Originally Posted by Rookie64
I was attempting sarcasm (refer to threads on DVD backups).

After I noticed this thread had been reported (not by me) for violating forum rules, I felt as posting that came off as very mean (and I'm not that type of person)
Honestly, I have no problem with what programs anyone uses or legality on any of 'em.

However, I've been told long ago, even when it was available, that Streambox was illegal software.
Rookie64,

No problem, no offense taken You didn't come across as "mean" at all, this is, after all, just a polite discussion. The mods didn't note anything wrong with the topic, presumably reported because someone suggested using Kazaa to get whatever files are needed, but nothing illegal was suggested or encouraged by anyone in this thread.

I never heard about Streambox being "illegal" at all. There was only the RA issue that eventually wasn't settled between them and Real, and they just stopped supporting RA in the subsequent versions of the program. I doubt the program is illegal, it's still available today, albeit with the RA support removed. The program was free, at least the earlier versions, so they weren't making a profit from supposed infringement. I must say, however, I haven't reseached deeply into what happened, so I'm not an expert on the issue. The program is very old, over 5 years, and most people have lost all interest in it anyway. I don't even use it myself, I don't have anything in RA that I need to convert and I agree with the general consensus that anything encoded in RA is not worth converting (usually).

Cheers,
Roundabout