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Uplister Offering Music to Go
By Ronna Abramson
Thursday July 19, 10:35 am Eastern Time
http://biz.yahoo.com/st/010719/28059.html
The music site Uplister is joining the growing number of digital-music companies planning to offer subscription services, but with an unusual twist on payments that at least one analyst has hailed as "very promising."
Unlike services that the major record labels are proposing to launch by the end of the summer, Uplister plans to offer two tiers of pricing and offer the option of making music available on your computer only, or making it downloadable, the company announced on Thursday.
Uplister plans to charge users a monthly fee - $10 - to download and listen to music only on their computers - a plan similar to those offered by label-affiliated MusicNet and Pressplay. That's like renting music, says Toni Schneider, CEO of Oakland, Calif.-based Uplister.
MusicNet and Pressplay would initially stop there, but Uplister would also give users the option of paying 99 cents per track for the right to permanently own a song, download it and burn it to a CD or record an MP3. Uplister plans to launch the service in beta form by the end of the summer and in commercial form by the end of the year.
Until now, Uplister has offered its users a forum to share playlists created by more than 50 celebrities such as Green Day and Nick Hornby, and by 60,000 other participants. But Uplister has lacked a way to actually deliver the music. The subscription service would enable users to download a complete playlist.
"I think it's very promising," said Aram Sinnreich, a senior analyst with Jupiter Media Metrix. Sinnreich says a two-tiered system like that planned by Uplister is the "only way to offer consumers portability and at the same time offer rights holders security."
Uplister announced Thursday that its initial launch partners include Matador, TVT Records, Overcore Records, Wax Trax Records, Alternative Tentacles, Knitting Factory/Shimmy Disc, K Records, Lookout, Roadrunner and Soleilmoon Recordings. Its service would also be available through leading MP3 player software Winamp in a distribution arrangement the company hopes to replicate with other sites. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"People want to know they can at some point be able to take certain music onto their portable devices and burn and what have you," said TVT Records CEO Steve Gottlieb. But what is most exciting, Gottlieb says, is that Uplister aims to enhance the music experience without cutting into traditional sales. "This is what only the Internet can give us and it represents a unique and new way for people to share their passion for music."
Uplister's music offerings are weighed heavily toward independent labels, so the company will be taking on services offered by EMusic.com and MP3.com, both of which were acquired recently by Universal Music. One point in Uplister's favor, says Schneider, is that some independents are feeling uncomfortable of doing business with major labels.
EMusic.com CEO Gene Hoffman confirmed that he has heard two or three independents labels are less interested in doing business with Universal, but says most top-tier independents are more comfortable that EMusic will last and that it is "something very real." He argues that consumers prefer a flat-rate payment rather than watching charges rack up with each download.
"I think it's important to experiment with both," Schneider counters. "Clearly nobody has the answer."
EDIG: Info for Investors (7/19 PM rNQ)
General DD Info (Corporate profile, SEC filings, Patents, lots more):
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=66673 (revised 3/8)
Recent News and Opinions:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=146835 (Copy-protected CDs quietly slip into stores)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=146668 (MPPP cuts technology deal w/PressPlay)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=146361 (TI takes lead in audio DSPs)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=729309 (Wendy e-mail to Sentinel)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=146211 (Hy Tek due in August?)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=145920 (Eastech slips to September?)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=145569 (Trenddetector speaks w/Wendy)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=145128 (Samsung/AOL set-top box deal)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=145103 (Treo Best Overall Player at MP3 Summit)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=144432 (Napstre selects PlayMedia's AMP technology)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=144520 (WSJ re Full Audio, other subsription services)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=143649 (DataPlay receives Marketing Engineering Award)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=142488 (EDIG signs deal w/Bang & Olufsen)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=142438 (Treo featured at MP3 Summit)
http://www.impactra.com/edataplayversion.htm (DataPlay MPEG4 player from Impactra)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=140938 (IBM/Vedalabs article)
http://www.skymall.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/wa/gotoPage?sid=57400405%400&page=detail&... (Treo offered in Skymall)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=140126 (Samsung MP3 player line diversifies)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=136321 (Cquence Mobile marketing to continue)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=708671 (Lanier adds PDAs to product line)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=135974 (Link to 2001 10K filing)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=135972 (6/28 letter from Fred Falk)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=135636 (Napster revises client software)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=135492
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=136262 (Recent articles re IBM and VedaLabs)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=707342 (Orygun_gal visits EDIG)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=708019 (HUNTINGTON_LI visits PC Expo)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=706676 (Mary visits PC Expo)
http://www.dataplay.com/jsp_files/en/company/partner.jsp (DataPlay partner list continues to grow)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=703344 (MOT & CPQ closing in on HD-based jukebox launches)
http://www.extremetech.com/article/0,2299,apn%253D2%2526s%253D1038%2526a%253D1623%2526ap%253D1,00.as... (Excellent intro to VTT tech)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=132506 (OpenGlobe partners w/Thomson/RCA)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=132074 (Sentinel chats w/Putnam)
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2001/tc20010621_702.htm (BusinessWeek article; see Related Items links also)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=131776 (Interview with EMI's New Media V-P)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130822
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=132639 (HP expands digital entertainment initiative)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130770 (DABOSS & murrayhill re Lanier)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130709
and http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=701876 (Shareholders visit EDIG)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130701 (RNWK unveils digital rights standard, products)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130423 (Mobile Conversay SDK unveiled)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130347 (Codec battle continues)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=129891 (DataPlay finalizes agreements w/Imation)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIGLONG&read=3752 (Eastech aiming for July jukebox release)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128599 (Thomson releases insecure MP3Pro)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128649
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128814 (Some Sensory stuff)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=698591 (Sinman chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128160 (Kenwood introduces WMA/MP3 entertainment hub)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127988 (Olympus MP3/WMA/voice recorder)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128309 (Vedalabs stuffs cat back in bag)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127972 (Iomega is hip to TXN DSPs)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127643 (New multimedia PDA from Toshiba)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127591 (Treo up for FCC certification?)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127390 (Seiko Mobile Entertainment 'Me-ism')
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127295 (Duet name changed to PressPlay)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127288 (New DataPlay write-up)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126957 (TI?Sensory speech synthesis deal)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126435 (Archos adds encoding to jukebox)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126460 (cindere11y speaks w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126430 (Upside article re RNWK)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125842
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126410
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127265 (Compaq adds to digital audio line)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125896 (BusyBump chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125380 (Eastech e-mail re jukeboxe plans)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125279 (Fortune article re digital music)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125231 (Cisco gets Real)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125215 (NY Times interview w/ BMG CEO)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125201 (Panasonic SD card pricies to fall)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125162 (Backgrounder on set-top boxes)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=124985
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=124986 (A look at Conversay's speech engine)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=124909 (Wired article re Napster)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=124819 (Toshiba maps flash strategy)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=693968 (LQID VP sees a multi-codec future)
EDIG news and opinions (pre-6/9/01):
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128798
2000 DD Summaries:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126095 (12/21/99 to 3/6/00)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126094 (3/7/00 to 4/10/00)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126093 (4/11/00 to 6/4/00)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126076 (6/5/00-9/7/00)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126074 (9/8/00-10/31/00)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126069 (11/1/00-12/31/00)
Common Abbreviations:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIGOT&read=4488
A look back at the early days on RB:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=642371
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Treo review compilation: http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=612321
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EDIG Private board at RB:
(Basher-free, open to all who behave themselves)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=300337 (Instructions for joining)
Free EDIG news e-mails via eGroups:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=570639
Moderated EDIG boards (no bashers/spammers):
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=299
http://www.siliconinvestor.com/stocktalk/subject.gsp?subjectid=51056
athomedad's EDIG Page:
http://www.edigpage.com
Texas Instruments Takes the Lead in Programmable Internet Audio DSP Shipments, Surpassing Three Million
Superior Performance and Flexibility Make TI DSPs the Overwhelming Choice For Internet Audio Among Consumer Electronics Manufacturers
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010718/daw019.html
DALLAS, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Exerting its strength in the digital music market, Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN - news; TI) today announced that shipments of its Internet Audio digital signal processors (DSPs) surpassed three million in June of 2001, more than any other programmable semiconductor manufacturer. In addition, TI announced new design-wins with Compaq Computer Corporation, Clarion, Olympus, Pioneer and Pontis, as well as additional products from current customers Thomson multimedia and Digisette LLC. Over the past year, TI's programmable DSP has become the overwhelming choice for Internet Audio-enabled products from leading consumer electronics manufacturers due to its flexible, high performance and low power system solution. (See http://www.ti.com/sc/internetaudio .)
``In today's digital audio hardware market, growth remains strong as consumers continue to spend on high-quality products,'' said Mike Paxton, senior analyst at Cahners In-Stat Group. ``TI remains on the leading edge of this market due to their consistent technological advances, key partnerships with industry leaders and a growing number of successful design-wins.''
``Consumer electronics manufacturers have recognized TI as the leading provider of DSPs for Internet audio devices by selecting TI's chips for their next-generation products,'' said Chris Schairbaum, worldwide marketing manager of Internet Audio at Texas Instruments. ``We expect to see increasingly strong consumer demand for a variety of devices featuring Internet audio capabilities as some begin hitting the shelves later this year, including cell phones, PDAs, Internet appliances, home stereos and car audio players. As the market evolves, TI will continue to anticipate the needs of this industry and offer manufacturers the most advanced, feature-rich DSPs available.''
In addition to shipping three million DSPs into the Internet Audio industry, more than any other programmable semiconductor manufacturer, TI's Internet Audio business had several new design-wins and industry accolades in the second quarter, including:
April -- EDN magazine named TI the winner of its 2000 ``Innovation of the Year'' award. TI's power-efficient TMS320C5510 DSP, which is the core used in TI's Internet Audio solution, the TMS320DA250, received the award for the ``Digital Signal Processors'' category. EDN's exclusive awards program is dedicated to honoring truly outstanding and innovative engineering products in the electronics industry each year.
-- April -- TI added two additional products to its stable of design-wins
this month. Digisette LLC, the award-winning company that created the
DUO Digital Audio E-Cassette players, is now using TI DSPs in their
entire product line, including the AR100 and AR300. The Digisette
players are the only players to function as a portable stand-alone
player and a cassette emulation device, requiring no adapters or
accessories to playback digital audio in virtually any cassette deck.
The Digisette DUO won the 2001 Innovations CES Award for Best in Show
-- Audio.
-- May -- Once again Thomson multimedia has chosen TI DSPs to power their
newest Internet Audio product line. Not only does TI power RCA's LYRA
and LYRA2 Internet audio players, but its new compact k@zoo!(TM)
player as well. The k@zoo! offers CD-quality sound in a cool mini-
size player that fits in the palm of the hand and weighs less than two
ounces. It has an LCD display and 32MB of built-in flash memory,
which can be expanded through the use of an additional external memory
card.
-- May -- Olympus' new digital voice recorder/MP3 player, the DM-1 is
powered by TI power-efficient DSPs. TI programmable DSPs provide a
multi-format decoder system enabling the Olympus DM-1 to support both
MP3 and Windows Media Audio (WMA) playback, as well as recording and
playback of the Digital Speech Standard (DSS) voice codec format. TI
DSPs also support Microsoft's Digital Rights Management and SRS Labs'
eXpressDSP(TM)-compliant WOW(TM) technology.
-- May -- Pioneer selected TI programmable DSPs to enhance its new HDD
CYBER NAVI, a car navigation system with the industry's first "Music
Server" feature. TI's DSP enables MP3 recording and playback,
creating a music library in the car. The HDD CYBER NAVI has a built-
in 10GB hard disk drive (HDD), dedicating 2GB to audio storage and
holding 20 CDs' worth of music. Its audio memory also can be expanded
by adding a 10GB HDD, storing a total of 150 CDs. In addition to CDs,
it is able to record audio from a radio, TV, VCR and mini-disc player.
-- May -- Clarion chose TI's advanced DSP technology to drive the audio
capabilities in the Joyride(TM) car multimedia entertainment and
navigation system. With TI DSPs "under the hood," Clarion's Joyride
is the only product that combines advanced audio and video
capabilities with next-generation navigation applications. Clarion's
Joyride packs a comprehensive set of digital music features supporting
DVD video, DVD-Rom, CD Audio, CD-Rom, Windows Media Audio (WMA) and
MP3 formats, as well as Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 surround sound,
AM/FM radio, voice-activated control capabilities and the ability to
add a large screen display for navigation and rear seat video
monitors.
-- May -- TI DSPs will power Pontis' new SP600 MP3 portable player.
Pontis' SDMI-compliant player supports the leading digital audio
formats including MP3, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), Windows Media
Audio (WMA) and RealAudio®. The SP600 is the first audio player to
accommodate multiple memory cards. Its two memory card slots support
MultiMedia Cards, SD (Secure Digital) Cards, ROScards and CompactFlash
Cards offering more than 4GB of memory.
-- June -- Compaq Computer Corporation selected TI's industry-leading DSP
technology to enable audio encoding and decoding in the Compaq iPAQ
Music Center, a digital audio device that serves as Compaq's first
home entertainment system. The iPAQ Music Center, the first TI-
enabled product that allows users to digitally record music from
almost any source, will store and organize up to 400 CDs or 5,000
songs without the use of a PC.
Some of the publicly announced customers and partners utilizing the power of TI's DSPs include: Clarion, Compaq Computer Corporation, Digisette LLC, Fraunhofer IIS, Intertrust, LG Electronics, Liquid Audio, LG Electronics, Microsoft, Olympus, Pioneer, Pontis, RealNetworks, Richfield Innovations Pte Ltd., Sanyo, Sony Corporation and Thomson multimedia (RCA).
About TI
Texas Instruments Incorporated is the world leader in digital signal processing and analog technologies, the semiconductor engines of the Internet age. The company's businesses also include sensors and controls, and educational and productivity solutions. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing or sales operations in more than 25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. The company's web site is www.ti.com .
Safe Harbor Statement: Statements contained in this press release regarding product performance, growth in the internet audio market, and other statements of management's beliefs, goals and expectations may be considered ``forward-looking statements'' as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these statements. Please refer to TI's most recent Form 10-K for more information on the risks and uncertainties that could materially affect future results of operations. TI disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release.
Trademarks:
All trademarks are either registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders.
SOURCE: Texas Instruments Incorporated Semiconductor Group
Copy Control for Digital Video Gaining Momentum, But Studios Remain Divided
by Mark Lewis
http://news.webnoize.com/item.rs?ID=13653
Two major movie studios and a group of electronics companies have agreed to use encryption technology to control digital video copying in the coming world of networked personal video recorders, digital TVs and cable set-top boxes.
After reaching an agreement in principle six months ago, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Entertainment and AOL Time Warner's Warner Bros. said they have formally licensed 56-bit encryption technology that will encrypt video signals on home networks. In the future, those networks will link digital set-top boxes or digital televisions with digital video cassette recorders, hard-drive video recorders and personal computers [see 02.16.01 Sony and Warner Agree in Principle with 5C Copy-Control Rules].
The technology was developed by Hitachi, Intel, Matsushita Electric Industrial, Sony Corp. and Toshiba (known collectively as the 5C companies), which plan to make devices and computer chips in the next year that use their encryption and device authentication process. The system is supposed to ensure that all digital video data on a home network remains scrambled and can't be tapped and redistributed over the Internet.
But the entire movie and electronics industries aren't behind the 5C project, and it remains to be seen whether Sony and Warner will release more digital programs to broadcasters and cable operators once the new security system is in consumer devices.
The 5C technology will be used alongside a separate technology called High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP) that encrypts the digital connection to video displays. 5C will also be used with a controversial key-based encryption system for DVD recorders, IBM microdrives and flash memory, called Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM). CPRM is developed by the "4C," which includes the 5C's Matsushita, Toshiba and Intel along with IBM [see 02.13.01 IBM's Recordable Media Copy-Control Claims In Dispute].
"An ecosystem is coming together," said Seth Greenstein, a McDermott, Will & Emery attorney who serves as the 5C's policy chairman. By using the technologies together, "you have a complete home environment to protect [video] displays and recording, and transfer a copy back and forth among different digital devices."
"For content providers, the creation of secure entertainment networks is key to the delivery of high-value, high-resolution motion picture content into the home," said Warner Bros.' Executive Vice President Chris Cookson in a statement. "The adoption of the [5C] technology is an important part of this process."
However, five studios -- Walt Disney Co.'s Walt Disney Pictures, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Viacom's Paramount Pictures and Vivendi Universal's Universal Studios -- haven't licensed 5C partly because they want to use copy control more aggressively than the 5C will allow.
But Sony, which wants to sell video recorders, and AOL Time Warner, which wants to offer video on-demand services on its vast cable network, have broken ranks with their cohorts in accepting the 5C's copy-control rules.
Those rules state that consumers must be able to record free, unscrambled digital television, regardless of whether it's transmitted over the air or through cable and satellite networks. Digital programs and movies on paid channels and cable-only networks can be recorded once, without serial copying. However, studios can scramble pay-per-view, video on-demand and subscription on-demand movies so they cannot be recorded.
The Consumer Electronics Association, an industry trade group, has endorsed 5C technology for digital TV. But Thomson Multimedia, the largest television maker in the U.S., hasn't licensed the technology or made plans to include it in its digital TVs or DirecTV satellite receivers, including a model that has a hard-drive video recorder. Thomson is promoting its own encryption technology, which uses "smart cards" [see 06.07.01 Thomson Pushing "Smart Cards" for TVs, PVRs and PCs to Prevent Piracy].
"It's good news that some technology is getting the approval stamp of the studios," said Dave Arland, Thomson's director of governmental and public relations. But "this is only two of the seven [studios], and we'd have to see more progress before making product plans."
Some in the computer industry think Sony and Warner's decision could make consumers less wary of digital TV. The studios' adopting 5C technology "allows consumers to transparently time-shift free over-the-air TV, and the rules appear to be reasonable for even premium channels," said James Burger, a computer industry attorney with Dow, Lohnes & Albertson.
Yet there are other roadblocks facing digital TV, including expensive TV sets, broadcaster delays and other studios' hard-core approach to copy control.
Several studios whose parent conglomerates own broadcast networks want to limit consumer recording of free, high-definition broadcast TV and set up systems that will erase material cached to a hard drive after a certain length of time, Arland said.
"I'm not saying rights owners don't have a right to protect content," he said. "But that doesn't mean you rewrite the rules for time shifting or building a home library. We're not talking about my mother turning her library of soap operas into a profit-making venture on EBay," an auction web site.
The Motion Picture Association of America, the studios' trade group, declined comment on Warner and Sony's decision to sign 5C licenses.
Greenstein said he is negotiating collectively with the remaining five studios and is "optimistic that there is a deal to be done with them."
One prior sticking point was that 5C encryption couldn't be used for broadcast TV because the U.S. Bureau of Exports only allows encryption to be used on conditional access systems such as cable and satellite. But since some media conglomerates want to use encryption over broadcast systems, U.S. authorities would have to lift encryption restrictions.
The 5C told Sony and Warner it will ask the government to suspend those restrictions, Greenstein said. But it remains to be seen if that will be enough to win over the other five studios.
Major studios and consumer electronics companies have been working since 1993 to establish a copy-control framework for digital video. The framework includes the now-hacked Content Scrambling System for DVDs, encryption for home networks and video watermarking technology.
MP3: Sound of Silence
By Brad King
2:00 a.m. July 17, 2001 PDT
http://www.wired.com/news/mp3/0,1285,45279,00.html
Media players and software systems designed to help consumers make listening to music a simple endeavor all have one flaw: They all make listening to music harder.
Thanks to a host of new proprietary systems and security measures, consumers hoping for an easy music-listening experience are about to face a world where music files and services don't work together.
No problem, really, if you're an engineer from MIT. For the rest of us, life is going to be hard for awhile.
"There was a period of time where they wanted to make that interoperability work, but the music industry didn't want to use MP3s so everyone is back to developing their own systems," said Webnoize analyst Ric Dube. "Windows Media is the only candidate and it will either work or it won't. If it doesn't, then we're going to be waiting for a while longer for the digital music market to develop."
The recording industry and the motion picture industry are, first and foremost, looking for ways to make sure their content isn't copied and traded on the Internet. So technology companies are focused on creating secure products that satisfy the music labels and movie studios.
And for technology companies, finding ways to make money does make good business sense, Dube said.
Napster, the file-trading service that was the bastion of free, downloadable music, has recently become the poster child for secure music. On Monday, Napster unveiled more of its plans for security, announcing plans for a proprietary digital music player that will be used with its new subscription service set to launch before the end of summer.
The new service won't allow consumers to move their music away from the Napster file-trading network to other media players like RealJukebox or Windows Media Player. Instead, the service will only play proprietary ".Nap" files on the new player.
The Napster system will take MP3 files that run through its main server and create the new, proprietary format, said Dube.
"Napster is doing this because their chance for survival is to leverage the huge volume of MP3s out there," said Dube. "They saw this as a business strategy, to leverage all those MP3s out there."
In leveraging those MP3s, users will be funneled into using Napster's new format, said Brian Litman, CEO of PlayMedia, the company that created the playback technology to be used in the new player.
Napster isn't alone in its move toward security lockdown on digital media files.
Last week, Federal District Judge Marilyn Hall Patel announced her intention to force Napster to remain closed until engineers can provide a 100-percent-safe environment for copyright owners.
With such a high standard for copyright protection, companies might be forced to create media players that are more focused on protection and less on consumer ease of use.
Many of the big media players such as Winamp and MusicMatch offer the ability to listen to MP3 files, although ripping -– a fancy name for recording a digital music file -– songs in MP3 format has proven to be a bit trickier.
Tricky means that, with rare exceptions like the MusicMatch application, consumers haven't been able to record any music at all in MP3s using their media players.
Starting this October though, Microsoft will allow consumers to purchase an MP3 encoding plug-in for the Windows Media Player which is bundled in the Windows XP operating system.
If consumers are willing to pay in the neighborhood of $20 to $30, they can add MP3 recording capability to Microsoft's Windows Media Player. Consumers then have the choice to record their music in either the MP3 format or the Windows Media format.
This marks the first time that Microsoft users will be able to encode in the MP3 format. However, company executives don't expect the MP3 encoder to catch on.
"There is a subset of users who want to encode in MP3, but there is a larger set of people who don't care what format they get," said Michael Aldridge, a lead product manager in Microsoft Windows Digital Media division. "They just want a great quality experience."
The sheer number of MP3 files -– billions were being traded on Napster earlier this year -– does seem to indicate that Aldridge might underestimate the importance of the MP3 format. However, Microsoft at least is acknowledging the need to allow consumers some choice when they are encoding their own CDs.
That might not sound like a big deal, but the recording option allows consumers to move their music more freely between portable devices and other media players. Only one music format will play on most every media player and portable device on the market: MP3s.
MusicMatch, RealNetworks and Microsoft continue to fight to control the desktop media player. That leaves MP3s as the best option for users who might be confused about which format plays in which device.
Of course, Microsoft users have to pay for the opportunity to record their own CDs in MP3 format, but according to Webnoize's Dube, customization costs money.
"Microsoft is just doing what they are supposed to do," Dube said. "Operating systems come out, and then people buy plug-ins to make their system work how they want it to work."
But consumers may be drowned in a sea of music formats if record labels and movie studios begin creating their own proprietary content.
Already, EMI offers consumers a downloadable media smorgasbord of Radiohead music and information at VH1.com and hollywoodandvine.com. Using technology from LockStream, EMI was able to build an entire media package that users can download.
The problem: The system doesn't work with the main media players on the market. Instead, users have to download a system that can only be used for EMI's Radiohead promotion.
But LockStream CEO David Goodman said that despite the added player, fans of Radiohead and other musicians will benefit from the new delivery system.
"You're creating a better affinity experience for the fan," Goodman said. "This isn't just about the music. It's about the look, the feel and the message that the artist is trying to communicate."
While each system offers its own benefits, one fact remains -- each will offer its own unique perspective.
Philozarton, the MusicCompressor is the same as the PJB-100, which is the old Compaq-designed Hy-Tek jukebox using a Motorola DSP. The design dates to late 1998.
Berge, I have not seen a definitive list of products exhibited. I would think that all the manufacturers represented at the summit would have exhibited samples of their wares. The day 2 summary I posted mentioned products from Philips, First International, SSI America, Visteon, DigMedia, Qualcomm, Toshiba, Rio, and Hy Tek's Treo.
Summary of MP3 Summit - Day 2
http://stations.mp3s.com/stations/204/summit_news.html#day2
"To Subscribe or Not to Subscribe?"
That is the question of the digital music industry. CEOs Michael Robertson of MP3.com, Dennis Mudd of MusicMatch and Gene Hoffman of eMusic CEO discussed their respective subscription services in a panel moderated by Brad King of Wired.com.
With MusicMatch one of the last independent services, Mudd spoke optimistically about his company's focus on perfecting personalization features. King questioned Hoffman and Robertson about the future of their services, given their pairing with a Vivendi-Universal. Hoffman noted that eMusic has 20,000 paying subscribers and their numbers continues to increase each quarter.
Robertson spoke optimistically about the future of subscription music services, comparing the slow growth rate of subscription to the gradual success of AOL. The panelists also debated the pros and cons of charging on a per song basis as opposed to a flat fee.
Copyright Still the Weapon of Choice?
Friday's keynote speaker, Bill Patry, former copyright counsel to House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, spoke about "Copyright as a Weapon to Hang On to Outdated Business Models". He argued that the 19th century model of copyright law that the US legal system follows hasn't lived up to its role in the 20th and now 21st centuries.
Patry questioned the benefit of everyone trying to get as much money as they could via performances of copyrighted materials from a societal standpoint. At the end of his presentation, Patry challenged Summit attendees to be the individuals to work out the current Internet copyright issues because they represented the people who dealt with those issues on a day-to-day basis.
Is It Time to Cut the Cord Yet?
Discussing the infrastructure for wireless music delivery were Rees Johnson, vice president of product marketing at Metricom; Brad Kirn, business development manager/corporate research and development at Qualcomm; and John Villasenor, professor/vice chair of UCLA's Electrical Engineering Department.
While both Kirn and Johnson spoke optimistically about the constantly improving wireless infrastructure, Villasenor was the biggest skeptic. Because of the complexities involved with music and video delivery, Villasenor questioned any near-future capabilities.
Kirn, naturally, rebutted many of Villasenor's statements, claiming that wireless technology is constantly being driven by new devices and applications, and that the industry is evolving more rapidly than consumers think. Regarding the status of Internet technology, Kirn said, "We're still in the DOS version of the web, but we're slowly moving into the Windows version."
Rees Johnson concentrated on Metricom's continuous surveying and testing methods that contribute to Ricochet's strategy for wireless connectivity. Relaying real-life consumer experiences, Johnson described some of the technological hurdles that still face the service.
Anyone Getting Rich Off Rich Audio?
Well, not really, but some firms will cash in eventually. The panelists at the "Rich Audio" discussion hope to be among them.
And they plan to do it by offering value-added features that will not only benefit consumers and empower artists, but will make themselves a lot of money as well.
"Winamp is probably the least-rich audio player available but it's the one most people use. And Napster is basically a search box but everyone used it," said moderator Christian Pirkner of MoodLogic. "So why should anyone pay to use rich audio?'
A lively debate on that question ensued. Max Wells, whose company Cantametrix has developed a "fingerprinting" technology that can identify a given audio file and tell who originally purchased it, has a good reason: "There are now 500 billion audio files throughout the world, playable on 200 million PCs."
He said by giving consumers reasons to access rich content within those files -- such as text lyrics, concert footage, ticket-purchasing links and access to fan clubs -- they'll be willing to pay for it. Whoever figures out the best standard for embedding those billions of files and the billions more to come will have a lot to sing about, the panelists concluded.
The big five record labels are interested in the up-and-coming technologies but, as one panelist noted, "they need to learn how to walk before they can run."
Ware It's At with Wireless Products - Day 2
This year's Summit saw some exciting new products being displayed. In addition to having their own exhibition booths at the MP3 Summit, many companies were able to demo their wares at a presentation called "Ware It's At: Cutting-Edge music applications and devices."
Keith McMillen, president and CEO of Octiv, showed software that greatly improves MP3 quality and consistency through the use of automatic real-time normalization and spectral balancing. This software can be embedded in portable MP3 players, car stereos and home entertainment systems.
The new iRock! portable MP3 player line was introduced by Randy Cavaiani, VP of marketing and sales for First International Digital. The iRock! line is the first to support mp3i technology, which bundles rich media like lyrics and pictures into standard MP3 files. The first two iRock! players that will be available soon to consumers will be the 620 and 680 (same as the 620 but with a FM tuner).
Other presenters included Roxio, a spin-off of Adaptec that specializes in CD-burning software; and DigMedia, a software and services company focusing on device-based subscription services. Microsoft gave a preview of Windows XP and the new Windows Media Player. The last two presenters were yourmobile.com, a company that specializes in personalized cell phone ring tones and Musicphone, a phone service that allows users to call up and request various information about their favorite artists via voice recognition.
What's Fueling Dueling Formats?
Analogies flowed like, uh, analogies in the panel about all the competing music-compression technologies in the marketplace. The opening slide likened consumers' confusion over today's music technology to a question Kelly Bundy her dad, Al Bundy, on TV's "Married...with Children." After he asked her what a record cost these days, Kelly replied, "What's a record?"
Moderator Jim Griffin of Cherry Lane Digital and Evolab invoked an old African saying, "When the elephants fight, the grass suffers," referring to the quest to be the dominant codec provide being waged by firms such as Thomson Multimedia and Dolby Labs, both of whom also were represented on the panel.
Companies utilizing formats such as MP3 may be in for more suffering, said attorney Ron Gertz, if the original patent holders of those formats ask for increasing royalties in the future. Consumers probably won't be affected but may end up confused because of all the litigating. In fact, "Litigation as a business tool is one way companies can try to tip the balance to boost revenues and stay in the game," said Brad Brunell of Microsoft.
The real stars of the MP3 Summit were all the flashy new devices. On the event's second day, manufacturers continued to showcase their wares in the demonstration area, ranging from Qualcomm and Toshiba to DigMedia, PhatNoise and SSI America.
Philips offered a sneak peak into their future plans, including smaller, enhanced new versions of their eXpanium MP3/CD player, an 8cm MP3/CD player and a new line of affordable, upgradeable MP3/CD boom boxes. RCA was well-represented with their line of MP3 products.
Visteon's MACH MP3 Jukebox, powered by PhatNoise, offers 500 hours of music in a cartridge about the size of a thick Pop-Tart. Another favorite was the Treo digital music jukebox. The lightest, smallest hard-drive player we've seen yet, it looked and sounded great.
MP3.com's Developers Network and Premium Listener application occupied booths for demonstration purposes, and a special Listening Station offered attendees hands-on testing of some of the top MP3 players on the market today.
And the Listening Station Winners Are...
http://stations.mp3s.com/stations/204/summit_news.html#day2
MP3 Summit asked many hardware manufacturers to provide product at the show. About a dozen responded. Their products were available for all registered attendees to use at the Listening Station. Everyone was asked to vote for their favorites in four categories. Here are the results (and we are not kidding here):
Best Sound, Best Design, Best Versatility: Rio 800
Best of Show: Tie - Rio 800, RioVolt
Congratulations to SONICblue, manufacturer or Rio
Summary of MP3 Summit - Day 1
(Day 2 to be posted when available)
Ready to receive your music wherever you go?
The time isn't quite here yet, but it's getting closer every day.
That seemed to be an overriding message on Day 1 of the fourth annual MP3 Summit.
With the cost of wireless music delivery dropping, infrastructure expanding and the major players listening to the needs and wants of consumers, truly affordable music for all is not far off.
In fact, in his talk on "The Future of Wireless Entertainment," Webnoize analyst Ric Dube predicted 2006 to be the year when it all comes together. That's when the cost of delivering a 4MB file over a wireless network at speeds of 114kbps or greater should drop to about 27 cents, compared with today's $11.04.
Senior Analyst P.J. McNealy of research firm Gartner2 followed Dube by noting that consumer behavior doesn't change overnight. People have to be educated about the benefits of receiving their music via cell phone and other portable devices -- much as they had to transition from radio to TV to the Internet. But the fact that only about 2 percent of U.S. households have purchased music online is nothing to worry about, he said. It just shows there is plenty of time for manufacturers to learn about their needs, then give them an array of mobile choices.
Mobilizing According to Michael
In his keynote address, "Mobilizing Your Music," MP3.com CEO Michael Robertson focused on three main objectives: music, the industry and mobility. Noting the downward turn in mass communications, Robertson pointed out the increasing trend toward specialization and point-to-point service. "From instant messaging to Tivo," he said, "consumers want to have what they want, when they want it."
Robertson called for adding a new dimension to the music industry. With a marketing plan calling for quality, ease, cost, availability and convenience, Robertson encouraged his colleagues to "do more with music." His plan includes: matching the service to the environment, focusing on "what's in it for the consumer" and matching the service to the device. He was quick to point out that the use of the telephone as a music devise is still premature: "The future of wireless is not here yet."
Noting that music fans want a large amount of content, in one location and with easy accessibility, he demonstrated the benefits of MP3.com's new PluS service, including shorter sessions organizing music online, frequently refreshed content and easy purchasing music.
Moving on to another hot musical topic -- copyright law and the Internet -- was David G. Post, associate professor of law at Temple University. In his keynote titled "His Napster's Voice," post discussed the U.S. legal system's view of copyright law as "Instrumentalist." Creators are given incentive to create by ensuring profit via copyright. Post argued that the Internet, a realm that ensures no real copyright protection -- and which by the Instrumentalist view offers no incentive to create -- has influenced an "unprecedented outpouring of creative activity." Thus, the Internet has proved that there are other ways to stimulate creativity and that the legal system's view of copyrights does not carry over to the Internet.
Post also addressed "the Napster problem" and how he felt it could be solved. He argued that online "smuggling" of copyrighted material such as music could only be regulated when net citizens believed it in their own best interest to do so. One suggestion he offered was creating an arena of reciprocity, such as making Napster source code publicly available.
Susan Kevorkian, associate analyst for the Consumer Devices Group at IDC research, next amplified the earlier speakers' messages on wireless delivery. Her figures show that with an estimated 4.3 million compressed audio players in the market now growing into an estimated 17.9 million units in 2005, the audio player market shows much potential. But current constraints, such as the state of existing wireless networks and the lack of overwhelming support for wireless devices, must be overcome.
Manufacturers are Listening
The following panel, "Going Mobile," offered proof that the big guys are doing what it takes to assure we're all wirelessly connected in our wheels.
John Slosar, product development director of Visteon, said his firm is working now on the high-capacity car players scheduled to debut in the 2002 model year for major automakers such as Ford and GM. The key to assuring consumer acceptance is "pushbutton simplicity," meaning the products will be as easy to use and understand as a today's typical in-dash CD player/radio. Sensitive to issues such as driver safety, he envisions hands-free players that respond to the driver's voice commands for genre, artist and track.
A glimpse into Visteon's vision of the future: a red Mustang convertible outside the Summit auditorium, outfitted with the company's new MACH MP3 Jukebox. Powered by PhatNoise, the jukebox's heart is a removable 10GB storage cartridge that connects to your PC via USB docking station. The cartridge is then inserted in a trunk- or globe box-mounted interface and controlled via the of in-dash faceplate, which also contains an MP3/CD player and AM/FM stereo radio.
Fellow panelist Paul Burlingame, senior product manager for Qualcomm's BREW (Binary Runtime Environment for Wireless) initiative, again stressed that giving consumers a product they can understand is paramount. And Bryan Biniak, COO of YourMobile.com, told an rather amazed audience that some 60,000 to 70,000 visitors a day download cell phone ring tones from the site -- some buying four or so at a time for up to $5 each. Because ring tones are an "established pattern," consumers understand and are willing to pay for them, the panelists concluded. In the near future, buying streamed and downloadable music wirelessly will become a similar pattern, they predicted.
Ware It's At with Wireless Products
The first in a series of "Ware It's At" demos, titled "No Wires Allowed," focused on technologies that facilitate the transfer and enjoyment of digital audio untethered by restrictive wires.
An affordable offering from Akoo drew the most enthusiasm from the auditorium crowd: a tiny $29 plug-in that enables portable devices to broadcast MP3s to an FM radio -- from clock radios to car stereos. Akoo representatives expect to license this technology to manufacturers to become an internal component in the next generation of MP3 devices.
*CD's George Searle presented his company's service of identifying any song played on the radio via *CD's fingerprinting technology. Sensate's cutting-edge wireless song-transferring application showed how promising future technologies like Bluetooth and 802.11 have been. And MP3.com's own Shawn Conahan demonstrated the integration of MP3.com applications like My.MP3 storage and Music Greetings into Qualcomm's BREW mobile phone technology.
Moving Beyond the PC
McNealy led the panel discussion "Beyond the PC," which focusing on the future of the PC and the emerging trend toward wireless devices. The panel of industry notables included Jean-Marc Matteini, GM of Philips Internet Audio Group; Dennis Tevlin, president and CEO of iObjects; Simon Hossell, CEO of Future Sound Technologies; and Todd Moore, director of product marketing at RioPort.
They discussed a number of reasons for the movement away from the PC: everything from the PC's susceptibility to hackers to the desire for new ways of enjoying music. While most agreed on the eventual move toward devices, Tevlin said the notion of moving beyond the PC is still very early in the adoption process. Noting the complication and expense factor associated with devices, he concluded that devices are best suited for extending the PC's functionality.
Also discussed were industry developments since last year's MP3 Summit. McNealy said the industry is a step closer tow working out agreements with the big five record labels in attaining access to their highly coveted content. While a year ago the big five avoided digital technology, all agreed that they now seem to be testing different business models. All were optimistic that the labels soon will provide the industry's missing link: music content.
Music Distribution's Future
In the next presentation, John DeRose, vice president of business development at MP3.com, compared and contrasting the current state of online and offline music distribution. He said recent technological developments are giving consumers what they want: ease of use. With consumers placing significance on availability, access and convenience, DeRose concluded that the next step is wireless content. He attributed this to the fact that a large number of Americans own cell phones, the data network is already in place and the largest wireless carriers are investing billions in improving their infrastructures.
Supporting DeRose's claim was Robert Tercek, president of the applications and services division of Packet Video. He backed up his belief that the future is in wireless with numerous quotes from industry notables. He described in detail the enormous momentum in the telecommunications industry. As such, he laying out his predictions for the future of wireless. He noted that with the wonders of wireless, "just about everything will eventually be connected to the net".
Also, he said, data devices will eventually outnumber PCs. Further, "With PC growth plateau-ing, mobile devices will be the next growth.
What Happened to the Revolution?
The day closed with some much-needed comic relief. A panel of quick-witted veterans from the dot-com frontlines of last year shared their war stories in a "pull no punches" discussion moderated by Robertson.
iCast, Napster, Scour and other dead-in-the-water music companies were represented, as well as a brave dramatic foil provided by Karen Allen from the RIAA, who took a lot of heat but noted during introductions that she was the only one on the panel without the word "formerly" after her name.
The panelists topped each other's accounts of bloated expenses, fatal decisions and lessons learned. Heads nodded in somber agreement as Scour's Travis Kalanick summed things up most incisively: "A lawsuit will squish you."
http://stations.mp3s.com/stations/204/summit_news.html
A little B&O history:
(circa 1999)
Visteon's New Audio Partnership Promises Sweet Sounds And Unique Design for Discerning Customers
DEARBORN, Mich., June 11 /CNW/ -- Automotive audiophiles, listen
up! What you are about to hear -- and see -- is a new generation of premier
vehicle sound systems, a generation characterized by unmatched quality and
stellar design.
Visteon has paired its world-class audio and electronic capabilities with
prestigious Danish audio-video manufacturer Bang & Olufsen to develop a new
level of automotive audio sophistication. The partnership enables Visteon to
offer exclusive audio systems to high-end vehicle manufacturers and their
consumers. It also represents Bang & Olufsen's first venture into the
automotive audio arena.
Bang & Olufsen, a premier home audio system manufacturer, is known for its
superior mechanical movements, its acoustics excellence, and remarkable
product design -- design which includes vertical CD stacks and brushed
aluminum cylindrical speakers.
"We are extremely happy with this agreement," said Stephen W. Delaney,
vice president, interiors and exteriors, Visteon. "We wanted to partner with
a premier audio company to push our design and engineering capabilities to new
heights. At the same time, Bang & Olufsen was seeking a world-class
organization that had the proven ability to integrate technology in vehicles
on a global basis."
The agreement marries Visteon's expertise in areas such as acoustics,
system equalization, market research, and manufacturing with Bang & Olufsen's
unique ability to produce top quality, uniquely designed audio systems that
appeal to select consumers. Visteon is a world leader in the production and
integration of automotive electronics and audio components; collaboration with
Bang & Olufsen allows it to develop systems with capabilities unseen in
today's conventional automotive audio units.
"Building on a common and solid base of technological know-how and by
combining the market forces of Visteon with the design forces of Bang &
Olufsen, we are convinced that this new partnership will be successful," said
Poul Sojberg, director of new business development for Bang & Olufsen. "Bang
& Olufsen is characterized by courageous design, simplicity and high quality
standards and this Danish/American partnership will provide outstanding
automotive multimedia systems for exclusive customers."
"The Bang & Olufsen/Visteon audio system will be marketed to a particular
customer -- the customer who expects nothing less than excellence in
performance, quality and design," concurred Jim Mazurek, manager, electronic
marketing and business analysis, Visteon. "We have jointly identified and
agreed upon the audio characteristics that must be present in a Bang &
Olufsen/Visteon audio system. They are the characteristics a consumer would
expect in the very best automotive audio system that is globally available."
These systems will offer enhanced components such as unique speakers and
improved woofers and superior audio clarity. They will also offer additional
options to maintain audio system excellence as sound technology continues to
mature.
Significant design changes will differentiate these units from a standard
audio system. They will exhibit sophisticated designs that take their cues
from the understated elegance of premier vehicle models. Visteon and Bang &
Olufsen will explore the application of premier materials such as brushed
aluminum to speaker grills and radio bezels.
"I think it is fair to say that purchasing a Bang & Olufsen/Visteon system
will differentiate the true automotive audiophile from the typical consumer,"
Mazurek said. "Visteon can now provide the entire range of outstanding audio
systems for automotive manufacturers and their consumers. The system from
Bang & Olufsen and Visteon will be at the very top of the range."
With a global delivery system of more than 125 technical, manufacturing,
sales and service facilities located in 21 countries, Visteon Automotive
Systems is leveraging the talents of its 77,000 employees to deliver
innovative, consumer-driven solutions to its customers.
Link to MPPP webcast:
http://www.mp3.com/summit/2001/webcast.html
OT: I thought this was somewhat interesting...
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010626/2266.html
See also...
http://www.cb.co.kr/e/products/pcephone/pcephone.asp
http://www.koreainc-news.com/news/news_view.asp?n_id=1519
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/embedded/ce/guide/casestudies/cyberbank.asp?bPrint=True
Some thoughts from secforu & BusyBump:
To All Disgruntled Longs
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=721078
Last year when the price of this stock was hovering around $20.00 where were the most of you? Well, if I remember correctly you were on this message board celebrating your investing genius and projecting a stock price that rivaled Qualcom’s. Greed was good, so to speak. And it was all because of your ability to spot an up-and-coming company.
Or so it seemed to me.
Now here we stand a year later, some a little poorer, some a lot. The stock price has plummeted, along with what will long be considered one of the great bull markets of the century. But whose fault is it now? Is it really management?
e.Digital, that up-and-comer you were all so proud to be a part of is not the same company. No it’s not. It’s a much better company. It has at least twice the number of employees, more products about to be released than ever before and a top-notch board of directors. Hype? No just what’s been forth by the company.
In addition, within the course of this past year your company has managed to adjust to a marketplace and industry which has gone through tremendous upheaval because of the inability of music companies to make content available. Furthermore, they have aligned themselves with Dataplay, a company that has product that was a stand –out at last year’s CES.
So what has changed? It is the company? Yes, it has – it’s grown, expanded and even prospered somewhat. It operates at a loss, but it did last year at this time too when you thought it and the people that ran it were the greatest things you’d ever known.
And there’s one more thing that’s changed – that would be you. You have lost faith, all but abandoned hope and have turned on Fred and Robert as if they had intentionally misled you. Have they told you lies? Did you ever ask yourself if maybe the whole truth wasn’t made available to them? But they should have told you this right?
Anyone familiar with a non-disclosure agreement knows that it reads like you’ll have to give up your next child if you leak a word. And you will also know that once you’ve leaked information, you can pretty much close your doors for future business. And in an industry as small as this, it would be a most certain kiss-of-death.
But what of the shareholder’s? What our right? I guess in the end, we don’t have much to fall back on. Even the class-action speculation often bandied about here never does much for anyone. Except the bashers, of course, who seize every opportunity to exploit your weakness.
.
Still others feel victimized – led astray by the company. How did they lead you astray? By letting you know what they were working on, who they were working with and what products they were developing. You sure did like the news when you first heard it. But where’s the product right? What about this, and what about that? Every shareholder’s letter a promise of things to come. Many of you have said that Robert deliberately hyped the product. Well remember this too. Enthusiasm is no crime. If it were, many of you would be in jail. Most of all remember that this story is not over yet.
Will our patience be rewarded, our frustration be worth it? No one can say. But that is investing – it is what we see in the present that can bring us to the future.
Many of you are honest enough to admit that greed got the better of you. And isn't the current state of affairs in the stock market evidence of the fact that greed got the better of most of us? Not many were spared. There’s only one Warren Buffett and even people who revered him were using his name in vain when his portfolio couldn’t perform.
But that’s life, and that is certainly the way of the stock market – never for the faint of heart or the weak of spirit. But rest assured of one thing - this too shall pass.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
secforu- Just read your post from last night....a good and reasonable analysis of the situation.
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=721584
All of us have suffered setbacks in the market these past 18 months, in Edig as well as almost any other stocks owned. The reversal in business that has taken place in the technical sector is like no other in its suddenness and severity. The immediate outlook is dismal.
I think it shortsighted and futile to blame Edig's "apparent" lack of performance on management. Quite the contrary, I feel that Edig has made significant progress behind the scenes as reflected by the substantial increase in revenues, increased employee numbers, and forward-looking statements in recent letters from Fred.
The delays are painful. The financial shortfalls are difficult to deal with. We are suffering and are uncertain when help will arrive.
IMHO, Edig may be one of the few bright spots over the next 6 months, as products and OEMs are announced. We may have to wait a very long time before the likes of former high flyers CMGI, EXDS, JDSU, CIEN, NOK, ARBA, QCOM, DCLK, etc. etc. move off their incredible lows and regain their former highs. Edig will be a new, exciting name, a company whose every increase in revenue will demonstrate rapid GROWTH and promise in an otherwise dismal economic clime.
I, personally, have no regrets in having posted my conversations with Robert over the past 18 months. The information was relayed accurately and only for the purpose of informing. I will continue to do the same as the opportunity allows.
For those concerned, my brother who invested in Edig recently, is not worried but takes a moderate view of the overall market conditions and is willing to wait it out for the recovery ahead, as well as Edig's coming out party, whenever that might be!
Take heart, people! As secforu ended his post, "this too shall pass."
Napster serves as crystal ball
By John Borland CNET News.com
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/cn/20010710/tc/napster_serves_as_crystal_ball_1.html
Tuesday July 10 05:00 PM EDT
No longer the poster child for free online music, Napster's flagging file-swapping service has turned into a testing ground for ways to control other services that are capturing its onetime popularity.
After rapidly signed up millions of people for its service, Napster has seen its audience melt away just as quickly under a stringent filtering policy and, more recently, a week-old file-trading blackout. Nevertheless, legal experts say that experiments aimed at controlling the distribution of content on Napster's network may have an affect beyond the company. They added that the record industry is closely watching Napster's efforts as a possible template to be applied in future lawsuits against rivals that have risen in its wake.
"Certainly it's a sign that the industry has moved to a place where peer-to-peer can be filtered," said Ken Freundlich, a Los Angeles intellectual property lawyer. "Another court could find that Napster was able to filter and so rule that filtering techniques can be implemented."
Napster's filtering woes come as the record industry prepares to unveil its own online music services, incorporating secure digital formats that aim to prevent unauthorized copying. In the meantime, major labels are eager to develop technology that blocks trades of unsecure MP3 fileschanging hands by the billions on Napster and a host of alternatives such as Audiogalaxy, Kazaa and Morpheus.
Napster's technology promises to identify songs by their audio "fingerprint"--literally matching the sound of musical tracks to a list of copyrighted tunes banned from the service. The technique avoids the pitfalls of filters that block songs based on file names, which can be easily changed. But it carries its own uncertainties, including significant logistical barriers in building a database of banned songs.
Complicating an assessment of Napster's filters are legal issues, which cloud a clear view of the underlying technology. Sources close to the case say that court documents still under seal have deeply influenced the company's actions over the last few weeks--including its decision to go dark rather than allow filtered trading on its service. Until its known which problems were technical and which legal, it's difficult to say how well Napster's experience could be applied--perhaps forcibly--to its rivals.
"Napster is more than a little affected by the court injunction," said Matt Bailey, an analyst with consulting firm Webnoize. "I think (the service's problems) are a combination of the (technical and legal) factors."
A silver bullet?
Napster introduced fingerprint filtering to its service two weeks ago, promising it would reverse the decline of music being traded as the filters focused specifically on songs that should be blocked.
In fact, the opposite happened. Almost all the music that remained on the service vanished. According to Webnoize, the average number of files shared by people online dropped to just one. But a few days later, the company pulled the plug altogether, saying some copyrighted songs were still getting through and an "upgrade" to the database was necessary to make the new filtering technology work perfectly.
More than a week later, people who are still paying attention to Napster are still waiting.
The delay highlights the extraordinary logistical hurdles Napster and any other company must go through if it implements audio fingerprinting, which has been touted as one of the most surefire ways of blocking unauthorized trades of songs.
In theory, the fingerprinting technology takes a snapshot of the actual audio characteristics of a given song and sends this to Napster's central servers. This is compared against a master list of fingerprints and either given the go-ahead or blocked.
But this master list does not, and has never, existed. A company called Loudeye Technologies has rights to much of the music created by major and other North American music labels and is creating "fingerprints" from these files for Napster. These files must then be independently matched to the lists of song titles and artists that have been identified by the record companies.
Napster itself has said that the file-identification technology works and that just a few details holding up the decision to restart the service.
"Because it's important to identify files accurately, we decided to clean up the database before resuming file transfers," the company says in a note to its users. "Please note that the problem was with the database, not with the file-identification technology."
Other people in the peer-to-peer industry aren't happy with what they're seeing, even as they're facing some pressure from the record industry to begin filtering themselves.
"It's not a path we're going to go down," said the CEO of one of the other leading file-trading services. Audio fingerprinting "is not perfect and can be way off," he added.
Moreover, some of the leading services would find any filtering difficult to accomplish. In the case of the Gnutella network and the software distributed by MusicCity and Kazaa, no central server exists where filters could be installed. Searches are instead distributed around a network of tens or hundreds of thousands of people acting independently, and these networks could exist even without the companies that are distributing the software.
Fallout from the mess
With more than a week under its belt, Napster itself is in danger of losing whatever tenuous loyalty its onetime audience has left, a risky way to start a new subscription venture.
Napster is chafing as it sees its members flow to services that offer options as broad or broader than its former incarnation--without laboring under their own court orders.
"Now it's not a level playing field," said Napster CEO Hank Barry. But he added that he expects those other companies to follow the trail Napster is painfully blazing. "Eventually it will be a level field, and then I think Napster will be able to compete very well."
Between 100,000 and 150,000 people have remained logged into the service throughout the outage, which analysts say indicates that many people are simply using it as a music player rather than a file-swapping application. Although this isn't the service's chief goal, this at least keeps the Napster name in front of those people.
Bertelsmann, Napster's chief partner in the subscription service planned for launch this summer, says it is "unfazed" by the ongoing service and filtering issues that have decimated the service's popularity.
"We are pleased with their progress, regardless of the changes they are making," said Patrick Reilly, a Bertelsmann spokesman.
Many Napster users are in wait-and-see mode, even as they try other services. Analysts say any of the planned paid services, whether from Yahoo, Napster, America Online or RealNetworks, will have difficulty competing if these free services exist.
But some people are keeping open minds. They'll want perfect files and ease of use a high bar for any service to clear.
"I don't have any problem paying for downloads of excellent quality, record company-produced downloads," said John Quincey, a former Napster user who said he switched to LimeWire a few weeks ago. "But I'm not going to spend money to swap files where...quality may or may not be up to professional standards...Who wants to pay to have the privilege of downloading that stuff?"
Just an IBM reminder:
"AFC media solves this problem. The ultra-thin ruthenium layer forces the adjacent layers to orient themselves magnetically in opposite directions. The opposing magnetic orientations make the entire multilayer structure appear much thinner than it actually is. Thus small, high-density bits can be written easily on AFC media, but they will retain their magnetization due to the media's overall thickness.
With AFC media, 100-gigabit data density could allow the following capacities within two years:
Desktop drives -- 400 gigabytes (GB) or the information in 400,000 books;
Notebook drives -- 200 GB, equivalent to 42 DVDs or more than 300 CDs;
IBM's one-inch Microdrive -- 6 GB or 13 hours of MPEG-4 compressed digital video (about eight complete movies) for handheld devices."
(or 150-200 hours of audio ; - )
The Replacement for the CD?
(courtesy of Whinee11 at RB)
That's how startup DataPlay its pitching its quarter-sized disks. The major labels like what they hear, but will consumers pick up the tune?
In December, 2000, a small Colorado startup unveiled a tiny storage disk -- the size of a quarter -- that it claimed would grab major market share from the traditional compact disk. The DataPlay disk stores 500 megabytes of memory, nearly the same as much larger CDs. And DataPlay would come with the built-in piracy protections that labels loved, as well as the capability to burn and play back music files stored in the popular MP3 format.
Right from the start, the Boulder-based company had plenty of executive muscle. Chief Technology Officer Dave Davies had helped to develop the world's first commercial CD-ROM. Chief Marketing Officer Pat Quigley had been the CEO of Capitol Records Nashville, managing and promoting stars like Garth Brooks and Mindy McCready. They had funding from heavy-hitters, including consumer-electronics manufacturers Toshiba and Samsung Electronics, data-storage medium maker Imation Corp., and Big Five record label Universal Music Group.
COMPETITORS. Still, at the time, their quest looked quixotic. A similar product, Sony's Minidisk, had failed to catch on in the U.S. market. Other technologies, such as flash-memory modules, had already made headway with consumer-electronics companies. CD burners had finally become cheap enough to go mass market.
So why, six months later, are analysts still touting DataPlay as the next wave? The answer lies in the way in which the company has positioned itself for quick market penetration, the rising popularity of downloadable music, and the labels' quest for safeguards against piracy.
For starters, the company has nailed down the crucial record-label connection. Big labels EMI Group and Bertelsmann Music Group have joined Universal in agreeing to offer their content on prerecorded DataPlay disks. That's three out of the Big Five. The labels plan to release as many as 300 albums on DataPlay disks before Christmas. The exact titles will be announced in August.
IN BOTH CAMPS. Two of the labels, EMI and BMG, are participants in the MusicNet subscription service, while Universal (which has since been purchased by French conglomerate Vivendi) has thrown its hat into the press-and-play service with Sony Music Entertainment. That means DataPlay will have advocates in both of the key music-subscription camps.
This represents a marked contrast to other, newer memory standards, most of which have struggled to secure big content deals and compete with pre-recorded CDs. Such deals are key, as the main barrier to a new format's entry into the market is the lack of content, says Lawrence Lazare, new technologies and digital media manager at books and music retailer Borders.
DataPlay also has a leg up in the retail part of the equation. According to Quigley, it has support from 81% of major music retailers, which plan to sell prerecorded DataPlay disks from big record labels. That includes the nine largest music retailers, according to the company. The upshot? DataPlay gets automatic visibility and access to music fans, as well as the added promotions from retailers.
HIDE & SEEK. Cost is another plus for DataPlay. Blank disks will retail at around $5 for 250 megabytes and $10 for 500 megabytes. That's more expensive than burnable CDs but far cheaper than flash memory modules. The playback devices will cost an affordable $99. A DataPlay prerecorded album would cost about as much as a prerecorded CD, according to the company.
Also, the smaller disks will offer bells and whistles that the recording industry wants. For example, each song on a disk is encoded separately. Once written, the disks can be programmed to prevent copying, or to allow a limited number of copies. "DataPlay has the ability to create individual rules for individual labels," says Quigley. Furthermore, DataPlay will avoid one of the bugaboos of building security into CD players, which lack a standardized antipiracy system. Since DataPlay will start from scratch with its players, consumer electronics companies will be able to incorporate a common antipiracy standard.
DataPlay encryption gives the disks a "hide" feature. So if a customer buys a DataPlay disk with, say, one Spice Girls album, the disk could contain all of the British pop band's tunes as well as music videos and interview clips. To access the additional content, the consumer would go to a designated retailing Web site and pay for the extra albums and videos. The customer would then get a special pass code that would unlock the bonus content, says Ted Coen, vice-president for new media at EMI, the world's leading music publisher.
NO HIGHS OR LOWS. How can they jam so much music onto a disk that is not only much smaller than a CD but also comes with one-third less memory? The answer is simple, even if the technology that makes it possible is not. By filtering out the very highest and lowest notes -- the ones only your dog can hear -- a DataPlay disk can be stuffed with five CDs worth of music.
The obvious sales target for DataPlay is teens, who have long valued convenience and portability. Quigley suggests they might carry their DataPlay disks on key chains and necklaces, or exchange them in school. "We are confident it's going to be successful," says Larry Kinswell, president of e-labs at Universal.
DataPlay hopes to sell 7 million DataPlay players and 70 million blank disks in 2002. It has already embarked on an ambitious effort to design DataPlay players into everything from PCs to cell phones to gaming devices. The company hopes to become profitable by the end of 2002.
FLASH FLOODING. That's an ambitious projection and the company will have to work hard to carve out a major market niche. Some analysts tout flash products -- with the most being Sony's Flash Memory Stick -- as a bigger player. Flash-based memory handles heat and motion better than CDs or DataPlay disks.
And although flash memory modules cost almost 50 times more per megabyte than DataPlay and 100 times more per megabyte than burnable CDs, the costs of all memory types should plunge and become more competitive in the next few years. Tech consultancy Web-Feet Research estimates that sales of flash technologies will outstrip DataPlay by a long stretch by 2005, as Sony muscles up sales.
Getting into this market might not end up as a zero-sum game, however. Consumers clearly love CD technology. While sales of prerecorded CDs have stagnated, millions of listeners now burn downloaded songs onto blank disks, and with hundreds of millions of users worldwide, CD players will surely be difficult to dislodge. Finally, several formats -- including Sony's Memory Stick, DataPlay, and CDs -- could co-exist, used in different devices and for different purposes.
Competition will be cutthroat, but DataPlay's backers remain confident. The company secured $55 million in additional funding in early June and struck a deal with blank CD distributor Imation on June 19. The first big test of DataPlay will come this fall when Borders plans to launch brand-new downloading kiosks that will allow customers to record music on CDs, Memory Stick, and DataPlay. This will allow the mediums to compete directly and give the tiny disks a chance to impress consumers.
Soon, teens may be playing music on disks that jingle in their pockets with their change.
By Olga Kharif in New York
Edited by Alex Salkever
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jul2001/nf2001079_316.htm
Redwing99 re Treo, Skymall, Hammacher, etc:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=719093
"Skymall is saying TREO is in stock and will be sent within 10 days. However, I just called HS and they state that, NO, they are NOT in stock and Skymall is incorrect. They expect them back in on Aug. 2. She did say "back in" so I asked if HS has received and shipped any prior to today and she said YES , they have shipped out their first shipment. "
MP3 Summit 12 & 13 July in San Diego.(EOM)
Another oldie but goodie:
http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/NewsSearch.asp?DocID=15BA0F215458C30C48256975004C290D&query=Ea...
Vincent Mao, Taipei; Liu Yi-fang, DigiTimes.com [Friday 13 October 2000]
While most MP3 player manufacturers only provide two to three product models, ATLMultimedia, a division of Eastern Asia Technology (Easttech), an audio product maker over ten years old, has so far rolled out four series of MP3 players and a total of eight models. With plenty of analog audio technology development experience, it has been seeking to develop new MP3 products with enhanced audio quality. It aims to reach shipments of 100,000 MP3 players per month next year and boost its presence in the global market.
ATLMultimedia has four series of MP3 players – the ET300, ET310, ET320, and ET600 (MP3 Audio Discman) – and eight designs. It currently ships 20,000-30,000 MP3 players per month. Having signed a contract with a US client recently, it expects to ship 55,000 units in November. Thanks to its stable client base and ability to attract new clients, shipments are expected to reach 100,000 units per month in 2001.
ATLMultimedia noted that although developing MP3 players is not difficult, technology bottlenecks easily appear during mass production. To develop top audio quality analog signal playback technology and maintain reliability in light and thin consumer products is not as easy as many in the industry believe. Given its present rivals’ limited product series and relatively weak research and development capabilities, the company will continue to devote itself to developing new MP3 products. Aiming to be a leading MP3 product provider, it will further focus on the MP3 module market, targeting a wide spectrum of information appliances (IAs), like handsets, PDAs, digital cameras, and palm-top video game machines.
Old but interesting...
http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/NewsSearch.asp?DocID=F92B0C04CF7A9A53482569E600499278&query=
Compiled from the Electronic Times, Seoul, by Nero Shih, Research Center; Heidi Chu, DigiTimes.com [Monday 5 February 2001]
In 2000, small and medium-sized MP3 player companies set up the Korea Portable Audio Venture Consortium to consolidate component purchasing, and marketing. This year, leading MP3 player manufacturers in South Korea are teaming up with international fast-food chains, sporting goods manufacturers, record companies and others to co-brand products and fend off new competitors.
Samsung:
To expand in the B2B market, Samsung has partnered with McDonalds, Nike and other companies to launch co-branded MP3 players to promote its Yepp brand.
Digital Way: Working with local record company SM Entertainment, Digital Way is releasing new MP3 players using the same name as well-known pop music group HOT. Digital Way has also set up a joint venture with US designer IDEO to market IDEO MPIO MP3 players. It has also partnered with Adtech, a PC peripheral maker in Japan, to develop co-branded products.
The XDIO/Dowon Torres clone is built by (for?) Unitech...
http://www.mplove.com (Follow the javascript link to Products, then to Muze.)
cksla, re UDF format:
DVD multimedia CDROMs use the UDF filesystem to contain MPEG audio and video streams. UDF can also be used by CD-R and CD-RW recorders in what's known as packet writing. By using packet writing, CDs can be written to more efficiently, in both disk space used and the time it takes to write the CD.
Torres makes it to market?
"Expected soon, huh?"
http://www.dowontelecom.com/~eng/company/news_1.html
http://www.gadgetuniverse.com/cgi-bin/sgin0101.exe?UID=2001070217083668&T1=TA+243
(See also http://www.xdio.com/english/product/player_overview.htm)
(Thanks to FOR~culater33 and packers1 for the Muse link and Sentinel for the Xdio link)
MP3 Summit Agenda Burgeoning With Hot Trend-Setting Topics; Copyright Law and File Format Discussions Complement MP3 Summit Agenda
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010702/lam058.html
SAN DIEGO, July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- MP3 Summit 2001: Mobilizing Your Music is less than two weeks away and as the time grows short to register, the agenda continues to grow with confirmed technology authorities who are slated to tackle digital music's toughest questions.
The MP3 Summit to be held July 12 and 13 in San Diego, is a two-day expo highlighting a variety of the latest technologies in the wireless delivery of digital music. Cutting-edge digital music products are scheduled to be displayed in the Summit's exhibit hall at the University of California San Diego. To register for the MP3 Summit, visit www.mp3.com/summit.
The first day of the MP3 Summit, Thursday June 12, will focus on timely and important digital music topics ranging from ``The Future of Wireless Music'' to looking back at last year's roller-coaster events of the digital music landscape. ``Ware It's At: No Wires Allowed'' is one of a series of promising demonstration segments to be held on Thursday that is expected to focus on the mobility of new wireless devices. To see the scheduled MP3 Summit agenda for Thursday, visit www.mp3.com/thursdaysummit.
The excitement continues on Friday, as Bill Patry, former copyright counsel to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, speaks on copyright law. Patry's topic ``Copyright as a Weapon to Hang on to Outdated Business Models'' will accompany other advanced topics such as ``Battle of the Formats'' where professionals can take a comparative look at the sound quality, promotional mechanisms and licensing issues related to different forms of music delivery. The panel is also expected to address the perennial ``streaming versus download'' question and what must be done for consumers to seamlessly interact with these file formats. Industry trendsetters will likely debate the comparative advantages and disadvantages of various secure music initiatives.
To see Friday's scheduled Summit agenda, visit www.mp3.com/fridaysummit.
Record labels, technologists, hardware and software developers interested in attending, sponsoring or exhibiting at MP3 Summit 2001 can register today at summit.mp3.com.
For the first time, MP3.com will offer a limited number of start-up companies the opportunity to exhibit before MP3 Summit attendees -- at no cost. Start-ups interested in exhibiting are encouraged to email startup@mp3.com with compelling reasons why they should have a presence at MP3 Summit 2001. Space is at a premium; interested companies are urged to react as soon as possible. Those selected by MP3.com will be notified by July 3.
Other companies that want to secure sponsorship opportunities at the Summit can visit www.mp3.com/summit.
In addition to MP3 Summit 2001, MP3.com offers a variety of innovative business-related offerings explained in greater detail at www.mp3.com/b2b. Among these offerings is Radio Services (www.mp3.com/mp3radio), a multitiered program designed to bring the power of digital music to traditional radio outlets. The company's Music Licensing Program (www.mp3.com/musicsupervisor) is comprised of various services intended to allow music supervisors to shop for talent from the vast pool of MP3.com's artist community.
MP3.com's Mobile initiative (www.mp3.com/mp3mobile) continues to help shape the future of music distribution via wireless devices. And Audio Hosting (www.mp3.com/audiohosting) is designed to empower companies that want to add the magic of music to their offerings with access to the same high- quality technology that MP3.com relies on to deliver more than 1 million songs a day to music fans. Businesses also can take advantage of Business Music Services (www.mp3.com/bmscentral), which provides the music backdrop for retail environments.
To receive MP3.com emails via email or to unsubscribe from this service, visit pr.mp3.com.
Napster Goes Offline During Changes
By RON HARRIS, Associated Press Writer
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20010702/tc/napster_offline_4.html
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) 4:59 PM ET - Napster (news - web sites)'s song-sharing service was offline Monday as it worked to transform itself into a music company for paying customers.
Napster did not say when its computer servers would come back online, and it was not clear exactly how the down time related to Napster's planned launch of a subscription service, promised for later this summer.
The company has also been upgrading its music-identification system to better comply with court orders that it prevent unauthorized music-swapping.
Napster representatives did not immediately return calls for comment.
The Redwood City-based company was sued by major record companies for copyright infringement for allowing computer users to swap songs for free. As a result, it is transforming itself into a fee-based system that will pay royalties to the artists.
Napster is testing ``fingerprinting technology'' for the company's planned commercial service, said Matt Bailey, an analyst with Webnoize, an Internet research firm.
The company has begun playing hardball lately with its users, who have long traded MP3 file versions of popular music with little regard to copyright issues. The latest version of the Napster application, a forced upgrade to the system that no longer allows the use of previous versions, contains new filtering technology to identify song files accurately.
The result has been a drastic drop in the number of songs shared and the number of users sharing them.
On June 27, a snapshot of Napster activity revealed 320,000 users sharing an average of 1.5 songs each, a dramatic drop from an average 1.57 million users sharing 220 songs each at the peak of the service in February, according to Webnoize.
``By further reducing the music available through the current service, Napster has provided another nail in the coffin of the service consumers originally loved,'' he said.
The new fee-based Napster has no specific launch date, but has been promised before summer's end by German media giant Bertlesmann AG, Napster's primary financial backer.
TECHXNY PC EXPO per Beth:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=714196
I know this topic is a little old, but after attending the show with Mary and Larry I was out of town for a few days. After catching up with the board messages and reading their notes on the expo I just wanted to add a few observations of my own --
IBM: I am in total agreement with their statements regarding the visit to the IBM booth. I was surprised by the rep's openess and willingness to talk about our company.
IMATION: I am more in agreement with Mary's recall of our visit here. My observation was that the player he had said Imation on it. I listened to Mary very intently while she was asking him questions knowing she was about to pop the Edig question. She specifically asked him if our technology was in the camera (the expression on his face would have stopped a clock. It was the first thing we commented on to each other as we left the booth)and he answered no. She continued with "oh, only in the audio player". He said yes. He did not seem eager to elaborate and it was left at that. (This differs from Larry's recall. He must have been planning his next question).
Nothing new here. Mainly wanted to add my two cents and reaffirm some previous statements.
Beth
EDIG: Info for Investors (7/1 PM rNP)
General DD Info (Corporate profile, SEC filings, Patents, lots more):
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=66673 (revised 3/8)
Recent News and Opinions:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=136321 (Cquence Mobile marketing to continue)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=708671 (Lanier adds PDAs to product line)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=135974 (Link to 2001 10K filing)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=135972 (6/28 letter from Fred Falk)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=135636 (Napster revises client software)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=135492
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=136262 (Recent articles re IBM and VedaLabs)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=707342 (Orygun_gal visits EDIG)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=708019 (HUNTINGTON_LI visits PC Expo)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=706676 (Mary visits PC Expo)
http://www.dataplay.com/jsp_files/en/company/partner.jsp (DataPlay partner list continues to grow)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=703344 (MOT & CPQ closing in on HD-based jukebox launches)
http://www.extremetech.com/article/0,2299,apn%253D2%2526s%253D1038%2526a%253D1623%2526ap%253D1,00.as... (Excellent intro to VTT tech)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=132506 (OpenGlobe partners w/Thomson/RCA)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=132074 (Sentinel chats w/Putnam)
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2001/tc20010621_702.htm (BusinessWeek article; see Related Items links also)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=131776 (Interview with EMI's New Media V-P)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130822
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=132639 (HP expands digital entertainment initiative)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130770 (DABOSS & murrayhill re Lanier)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130709
and http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=701876 (Shareholders visit EDIG)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130701 (RNWK unveils digital rights standard, products)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130423 (Mobile Conversay SDK unveiled)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=130347 (Codec battle continues)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=129891 (DataPlay finalizes agreements w/Imation)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIGLONG&read=3752 (Eastech aiming for July jukebox release)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128599 (Thomson releases insecure MP3Pro)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128649
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128814 (Some Sensory stuff)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=698591 (Sinman chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128160 (Kenwood introduces WMA/MP3 entertainment hub)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127988 (Olympus MP3/WMA/voice recorder)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128309 (Vedalabs stuffs cat back in bag)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127972 (Iomega is hip to TXN DSPs)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127643 (New multimedia PDA from Toshiba)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127591 (Treo up for FCC certification?)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127390 (Seiko Mobile Entertainment 'Me-ism')
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127295 (Duet name changed to PressPlay)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127288 (New DataPlay write-up)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126957 (TI?Sensory speech synthesis deal)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126435 (Archos adds encoding to jukebox)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126460 (cindere11y speaks w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126430 (Upside article re RNWK)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125842
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126410
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=127265 (Compaq adds to digital audio line)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125896 (BusyBump chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125380 (Eastech e-mail re jukeboxe plans)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125279 (Fortune article re digital music)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125231 (Cisco gets Real)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125215 (NY Times interview w/ BMG CEO)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125201 (Panasonic SD card pricies to fall)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=125162 (Backgrounder on set-top boxes)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=124985
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=124986 (A look at Conversay's speech engine)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=124909 (Wired article re Napster)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=124819 (Toshiba maps flash strategy)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=693968 (LQID VP sees a multi-codec future)
EDIG news and opinions (pre-6/9/01):
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=128798
2000 DD Summaries:
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126095 (12/21/99 to 3/6/00)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126094 (3/7/00 to 4/10/00)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126093 (4/11/00 to 6/4/00)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126076 (6/5/00-9/7/00)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126074 (9/8/00-10/31/00)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=126069 (11/1/00-12/31/00)
Common Abbreviations:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIGOT&read=4488
A look back at the early days on RB:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=642371
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Treo review compilation: http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=612321
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EDIG Private board at RB:
(Basher-free, open to all who behave themselves)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=300337 (Instructions for joining)
Free EDIG news e-mails via eGroups:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=570639
Moderated EDIG boards (no bashers/spammers):
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/board.asp?board_id=299
http://www.siliconinvestor.com/stocktalk/subject.gsp?subjectid=51056
athomedad's EDIG Page:
http://www.edigpage.com
OT & strictly FWIW re Bang & Olufsen:
http://www.beoplayer.com
"And this is only the start. Future generations of BeoPlayer - already on the way - will introduce added functionality that makes it easier to upload and download music files, access Internet TV and radio, and transfer your favourite music to a small portable player."
Delphi's Communiport® Infotainment PC:
http://www.delphiauto.com/pdf/delcopdfs/infotain_pc.pdf
(Put a DataPlayer in this puppy and you just might be state of the art : - )
Built upon an innovative open architecture platform and powered by the Microsoft Windows CE operating system, Infotainment PC is a complete information and entertainment system for the automobile. Delivering the benefits of interactive speech technology, connectivity, information on demand, and enhanced entertainment to the vehicle, Infotainment PC integrates car audio, computing and wireless communication through hands-free voice activation. Voice commands let users organize phone numbers and addresses, auto-dial the cell phone, send and receive e-mail, and control the audio system.
Features
• 5.8-inch reconfigurable color display
• Text-to-speech
• Integrated cell phone
• Voice recognition
• Voice recording up to 15 minutes
OEM Benefits
• Integrated into double-DIN package
• Open operating system for easy addition or deletion of software applications
• Custom designed for each specific vehicle
Consumer Benefits
• Sends and receives e-mail
• Accesses the Internet
• Uploads from and downloads to compact flash memory card
• Uploads to and downloads from PDA via IR link
Communiport operation may be degraded by satellite signal obstruction and/or cell phone signal strength.
Communiport Infotainment PC integrates computing and wireless communications in a complete information and entertainment system.
Gernb1, the 'Soundclip' trademark is not new. It was used by Norris Communications as the name for the flash memory module utilized by the 'Flashback' voice recorder. Prior to March 31, 1995, Norris Communications' business was operated through two separate wholly-owned subsidiaries, Comp General Corporation and American Surface Mounted Devices. Effective March 31, 1995, ASMD merged with and into Comp General, and Comp General, as the surviving corporation of the merger, was renamed "Norris Communications, Inc (later renamed e.Digital).
Lois, you can check for it at this link:
http://www.freeedgar.com/search/TodaysFilings.asp?FormType=10-K&DateFiling=&AbsPg=5&Sort...
Might have to move up to page 5 or 6 as the later filings come in. I think if it doesn't turn up by 5:45 or so, it'll have to be tomorrow.
Lanier Healthcare and Allscripts Sign Distribution Agreement
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=708671
By: flashmem $$$$
Reply To: None Thursday, 28 Jun 2001 at 1:34 PM EDT
Post # of 708684
(PR NEWSWIRE) Lanier Healthcare and Allscripts Sign Distribution Agreement
Lanier Healthcare and Allscripts Sign Distribution Agreement
Voice and Document Solutions Leader to Distribute TouchWorks Applications
ATLANTA and CHICAGO, June 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Allscripts Healthcare
Solutions (Nasdaq: MDRX), the leading provider of wireless point-of-care
solutions for physicians, today announced a five-year agreement with Lanier
Healthcare, a company that offers document applications to help healthcare
professionals create and manage mission-critical health information, to
distribute and integrate Allscripts TouchWorks PDA applications with Lanier
Healthcare's voice and document solutions. Approximately 50 percent of U.S.
hospitals and nearly 285,000 physicians currently use Lanier Healthcare's
dictation and document management systems.
Allscripts will become the exclusive PDA provider for Lanier Healthcare,
who will market its VoiceWriter NT and Cquence Dictation solution fully
integrated with the Allscripts TouchWorks handheld wireless PDAs, providing
physicians with digital voice capture at the point of care while offering the
mobility they demand. This agreement will enable Lanier Healthcare to provide
a full suite of clinical solutions on the same PDA device that physicians will
use for dictation.
"The integration of TouchWorks will allow Lanier Healthcare to address our
clients' dictation needs with a proven PDA solution. In addition, Allscripts
ability to provide other key functions such as e-prescribing, charge capture,
and reference books via Pocket Library(TM) was the critical factor in our
decision to bring Allscripts to our clients," commented Dennis Mahoney,
president and CEO of Lanier Healthcare. "With this new agreement and our
comprehensive product suite, we are uniquely positioned to offer our customers
the best voice and document choices in the marketplace today."
Lanier Healthcare will immediately begin offering the Allscripts
TouchWorks Dictate(TM) and Pocket Library solutions on the Compaq iPAQ Pocket
PC PDA device to their physician customers. They will also act as a referral
source for the full TouchWorks suite of solutions.
"We are excited to be able to join forces with Lanier Healthcare, the
recognized leader in providing enterprise dictation and document management
solutions," said Glen Tullman, Chief Executive Officer of Allscripts
Healthcare Solutions. "This agreement provides another avenue to increase the
adoption of handheld technology at the point of care and provides an excellent
distribution channel into large physician practices. Many IDX customers also
use Lanier Healthcare and this will allow us to seamlessly integrate our
solution with those customers."
Lanier Healthcare
Lanier Healthcare ( www.lanierhealthcare.com ), located in Atlanta, is
focused on the delivery of enterprise and Web applications targeting the
creation and connection of mission-critical health information. It has
strategic partnerships with Microsoft, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and other leading
technology developers. The company has an established customer base of more
(PR NEWSWIRE) Lanier Healthcare and Allscripts Sign Distribution Agreement
Lanier Healthcare and Allscripts Sign Distribution Agreement
Voice and Document Solutions Leader to Distribute TouchWorks Applications
Earlyretired, AFAIK Emerson is a journalist, not affiliated with IBM or Vedalabs. This old PR might make one think that EMMS isn't exactly a dark horse:
Toshiba and IBM to Jointly Accelerate Digital Music Distribution Marketplace; Toshiba Next-Generation Digital Audio Players to Support IBM's EMMS Distribution System.
Business Editors & High-Tech Writers
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2000
IBM Corporation and Toshiba Corporation today announced plans to integrate IBM's Electronic Media Management System (EMMS) with Toshiba's soon-to-be-released portable digital audio players. Work between the two companies will enable users of Toshiba's new devices to download and play EMMS-prepared music content that offers copyright protection for content owners.
Toshiba is planning to introduce in Japan a series of digital A/V devices this Spring. These will include a portable digital audio player utilizing the SD memory card and adopting the advanced copy protection technology called Content Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM). CPRM was jointly developed by Toshiba, IBM, Intel and Matsushita. The SD memory card is a new breed of postage-stamp-sized, high-density flash memory cards featuring advanced copy-protection capability.
IBM's EMMS is a sophisticated electronic distribution and digital rights management system designed to support all forms of media beginning first with music and audio content. EMMS was successfully tested in a broadband music distribution trial conducted with the five leading record companies last year. The system combines scalability and security features within an open architecture. Major components of EMMS include a content mastering system, tools for hosting music content and promotional materials, and tools for online music retailers supporting the sale of digital music to consumers. The system features a clearinghouse that tracks the sale of digital music content and manages access and usage privileges as designated by the music owner.
"Integration of IBM's EMMS and Toshiba's new digital devices will help to accelerate the commercial availability of digital music distribution," said Richard K. Selvage, general manager, IBM Global Media & Entertainment Industry. "Our work with Toshiba extends EMMS' copyright protection all the way down to consumer devices, giving content owners security features that work to protect their assets in every step of the music distribution process."
"We are pleased to collaborate with IBM on a copyright protection scheme for digital content distribution," said Mr. Masao Suga, general manager, Toshiba's Digital Home Products Division. "The support that IBM's EMMS has already gained throughout the music industry will be an immediate benefit to users of Toshiba's forthcoming portable digital devices, giving them a wider range of available music content from which to choose."
IBM and Toshiba also intend to support the efforts of the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI).
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. For more information on IBM strategy for the media and entertainment industry, contact www.ibm.com/solutions/media.
Toshiba Corporation is a global leader in information and communications systems, electronic components, consumer products, and power systems. The company's integration of these wide-ranging capabilities assures its position as a leading company in notebook PCs, digital audio/visual products, semiconductors, LCD and other advanced devices. Toshiba has 197,000 employees worldwide, and annual sales of over US$40 billion.
Also http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0EIN/1999_Nov_15/57559597/print.jhtml
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0EIN/2000_April_6/61344687/print.jhtml
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0EIN/2000_Nov_14/66923100/print.jhtml
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m0CGN/1999_April_13/54373575/print.jhtml
etc, etc, etc
IBM Solves Digital Music Distribution, But Is Anyone Listening?
By Sam Emerson; found by redfalcon2 at RB
http://www.mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=24405
For those of us who have been following the saga of digital music, it is always hard to sift through the noise that tends to rise from the playing field and find the true potential winner. As always, you have Microsoft and they will continue to be a force in anything software. You also have Real Networks’ who have seemingly flown beneath the radar with its DRM solution, but when actually revealed showed that that company has a ways to go to even catch up. The there is Intertrust who are only getting support, seemingly in vain from the record labels, but the system just isn’t very good. And finally, standing quietly there is “Big Blue”. When it comes to IBM it is not a matter of if you will do business with them, its when. Big Blue was the first to test a downloading system with the majors in the Madison project. If you ask the industry about it you get mixed opinions, but the fact of the matter remains that Big Blue has created possibly the ultimate DRM system and no one seems to care. This system has been labeled as EMMS or Electronic Media Management System, leave it to big blue to use a very obvious name, maybe the lack of an ultra-creative product naming scheme is at fault here. The philosophy behind EMMS is to allow content owners to use whatever CODECs, both audio and video that they may be comfortable with and wrap it with a secure, robust and very functional DRM. So companies with databases of say AAC files don’t have to transcode into another format and their content is secure and versatile, smart IBM, very smart. The DRM is so good in fact that sources close to the company say it will be applying this technology to the medical industry where strict privacy laws have been set in place without a good solution available in the market place. Back to entertainment, at the mastering side, there are almost too many options to place on content: Burn to a CD a specific number of times, super distribution, preview then buy, and the list goes on and on. With this system the hardest thing would be for the executives to decide which options they want. While this is all fine and dandy for the top of the food chain, what about the bottom where us consumers feed? This is an area I think almost everyone has forgotten about. Who wants to make sure you have the right application to play xyz DRM file, I just want to hit play and enjoy. This is where IBM discovered a diamond in the rough. You may have seen press releases regarding the licensing and product release of the Vedalabs Media Engine, from Vedalabs. While this is a terrible brand name to make stick in the consumer’s mind, the company actually intended for that. The company allows others to brand the application as their own. This makes Vedalabs a pure technology play because they are not competing to get a customer to upgrade for $29,95 or to buy from this store or that one. Vedalabs is a start up company that simply has gotten it right. They have built a product that supports multiple file formats, CODECs, DRMs, etc. for audio, video, and text. And best of all they have been quietly building a peer to peer system of secure file streaming and file transfer. They boast listening to your own music collection from home at work via streaming. And streaming technology works great for devices without large amounts of memory. Content providers should be all over this one, get content into the market place without huge costs in bandwidth because of this peer to peer system. If you read the press releases off of www.ibm.com and read between the lines, it starts to make sense. Vedalabs has built its media engine to support virtually all content and they are porting it to other platforms, the phone, set top box, etc. And quite frankly they could probably care less if it is IBM, Microsoft or whomever because they support them all, why pick a winner. All of a sudden, digital music is portable no matter what the format and users are not tied to their PC, why pay for a subscription service for PC listening only when there is plenty of web radio? But by having a client piece that operates and manages content across multiple devices there is convergence. And IBM has built a robust DRM solution. Together it is an incredible package that no other company has currently matched. So why haven’t they won? One reason is that they don’t even know what they have got in their hands. But, ultimately this war over digital music distribution was decided by the labels before it even started. With the recent defection of Napster, MP3.com and they myriad of failing start-ups, the labels have created an environment to control and slowdown this new music revolution because it just is not the right time. You see, the replacement of the CD is the DVD and formats such as Dataplay. Come on guys, it makes sense. Distribution is the key to a record label’s power, why give that up if that is how you put groceries on the table. Digital distribution ruins the current model in the label’s mind. Even though this could be no farther from the truth. The technology exists today from the likes of IBM and its partners, but the powers that be simply do not want it. The only consolation in this whole mess is that the consumers want it, and its just like in college when you wanted to tell the teacher who just gave you a “C” instead of a “B”, “Hey man, I pay your salary.” One day they will speak up and someone is going to listen.
RealNetworks, Symbian to partner
June 28, 2001, 4:35 a.m. PT
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-6400355.html?tag=prntfr
SEATTLE--Hoping to eventually persuade customers to pay for data shipped to their mobile phones, RealNetworks will partner with Symbian, maker of operating systems for mobile phones, to include an audio and video player in wireless devices, the companies were scheduled to announce Thursday.
RealNetworks' RealPlayer Mobile is already available in the Nokia 9210, released last week in Europe. Through the deal, it could be included in Symbian operating systems for Motorola, Panasonic, Siemens and Sony phones, among others, spokeswoman Kari Day said.
RealNetworks, based in Seattle, sees the deal with London-based Symbian as the first step toward marketing a series of subscription services. For example, the company envisions that people will be willing to pay a fee to have news, sports or entertainment updates sent to their phone through streaming media and played on the RealPlayer.
RealNetworks' Vice President Mark Bretl said the company also would likely use the service to deliver music.
RealNetworks has built a customer base of as many as 200 million people through its giveaway RealPlayer for computers. Now, the company is trying to earn money from those customers with paid subscription services such as the ones envisioned in the Symbian partnership.
Its most promising initiative is MusicNet, a partnership with three major record labels that aims to provide music over the Internet via a subscription service.
For now, the effects of the deal with Symbian will mostly be felt outside the United States, where more sophisticated cell phone technology has made it easier for wireless devices to carry large amounts of data.
Day said a time line for offering subscription services has not been set.
Napster to dump old software
By John Borland CNET News.com
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/cn/20010627/tc/napster_to_dump_old_software_1.html
Napster (news - web sites) plans to shut off old versions of its file-swapping software late Wednesday night to push a version that includes a new filter for blocking copyrighted music.
Napster is funneling people to a new version of the software that includes technology supposedly able to identify a song accurately using a digital representation of its sound. When it released the software last Friday night, the company touted it as a way to release many previously blocked songs back into its network.
CNET News.com readers, however, report that almost no songs are getting through the network with the new software. A quick look at the Napster network gave access to about 1,600 songs--fewer than some MP3 lovers have on their own hard drives.
According to consulting firm Webnoize, which has tracked Napster usage over the past few months, the average Napster user was sharing just 1.5 files by Wednesday morning, as compared to about 220 files in February.
"By further reducing the music available through the current service, Napster has provided another nail in the coffin of the service consumers originally loved," Webnoize analyst Matt Bailey said in a statement.
The massive drop in the number of files available isn't intentional. The company ruefully says that bugs in the filtering system are still being worked out and that the software development is being done on a legal time frame instead of on a software development schedule. Napster aims to comply with a court order banning the trade of most copyrighted works over its service..
Bugs in the software aside, it's also emerging that the task of cross-referencing the unique audio characteristics of hundreds of millions of songs with a list of off-limit songs is a technical and logistical nightmare.
Napster is getting much of the audio "fingerprints" that identify specific songs from digital encoding services provider Loudeye Technologies. This information is then cross-referenced with the list of songs provided by the record companies, creating the information used to block file transfers.
But it's not that easy. People name songs many different ways, and compressing songs or otherwise changing the file slightly can change the audio fingerprint, so it's not as simple as turning on a simple check-and-block system.
And this time, after repeated admonitions from the court, the company is erring on the side of safety.
"They're taking extraordinary caution to make sure that the (songs identified by the record companies) aren't slipping through," a Napster spokeswoman said.
This means that songs that aren't on the record companies' list will have to trickle back into circulation a little at a time as Napster ascertains that they are aren't on the must-block list. At least at this stage, this is a laborious process, in some cases even involving people hand-checking a song against its audio fingerprint to make sure the file should be allowed into the system.
Whether people will stay on the service as the number of songs slowly climbs back up from the ground is an open question. That's a critical measure, as the company is trying to hold on to as many members as possible as it moves toward launching a new subscription service as soon as next month.
"With little music available now, users continue to drift away from Napster," said Bailey.
Already Napster lovers have begun to complain. Last weekend, after downloading the new software, Napster user John Quincy said he found it virtually useless.
The old "Napster allowed me to share about 160 of the nearly 700 MP3 files in my shared folders. Napster (version) 10.3 allowed me to share zero files, not more files," even with the program configured correctly, he wrote in an e-mail to News.com. "Needless to say, I got rid of (version) 10.3 and went back to 10.2."
Starting Thursday, he and millions of others won't have that option.
Despite the Napster crackdown, however, file-swapping is alive and well on numerous Napster clones that provide access to a wide range of top hits for free. Although Napster's decision to force the switch may bring it into compliance with the court, it will likely hasten the exodus of former fans to such alternatives, which include AudioGalaxy, Music City, Morpheus, Kazaa, Bearshare, LimeWire, iMesh and others.
Orygun_gal visits EDIG:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=707342
6-19-01 Meeting with Robert Putnam in Poway. Five EDIG investors met with RP after walking through the offices at e.Digital for about an hour and fifteen minutes last week. I was familiar with most of what Robert talked about in his opening remarks, however, I asked him to "flesh out" a few points. He referred to the recent hiring of Jim Collier and used the term "added value" stream of income that Jim brings to EDIG I asked exactly what did that mean. RP answered that EDIG was taking on a new direction and that was for "added services." These are fees for preproduction, post production, service and maint., so that customers don't have to build out their own infrastructure, thus limiting their known costs. These are application engineering fees that are in addition to NRE fees (non reoccurring engineering fees), licensing fees, and royalties. To this end we have two employees that work with two of our major clients and answer to Jim Collier, not as engineers, but as company liaison people. (RP said that everybody at EDIG wore many hats, but that for these two, their major responsibility was a particular company.)
The meeting was mostly a rehash of information that has been posted on the board. I noticed that on his desk he had both an Apple and a regular desktop computer. We did not see much as we walked around the complex and internal security is high.
I'm really glad I went, however I did not 'discover' much nor did I expect to uncover much, so I was not disappointed. It still looks like we are poised to grow with the hand-held device industry. I continue to be comfortable with my investment. Lois Coffelt, Newport, OR