So, am I worried about media consolidation? No. Am I worried about Internet censorship and Internet Provider consolidation? Yes. Actually a lot more worried.

Unfortunately for you, many of the several million americans who do get their news from television also vote.

"On the Mac side things are even more confusing because there is no free download unless you write/call to cancel your 'subscription' within 14 days."

This isn't true. Go to real.com from a Mac, and scroll down -- the link is there. (Yes, it should be more obvious than it is.) The link will take you to this page, where it says very clearly "Thank you for trying our new RealOne Player for OS X. You will not be charged for downloading this software." I have done this and have not been charged or asked to enter credit card info. I gave 'em a fake address, too... out of longstanding habit. ;)

Even if RealNetworks wanted to open up the codecs completely (not to say they don't), they couldn't; some chunks of code inside the codecs are not RealNetworks property. There are technologies utilized in the codecs that are owned, copyrighted and patented by third parties (Intel, Sony, etc.) and licensed and built upon by RealNetworks. RealNetworks almost certainly does not have their permission to release the code they don't actually own.