‘Mission Impossible’ Theme by the Swingle Singers and More to Download
by Kara Swisher
Posted on June 11, 2007 at 12:01 AM PT
I’ll admit it–I had never heard of the Swingle Singers until Srinivasan Rajagopal sent me a link from India, where he lives as a self-described “music nut” and “YouTube maven.” Indeed, he also provided me with 16 clips he would download from the Web were he to get his hands on new software to do so.
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.
