RealPlayer 11 strikes a healthy balance: It’s useful without intruding on your browser. If you stopped downloading videos from the Web to your PC, you wouldn’t be bothered by its subtle downloading prompts.

RealNetworks will release a second version of this beta before the end of the year, including options for transferring videos to portable players and Mac compatibility. For now, the free download of this first version is smart, simple and fun to use.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

• Email: MossbergSolution@wsj.com

Corrections & Amplifications:

Any video can be copied as long as it isn’t protected by digital rights management. This article erroneously states that RealNetworks Inc.’s RealPlayer 11 can copy any video from the Web, as long as it isn’t protected by a copyright.

Hey, we live in “sunny” San Francisco, as Ryan (the name of Orange Google Guy) says in the video, so we don’t judge.

So, Abayomi-Paul can now immortalize Orange Google Guy using RealNetworks’s beta software of its RealPlayer 11, which allows users one-click downloading of non-DRM-protected video from the Web. It is being offered to selected AllThingsD.com visitors to try out before it is released later this month.

CEO Rob Glaser debuted the new version of RealNetworks’s flagship product at the D5 conference last month, which you can read about here and also see a video of the demo.

Along with downloading, you can also bookmark videos and organize them using the software. And once saved, you can then rip those videos onto any CD, DVD or, eventually, any other storage device like an iPod.

Abayomi-Paul is in the early stages of a Web video channel for small businesses and thinks the RealPlayer would give her something neat to demo.

“I want to make some Google how-to videos downloadable for my small-business audience at www.freetraffictip.com–with permission only!,” she wrote. “The collection would be free, but then lots of the time-crunched ones could watch offline.”

Adding that she is home sick in bed, she noted that, “the computer is my only love! I’m a geek, a currently bedridden geek. Please help me not to die of boredom!”

Glad to help.

Check it out:

Please see this disclosure related to me and Google.

Gallantly, he sent us another one, embedded below, which is called “How To Crank Dat Soulja Boy,” a hip dance video that we can certainly handle in Silicon Valley.

And Cetoute can now download as he pleases, using RealNetworks’s beta software of its RealPlayer 11, which allows users one-click downloading of non-DRM-protected video from the Web. It is being offered to selected AllThingsD.com visitors to try out before it is released later this month.

CEO Rob Glaser debuted the new version of RealNetworks’s flagship product at the D5 conference last month, which you can read about here and also see a video of the demo.

Along with downloading, you can also bookmark videos and organize them using the software. And once saved, you can then rip those videos onto any CD, DVD or, eventually, any other storage device like an iPod.

Said Cetoute in his email about why he wanted the player: “I am not one of those tech freaks that will download CNET videos cuz that’s dumb and a waste [of] time. I want videos from YouTube/Google video. And I promise to use the account well, and not get it just to be in on all the latest tech. (Loser) lol.”

He is in luck, as RealNetworks is offering the beta software of its RealPlayer 11, which allows users one-click downloading of non-DRM-protected video from the Web, to AllThingsD.com visitors to try out before it is released later this month.

CEO Rob Glaser debuted the new version of RealNetworks’ flagship product at the D5 conference last week, which you can read about here and also see a video of the demo.

Along with downloading, you can also bookmark videos and organize them using the software. And once saved, you can then rip those videos onto any CD, DVD or, eventually, any other storage device like an iPod.

Most of Rajagopal’s selections were musical, many of street buskers and musicians, which were uniformly delightful. I selected three to show here. The first is of the Swingle Singers doing their unusual version of the “Mission Impossible” theme song; the second is of another group using Nintendo as an inspiration; and the third is a face-off of the music from “Star Trek” and “The Simpsons.”

Writes Rajagopal: “My views are pointed and fierce (some call them prejudiced). If this is indeed a beta version, I am sure I can send my point across and it would be meaningful.”

He adds: “My PC has 26 instances of beta software.”

Now, 27.

RealNetworks is offering the beta software of its RealPlayer 11, which allows users one-click downloading of non-DRM-protected video from the Web, to AllThingsD.com visitors to try out before it is released later this month.

CEO Rob Glaser debuted the new version of RealNetworks’s flagship product at the D5 conference last week, which you can read about here and also see a video of the demo.

Along with downloading, you can also bookmark videos and organize them using the software. And once saved, you can then rip those videos onto any CD, DVD or, eventually, any other storage device like an iPod.

“It’s 10 minutes long (the last two are priceless, especially for Ringo),” writes Fishman of the Web video he would like to download.

Indeed, the video comes from a concert the Fab Four did on Feb. 11, 1964, when they played at the Coliseum in Washington, D.C., which you can read about here.

Although you can see only 10 minutes of the whole concert, for the record, the Beatles played “All My Lovin’,” “Twist and Shout,” “She Loves You,” “I Wanna Hold Your Hand,” “Roll Over Beethoven” and “Long Tall Sally,” among others.

Check it out:

Correction: An earlier version of this post misidentified the locale and date of the Beatles concert shown in the attached video. As reader Fred Bals (see comment below) points out, the concert took place at the Coliseum in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 11, 1964 (not at the Seattle Coliseum, where the Beatles performed Aug. 21, 1964).

Glaser debuted the new version of his flagship product at the conference last week, which you can read about here. It only allows you to download and save non-DRM-protected material, but there is plenty of that out there. The download feature, which pops up automatically while hovering over available videos, also keeps ads embedded in content that has them.

You can also bookmark videos and organize them. And once saved, you can then rip those videos onto any CD, DVD or, eventually, any other storage device like an iPod.

I was pretty impressed with its ease of use and usefulness.

No one can get these accounts until later in June, as this is an early version (meaning it will likely have some glitches, which RealNetworks would welcome feedback about). And they only work on Windows machines, though a Mac version is promised soon.

So if you want to be a guinea pig, write me an engaging and informative email about why you want the RealPlayer11 and how you will use it. Keep it short and sweet, please, and send it to kara@allthingsd.com.

But to make it even more interesting, you need to send me a link to a great video you want to download and if I like it, you get the account. I will also post all the video I receive, if it can be embedded, in this column.

Some rules:

No copyrighted material that has been somehow “unprotected” and slapped onto YouTube–I know, I know, information needs to be free, but some of it costs people money to make and I am not stealing it.

Keep it clean–I don’t judge, but I won’t post porn material here and so sending me such links, while amusing, is pointless.

A plus: I love funny. I love music. I love a good mash-up.

A minus: I am not a fan of kittens falling into pools, kids and their tricycle mishaps and stoners smashing into walls while riding skateboards.

Don’t butter me up and send me clips from the D conference–I was there.

Best bet: Surprise me and the account will be yours!

And see the video of Glaser’s demo last week below (and you can also read his recent post in our Voices section here):

That episode, and Real’s penchant for developing tech that annoys the heck out of other businesses, comes to mind today as RealNetworks CEO Rob Glaser takes the stage to demo RealPlayer 11, which enables one-click downloading of online videos from thousands of Web sites, as well as the ability to organize them and even burn them to DVD and CD.

The new device automatically displays a download button near the video playing on a Web site, facilitating the selection process (it will download most video formats that are not DRM protected). It also enables the user to build a library for storing playlists of favorite downloaded videos. For reviewing, the RealPlayer has a large screen for post-download display, and it will also transfer downloads for watching on a conventional TV. It can also make copies to a CD, which can then be viewed with a DVD player.

• 12:05 p.m.: Ah. Interesting. Glaser notes that videos in which ads are embedded are downloaded with those ads. “We support the content creators’ business model.”
• Walt asks Glaser to demo the software on Viacom’s Colbert video, which the company just requested AllThingsD.com take down.(Update: The Viacom request to which I refer here was the result of a miscommunication. The video is currently live on-site.)
• 12:10 p.m.: Glaser tries to download a DRM protected video file and is prevented from doing so.
• Burn-and-transfer feature supports video CD and DVD. Software transcodes to Mpeg-4.
• RealPlayer has always been closely tied to Real’s stores. Is this an example of Real moving away from services and back to software? Glaser doesn’t seem to think so.
• Glaser whips out an iPod. Oh, oh. Harmony all over again?
• 12:15 p.m. Loads a video into the iPod.
• And that’s it. Short demo.

More coverage at The Wall Street Journal

1. If you have a Windows computer, you must obtain and install all of the following: a reputable antivirus program, a software firewall, a junk-mail filter and an antispyware program. Even if you own a Macintosh (Macs have been unaffected by most of these threats to date), you will still need to turn on your computer’s firewall and employ a junk-mail filter.

2. Upgrade to the latest versions of the leading Windows web browsers, Microsoft’s Internet Explorer 7 and Mozilla’s Firefox 2.0, both of which warn you when a web page you’re visiting appears to be phony. (The new Internet Explorer also has under-the-hood security improvements that close some of the holes plaguing older versions.) You might also consider add-on software, like McAfee’s SiteAdvisor or the new Norton Confidential, which warn about fraudulent sites and, in the case of Norton, also about malicious software on your PC. On a Mac, consider using Firefox 2.0 instead of Apple’s Safari, which, while very good and generally secure, lacks a fake-web-site detector.

3. Never respond to or click a link within any unsolicited email message from a financial institution — even your own — no matter how official it looks. Crooks have become skilled at mimicking logos and typefaces used by banks, brokers and payment services like PayPal. When you click on links within these fake emails, you’ll be taken to web pages that look like the companies’ official sites, even down to the address, but they’ll steal your log-in information. Be especially wary of email from a financial institution that asks for account information or says you must log in at a linked site to address a problem. You can phone the company to see if there really is an issue. Obviously, this caution doesn’t apply to some financial emails, such as confirmations of online stock trades you’ve just executed. But in general, you shouldn’t conduct financial transactions via email or links in email. Instead, go directly to the financial sites you use.

4. Similarly, never act on emails offering stock tips, miracle pills or the chance to earn money by storing millions from overseas in your bank account. Sounds obvious, but in the past these scams might have cost you a little money. Now they may be part of more-damaging identity-theft schemes. Treat such come-ons the way you’d treat a stranger in a bad neighborhood who made such promises.

5. Never, ever download software from a company or web site whose honesty or veracity you’re not sure of. If a site says you’ll need special software to use its features, don’t bite. Even if the software is well known and safe — like RealNetworks’ RealPlayer, Apple’s QuickTime or Adobe Flash — don’t get it from a link provided by a random web page. Instead, visit the Real, Apple or Adobe sites to download it manually.

6. Finally, never use security software offered to you via unsolicited email or a popup window, or that suddenly appears on your PC. Such programs are almost always scams and often install malicious spyware, adware and viruses rather than cleaning them up. In general, stick with leading security brands like Symantec, McAfee, Zone Labs and Webroot. Check the software in the reviews section of PC Magazine or the CNET web site. If it isn’t covered there, it’s probably untrustworthy.

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about how to use the Palm Treo 650 as an MP3 player, firewalls for Windows 98, and the new version of iTunes.

I use a Palm Treo 650 with a one-gigabyte memory card. No one can explain to me how to use this phone as an MP3 player. Can you?

Yes. You have to get a Treo-compatible software program that plays MP3s, install it on your Treo and then copy your MP3 song files onto your memory card. The music software will find the files on the card and allow you to play them.

There are two Treo music programs I have used successfully on the 650 model. One is called Pocket Tunes; the other is RealPlayer for Palm. You should check the CD that came with your Treo. One of these programs may be included. It may even be on your Treo already. If not, Pocket Tunes, which costs $15, is at: www.pocket-tunes.com. RealPlayer for Palm is at: www.real.com/palm. It’s free, but it may require you to set up an account with Real’s music service.

Q: My computer’s operating system is Windows 98. Since my current firewall program no longer supports Windows 98, what firewall can I install?

There may be several possibilities, but here’s one. The 2005 edition of Norton Personal Firewall supports Windows 98. If you buy the boxed $50 version of the newer 2006 edition (which doesn’t support Windows 98), the 2005 edition is included. Or you can download the 2005 edition by itself from www.symantecstore.com for $30, though it’s hard to find on the site.

You gave the new version of iTunes a very positive review, but why didn’t you mention that they eliminated two very good features — the equalizer and the “browse” mode that let you sort songs by genre?

Because these two features haven’t been removed, just relocated. The equalizer can be summoned by clicking on the View menu and selecting “Show Equalizer.” The Browse mode is invoked by clicking on the icon shaped like an eye at the lower right corner of the screen.

* * *

Because of the volume of email I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by email, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

Here are a few questions about computers I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about finding people or companies mentioned in blogs, disabling the Caps Lock key and playing Windows Media Video files from the Web on a Mac.

If you have a question, send it to me at mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg’s Mailbox.

How can I tell if a person or company is mentioned in an online blog?

You can’t tell with 100% certainty. But there are some search engines that can give you a pretty good idea. These sites search blogs, or the syndicated feeds of blog headlines and article summaries called RSS feeds.

Google is testing a blog search site, at blogsearch.google.com. You might also try Feedster, at feedster.com; and Bloglines, at bloglines.com. If you want to be automatically alerted when a person or company pops up in a blog, you can use a so-called news reader, which scours the feeds of blogs and other sites.

Some allow you to set up a custom feed, based on search terms of your choice. When you create such a feed, the news reader software will periodically list headlines of blog entries that match your search terms.

Is there a way to disable the Caps Lock key on a Windows PC?

There are a number of small programs and tweaking methods for disabling the Caps Lock key, so you don’t hit it accidentally while typing. I have tried only one, called CapsUnlock, that worked well in a brief test I conducted. It can be downloaded at www.brainsystems.com/capsunlock. CapsUnlock is a tiny program that runs in the background. When it is running, tapping the Caps Lock key has no effect. You can override this effect by holding down the Shift key while tapping Caps Lock. The program also disables the Insert key, another annoying accident waiting to happen.

Is there any program that will play Windows Media Video (.wmv) files from the Web on a Mac?

There are three major programs for playing video and audio files on the Internet — Microsoft’s Windows Media Player, RealNetworks’ RealPlayer, and Apple’s QuickTime Player. Because Apple makes the Macintosh, it bundles QuickTime on each Mac, but not the others. However, Mac owners can have all three, free of charge. And so can Windows users.

Microsoft has created a free, simple version of Windows Media Player for the Macintosh. It will play back Windows Media files, both video and audio. You can download it free at www.microsoft.com/mac/. Just click on “Other Products” in the list at the left, and scroll down until you see the listing for Windows Media Player. Once it’s installed, you can play Windows Media clips from Web sites, or from a disk, or from email attachments.

Similarly, RealNetworks makes a free version of RealPlayer for the Mac. Go to www.real.com/mac/, and click on the button at the top right that says “RealPlayer — Free.”

If you are a Windows user, you already have Windows Media Player. You can download QuickTime at www.apple.com/quicktime/. You can download RealPlayer at www.real.com — just be sure to find the small link for the free version of the player, unless you want a paid subscription to Real’s content services.

Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can’t routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com

The daunting security problems that have plagued Windows have also prompted many of its users to take a serious look at the Mac. This trend has been further reinforced by the “iPod halo effect,” in which Windows users who own and love Apple’s iPod music players are willing to consider the company’s other products. As a result, Mac sales, while still relatively small, have been growing much faster than overall personal computer sales.

Are you among the PC majority considering a switch to the Mac? Then you probably have some important questions.

How do Macs compare in quality with Windows PCs?

I believe that, at the moment, Apple makes the best computers, and the best operating system, for mainstream consumers doing typical tasks — e-mail, Web surfing, office — productivity functions such as word processing and presentations, photo organizing and editing, playing and collecting music, and editing home video.

Of all the major computer makers, Apple is the most focused on consumers and small businesses. Most make the bulk of their money, and take most of their cues, from the information-technology departments of large corporations.

Apple’s iMac G5 consumer desktop is, in my opinion, the single best home computer on the market. Its PowerBook laptops are among the top portables.

Do Macs run Windows and Windows software?

No: Out of the box, Macintosh computers run only Apple’s own operating system, called OS X, and software written by Apple and other companies that is designed to run on OS X.

You can rig a Mac to run Windows and Windows programs by installing a special, $250 Microsoft program called Virtual PC, which creates a virtual Windows computer inside the Mac. But I don’t recommend this for frequent use, because the faux Windows computer it creates is relatively slow and is susceptible to the same viruses and spyware as a real Windows machine.

How does Mac software compare with Windows?

The Mac’s OS X operating system, the latest version of which is called Tiger, is far better than Microsoft’s aging Windows XP and already boasts many of the key features Microsoft plans to include in its 2006 version of Windows, called Vista. And the Mac comes with an excellent suite of free software that’s generally superior to comparable Windows programs that cost extra.

Out of the box, the Mac has better photo, music, video and DVD — creation software than any Windows computer I’ve seen. It has a better free email program and Web browser than Windows does, a better free word processor and much better search capabilities.

About the only software a typical consumer would have to buy for a new Mac is the Mac edition of Microsoft Office. It includes versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint that are very similar to their Windows counterparts, and a program called Entourage that is different from Microsoft Outlook but performs the same functions.

Are Macs more secure than Windows PCs?

Yes. Since the OS X operating system came out in 2001, there has never been a report of a successful virus for it — that is, a virus that has infected numerous computers, and spread from computer to computer, outside of a lab. And there is little or no known spyware for the Mac. By contrast, there are tens of thousands of viruses for Windows and untold numbers of spyware programs. Just as regular Windows programs can’t run natively on a Mac, none of these malicious Windows-specific programs can run on a Mac either.

The Mac isn’t invulnerable, but it has better built-in security than Windows, and such a small market share that virus and spyware writers haven’t targeted it yet. As a result, most Mac users have been able to dispense with running the morass of security software that Windows users must employ.

Are Mac files compatible with Windows files?

Yes. Unlike older models, the current Macs have been specifically designed for compatibility with Windows PCs. The Mac OS and software can handle, without translation or conversion, all of the common types of files you use on a Windows PC. You can copy to a Mac all your pictures, MP3 music files, text files and Adobe PDF files, and they will open right up in Mac programs. There are also free Mac versions of the Real Player and Windows Media Player, and of Adobe Reader.

Microsoft Word files also can be opened, edited and created in Apple’s free, built-in text editor. And if you buy Microsoft Office for the Mac, all Office files, including Word files, Excel files and PowerPoint files, can be opened, edited and created on the Mac. Office files created on the Mac can be opened and edited in Windows Office, and vice versa.

Some specialized files created by particular programs, like database files or financial files, won’t be usable. For instance, the Mac version of Quicken is quite different from the Windows version and uses a different file format.

For occasional use of these programs, you can install Virtual PC.

In addition, nearly all keyboards, mice, monitors and printers made for Windows computers can be used with a Mac, if they connect via the industry-standard USB or FireWire ports. Macs can also share networks with Windows PCs and even look into the hard disks of Windows computers, and vice versa.

Is there anyone who shouldn’t consider a Mac?

Yes. Serious game players should stick with Windows PCs, which are much better game platforms and can run many more game titles. People who use specialized software or custom corporate software for which there isn’t a Mac equivalent should stick with Windows. While the Mac has rich offerings in mainstream software categories, it has only a fraction of the niche software and specialized business software that Windows does.

Also, you should stick with Windows if your home computer choices are dictated by your company’s IT department and the IT department is ignorant of or hostile to the Mac, as so many are. Although modern Macs are designed to access corporate Windows networks, and many do, if your IT department won’t help you with the transition, it’s not worth the headache to switch to the Mac.

Ten years ago, when Apple was stagnant and its products troubled, I recommended that consumers shun the Mac. If Apple’s quality and innovation slip, I might revert to that position. But for now, the Mac is the best computer, with the best operating system and the fewest security problems, for average consumers.