Nonstop Rob
By Margie Wylie and Nick Wingfield
Staff Writers, CNET NEWS.COM

Some people resemble their pets; Rob Glaser resembles his work. The creator of RealAudio is a hyperkinetic ball of rapid-fire verbiage, the words tumbling over one another as if each thought was racing to be the first one out. That somehow seems appropriate for the man who gave the Web its voice.

Glaser says he's always been that way. With that rare, dangerous combination of smarts and action other kids loved to hate, Glaser started his own radio station at age 12; in high school, he founded a PC game software company. Three college degrees later, he went to work for a software start-up called Microsoft. Ten years later, the burned-out Glaser quit to travel and volunteer for nonprofits, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Then he discovered the Web.

Using his Microsoft stock money and investments from industry notables like Lotus founder Mitch Kapor, Glaser started Progressive Networks. The two year-old company cornered the market on Web audio before there was a market. Today, millions of people listen to radio programs, sample music, and tune into conference speeches using the free RealAudio player. (Only the "Netcasters" pay.)

NEWS.COM interviewed Glaser near our San Francisco offices where he talked about what inspired RealAudio, the dual threats of media empires and Internet regulation, and wings of wax.

NEWS.COM: What is it about the Internet that let you create a new kind of audible experience?
Glaser: Aside from the fact that audio only consumes about one-hundredth of the bandwidth of video, I was struck by the fact that there are many applications in which the audio element is the compelling experience. It seemed to me that being able to evoke that kind of experience was a great thing.

I started a radio station in high school. Instead of going to the FCC to get a low-wattage license, we just wired the school buildings. It had a great impact. So, in some sense, 20 years later, I'm doing the same thing, just on a slightly larger scale...

NEXT: Real Audio's real story