Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
K/J, re DivX and hardware:
http://www6.tomshardware.com/cpu/00q4/001120/p4-22.html
http://appzone.intel.com/performance/Platform.asp?User=2&Category=15
http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2194-10062728.html
or, straight from DivX...
http://www.divx.com/divx/
http://www4.tomshardware.com/video/01q4/011207/
OT: If this puppy had a built-in CCD color camera ($50 or less wholesale) and DivX codec, it'd just about fill the bill for me. http://www.vosonic.co.uk/vmp3.html
RACER, the Classic XP3 is manufactured under license from e.Digital by Musical ( http://www.edig.com/news/releases/pr091701.html ) and distributed to Circuit City ( http://www.edig.com/news/releases/pr120301.html ) by EMI Global ( http://www.emiglobal.com/mp3/chd1000.html ). Musical is also expected to build the EDIG-designed Evolution MTV player with Dataplay drive ( http://www.edig.com/news/releases/pr010802a.html ), due for release late this month. The XP3 (CHD1000) is quite similar to the Treo, differentiated primarily by its ability to directly encode/compress music from any stereo source via its line-in jack, a feature not offered on the current Treo. At the present time, the Treo is sold in CompUSA and GoodGuys stores and at their respective websites.
Sorry, jon, but I have no way of posting graphics. Suffice to say that if all the bounded areas are shaded light gray, the resultant overlaps put EDIG well into the black. I have yet to add the IBM/Viacom (MTV) factor announced yesterday.
In view of today's PR re DGN, Danl's post takes on new meaning. Note the last line of the DGN PR this post is in reply to. Seems that DGN is tight with Innogear, who is selling the Flipster MPEG-2 video player. Makes one wonder where this relationship is headed, especially in light of our new relationship with DivX. A Dataplay/DivX-enabled Flipster, perhaps? Perhaps we'll hear more on this matter from Evolution soon. A Venn diagram of these relationships is most interesting.
Cksla, with all due respect to DP/Mr. Palenchar, that is the most ridiculous pricing structure I have ever seen. A more feasible structure would be 1/$12, 3/$20 and 10/$50. If the pricing is actually as reported, I foresee an immense repackaging effort to wipe the dust off the single and triple packs and reconfigure them as packs of 10.
Emit, FWIW I believe that a portable HD-based headphone-equipped audio device refers to a jukebox like the Treo.
Audio Briefs: Samsung Hard Drives Due
(Not sure if this is new - sorry if a repost)
By Joseph Palenchar
TWICE
4/19/2002 11:41:00 AM
Ridgefield Park, N.J. - Samsung is getting ready to ship its first two hard-drive-based headphone portables. A 10GB model is planned for June, and a 20GB model is due in August, said marketing manager Russell Bleeker.
ads:
1)Apriori from Univ of Pennsylvania doesn't seem to have any bearing on e.Digital
2. The A Priori Futures Fund of the Bahamas does not have the same name as our recent investor
3. Accusing someone of disseminating inside information is a serious charge. Either post proof or retract your statement.
Dataplay vs Minidisc:
Dataplay: 30 mm diameter, 500 MB capacity
Minidisc: 80 mm diameter, 212 MB capacity
No comparison
"The Long Boom" is back!
Recession? What recession? A coauthor of 1999's infamously optimistic screed says the future is still bright.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Katharine Mieszkowski
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/04/30/longboom/index.html?x
April 30, 2002 / Rereading, at the late date of 2002, "The Long Boom: A Vision for the Coming Age of Prosperity" is the intellectual equivalent of dosing on nitrous oxide, guaranteed to bring on giddy nostalgia for late-'90s techno-optimism.
First published as a cover story in Wired magazine in 1997, then as a book in 1999, "The Long Boom" declared that technological progress would bring about two more decades of economic expansion and ameliorate, if not eliminate, such vexing bothers as cancer, poverty and global warming. It epitomized the Left Coast, future-eating techno-idealism that helped fuel Internet mania.
Ah, for the late '90s, when getting wired meant that our lives could only get longer, happier, healthier and richer as we all got linked up in history's first truly global society.
But in the early 2000s, such cockeyed optimism has become about as popular as a Taliban T-shirt in a JFK gift shop. As a consequence, "The Long Boom" suffered its own market correction, dismissed as just one more spatter of froth from the dot-com bubble.
But suddenly, doomsaying about the state of the economy is also ringing false. The U.S. economy grew 5.8 percent in the first quarter of 2002. Few economists are ready to declare that boom times are back -- layoffs are continuing at major corporations, and profits are still in short supply -- but the recent recession is being labeled one of the mildest on record, just as the authors of "The Long Boom" predicted. Is it time for the techno-optimists to do their own gloating in a chorus of merry I-told-you-sos?
Peter Leyden was a coauthor of the original "Long Boom" manifesto as well as of a forthcoming book, "What's Next? Exploring the New Terrain for Business," to be published by Perseus in September. He's a "knowledge developer" -- note the late-'90s job title -- for the Global Business Network think tank.
From his office in Emeryville, Calif., he talked about how the long boom survived the dot-com implosion and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, and why the new economy is alive and may soon even be well.
How do you evaluate the recession that we appear to be emerging from? Has it really just been a blip on a larger growth path?
It's been an extremely shallow recession.
We were in a long boom, we are in a long boom and we're going to be in a long boom for a while. It's analogous to what we saw in the wake of World War II, the post-World War II boom.
People often think of the '50s and '60s as the great golden age of the American economy. Everybody's boats were floating on the rising tide of economic expansion as we built up the suburbs. But they forget that in fact the postwar boom, which went on for about 25 or 30 years, was just punctuated constantly by recessions. It had six clear recessions -- in fact much more dramatic recessions than we've experienced in the last 20 years.
When the economy slows, let alone goes into a recession, that does not negate the larger context of a vast economic expansion.
Many observers have suggested that the current recovery is fragile, however. There continue to be announcements of huge job cuts at companies like Lucent, and the stock market's performance has been tepid. The market is not synonymous with the economy, obviously, but isn't it symptomatic of something?
No, it's not. It's going to be confusing for a while, and that's a sign of the confusion.
If you look again at how we came out of the last recession of the early '90s, there's an amazing amount of parallels here. That recession technically ended in 1991, but it took all the way into the mid-'90s until there was a sense that the economy was going to start really moving in a sustained way.
The more recent recession was not driven by a plunge in consumer spending. If there is any dramatic pickup out of a recession, it's usually led by resumed consumer spending at high rates. This recession was driven more by business cutting off its spending because it had overbuilt its capacity and inventories were built out; so this is more of a business-led recession. So you're not going to see the dramatic pullout that people want to think happens out of recessions.
As for big companies doing layoffs now, it's the small entrepreneurial companies that actually hire quickest. It's these big lumbering giant corporations, like Lucent, that are behind the curve, that are still essentially playing out their recession scenarios and recession strategies after the boom has already started.
We're watching a lot of the fundamentals picking up again, and meanwhile the conventional wisdom is still caught in the doom and gloom.
"The Long Boom" came out at the height of dot-com mania, and many saw it as another piece fueling the speculative bubble. When that bubble popped, much of what had happened looked like a scam. How do you separate "The Long Boom" from that bubble?
The "long boom" to us meant a fundamental economic boom of sustained growth at high rates in both the American economy and the global economy. How the stock markets fared was simply a symptom of the more fundamental boom.
Every single transformative technology, like the telephone and railroads, has been accompanied by a frenzied stock market. But once you get through the frenzy, once the valuations crash, once there's a shakeout of the companies, once you get the kind of consolidation amongst the really viable companies that can stay there for the long haul, then you've got the core infrastructure of a new technology that anyone can leverage.
Transformative technology is not about whether the company that makes the technology makes money or doesn't make money. Some do, some don't. It's not a really big deal. The core thing of a transformative technology is that almost all businesses and society at large are able to leverage that technology and become more efficient, more productive, more successful.
And there's no doubt that the Internet, telecommunications and computer technologies, taken together, are a transformative technology -- and that is the thing that is driving and will continue to drive the growth of the overall economy.
So even with the tech sector still quite depressed, you continue to position technology as the great engine of economic expansion?
There was this glimpse in the late '90s of what was going to happen relatively overnight, where everyone thought that it would happen in two or three years, and essentially everyone was overstimulated in terms of how quickly it could happen. It's just going to take longer than most people thought.
When you look back at history, people will say: "Oh yeah, there was a stock run-up," and "Oh yeah, there was a burst bubble." But they're also going to see it as a transition, as a confusing kind of chaotic time that was part and parcel of the ultimate build-out of this information infrastructure that became the foundation of the global economy in the early part of the 21st century. We kind of lose track of it now because we're still caught in the confusing transition.
But people are starting to say: "Gosh, why was the recession so shallow? Why was our economy able to absorb an enormous hit to it with the 9/11 attack?" Global business went into a total freeze that lasted for weeks. An enormous shock to the system happened in September, and despite all the trauma, and despite all the emotionality that we all had, the economy was able to absorb that kind of shock and was able to in fact continue on a pretty robust pace and get us back on this trajectory.
This is an example of the robustness of this economy that should not be underestimated. I think we're actually out of the period where everyone was wringing their hands and looking at all the negatives and basically doom-saying.
But couldn't the ongoing threat of terrorism derail this economic expansion?
The Sept. 11 terrorist attack was the closest thing to jeopardizing the long boom.
The key issue in the next 10 years is whether we can avoid a weapon of mass destruction going off on U.S. soil. If a suitcase nuke or a rogue nuke goes off in the downtown of a major U.S. city, that could be a shock to the psyche of the American people in a way that would make 9/11 just a small beginning.
That is a very real possibility. In fact, one of the guys who we interviewed for our next book, John Arquilla, from the Monterey Naval Academy, put the odds at 1 in 4 that we're going to see, in the next decade, one of these weapons of mass destruction going off. And he's part of the security establishment that's desperately putting that on the front of the agenda of what they need to stop.
The idea of the "new economy" became a whipping boy for the stock market bust. Do you still believe in the new economy? And would you define it the same way now that you did three years ago?
I fell prey to this as much as anybody. There was the real sense of throwing out the old -- the old economy didn't get it; the new economy got it. The older generation didn't get it; the younger generation gets it. That kind of hubris, looking back on it, was really ridiculous and really misplaced. Now, that being said, there is something really new happening here.
A networked economy does work very differently, an economy based on this information infrastructure, this computer network, opens up possibilities that are very different from the old economy. I think that's true, and it's still true, and it's going to be increasingly true.
A lot of these things that we talked about in the '90s -- "Oh, everybody's moving to the Internet!" -- in fact weren't the case. It's taking a long time, and that's going to happen over this decade.
Are you still optimistic about some of the more rosy predictions your book made -- like finding a cure for cancer?
I do think that we're going to cure cancer.
While everyone was wringing their hands about the collapse of the dot-coms, biology, life sciences and energy technology have just gone gangbusters.
There's been incredible growth in fuel-cell technology, to the point where it's almost becoming conventional wisdom, even among the auto companies, that the shift to a fuel cell will happen. A couple of years ago people were thinking it was science fiction that you could stimulate stem cells to grow organs and replacement tissues, and now it's considered something that's going to happen in the next 10 years.
There is room for optimism in these other fields, and I do feel -- if not as giddy as I might have been in the peak moments of the late '90s -- I really feel that there is plenty here to be looking forward to in the coming decade.
- - - - - - - - - - - -
About the writer
Katharine Mieszkowski is a senior writer for Salon Technology.
Nice T3 article found by simonk22 at RB:
http://www.t3.co.uk/rev_print.asp?rev_id=2017
Date printed:4/25/02 Date reviewed: 4/1/02
Blaupunkt Compact Drive MP3 Player
Pull out the tiny hard drive from under the cover and there's 1GB of storage in the palm of your hand. The future of in-car music?
Key features: MP3 files stored on IBM 1GB plug-in Microdrive, 18 hours of music at 128Kbps (supports 32-320Kbps), Compatible with 14 Blaupunkt head units, Maximum 99 albums, each with 99-track capacity, Album and track listing shown on head unit display, Dimensions: 136 x 84 x 30mm, Microdrive supported by Compaq iPAQ and other portables.
Blaupunkt's new player is a bold format move in a car audio market currently dominated by MP3-friendly CD head units. It uses IBM's Microdrive housed in a strangely retro-looking brushed aluminium and black plastic box. The box clips onto a small bracket complete with sticky pads, ideal for attaching to any shiny surface on the centre console of your car.
With the player mounted in the desired spot, the installation is completed with a single multiway cable between the box and the back of any Blaupunkt FunLine or Skyline head unit with disc autochanger titling. The music files appear on the Blaupunkt head unit display with album and track titles. Albums and tracks can be scanned by prodding the arrow buttons on the set in the same way that discs and tracks are selected from a CD autochanger.
Sound quality from the internal head unit amplification is good at 128Kbps and even better at 192Kbps and beyond. Sound shaping facilities from Blaupunkt sets range from bass and treble on the cheaper units to awesome digital sound processing on the top-of-the-range tape and CD tuners. Ultimate listening pleasure depends, of course, on the quality of your external amplification and speakers.
At the computer end of the business, a Microdrive port with USB cable is provided, plus Blaupunkt's own management software. Anyone who distrusts half-baked, semi-bilingual installation instructions is likely to feel uncomfortable using the manual supplied. Luckily, Blaupunkt in the UK has included an additional instruction sheet which successfully explains some of the vagaries of the process.
The long-winded management program does its best to deal with music file transfer from CDs and the Internet, but insists on wrapping files in an extra folder. The folder has to be deleted before the files will play. The good news is that you don't have to use Blaupunkt's program to drop MP3 tunes onto the Microdrive.
Part of the appeal of the Blaupunkt system is that the Microdrive - which would cost upwards of £250 on its own - will carry a massive selection of music that can be played in the car, home-based computers and most laptops and portables.
Portables such as the Compaq iPAQ which accept PC cards can use the Microdrive with a dedicated card adaptor. There are also MP3 players that accept the Microdrive, such as the e.Digital MXP 100. More than 12 hours of battery life is claimed, and album/track changes can be made by voice command using the VoiceNav speech recognition system. Check out the details at www.edig.com.
So, if you've got lots of devices to use the Microdrive with and you like the idea of a tiny drive that can store 1GB of data, then this Blaupunkt player is worth a look. However, if you don't really care about the IBM component and just want to play music from the Internet in your car, there are plenty of alternatives. You can save a fair bit of cash by opting for a unit that plays MP3 CDs, or you could try a system based on another storage format which might better suit your needs.
Verdict: If the tiny IBM Microdrive is the centre of your file storage universe, this could make sense. Anyone looking for a cheaper and more universal system might opt for MP3 on recordable CD as a more flexible alternative.
Copyright Future Publishing
Reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission from Future Publishing is prohibited. This material is for personal use only. All rights reserved.
OT: Would You Download Music From This Man?
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/10.05/superuser.html
Everyone else does. Meet the one-stop shop for everything from MP3s to A Beautiful Mind and every Game Boy title on the market.
By Jeffrey M. O'Brien
Dan Verner pipes music into his bathroom. Same for his living room, kitchen, and every last corner of his home. He wired his place with a 28-speaker stereo system that cycles through 3,000 songs, ranging from 200 Elvis Presley tunes and all the early Beatles to classical, hip hop, blues, and concert bootlegs - even Axl Rose doing "White Christmas." "I have enough music to run a radio station," he says. "I could let it play for a week and it wouldn't run out."
Not long ago, compiling a Sam Goody-style assortment of popular and hard-to-find music would have taken a lot of money and some great connections. But Verner hasn't spent a dime, and his only real connection comes in the form of a cable modem. Lord of the Borrowers, as he's known in the peer-to-peer file-sharing world, is just a regular guy with a knack for collecting free stuff.
It's been almost a year since a federal court sided with the Recording Industry Association of America and forced Napster to shutter its network. The thinking was clear: Stop the technological enabler, and the illegal transfer of copyrighted songs should grind to a halt. But that hasn't happened. Thanks to the many services that have risen up since Napster's demise - Audiogalaxy, BearShare, iMesh, KaZaA, LimeWire - sharing has continued. Millions of users are still swapping billions of files. What's different is the quality and breadth of what's now changing hands. Today, anyone can find big-budget films, music videos, high-end software, vintage porn, and of course, a whole lotta audio.
Lord of the Borrowers logs on with a client called Morpheus, which allows him to swap files not only with Morpheus users but also with anyone on BearShare, LimeWire, or any other part of the Gnutella network. And more sharers are signing up all the time. Morpheus has been dragged from Download.com more than 71 million times in the past year.
Obsessive? Definitely. The top 20 percent of Gnutella users are responsible for 98 percent of all files shared.
Verner spends several hours every day seeking out new files to add to his 54-gigabyte collection. For a while, music was his passion, but he's moved on. Long before most people had even read a review ofThe Lord of the Rings, he had held a screening of the epic in his home. Same for Harry Potter, A Beautiful Mind, and Black Hawk Down.
He has accumulated nearly 2,500 movie, video, and software titles. "I have every Game Boy game on the market," says the 44-year-old part-time computer consultant. "All the animators, all the Photoshop programs, and Microsoft Draw."
A decade ago, Verner was just another pop-music fan who knew nothing about computers. That changed after he got knocked off a ladder by a 600-volt electrical current. In that moment, he had a heart attack and dropped to the floor - a fall that crushed the vertebrae in his neck and put an end to his career as an electrician. "Before that, I was a workaholic," he remembers. "All of a sudden I found myself at home, staring at four walls." He bought a PC and began tinkering. Even while taking 1,800 milligrams of morphine a day to fight the pain, he taught himself how to repair computer systems. Then he discovered P2P.
To anyone who can't afford to take the family to the movies or buy the latest PlayStation 2 title, Verner has become that lady at the end of the block who gives away full-size Snickers bars on Halloween - except he's handing out thousands of files. "Users look for people like me," he admits. The moment Verner logs on, visitors begin poring over his collection. He saves bandwidth by limiting outbound files to eight at a time, but is otherwise wholly accommodating. He rotates through hard drives to maintain a fresh offering of roughly 1,900 titles, and constantly monitors user activity. "If someone gets greedy, I'll shoot them a note and say, 'Give someone else a chance.'"
Snoedog, a fellow Morpheus user, has been feasting on Verner's collection for four years. "If there's something I have to have, I'll check with him first," she says. "He's got everything."
Which raises a question. What motivates someone to collect more music than he could ever possibly listen to, more movies than he can watch, more games than he could ever play - and so actively spread the wealth? It's no stretch to say Verner's responsible for millions of dollars in lost revenue for the record labels and movie studios. And while he considers those industries "damn greedy," it's not malice that drives him. "A lot of people out there don't have any idea what their computer really is for and how much they can enjoy it," he says. "I think I'm doing a public service."
OT: To clarify, 'daveh' is referring to the Musit system, which IMHO certainly smells like a scam. ($400 NYSE IPO indeed!)Please read the entire exchange and Musit/DieCorp link before jumping on someone's case.
OT: More re the OQO PC:
Tiny 'Ultra-Personal' PC Poised To Hit Market
By Tim McDonald April 17, 2002
www.NewsFactor.com, Part of the NewsFactor Network
http://www.newsfactor.com/perl/story/17306.html
A little-known company called OQO has unveiled what it calls the world's first "ultra-personal" computer, a PC the size of a handheld computer but with the power of a full-size desktop.
The OQO is a fully functional wireless PC powered by a Crusoe TM5800 processor that runs at up to 1 GHz and uses the Windows XP Professional operating system. The OQO features full Web browsing with Internet Explorer and has a four-inch "super bright" VGA color LCD -- about the same size as a Palm screen.
The modular product can be converted into either a desktop or laptop. Measuring 4.9 by 2.9 by .9 inches, the OQO weighs less than nine ounces and can fit easily into a shirt pocket, according to its designers.
Power in Your Pocket
Small peripherals currently on the market, such as Palm handhelds and Microsoft Pocket PC-powered devices, are extensions of full-size PCs and must be synchronized with them.
But OQO executives said their first product is a full-fledged, standalone PC that can be carried around as easily as a deck of cards.
"We wanted an ultra-personal computer that you always carry but that was still powerful enough to be your only PC," OQO CEO Jory Bell said in a statement issued at a Microsoft conference, where the product was unveiled. "We sought a device that incorporates wireless access as a central idea to the whole mobile experience."
Price: About $1,000
When inserted into an OQO-designed enclosure, the miniature PC becomes a notebook computer. When placed in a cradle and connected to a standard screen and keyboard, it becomes a desktop PC.
The OQO features full Web browsing with Internet Explorer and has a four-inch "super bright" VGA color LCD -- about the same size as a Palm screen.
It also has a Synaptics touch-screen, 256 MB of memory, a 10 GB hard drive, a USB port, audio and Bluetooth wireless technology. It runs for three to eight hours on battery power, depending on how it is being used.
The company said it is still negotiating with manufacturers but expects the first machines will become available in the second half of 2002. The devices are expected to sell for about $1,000.
Whole New Category?
OQO claimed the product represents a new PC category that could transform personal computing in the same way that cell phones revolutionized telecommunications.
"I've been an advocate for modular computers for three years now, and every time we've done a survey with IT folks, the largest percentage have said that if somebody can build this right, they'd buy it," Giga Information Group analyst Rob Enderle, who has seen a non-running prototype of the machine, told NewsFactor.
"They've said such a machine would meet their needs and expectations for what a future computer should be," Enderle said.
But other analysts are not completely sold on the idea.
"On the one hand, it's a significant step toward reducing the overall size and weight of a fully functional PC -- it's basically the size of a PDA," IDC analyst Alan Promisel told NewsFactor.
"However, unless you bring with you the notebook docking station, it's still no better than a high-powered PDA," Promisel added. "The usage model is just a little more complicated."
MetaPad, Saint Song
There have been other attempts at making practical, super-small PCs, including an effort by a Taiwanese company called Saint Song.
In February, IBM announced a similar product that it called "revolutionary." The MetaPad has a 10 GB hard drive and 128 MB of memory. IBM said users will be able to slip the MetaPad into a touch-screen sleeve or link it with a standard monitor and keyboard -- but the MetaPad will not ship for a few years.
Tired of Apple and IBM
San Francisco-based OQO was founded in 1999 and employs engineers and designers who previously have worked for Apple, CalTech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, IBM's Almaden Research Center, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Oracle and Transmeta.
"After years of designing Apple and IBM laptops, the OQO team felt the time had come for the next step -- but a revolutionary one -- of the full-featured wireless PC," Bell said.
© Copyright 1998-2002 NewsFactor Network
OT re carlvogel, FWIW:
http://www.skyreport.com/skyreport/nov2001/110201.htm
Vogel Offers Insight into DBS Combination
Charter's top executive offered his opinion on the proposed merger between EchoStar and Hughes Electronics Thursday. And while most cable CEOs will undoubtedly have something to say about the pending transaction, the MSO's president and CEO has a connection to the companies involved in the blockbuster satellite TV deal like no other cable executive.
Charter's Carl Vogel was once president of EchoStar, working for the company under Chairman and CEO Charlie Ergen when it launched the DISH Network DBS service in 1996. He also headed PrimeStar prior to its acquisition by Hughes' DirecTV unit in 1999.
In a conference call detailing Charter's third quarter results, Vogel, named the cable operator's president and CEO last month, said, "bottom line, it's great for Charlie." What he's looking forward to is the regulatory scrutiny the deal will get in the nation's capital. "I will enjoy watching the Washington gymnastics on this one," Vogel said.
Vogel said the pending EchoStar/Hughes transaction won't have much of an impact on Charter. "If there are one or two satellite competitors, it may or may not be relevant to us," he said. "At the end of the day, it's about delivering digital television."
Charter said digital cable customers totaled 1.951 million at the end of third quarter. Vogel said Charter's target is to end the year with more than 2.15 million digital cable customers, representing a 30 percent penetration of the company's basic customer base. Total customers numbered 6.97 million at the end of September.
Charter also continues to promote video-on-demand. Vogel said Charter expects to pass some 2.2 million homes by the end of 2001 with VOD service.
Two-way high-speed data service was available to 56 percent of Charter's homes passed as of Sept. 30. At the end of the third quarter, Charter served 545,900 data customers, adding more than 102,000 Charter Pipeline customers during the three-month period.
Third quarter revenue increased more than 13 percent, to $1.04 billion, and operating cash flow increased more than 10 percent to $467.5 million, when compared to pro forma results for third quarter 2000.
Methinks you know better, but what would I know?
IBM Expands Its Digital Rights Management Technology
Advanced Software Enables Businesses To Securely Deliver Digital Content
http://biz.yahoo.com/iw/020408/040342.html
LAS VEGAS, NV--(INTERNET WIRE)--Apr 8, 2002 -- NAB -- IBM today announced new software that enables customers to digitally protect and secure copyrighted and digital content for content management, distribution and e-commerce applications. The new Electronic Media Management (EMMS) software now includes support for open standards and can secure all types of digital media, including audio, text, video, and streaming media.
With today's announcement, IBM brings Digital Rights Management (DRM) to its enterprise content management portfolio in recognition of the growing need for businesses to protect and deliver digital content. Companies worldwide are faced with growing amounts of rich media -- and the challenge of managing, securing and distributing that data is mounting. According to IDC, the digital rights management (DRM) market is expected to exceed $1 billion by 2006.
Formerly a standalone offering for the music industry, EMMS version 2 supports a broad range of media types, including text, image, and video, in addition to audio files, and is now a key component of the IBM Digital Media solutions architecture. This expanded capability provides customers from diverse industries -- from healthcare and finance to media and entertainment -- with an information infrastructure that enables them to access, capture, integrate, manage, analyze, and securely distribute all forms of digitized content to build and deploy e-business solutions.
IBM's expanded platform is built on open standards including XML® and Java®, allowing applications to exchange data freely and securely. Support for open standards enables customers to integrate EMMS seamlessly into their existing IT infrastructure. EMMS is also a component of IBM's new Service Provider Delivery Environment (SPDE), a framework based on open industry standards to help bring next generation services such as voice, text, Internet services and the delivery of content to customers faster, easier and at lower cost.
With EMMS, Hollywood and entertainment content creators can share digital assets and assign rights to a broader range of content. In healthcare, a provider can transfer digitized patient records between doctors, without compromising the security of these protected records. Similarly, banks and financial institutions that process requests from consumers for mortgages and loans can use EMMS to protect this personal information and allow status updates and approvals to be accessed only by authorized individuals. Government agencies that generate video from surveillance technology or scanned satellite images can benefit from EMMS's rights management capability, which may be used to prevent theft, unauthorized use and access, and ensure authenticity of the content.
Today's announcement of EMMS version 2 introduces:
IBM Software integration: Tighter interoperability with IBM Content Manager and other middleware components, including IBM VideoCharger for streaming video, DB2 database software, and the WebSphere family of server products.
Extensive device support: Allows for the delivery of secure content to a broader range of devices, including PCs, PDAs, CDs, retail kiosks, set-top boxes, mobile communicators and consumer electronics components, such as game stations.
Streaming video and audio, and additional plug-in support: Integrates with IBM's Content Manager VideoCharger technology to help provide a secure streaming solution. Also provides support for Microsoft Windows Media Player.®
Additional media type support: In addition to supporting music files, EMMS now provides support for media types for both businesses and consumers including audio, text, image, and video, including pdf and Open-eBook® formats.
Supports a wide range of business models: Enables companies to drive new revenue across all forms of digital content with subscription-based models, rentals, pay-per-view, kiosks, and super distribution.
User authentication capability: Allows for only those authorized users to access sensitive information through support of delivery options that provide a controlled access infrastructure for and between enterprises. This technology prevents theft, unauthorized use, controls access and ensures authenticity of content.
Software Development Kit (SDK): This includes client and content preparation modules for independent software vendors (ISVs) and developers to use in facilitating the integration of content across various types of clients and applications.
Industry Support
-- "We at ION Systems are one of the first companies to install the entire EMMS software solution to both sell secure eBook formats from our GalaxyLibrary.com web site and to offer EMMS mastering, hosting, retail and clearing services to content owners. Integration of the EMMS client application with our eMonocle reader allows the industry standard OeB file format to be securely distributed and viewed comfortably by all users regardless of their vision or physical challenge," said Jill Thomas, CEO of ION Systems.
-- "Rimage and the EMMS team worked closely to enable EMMS to support the Rimage CD-R publishers in the medical, banking and finance, government, retail, and entertainment markets, as well as emerging new markets that require the production of digital content on an on-demand basis," said Dave Suden, chief technology officer, Rimage. "Together, Rimage and IBM help meet customers' needs for customized, on-demand digital information, which span the range from high to low CD-R production volumes, incorporate robotics, advanced software, and sophisticated color printing technologies."
-- "IBM's approach to common standards allows us at Mobipocket to integrate new EMMS security functions with our OeB reader technologies, extending EMMS secured content to a wide range of PCs and mobile devices, including PDAs and Smart Phones," said Thierry Erethes, president and CEO of Mobipocket."
Availability
EMMS version 2 will be available worldwide on April 30, 2002.
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM is helping media and entertainment companies worldwide take advantage of the business opportunities made possible by digital technology. IBM offers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions, networking and service offerings that is transforming the traditional creative and business processes of media and entertainment companies and positioning them to leverage their intellectual assets into new commercial opportunities. Additional information on IBM strategy for the media and entertainment industry can be found at www.ibm.com/industries/digitalmedia. Additional information on EMMS and the EMMS SDKs can be found at www.ibm.com/software/emms.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
IBM to unveil antipiracy software
Says it would stop illegal copying of entertainment files
By Hiawatha Bray, Globe Staff, 4/8/2002
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/098/business/IBM_to_unveil_antipiracy_software+.shtml
IBM Corp., wading into the debate over the post-Napster structure of the online music business, is set to announce today new software designed to prevent the illegal copying of digital music and other data files.
The company has spent five years working on its Electronic Media Management System, or EMMS. But today's announcement, scheduled for the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas, is intended in part as a response to recent legislative proposals that would force the electronics industry to make antipiracy technology a part of every digital device, from computers to game machines.
Senator Fritz Hollings, Democrat of South Carolina, has introduced a bill that would require all digital devices to have built-in hardware to prevent users from copying files. The legislation was drafted in response to complaints from music recording companies and film production firms. They say they're losing billions of dollars in sales because people can use computers to easily make perfect copies of CDs and videos. They also want to sell their products over the Internet, but are unwilling to do so unless buyers can be prevented from making copies of the files they purchase.
But computer industry executives have expressed alarm at the idea of a government-mandated redesign of their products. ''We don't believe that the government should be involved in designing IT [information technology] solutions for industry,'' said Scott Burnett, director of digital media marketing at IBM. He hopes that IBM's software technology, if voluntarily embraced by media companies, software makers, and electronics firms, will go a long way toward preventing the wholesale illegal copying of digital entertainment data.
With its EMMS technology, a music or video creator can wrap his files in a digital ''package'' that can only be unlocked with a digital key. Such a key is issued to the purchaser of the file. The buyer will be able to use the file, but the key can be designed to ensure that the same file won't work when loaded onto a different computer owned by someone else.
Many people make multiple copies of music files for use at home, at work, and in the car. The EMMS system is designed to let the creator of the file set his own rules about copying. He could allow the purchaser to make no copies, or two or three. He could allow the file to be copied to a portable digital music player, but prevent the same file from being burned to a CD.
Similar copy-protection software has been in the works for years, made by AT&T Corp., Microsoft Corp. and others. IBM scientists say that theirs is more robust than earlier versions, with features that would make it extremely difficult for a data thief to intercept the digital signal inside the computer.
For example, a data pirate could replace a standard sound card with a device that would capture digital music from the computer and send it to another computer.
IBM scientists say that wouldn't work with EMMS, because it recognizes the digital signatures of legitimate sound card software programs. Any phony sound card would have an incorrect signature, and the file would refuse to play.
But Internet security experts are skeptical that any software-based antipiracy system can ever be made perfect.
Ed Felten, professor of computer science at Princeton University, has cracked a number of earlier data-protection programs. He said that a pirate could write a program that would send out the signature of a legitimate soundcard, even though the computer system really used a music-capture card. By issuing false identification in this way, the pirate could deceive the EMMS system.
''I tend to doubt that you can build a system that's unbreakable in this area,'' said Felten.
Hiawatha Bray can be reached at bray@globe.com.
This story ran on page C1 of the Boston Globe on 4/8/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
IBM To Ship New Digital Copyright Tools
05 Apr 2002, 09:02 AM EST
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=944325 (kudos to DABOSS at RB)
As the debate over digital copyright laws rages, technology marches on. IBM next week will unveil a new version of its suite of tools for encrypting content and providing secure access. Version 2 of Electronic Media Management System extends support beyond audio files to all forms of digital content, including video, streaming media, text, and images.
IBM also has included Java-based application programming interfaces for integration with its DB2 database software; WebSphere application server products; Content Manager; and VideoCharger, an application for streaming video. While of particular interest to the music industry and Hollywood, EMMS also can be used in other industries, such as health care and financial services, to protect customer records, says Scott Burnett, director of marketing for IBM's global digital media group. The heart of EMMS 2's security is a "clearinghouse program"; that acts as a central control point for managing, authorizing, and reporting transactions. The software verifies licensing requests for content, issues licenses that let authorized users access content, and provides tracking information to help determine royalty payments and administer document-distribution policies. A "content-hosting program"; is the storage facility for EMMS-formatted content that will be distributed throughout a network. The system also includes software development kits for wrapping content in an EMMS format and adding software to link the client, whether a PC, PDA, or other electronic device, to EMMS security. A typical deployment of EMMS version 2, which ships April 30, will be priced at $500,000.
While IBM and other vendors develop better tools for protecting copyrighted digital content, the debate over the rights of artists, record and movie companies, and consumers continues. Several bills addressing the issue are floating in Congress, but none satisfies all sides. Hollywood and record companies want new laws and private-industry pacts that build copy protection into every recording or playback device in the market. Electronic device manufacturers and consumer groups argue that such stringent rules would prevent people who purchase music CDs or movies from copying the content for personal, noncommercial use, which current law allows. Other than a general aversion to more government regulation, IBM has taken a neutral position. Says Burnett, "IBM provides the technology, and it's up to industry to come up with the usage conditions." - Antone Gonsalves
OT: MPuls3 ...Digital Audio For The Internet Generation
http://www.mpuls3.com/overview.html
Free Music or Fee Music
Obtaining music through download is a new way of acquiring and enjoying music. This form of music offers many benefits: creating personal and customized play-lists and the ability to export these play-lists to portable devices, CDs or MP3 players. These files on the Internet are mostly "free" tracks, but increasingly there will be a "fee" or subscription service with music from major artists. These "free" tracks come in the ubiquitous MP3 format, while the major artists will come in a variety of encrypted formats.
MP3 Basics
MP3 music derives its name from MPEG, layer 3, a standard used to compress audio files to roughly 1/10th of their normal track size. Thus they are much easier to manage and transfer. MP3 quality can vary and depends on the sampling rate used to convert the original track. The higher the sampling rate (normal is 128 Kbps), the better the sound obtained but the larger the file size. Indeed, high sampling tracks are similar to CD quality. The lower the sampling rate (FM quality is 44.1 Kbps) the poorer the quality, but file sizes are smaller. Audio text files, e.g. speech, can be clear at a low sampling rate; a concerto would be unintelligible at this rate and requires a minimum of 128 kbps. MP3 files may also be legitimately created for your own use from your CDs, LPs, or audiocassettes. These original music files can be "ripped" into the MP3 format.
The Next Thing
Major record companies will offer "Fee" or "Subscription"music in an encrypted format. This is like an envelope with special opening instructions. The authors or copyright holders will determine how the music can be downloaded, enjoyed and exported to portable devices. Such tracks may also be date-stamped or encoded, permitting only so many plays. Such music accords with SDMI standards (Secure Digital Music Initiative, an industry association). Portable devices, which can play such music, are "SDMI compliant". These devices can also play the regular MP3 format. There are various formats within SDMI and each music company may choose to offer a different format. (See Audio FAQ for more details)
What We Do
MPuls3 is a leading manufacturer of digital audio devices. We offer several categories of product: an MP3 accessory for cell phones, compact flash based digital audio players as well as an MP3/CD player. These players offer users of different levels of skill the opportunity to enjoy the music of their choice, in the location of their preference. All products come in complete kits.
Our Current Program
Our current_program includes standard MP3 players, fully featured with removable compact flash media. There is no memory on board and the user is able to store music on the compact flash (CF) disks and exchange music with friends and peers. This removable medium also allows the CF disks to be used in conjunction with appropriate CF digital cameras and PDAs.
In June 2002 MPuls3 will launch SyMphony3, an SDMI-compliant device that will allow the export of encrypted music to our portable player. This device will initially play the Liquid Audio format -- including the current MP3 format -- and later work with other popular formats supported by the music industry, WMA and proprietary formats. The music industry has announced that music from Billboard artists will be increasingly available from March 2002.
Note: standard MP3 players will not be able to play this 'secure music'
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
SigmaTel™ D-Major™ Audio Decoder Selected for MPuls3 MP3 Player Attachment for Cellular Phones
http://www.mpuls3.com/press_090701.html
AUSTIN, TX, September 07, 2001 - SigmaTel, a provider of digital consumer audio and wireless infrared integrated circuit (IC) solutions for the home and small business markets, announces that MPuls3 has selected the D-Major audio decoder solution to power its latest MP3 player attachment for cellular phones, MPower3.
"This design-win is a major step for SigmaTel as an emerging design leader for the portable audio marketplace. We are establishing a strong market position with products that are high in quality, low in cost and rich in features such as the MPower3 player," says Alan Hansford, vice president of marketing at SigmaTel. "The uniqueness of MPower3, with a small form factor of only 21 square cm along with its integrated power source, showcases the flexibility and features that SigmaTel's D-Major solutions deliver."
The MPower3 player contains an independent AA battery to preserve cellular phone battery life, giving the listener both more music enjoyment and cellular phone talk time. MPower3 is available in 32 MB and 64 MB models and contains a USB interface for easy upload capabilities. The incoming call feature, paired with included microphone earbuds, permits the user to toggle between MP3 audio music and cellular phone communications.
"The SigmaTel D-Major single-chip solution has enabled us to accelerate design time and incorporate the features that the portable audio and cellular phone market demands," says Randy Kemp, VP Marketing of MPuls3 LLC. "As these markets mature, having an adaptable supplier like SigmaTel who offers solutions that fit the market demands becomes increasingly important in maintaining a competitive advantage."
The MPower3 MP3 player is now available for purchase online and soon will be available at electronics retailers nationally and internationally. Visit www.mpuls3.com/buy.html for purchasing information. The suggested retail price for the 32 MB MPower3 is $99, where the larger capacity 64 MB model retails for $129.
Additional information on the SigmaTel D-Major line of audio decoder products is provided on the SigmaTel Web site at: www.sigmatel.com.
About Mpuls3:
MPuls3 is a California based company specializing in Internet audio products. Incorporated in 1999, MPuls3 offers a broad range of products in retail and OEM packaging. These products are designed with users in mind that range from the beginner to the most advanced audiophile user. The current product broadens the offering to cellular phone users. All products come in full kits with software, cables and flash memory. Accessories are also included. Technical support via email and a constantly updated FAQ on the website offers the user easy installation, use and music enjoyment. MPuls3 contact: Priya Sharma, MPuls3 LLC, priyas@mpuls3.com. For more information, visit Mpuls3's website at www.mpuls3.com.
About Sigma Tel:
SigmaTel, a provider of integrated circuit (IC) design, is converting the real world into a digital experience with its innovative mixed-signal solutions for the digital consumer audio and wireless infrared markets. Since its inception, SigmaTel has built a strong reputation as an innovative developer of mixed-signal ICs, by being first to market with several highly integrated designs. The privately held company, based in Austin, Texas, is committed to providing customers with high performance products along with superior customer service. For more information, visit SigmaTel's Web site at www.sigmatel.com.
SigmaTel™ and D-Major™ are trademarks of SigmaTel, Inc. Press Contact: NATE LONG
MARKETING COMMUNICATION MAGANGER
SIGMA TEL
512 381 3913
EMAIL: nlong@sigmatel.com
Company Contact: ALAN HANSFORD
VP MARKETING
SIGMA TEL
512 381 3716
EMAIL: ahansford@sigmatel.com
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Symphony3 SDMI Compliant Internet Audio Device Answers Music Controversy
http://www.mpuls3.com/press_030701.html
SAN MATEO, CA, MARCH 07, 2001 - Events of the last few months have shown the copyright concerns of all parties in the distribution of music over the Internet. As the Internet becomes a major vehicle for the music industry, the need to build copyright security has also become of paramount importance. SDMI, The Secure Digital Music Initiative, an association of the music, software, hardware and Internet security companies, was created to develop a protocol for the secure download of music and export to portable devices. Several companies have developed Digital Rights Managers (DRMs) that provide encryption and transportation technologies. Music from the leading recording companies will be encrypted and offered for download. Special software is required to decrypt music.
Symphony3 is a portable audio device designed to work with the leading DRM technology companies: Liquid Audio, Microsoft’s WMA, Intertrust, IBM and several lesser known companies. Initially, Symphony3 is designed to work with Liquid Audio’s SP3 technology. Compatibility with Microsoft’s WMA and Intertrust’s Digifiles will follow by the end of April 2001.
This new generation Internet Audio player can also play regular MP3 and WMA files. Based on the latest programmable DSP from Texas Instrument, Symphony3 has 0 MB on board and uses Compact Flash media of type II and I. Compact Flash Type I capacities range from 4 MB to 512 MB. The IBM Microdrive with capacities of 340 MB, 512 MB and 1 GB represents type II. This flash type is very commonly used by digital cameras, PDAs and some sub-notebooks. All such media is readily interchangeable between these devices increasing functionality and offering better value for money.
Symphony3 offers superior features and functionality: a large backlit LCD, 3 lines, 13 characters showing full track ID, battery status, volume and mode. A high signal to noise ratio of over 95 dB, volume controls, repeat and random play. Symphony3 ‘s design is forward compatible. By downloading a driver, new formats can be easily recognized as they are developed. Transfer of music files to the portable device is achieved through a fast USB connection. An USB micro connector on board the device allows plug 'n play ease.
Symphony3 is one of a series of portable devices in the MPuls3 range of products. Other products are the Nymph3, a standard MP3 player with compact flash removable memory and USB transfer capability. The Ampigo3 completes the trio of audio devices. It also uses compact flash media but music transfers are accomplished with a parallel port connection.
The Companio3 is a MP3 CD player. A CD-R can be burned with MP3 tracks to provide over 12 hours of playback on a single CDR disk. This device also plays regular CDs.
MPuls3 is a California company specializing in Internet audio products. Incorporated in 1999, MPuls3 offers a broad range of products in retail and OEM packaging. All products come in full kits with software, cables and compact flash memory. Accessories are also included. Technical support via email and a constantly updated FAQ on the website offers the user easy installation, use and music enjoyment.
MPuls3 products are available in Europe from local stocks.
Contact: RANDY KEMPS
MPULS3 LLC
1021 S CLAREMONT ST., SAN MATEO, CA 94402
650 212 0500 FAX: 650 212 0700
EMAIL: info@mpuls3.com
OT: johnqlaw, I normally use my iRock connected to the headphone jack on my XP3. I have found that its output signal is a little weak when connected to the line out jack. Setting the volume up to 25 or more seems to pump up the iRock's output enough to overpower weak FM signals that might try to horn in on the selected frequency. For stationary use, this might not be a problem, but when you're running up the interstate at 80 mph for 12 hours +, stray signals can be a nuisance.
Jeau, in case you missed it:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=250189 (Re I&C Co.)
Plucking the Fruit of iPod Envy
Wed Apr 3, 7:53 AM ET
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/bw/20020403/bs_bw/plucking_the_fruit_of_ipod_envy
Not long ago, I caught one of my college students ogling my iPod. I knew Steve as a rabid PCer: He continually raged against the indignity of having to use Macs in the classroom at Emory University, where I teach a writing course for undergrads. His beef wasn't that Macs didn't work well. He just found them, well, pointless. Why bother with Macs if you can't get the latest twitch-and-shoot game for them?
I could see that my iPod was forcing Steve to reconsider his position, at least for a moment. ``You want one, admit it,'' I said, mercilessly waving my pocket-size white-and-silver MP3 player under his nose. At first, Steve glared at me in defiance, but he quickly broke down. ``Yes,'' he whined, ``but does that mean I have to buy a Mac?''
TROJAN APPLE? Good question. For the moment, the answer is yes. And I doubt that more than a handful of PC users would switch to the Mac just to use an iPod. Indeed, iPod envy has yet to drive my Emory student to buy a Mac. Having an iPod isn't worth missing out on the next version of Quake.
Dream with me for a moment, though. What if the iPod did work with PCs? Could it become a Trojan horse that steals inside fortress Windows and wins over diehard PC fans? That's the question on the minds of a lot of Mac thinkers and enthusiasts. It's one well worth asking.
At first glance, it's hard to see how the iPod could miss in the PC market. True, it's neither the smallest nor the cheapest MP3 player. It doesn't even hold the most songs. But the iPod represents a winning compromise between size, power, and capacity.
SPEEDY FEATURES. The latest model, released last week, holds 2,000 songs on a 10-gigabyte hard drive that fits in a shirt pocket. At $500, it's only $100 more expensive than the 5-GB model Apple introduced last Christmas. It uses a lightning-fast fire wire transfer technology, which moves music files 30 times faster than the USB port standard on most PC players.
The iPod also can store any type of digital file, serving as a highly portable hard drive. And Apple has posted a software update on its Web page that enables both iPod models to import addresses and phone numbers from Microsoft Entourage or Palm Desktop.
Despite this strong feature set, iPod faces an uphill battle for acceptance in the PC market. That's not to say it couldn't be done. But success requires two conditions.
The first is flawless connectivity with any PC. It's a tall order, given that even Microsoft struggles to persuade the myriad of PC manufacturers to adopt common standards. Nonetheless, a number of Mac third-party developers are working on software to enable the iPod to work with PCs.
APPLE-TESTED DRIVERS. I haven't tested of any of these efforts, but even so I can see that third-party developers aren't enough. For one thing, only hardy first-adopter types will be willing to search the Internet for downloadable drivers to use an iPod with a PC. And, mark my word, these drivers would be anything but flawless. One would work with a Dell and not a Compaq, and so forth.
That's not good enough. The iPod needs to work with any PC out-of-the-box, so PC drivers would have to be built into the iPod. That means, of course, Apple would have to develop them. The company declines to comment, but the rumor mill says Apple is working on some kind of PC port for its iPod.
The easiest way for Apple to write PC drivers would be in cooperation with Microsoft. Access to Windows code would ensure that Apple's iPod driver would work with just about any PC. But don't count on Microsoft's cooperation here. It's trying to establish its own software as the standard for storing and transferring music files. We all know how respectful Microsoft is with computing and Internet standards other than its own. Just ask Sun Microsystems or RealNetworks.
THE COST CARD. The second obstacle is price. The iPod, with its emphasis on classy design, will never be the cheapest MP3 player. Mac buyers are used to paying a premium, but at $400 to $500 the iPod is just too expensive for the mass market. Few consumer-electronics products win mass acceptance until their price falls below $300.
In short, the iPod could help Apple break out of its market-share cul-de-sac, but only if the company slashes the price and ensures that it works with any PC. It won't be easy, but only then will my college student not just ogle my iPod but actually buy one.
Interesting hit from a Yahoo biznews search for DataPlay:
http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=dataplay&n=20&c=news
(Note the listed 'Research Documents'.)
RT: TI Unveils the Industry's First Getting Started Software for DSP-Based Application Development
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020401/dam007_1.html
New eXpressDSP(TM) Reference Frameworks Increase Productivity, Speeding Manufacturers to Market With Differentiated Products
HOUSTON, April 1 8:04 am Eastern Time/PRNewswire/ --
Accelerating the software development process for designers of digital signal processor (DSP)-based applications, Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN - news; TI) today introduced the first and only DSP software reference frameworks. The design-ready reference frameworks are getting-started solutions for designers in the early stages of application development, featuring easy-to-use source code that is common to many applications. This empowers development teams with fast application development ramp and a structure to easily integrate custom or eXpressDSP- compliant algorithms into their design. For more information, please see www.dspvillage.ti.com/rframeworks
By implementing TI's reference frameworks, adaptable to a variety of customer applications, TI has eliminated much of the initial low-level design decisions for the developer allowing them more time to focus on the code that truly differentiates their products. TI has analyzed common customer requirements such as data rates, the number of algorithms, number of channels, memory constraints, static or dynamic configuration and other characteristics, and used this information to optimize the three reference frameworks announced today. Designers can choose from TI's three reference frameworks for the one that best meets their system needs.
Designers will take these frameworks and populate them with any of the more than 500 available eXpressDSP-compliant algorithms available from TI third parties or they can use their own algorithms, creating specific applications for a range of end-equipments such as broadband, voice, video imaging, biometrics and wireless infrastructure.
``In talking to designers, we discovered that whether you're building an MP3 player or a fingerprint recognition system, there are many similarities in the system design,' said Steve Blonstein, technical director of software development systems, TI. ``Designers are spending a lot of valuable time developing generic resource management code. The new frameworks package that code for designers, allowing them to increase their productivity and concentrate on code that adds real value to their applications.'
Reference frameworks available today from WebTI's new Reference Frameworks include:
-- The "Compact" framework (RF1) targeted at portable applications, has been highly tuned for systems with a very limited footprint, and is suitable for compact, low-cost products such as those on the TMS320C5000(TM) DSP platform. Applications that will benefit from this framework include digital scanners, smart toys and low-power pay phones.
-- The "Flexible" framework (RF3) is more flexible because it has the ability to be used in a wide spectrum of systems that range from a single channel, single algorithm configuration to a more complicated multi-channel, multi-rate, multi-algorithm system. It is well suited for a number of TI DSPs across both the low-power C5000(TM) DSP platform and the high performance TMS320C6000(TM) DSP platform. Designers of hands free voice kits, multi-channel phone systems and digital video cameras will benefit from this framework.
-- The "Extensive" framework (RF5), scheduled to be available in the second half of 2002, is for system designers who are looking for extensive flexibility. It supports static object creation, plus both static and dynamic memory management. The Extensive framework supports up to a very large number of algorithms and channels, plus allows both single-rate and multi-rate operation.
``These products are unique in the DSP space and are made possible by TI's commitment to developing a standard operating system for its devices,' said Will Strauss, president, Forward Concepts. ``The development and adoption of the eXpressDSP strategy has continued to distinguish TI in terms of easily getting developers started and enabling them to get their products to market.'
The Compact (RF1) and Flexible frameworks (RF3) are licensed royalty-free with every TMS320 device and are ready to implement with Code Composer Studio v2.1 on TI DSPs or DSP Starter Kits (DSKs). Each framework includes:
Design-ready, tested reusable C-language source code -- Simple algorithms that act as placeholders for any of the hundreds of eXpressDSP-compliant TI third party algorithms or in-house proprietary algorithms
Detailed memory and instruction cycle budgets -- An adaptation guide for adding algorithms, channels and drivers -- An API reference manual to document the functions of new modules -- Consistent documentation in application notes
``After working with TI's Flexible framework (RF3) we have found that we can quickly build applications without going back to the drawing board for each new development. This has drastically improved our productivity when integrating our algorithms into various platforms,' said Scott Kroeker, director of business development, Imagine Technologies. ``We have several customers using our DSP demos based on the Flexible framework (RF3) design and can now offer our own customizable solution for audio, full-duplex speakerphones and VoIP applications such as IP phones.'
TI's reference frameworks enable true ease of design for both seasoned DSP designers and those using DSP for the first time. Designers who are new to DSP can access TI's ``Getting Started' Web site at http://www.dspvillage.ti.com/cocostu to help them quickly and easily begin their real-time signal processing design. Highly tuned, application-optimized software frameworks and algorithms are also available from TI's network of third parties.
Pricing and availability
The Compact (RF1) and Flexible (RF3) frameworks are available today and can be downloaded from TI's Web site at www.dspvillage.ti.com/rframeworks , with the Extensive framework (RF5) scheduled to be available in the second half of 2002. Additional frameworks are in development. The Compact and Flexible frameworks are licensed royalty free for all TMS320(TM) devices.
Texas Instruments Incorporated is the world leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies, the semiconductor engines of the Internet age. In addition to Semiconductor, the company's businesses include Sensors & Controls, and Educational & Productivity Solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at www.ti.com .
TRADEMARKS
All trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
SOURCE: Texas Instruments Incorporated
OT re iRock:
I have the iRock 300W and use it with my XP3 and CD deck in my car. Works very well, but you only get about 8 hours of play time from a pair of alkaline AAA batteries. No aux power connection is provided. Nonetheless, a good way to connect to CD units that don't have aux inputs. For about $60, you can get a unit from iRock that is permanently mounted and is powered from your car's battery.
Boy, can those guys dance or what?.....
Q: Have you seen any indication that computer manufacturers are interested in bundling alternate portable storage options (i.e. such as a jukebox/portable hard disk drive combo) with desktop or laptop PCs?
A: All next-generation e.Digital mass storage products will have drive-letter support (i.e. they will appear as another hard drive on your desktop) and there will be firmware and/or software updates available online to insure backward compatibility with products already sold.
Many of our consumer electronics customers already use our proprietary MXPTM Music ExplorerTM PC software interface and the large capacities of our digital audio players to back up and store all types of data files, and we encourage this use as a cost-effective, portable storage solution.
OT: OEM vs ODM:
http://www.pencomputing.com/frames/textblock_webpads_oemodm.html
An OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) is a company that designs and builds a product based on their own specification, and then sells it to another company for branding and distribution. In the computer business, the term OEM is used mostly as a verb (rather than as a noun or adjective). When one company "OEMs" another company's product, it buys a complete, already designed and manufactured product (the "original equipment") from another company (the OEM). Most of the time the purchaser asks the seller to change only the name and possibly the color of the product, and nothing else. For example, Intermec OEMs the 6651 (convertible) CE Tablet from Sharp; Sharp sells the identical product as the Sharp HC-7000. Only the name and model number are different.
An ODM (Original Design Manufacturer) is a company that designs and builds a product based on another company's specification. For example, a computer company such as HP or Compaq may write a spec on a new notebook that they want to bring to market. They specify all of the external details of the product such as screen size and technology, I/O ports, keyboard pitch and travel, case shape and color, speaker location, etc. They also typically specify some of the major internal details of the product such as the CPU and video controller. But they don't design the schematic, specify the type of switching transistors used in the power supply, or select the backlight inverter frequency. That's the ODM's job. The ODM takes the computer company's specification and designs and builds the notebook. Sometimes the ODM does so based on an existing prototype product that was built to attract business. The result is typically a more cooperative/joint effort than in the OEM situation, where the purchaser has little or no control over any of the product specs. Is the new notebook HP's or Compaq's product, or is really the ODM's product? It's HP's or Compaq's product, because they specified the things that matter to the user, the things that the user touches and interacts with every day, the things that affect the "form, fit and function."
In order to attract customers (marketing and distribution companies), ODM companies typically build prototype products that demonstrate their mastery of a particular technology or product type. These prototypes are often displayed on the ODM's website just as if they were "real" products, ready for sale to a consumer or other individual buyer. For an example, look at the AquaPAD on FIC's website. ( http://www.fic.com.tw/IA/ia/aquapad/default.asp )
It can be difficult to determine if a company is an ODM just by looking at the products on their website. One clue is if there is no "How to Purchase" information on the website. Sometimes the "Contact Us" page will include "OEM/ODM" buried in some text. Sometimes you can read between the lines and understand that the vendor has no marketing or distribution capability. For example, the E-Labs website states that "Overall, the division can be classified as a research and development organization". From this statement it's clear that they're selling their product as an ODM and the product shown on the website is just a prototype.
rstring, here's a more direct link to the new Fujitsu Ten players: http://www.eclipse-web.com/products/cdtuner/top.html#cd5442
I noted that all the new head units except for the CD3412 and CD3402 offer E-Com compatibility and something called "The ECLIPSE Memory Buffer". The latter might or might not be an indicator of EDIG involvemebt.
Set Tops Prep for Music on Demand
by Christopher Jones
3:00 a.m. April 25, 2000 PDT
http://www.wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1452,35867,00.html
With the major record labels taking their first serious plunge online this year, a growing group of Web, cable, and satellite broadcasters are eagerly preparing to launch the next wave of the business: on-demand music services.
A recently announced deal between OpenTV and World Theatre could become one of the more compelling examples of how an interactive digital music service becomes a mainstream hit, offering high-quality music, sampling and the convenience that couch potatoes demand.
The two companies are setting up a system to transmit digital copies of music directly to satellite TV subscribers, who will be able to sample and buy hundreds of albums worth of music made available every day. The service, expected to launch late this year, will allow viewers to purchase individual songs and full-length CDs on a digital set-top box, which will also act as a storage device.
"This is not like an Internet play where I have a new album and a million people come to my site and melt it because I can't serve all of them," said Kelly Sparks, World Theatre's CEO. "This is a single transmission of a single promotion, and I push the whole album, promotional materials, a video, other clips, the lyrics and land it in everyone's set-top box, and it's ready for them to preview, sample, and buy the next day in millions of homes."
Sparks said WTI has been negotiating with the major record labels, but no deals have been signed yet.
Once the business models are established, there is a real opportunity for set-top boxes to become the end-all, be-all entertainment device in the home.
The boxes are already hooked up to broadband connections -- either satellite or cable modem -- and can stream or download fat multimedia files with ease. And unlike PCs, set-tops are designed to easily attach to home stereos and TVs, where people are already accustomed to signing up for subscription and on-demand services.
OpenTV develops the operating system that runs in set-top boxes. The company has about 6 million digital set-top boxes in use around the world, and licenses its operating system to more than 20 digital set-top box manufacturers.
The second-generation set tops are designed to store content and connect with home stereos, PCs, and other devices. The boxes are equipped with hard drives, more powerful processors, support for 3-D graphics, and a triple-tuner architecture that will allow simultaneous video, data, and voice applications.
With so much concern over the security in digital distribution, some in the industry said it could take time for the majors to warm up to satellite delivery.
"In terms of digital distribution, we're trying to educate ourselves about that whole frontier," said Jed Simon, vice president of new media at Dreamworks Records, a label that has about 80 artists who are distributed by Universal Records.
"Really, we're much more focused on digital distribution over IP…we're looking to the big six (record companies) to let them forge the road" for new distribution methods, he said.
Sparks said WTI is collaborating with OpenTV on the application that runs on the set-top box, and also will handle the content and transaction side of the business.
The service can transmit 25 to 100 encrypted CDs per hour to its channel, Sparks said, with data moving at 21 to 23 megabits per second.
"We know what the set-top boxes are set up to look for. So we'll be pushing all that stuff through the channel, 24 hours a day, filling up all these set tops with music people like," Sparks said. "Since we're a TV channel, it's gonna be there in front of them and there is no downloading time."
Subscribers also will be able to sample songs from each album, and then decide whether or not to purchase them. Once purchased, the music could be sent to a PC, CD burner, or stored on the hard drive and played through a home stereo.
One of the biggest questions with these type of services, though, is how to divvy up money between all the players –- content owners, satellite broadcasters, software developers, and companies that broker the deals.
"The backend payment pieces is between us and the record companies. As far as dealing with the satellite companies, there will be different arrangements with each one," Sparks said.
There are a couple of factors that the majors will look for in distribution deals, Simon said.
"They need to ensure that they can control the content. Security is more important than it's ever been," he said. "They will also want to preserve their portion of the overall pie. I don't think they'll allow a third-party satellite company like OpenTV to come in and take a disproportionate share of the revenue stream.
Historically, retailers have taken about 20 percent of the gross, and Simon said the major labels will want to increase their share, not dilute it.
Traditional cable companies also are getting involved in on-demand music, but Sparks expects the satellite providers to take the early lead in offering interactive services.
"If you take a look at the hard-drive-based versions of set-top boxes, and the ability to do interactive applications on those, satellite seems to be in the forefront right now in terms of timing. We're trying to do something this fall and want to work with providers who are ready to go now," Sparks said.
See also http://www2.software.ibm.com/casestudies/swcsenet.nsf/customername/53A06DEAEC5EEAB6872569DE006517ED
Like waaaay OT, dude:
The Old Mac That Went to Pot
By Leander Kahney
2:00 a.m. March 16, 2002 PST
http://www.wired.com/news/gizmos/0,1452,50820,00.html
Giving new meaning to the term high tech, a couple of stoners have turned an old Macintosh into a bong.
"Agapornis" and "Prozac," a pair of 29-year-old computer nerds from Austin, Texas, traded chips for hits when they transformed an old all-in-one Mac into a device for smoking marijuana.
"It has a lilting touch of death-like intoxication," said Prozac. "It's treated us well."
The Mac Bong, or iBong, is made from a water-filled bong mounted inside an old Mac SE 30. The bowl of the bong protrudes from the front of the computer, just below the screen. The mouthpiece sticks out the back.
"It looks like any other dingy Mac," said Prozac. "But it doesn't draw as much suspicion if you do have to take it outside the house. We haven't taken it to Macworld, but it has been to a couple of computer swap meets. People like it. They laugh. It gets the usual, 'Whoa, dude, that's crazy' reaction. Everyone wants to try it."
The iBong delivers a killer hit, according to the pair. After smoking the iBong one evening, Prozac wrote about the experience and posted it online.
"My bong burnt bright," he wrote, "electrifying fractals dancing in the raging embers, smoke curling like a halo around my bowed and fatal head.... The restlessness of a millennium's solitude soared through my rushing blood, the roar of being alive skipping like a jumping spark through my brain."
The iBong was inspired by the MacQuarium, a famous modification of Apple's old one-piece Macintosh computers that turns them into fish tanks.
"We saw the MacQuarium and said, 'Let's put a bong inside one instead,'" Agapornis said. "We were probably stoned."
The two have actually made three iBongs. The first was made in 1992 and attempted to incorporate both a fish tank and a bong within the casing of the old computer.
"We were working on a way to make an aquarium with the bong inside it so that the person taking the hit could watch the fish," Agapornis explained, "but the aquarium took up too much room."
They also found the stem was too long, which made it difficult to take a hit; it required drawing in too much air.
The second model, which had a shorter stem, was too harsh. "It was like a pickle-jar bong," said Agapornis. "It was pretty painful."
The third attempt was just right. "It's not bad," Agapornis said. "It's pretty easy hitting."
But after 10 years of perfecting the design, they are smoking less and less pot; they've gone from chronic to occasional smokers. "We're not going through four quarter bags in a weekend -– each –- like we used to," said Agapornis. "We're not into a void like we used to be 10 years ago."
Still, "the Mac bong is the best thing to have around when you're listening to the first four Burzum albums," he added.
Burzum is a Norwegian black metal band.
There is a strong connection between Macs and pot. Both are countercultures, in the loosest sense of the word, appealing to people who are creative or artistic, people who, as a particular ad campaign might say, "Think different."
"The entire personal computer revolution came out of the San Francisco Bay area and was pioneered by pot smoking members of the counterculture," said Steven Hager, editor-in-chief of High Times. "Because these people tend to be highly creative and because Macs are the choice of most art and video professionals, I guess that's your story."
A couple of veteran journalists who covered the creation of the Macintosh in the mid-1980s claim pot had a profound influence on the design of the machine. That's a claim denied by others, including Jef Raskin, the head of the Mac's design team.
"The Mac building was a very loose outfit," said one journalist, who asked to remain anonymous. "The building was permeated with a certain odor."
Another journalist -- the former editor of a famous Macintosh magazine -- said the Mac's engineers and programmers were always smoking weed.
"There were people out the back in the parking lot smoking pot all the time," said the editor, who also asked to remain anonymous. "The IBM PC was created by people who drank alcohol. The Mac was created by people who smoked pot."
The editor noted that many in the Mac's original development team were pretty young; the average age was about 25, he said.
"The personal computer industry was an outgrowth of the 60s' counterculture," the editor said. "It was a rock-and-roll business in those days. Look at (Apple's famous) 1984 ad. It symbolized a generation shift. The IBM PC was the computer of the establishment. The Mac's purpose in life was to be the computer of the anti-establishment. I mean, it had the psychedelic interface: 'Wow man, good visuals.'
"If they hadn't been smoking pot, maybe they wouldn't have invented the Mac," he said. "It would have been another Apple II, or an IBM PC. It would not have been the Mac. Who would have thought they wanted a computer to be cute?"
Half joking, the editor suggested further evidence of pot's influence could be found in the Mac's stoned, smiley startup face, the rainbow colors of the Apple logo, and early software like MacPaint, a drawing program perfect for drug-induced doodling. Nothing like it existed on the PC platform, despite the fact that a lot of Windows programmers –- some now very rich and famous -– were also dopers, according to the editor.
"We all noticed this when we were covering this stuff," he said. "At PC Expo, people smell like booze. At Macworld, people smell like marijuana."
The editor said there's even a special pot smoking area around the back of San Francisco's Moscone Center, the long-time venue of Macworld Expo, known as "the office."
"Ten or 20 people are there all day long," the editor said. "CEOs, programmers, authors. People say, I'm just going to the 'the office' for a couple of minutes."
However, the editor's claims were strongly disputed by Raskin, the "father" of the Macintosh.
"As the creator of the Macintosh project, and the guy who named it 'Macintosh' after his beloved McIntosh apples, I can firmly say that pot had nothing to do with it," Raskin said in an e-mail. "Unlike our previous president, I have never even brought a reefer to lip, much less inhaled it. I also do not use alcohol, tobacco or any other recreational drugs, and never have."
Raskin said to the best of his knowledge, there was no pot smoking at Apple by the Mac team during his tenure, and no other drug use.
"I never saw Steve Jobs or Steve Wozniak use pot," he wrote. "What people did at home or after I left Apple is, of course, beyond my knowledge, but even at our social occasions, drugs were not a part of the scene. Pizza, yes. Puns, yes. Play, yes. Pot, no.... I even prefer my apples unfermented."
Raskin was backed up by David Bunnell, the founding editor of Macworld magazine, who said he saw no pot smoking at Apple.
"I never saw any evidence of that among the people who created the Mac," he said. "And I was there. I was intimately involved with the Mac development team. I had free access to the Mac building. I don't recall seeing any evidence of people smoking pot while they were developing the machine."
Bunnell conceded that any pot smoking may have been witnessed only by those who were sympathetic to it.
"They didn't invite me," he said. "Maybe I was too straight."
But Bunnell noted that if pot has been smoked at Apple, it could account for the machine's relatively sluggish performance.
"Maybe that's why Macs have been slower all these years," he said.
OT: Access Denied!
How the recording industry’s new copy-protection schemes could keep you from your music
By Stephen A. Booth
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/hot_topics/PrintArticle.asp?ArticleID=105
If the major record labels have their way, that bright red “record” indicator on your CD burner or personal computer could eventually become as unresponsive as the long-wave band on a vintage AM radio. Some of the labels have already released music discs that prevent you from using your computer to make digital copies on either recordable CDs or the computer’s hard drive. Some of the copy-protection technologies make it difficult for you even to play a CD on a computer. And these discs also make it impossible for you to compress music on your PC for transfer to a portable MP3-type player.
As if that weren’t bad enough, some of these “content management control” technologies won’t let you make digital copies using a standalone CD recorder — even though you’ve already paid for the right to do so as part of the price of the recorder and the blank discs. Even worse, the unpredictable nature of some copy-protection systems makes it impossible to guarantee that the protected discs will play in all home and mobile CD equipment (including DVD players).
Hits and Misses
As we reported last November in “Random Play,” the record labels have been experimenting with five methods of copy protection (see “Meet the Schemes” on page 90), including Cactus Data Shield (CDS) from Midbar Tech; key2audio, developed by Sony’s CD manufacturing arm, Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (Sony DADC); and MediaCloQ from SunnComm. Macrovision, the company whose name is synonymous with video copy protection, offers a system called SafeAudio Version 3 (SAV3). A fifth, as yet unnamed, system hails from the labs of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industries (IFPI), the worldwide record-industry umbrella group that includes the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Some of the record labels’ experiments have gone beyond the lab. Copy-protected CDs have been issued in Europe to an unsuspecting public with little or no warning on their packaging about possible playback glitches in computer drives or in home and mobile audio gear. (Even the record retailers were taken by surprise!) The most obvious public experiments — and foul-ups — have come from Germany’s BMG, whose labels include RCA. The company upset a lot of people in Europe by using copy protection on its RCA releases there of Natalie Imbruglia’s White Lilies Island and Greatest Hits by the Australian boy band Five.
The European RCA discs used Midbar’s CDS protection, which is meant to foil PC copying. But it was the complications it caused with other audio gear that provoked the uproar. Many people thought their hardware was on the fritz only to learn that unadvertised copy protection was responsible for their playback woes. Depending on the hardware, the problems have included outright rejection of the disc, random track skipping, and an inability to play certain tracks. Apparently in response to the firestorm it created, the label has since rereleased both discs sans copy protection.
More recently, Universal Music Group used CDS for its first copy-protected U.S. title, More Fast and Furious (a sequel to the soundtrack of the movie The Fast and the Furious). But unlike BMG, Universal openly acknowledged the copy protection on both the packaging and an insert card, stating that the disc might be incompatible with some CD players. The label also instructed its retailers to accept any disc returns and to give refunds to anyone who had problems.
It’s not known how many discs have been released with copy protection worldwide. Macrovision claims that the major labels have sold millions of discs that use SAV3 with no complaints about compatibility. SAV3 is one of the more flexible and liberal systems since only computer copying is prevented. Sony DADC says 10 million discs comprising 500 albums have been released with its key2audio system, which prevents PC playback or copying. It, too, claims that complaints have been negligible. Yet key2audio might be responsible for the troubles I and others experienced with last summer’s Celebrity from ’N Sync, released by Zomba Records. That CD appeared in British, American, and European versions, each containing a different number of tracks and using varying degrees of an unidentified copy-protection scheme believed by many experienced observers to be key2audio.
Rights and Wrongs
Rather than unleash a barrage of copy-protected titles here in the U.S. and face a series of stiff legal challenges, the major labels have chosen to fight the early skirmishes in Europe. As of early February, Universal’s More Fast and Furious was the only copy-protected CD released in the U.S. with full disclosure of possible playback problems.
The labels chose Europe as the target for these draconian measures because CDs are much more expensive there, providing an extra incentive for people to make multiple copies on inexpensive computer burners and blank discs. And unlike the U.S., European countries have no legal mechanism in place that authorizes consumers to make digital copies in exchange for a royalty.
Here in America we have the 1992 Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA). In this compromise between the electronics and music industries, Congress levied a royalty payment on standalone digital-audio recorders and blank media. The royalty, which is included in the purchase price of the products, goes to compensate content owners and artists for the copies buyers are presumed to make.
Although it’s easy enough to use a CD-ROM drive to copy a CD onto a hard-disk drive, computers were not included in the AHRA because Congress deemed them to have “substantial noninfringing uses” under copyright law, such as backing up data. Few in 1992 could have foreseen how the emergence of Internet file sharing and data-compression schemes such as MP3 would encourage many people to use their computers to make cheap, royalty-free copies of CDs. Fewer still could have envisioned the impact all of that copying would have on the recording industry’s worldwide sales and revenue. Not surprisingly, the personal computer is now the main target for copy-prevention systems.
Profit and Loss
It’s an unfortunate consequence of the recording industry’s efforts to clamp down on computer-based copying that people are now having playback problems with dedicated audio gear. Given that some CD players are 20 years old, it’s difficult for the inventors of copy-protection schemes to know exactly how their systems will interact with the many different kinds of equipment out there. And there may even be problems with newer gear. In an effort to save money by not having to make two kinds of drives, manufacturers are increasingly using CD-ROM drives, rather than dedicated CD-audio drives, in their CD players. And since many DVD-Video players use DVD-ROM drives, similar problems are likely to crop up there. Electronics manufacturers predict that before too long almost all optical-disc players will use ROM-type drives.
Hardware manufacturers are concerned that the spoiler codes in copy-protected discs, which are designed either to foil CD playback in ROM drives or to ruin CD copies made from them, will overwhelm the error-correction circuitry in CD players or cause them to interpolate so much missing data that the sound will become distorted. Since there are no published specifications for any of the copy-protection systems, manufacturers of CD equipment have no way of knowing whether a copy-protected disc will work in one of their players or what effect any given system will have on the player’s performance if the disc does play.
The electronics industry’s concerns over playability and recordability have gotten the attention of at least one high-ranking member of Congress. Just before January’s Consumer Electronics Show and the formal debut of key2audio and SAV3 at a major music-industry gathering in France, the RIAA and IFPI received a scorching inquiry from Rep. Dick Boucher (D-VA), co-chair of the House Internet Caucus on technology matters. He suggested that CD copy protection violates the Audio Home Recording Act.
But there’s some question whether the AHRA gives U.S. consumers the “right” to make digital copies even if they’ve paid a royalty. Some copyright attorneys contend that the act guarantees only that consumers can’t be prosecuted for copying — and thus doesn’t prohibit content owners from implementing ways to prevent them from doing so. And the labels might be able to cite 1998’s Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which criminalizes any attempt to circumvent copy-protection systems as a precedent for that interpretation. This disturbs Boucher, who is preparing legislation to expand consumers’ fair-use rights to digital content. Meanwhile, lawyers for the Home Recording Rights Coalition (HRRC) point out that the existing law gives manufacturers the right to make products that evade CD copy protection if it prevents legitimate playback of the discs that use it.
In a statement to the Congress and Administration, the HRRC said it “believes that any encoding of CDs that interferes with consumer recording rights preserved by the AHRA would constitute a violation of that law. Moreover, technologies that would make signals nonstandard should not be considered protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.”
It appears that CD copy protection is at least headed for debate — if not oversight — by the federal government. Boucher has asked the recording industry whether it will permit independent listening tests of the various systems — a move Macrovision has said it will seriously consider.
This wouldn’t be the first time that the government has weighed in on sound-quality issues. Back when most music listeners made copies on analog cassettes, the RIAA proposed that the CBS CopyCode system be included in all recorders and recorded audio media. The proposal was squelched by the government when tests done by Sound & Vision’s predecessor, Stereo Review, revealed that the CopyCode system audibly degraded the music.
As computers and portable compressed-audio players become ever more popular ways to listen to music, and as hard-disk-based music servers begin to proliferate, the issues raised by copy protection will undoubtedly become even thornier. But at the moment, any resolution seems as far away as ever.
Meet The Schemes
SafeAudio
There are two different approaches to copy protection: main-channel and control-channel. “Main-channel systems alter the way the audio data are recorded on the disc,” explains Peter Newman, VP of engineering for Macrovision Europe. “Control-channel systems alter the data in the subcode channels, which are used for steering and error recovery. SafeAudio is a main-channel system.”
SafeAudio, which Macrovision codeveloped with TTR Technologies, introduces deliberate errors into both the audio data and the error-correction codes in the main channel. The protected CD can still play on a computer or CD player, which interpolate data to bridge the gaps using electronic guesswork, but the errors spoil the sound on any copy.
Macrovision contends that main-channel protection poses less of a risk of incompatibility than control-channel protection, which prevents a disc from playing at all in some existing players. But critics say that the necessary interpolations could have an audible effect because the player is constantly guessing at the corrupted data.
“Not so,” insists Newman. “The uncorrectable errors are so carefully sited, with such similar information on either side of the gap, that there is an accurate way to bridge the gap. The bridging is so tiny, so narrow, and so perfect that the human ear can’t detect it.”
Macrovision claims that SafeAudio discs will play on virtually all CD audio equipment and has opened its lab to demonstrate its ambitious compatibility-testing program. No other copy-protection developer has done so or even revealed how it tests for compatibility.
Cactus Data Shield (CDS)
Midbar Tech has patents for control-channel protection, which it might or might not be using as part of various technologies employed on CDS-protected discs. The company won’t explain its technologies, but every Cactus disc released so far prevents computers from playing the standard audio tracks on a CD by denying access to the disc’s Table of Contents.
In compensation, CDS-protected discs automatically install a software player from EverAd on the computer that lets users play a version of the album as a compressed music file. When you hold a Cactus-encoded disc’s play surface to the light at the correct angle, you can actually see two data areas, separated by a clear band where no data are written. The inner band is standard audio, supposedly playable on all standalone CD equipment; the outer band is the compressed music file.
The CDS system uses either a 32- or 44.1-kHz sampling rate at a 80- or 128-kilobits-per-second data transfer rate for its compressed files, compared with the CD standard’s 44.1-kHz sampling and 1.4-megabits-per-second data transfer. Midbar recently claimed that all known playback problems with standalone players had been resolved in the latest version of CDS, Cactus Data Shield 200.
key2audio
The key2audio system, from Sony Digital Audio Disc Corporation (Sony DADC), prevents you from playing a protected disc on a computer, although a recently announced option, key2audio4PC, would let disc buyers download a version that’s locked to their specific machine. A nine-digit serial code on the disc unlocks access to the online files for downloading. You can copy the files to a blank CD — but that disc is then playable only on the computer where the copy was made.
If you send the files to another computer via the Internet, the recipient can’t play them. And if someone else gets access to the key code, he can’t download the files because the Web server knows they’ve already been downloaded.
According to Sony DADC, the music on key2audio discs is purely standard CD audio with none of the built-in uncorrectable errors typical of main-channel protection schemes. It also claims that key2audio discs will play “on nearly all hardware dedicated to playing audio CDs,” including home, mobile, and DVD players and videogame consoles. But the company won’t say if “nearly all” includes standalone CD recorders.
Although Sony DADC won’t detail how the key2audio system works, patents reveal that it uses a variety of methods. These include control-channel protection that modifies the timing data in the Q-subcode, which prevents computer drives from reading the disc. The altered data also provides the key needed to unlock the downloadable key2audio4PC files.
The patents also suggest that key2audio uses the Serial Copy Management System (SCMS) employed by standalone CD recorders, and an executive at Sony DADC confirmed this. The presence of an SCMS “flag” indicating (falsely) that an original disc is a first-generation digital copy explains why you can’t make a digital copy of a key2audio title — like ’N Sync’s Celebrity — on a standalone recorder (see “Hands-On with Rogue Discs”).
The company recommends that key2audio licensees “inform record buyers about the use of copy protection.” But despite the company’s claim to have shipped 10 million key2audio discs in Europe, no such advisory has been reported except for the European release of Celebrity, which didn’t identify the type of copy protection used.
MediaCloQ
Patents haven’t yet been published for SunnComm’s MediaCloQ, so it’s hard to say exactly how it works, but computer access works similarly to key2audioPC. The disc itself won’t play in a computer, but it carries a unique identifier that allows the buyer to download a version for playback on the registered machine. At the discretion of the content owner, transfer of the file to a single portable device is also possible — but the file can’t be transmitted beyond that.
SunnComm claims perfect compatibility with standard CD players, and so far no one has claimed to have any trouble with the single MediaCloQ release to date: Charlie Pride’s A Tribute to Jim Reeves (Fahrenheit). But that disc, the first known to be issued in the U.S. with copy protection but without a specific warning that it won’t play in PCs, is subject to a lawsuit in California. The complainant argues that she wasn’t adequately informed that the disc wouldn’t play in computers (the disclaimer merely said that the disc would play only in CD and DVD players) and that MediaCloq’s online registration requirements violate her right to privacy.
IFPI
This system might never see the light of day, sources at the London-based International Federation of the Phonographic Industries (IFPI) say, for several reasons conceded in the patent. The system uses control-channel protection to upset a disc’s timing codes. The patent asserts that the protected discs would work “in the majority of audio CD players” but would disrupt computer copying. However, the system “also prevents legitimate usage such as the importation of data into portable players developed under the SDMI,” or Secure Digital Music Initiative, which was founded under the IFPI’s auspices. The patent is also frank in admitting that the system would prevent music playback on “high-quality systems such as the Meridian 800 Reference DVD/CD Player.”
Stephen A. Booth regularly covers software copy-protection and related technical and legal issues as senior editor of the industry newsletters Television Digest, Audio Week, and Consumer Electronics Daily.
Hmmm... wonder who's "Installable File System" that blurb refers to?
TWOMIL at Agora re new SEC filings:
http://www.agoracom.com/nonmemforum/msgreview.asp?id=176218&refid=176184&orig=176184
PostID 176218 On Friday, March 22, 2002 (EST) at 7:57:37 PM
Response To: Sentinel PostID 176184
Today's filings were Amendment #1 to the original filing. When we filed as 10K SB (SB=small business) in the past, only 2 years history was needed. Now that we're filing as a 10K, 3 years is needed. Today's amendment addressed this and other issues. Notice of acceptance will come from the SEC once they find this amendment suffices their review criteria.
Should this continue beyond 4-18-02, contingency plans will become operative and there should be no dire consequences. I do not foresee any of this taking place because it is very likely that this registration will be approved much before another 3-4 weeks pass.
Good luck to all.
Grain of wheat winnowed from RB chaff:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=935853
By: ChasingtheDream
23 Mar 2002, 07:00 PM EST Msg. 935853 of 935863
Good Guys update:
Here in Vegas I went to Good Guys the other day to see the E-Digital products. I was very impressed at the knowledge the salesman had about our products you'd think he was a shareholder. He couldn't say how many the got in but did say it was alot. There weren't any sign's that said e-digital yet but he said they just got the products in a couple of weeks ago. He also said they've been telling the people buying a digital camera's that use an IBM micro-drive to buy the MXP100 and the camera separate because it's the same price as the micro-drive by itself. Can't see why they're the same price and we make money on them, maybe were getting something from IBM for doing this I don't know. Anyhow I think we'll get some good revs from the sales at Good Guys they really know their stuff.
Time is on our side there is money backing us we don't know about and I have a hunch it's the equity investor that put up the 3 million back in june of 1999, whoever that may be. You don't invest that kind of money for nothing, we shall see or may never time will tell.
I just changed my plates on the lexus from DOS2MOS to EDIGITL my dad said I better watch for angry shareholders that can figure out what it says. Good luck to us all been here almost 3 years and believe even more in this company than ever before.
Chasing
Re F.A.K.E. & RB Ignores/MemberMarks:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=FONX&read=385696
By: oktoberpest $$$$$
20 Mar 2002, 07:01 PM EST Msg. 385696 of 387064
ot: basher technique:
Hey guys I figured out something here! But I need your help - can you fix my MMs again - this time its for a good cause.
you can run a script clientside that permutes through 10 users and it will add or delete as many MMs as you want.
the userid (e.g. the highlight information/marks) are stored in an enigma/ MAYA cipher - in YOUR browser.
The technique they are using is to:
1. generate 10 users (or share 10 user cookie files)
2. modify the default cookie,
3. Send an HTTP GET string to the ignore URL
4. click reload, and ignore, run it again.
This is the technique that they are using to automagically log on as 10 different users in 30 seconds. They will also use this to generate new ids in case they are thrown off the board.
SKULLS and BONES likely does it.
The database updates on a 3 minute cycle. It looks like its SQL Server on the backend.
So the membermarks dissapear in about 3 minutes but the actualy operation takes only 30 seconds.
The membermark ignore is an HTTP GET included in PERL:CGI which will have certain characteristics I think I can identify
I am sending the script, the ciphers and the technique to Lycos - It is my belief that they can write a filter to delete the user accounts that run it.
Each user will have 10 accounts, approx. These accounts can be traded but are normally no more than 30 minutes old by the time they run.
The signup can be scripted as well.
If we succeed we will trap the bashers into doing nothing but recreate the user accounts - they will not be able to post!!
Raging bull spiders every day at 10 am to remove the spam.
They can extend a filter to remove the bash posts if I can profile them. That filter can run on a trigger here on a high volume board like this to test it - no problem.
Please MM me / I can't run the script on myself or anyone because then I would be doing system abuse. I need MMs to lure them back into stripping me down again. Theres something about the dummy accounts they are using that I havent been able to figure out - e.g. how many are real versus fake and how many users they correspond to. Several messages can be posted at once with this kind of script. Thanks in advance.
Todd, you're an even bigger tease than Brittany. ( EOM ; - )
OT: PBS Documentary Probes IPO Swindles of Late 90s
http://www.agoracom.com/nonmemforum/hotstory.asp?id=820
Following the Enron bankruptcy and Congressional inquiries into the fraudulent practices of its executives, increasing public attention is being paid to the financial maneuvers that fostered the rise and eventual collapse of the US stock bubble, particularly in the financial and high-tech sectors. A documentary that aired on US public television in January shed greater light on the collapse of the tech stocks by revealing that many of their initial public offerings (IPOs) were manipulated by venture capitalist firms, investment banks and big investors to pocket billions of dollars at the expense of smaller investors.
In the program Dot Con, part of the PBS series Frontline, producer Martin Smith and his colleagues assembled an impressive amount of material and put together a concise description of the financial malfeasance carried out by major US institutions.
The con was not a one-time event, but a pattern of behavior on the part of investment banks and venture capital firms, repeated hundreds of times in the late 1990s and the year 2000. It went as follows. First, an investment bank, collaborating with a venture capital firm that had provided initial funding to an Internet start-up, urged a young company to go public quickly, long before it would have otherwise sought to do. (One firm, Mothernature.com, told Dot Con s producers that investment bankers were urging it to go public before it had even purchased office furniture!).
This marked a departure from traditional business models. Kara Swisher, news writer for the Wall Street Journal and consultant to Dot Con, explained: Most companies in Silicon Valley used to take six or seven years of losses to finally get to profitability [during which time they were funded by venture capital] and then a little bit longer to go public. There was a more measured quality in moving these companies into the public space. Swisher added: Presumably, the people that are in the public markets, they re buying fully baked companies, and these weren t even in the oven 10 minutes ... and they [the investment banks] were offering them up as cooked.
Many of the companies realized that their initial public offerings were premature. Said Brian NeSmith, CEO of CacheFlow (whose stock went from 24 to 126 at IPO): Going public at that time is [like] raising a first or a second round of venture capital. There [are] a lot of unproven elements.... I haven t proven that we can be profitable. I haven t proven that I can really grow the revenue. I don t have all of the members of the management team. The product may even still have some technology issues that we have to validate.
Such companies, their fundamental deficiencies notwithstanding, were heavily recruited by venture capitalist firms and investment banks looking to sponsor a public offering. The venture capitalist (VC) firm helped find an investment bank, and then the company was escorted by the bank and VC on a road show, a rapid tour across the US, visiting roughly a dozen major cities in as many days to pitch the company s IPO to major mutual funds and other financial institutions.
Why the rush? Because, at least after the Netscape IPO (whose share price climbed from 28 at IPO in August 1995 to a high of 167 in January 1996), the big investment banks saw the prospect of windfall profits. So long as enough investors could be convinced to scoop up the stock, its price could be expected to soar at IPO. Hence the need for frantic promotion during the road show.
Before long, expectations were widespread that nearly any Internet-associated stock IPO would result in skyrocketing share prices on the first day. Investors hoping to profit quickly wanted to buy stock at the IPO price. But, for all but the insiders, this was not possible. Smaller investors, as well as many larger ones, were shut out of the IPO.
Blocks of stock were allocated only to preferred clients of the investment bank sponsoring the offering. These clients were able to acquire the stock at the initial asking price when the market opened. In some cases, they were even allowed to buy in at the original asking price after the market had opened and the trading price had ballooned. These insiders were virtually guaranteed a windfall profit.
The big investors sold ( flipped ) the stock after the market opened. Some waited until the end of the day or longer. Others would sell in minutes. David Siminoff, a money manager at Capital Group, which oversees the American Funds, one of the largest mutual funds in the world, noted: In a four year period, I saw over 500 IPOs. We probably owned 200 or 250 of them for 10 minutes.... [A]t eight or ten dollars a share, you thought, OK, I can understand how this can compound to 20 percent a year if they hit their targets, but when the first print of the IPO was 95 dollars, it was very easy to sell.
Not infrequently, in exchange for being allowed in on the IPO, clients kicked back money to the investment banks by paying commissions far in excess of going rates. In this way, the banks and clients effectively split the proceeds of the IPO.
One investment bank, Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), while admitting no wrongdoing, has settled a complaint brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission along these lines for $100 million. According to Forbes.com, there are 1,000 lawsuits being taken out by private investors involving 300 public offerings and 45 securities firms.
The PBS documentary noted that by 1999 this quid pro quo was well known in business and media circles. But in the midst of the frenzy, the narrator stated, there was no one yet willing to blow a whistle. Too many people were getting rich.
Another form of quid pro quo existed in the relation between venture capital firms and investment banks. The program cited a glaring example. In exchange for finding companies that CSFB s leading banker, Frank Quattrone, could take public, the VC firm Technology Crossover Ventures was allocated 50,000 shares of the IPO of VA Linux (a company for which it had not raised venture capital). This was acquired for $1.5 million. At the end of the first day s trading, the stock was worth $12 million.
A problem remained after the IPO how to keep the stock price up. The solution: analysts from the investment banks who had become regulars on the financial talk shows touted the stock to keep the con going. The insiders could quietly sell at a profit, some of the start-up companies executives could cash out after their required waiting period, and the Internet bubble could be kept growing, setting the stage for future IPOs.
On the financial news programs, the analysts presented a deceptive picture of what a given company would likely earn. Neither they nor the networks informed viewers that the analysts employers the investment banks had material stakes in the IPOs and the inflation of the companies stock prices.
The analysts rarely, if ever, issued sell recommendations, no matter what the state of the companies. Lise Buyer of CSFB admitted: If your firm has done banking work for a client, it is understood that the analyst is not going to come out and say, Bad idea, stay away from it. Another analyst, Scott Ehrens of Bear Stearns, could give no answer when asked why he never issued a sell recommendation in several years of television appearances. In the end, he fumbled: I didn t put too much thought into it.
Ehrens was hardly alone. Bear Stearns issued sell recommendations less than 1 percent of the time over the same period.
Arthur Levitt, the former SEC chairman, noted the analysts conflicts of interest in a March 2000 speech at Boston College. He said: A lot of analysts that we see on television recommending stocks work for firms that have business relationships with the same companies that the analysts cover. And some of these analysts paychecks are typically tied to the performance of their employers. One can only imagine how unpopular an analyst would be who downgrades his firm s best client.
Levitt attempted in vain to pressure the networks into revealing the material interests of the analysts companies. He told Dot Con : The networks in general felt that they had no responsibility in terms of monitoring the guests that appeared on their programs. And my feeling was that the analysts who came on those shows and promoted certain stocks that represented companies involving investment banking clients of their employers had a responsibility to clearly reveal that on camera. I still feel that way. I still feel that the kind of disclosure we are getting from analysts in both print and electronic media is inadequate and incomplete.
Later, when the fiction of the companies values could no longer be maintained, their stock prices collapsed, liquidating the investments that were made by smaller investors who had been conned into buying at the inflated prices.
The ballooning stock prices were not sufficient to provide a secure financial footing for most of the start-up companies involved. The bulk of the millions generated after IPO was pocketed by Wall Street insiders and big investors.
Executives at the start-up companies were pressured to find ways to avoid or conceal the inevitable losses that accompany nearly all new firms. Not until after the IPO were the business models even defined and the most basic financial projections performed. A former top executive of Mothernature.com told Dot Con that it was only months after IPO that the company carried out an analysis of revenues and costs. The study revealed that the firm was spending $60-80 to win each new customer, but was getting back only $10 for the lifetime of the customer. When such companies failed to generate profits, they began to collapse.
The chief strength of the Dot Con program was its accumulation of facts and statements by those who were involved in the IPO process, demonstrating that the fortunes made during this period were the result of fraudulent actions taken by a whole class of people venture capitalists, investment bank analysts and executives, media personalities. They cannot simply be explained as the outcome of impersonal market forces.
The documentary explored the suggestion that the IPO con could have been prevented by closer regulation of the financial markets by the SEC or by various technical alternatives to the present form of IPO allocation. (One idea promoted by investment banker Bill Hambrecht is called a Dutch auction, described in detail on the program and its web site).
What the program failed to address, however, is how it was possible for rampant financial fraud to spread throughout so many areas of American business, impacting its nominal regulators, political institutions and the media. The corruption of the IPO process, far from being an isolated infection of an otherwise robust economic order, is an organic expression of more profound tendencies that, in their totality, express the degeneration of the economic system itself. Palliatives like the Dutch auction, even if they could overcome the opposition of powerful business interests, which is doubtful, could at most change the form of the disease, rather than effect a cure.
To Dot Con s credit, the documentary closed on a sober note, with the narrator commenting: But Hambrecht may be overly optimistic about Wall Street s willingness to change. The IPO explosion of recent years generated a feeding frenzy worth billions to Wall Street s banks. Very few people who work here believe the system needs fixing.
The Dot Con program, the transcript of an online chat with Producer Martin Smith and viewers, and related links can be found at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/dotcon/
Britney 'spearheads' new discs
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/entertainment/new_media/newsid_1881000/1881039.stm
Tuesday, 19 March, 2002, 12:32 GMT
(Found by Jeau at Agora)
Britney Spears: Getting behind new format
Britney Spears, 'N Sync and R Kelly are to release their music in a new format intended to replace the CD, it has been reported.
The artists' record label, Jive Records, will become the first label to commit their roster to the new DataPlay medium, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
"The feedback to DataPlay has been overwhelmingly positive" - Pete Jones, BMG Distribution
The DataPlay format is designed to store almost any kind of information in a disc which looks like a large coin in a clear plastic shell.
The availability of three of the world's biggest-selling pop artists will be seen as a vote of confidence in the new medium, due to go on sale in the US this summer.
Universal Music Group, EMI Group and BMG Entertainment have also announced plans to distribute music on DataPlay discs, but have not yet named specific artists.
'Benefits'
The BMG group called the new format "a great opportunity for our industry".
Pete Jones, President of BMG Distribution, said: "The feedback from both retail and our labels to DataPlay has been overwhelmingly positive, and the consumer benefits are many."
N'Sync's Celebrity is one of the US's fastest-selling CDs
Each disc should be able to hold more than 11 hours of compressed music files, or the equivalent of five complete pre-recorded CDs.
But they will also be able to store hundreds of high-resolution photographs, 100 e-books or dozens of games.
The makers of the disc say they will resist piracy but will permit consumers to make their own personal copies and compilations.
This feature is seen as essential to make the new format attractive to buyers yet acceptable to the music industry.
The record labels hope DataPlay will enable music to be combined with videos, interviews, photos and more on the same disc.
The discs can also contain internet links to more content, such as previous releases from the artist's catalogue.
DataPlay discs and music players are set to go on sale in the US in the summer, with players likely to cost $280-$450 (£195-£315).
Blank discs are expected to cost $5-$12 (£3.50-£8.40).