I've disliked Real for a while... but I'm willing to give you a chance, goof7ball. Your post seems to make sense, and you admit past flaws.. which is good. I use Linux generally, but next time I'm on Windows and need to play something, I'll try it over Media Player or Real Alternative.
I'd try the Linux version, but I'm still bruised from the last try. It locked up my gnome session. Plus.. it's not opensource
That said.. it's going to take a while before you have the public's trust back again. Until then, you'll be fighting a hard uphill battle (as shown in this thread).