Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
GreaterGood re Mr. Collier & Gen. Instruments:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=687441
I suppose it could be...
It is a known fact that Collier has worked for General Instrument Corp. It is a known fact that General Instrument Corp. makes set top boxes. It is a known fact that EDIG has interest in set top boxes.
The only assumption is to whether Collier will ever discuss what he knows about the set top box industry with his new employer in an attempt to help them enter this market, and possible help his career, or will he keep his mouth shut, or worse give them information that would be detrimental to their advancement in the set top box industry. We will have to wait and see.
I, however, tend to see it as a development that either lends itself to a scenario one believes is becoming reality, or a tangent that throws one off from their original prediction.
The only reason I point it out is because it has been stated several times from EDIG's management about their interest in the set top market. If you wanted to get your company into this market, wouldn't it make sense to bring in someone who was familiar with this market?
As I've stated before, I am looking at a larger picture of which EDIG may or may not become a part of. As technology moves further into the mainstream, and becomes further entrenched in our daily lives, I look to see what companies should benefit.
One area for me is set top boxes. Actually I don't think the term "set top box" applies anymore. They will be more like all-in-one information hubs for your entertainment centers complete with hard drives. Movies, music, telecommunications, high speed Internet access, video games, etc. all accessed through a box that is attached (I don't believe it will set on your TV anymore lol) to your TV. All this happening while the TV is evolving into HDTV. This ain't your father's black and white TV.
EDIG's involvement, if any, will most likely be in a product that ports to this box. One reason I follow them is because they effectively adapt to all known systems, codecs, etc. The very fact that they can store/retrieve information from virtually any source is the basis of their appeal.
Here's a dot for you, and it has nothing to do with EDIG. Do you really think Microsoft is putting fully 1/3 of their new initiatives into the "X box" because they want to have a really cool video game system?
Digital World Services Integrates BMG Digital Music with RioPort's PulseOne Media Service
http://ny-web1.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/211522153&ticker=
Business Editors
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2001--Retail Music Expo - Digital World Services today announced the successful integration of BMG Entertainment's digital music offering with RioPort, Inc., the leading music application service provider (ASP), which supports a number of popular online affiliates. Since launching its Retailer Integration solution for BMG in October 2000, Digital World Services has integrated BMG's digital music catalog with over 60 online retailers' sites.
"RioPort is pleased to be working with Digital World Services to provide BMG's digital music catalog to our network of tier-one e-tail partners," said Tony Schaller, chief technology officer at RioPort, Inc. "This relationship is very important for RioPort, as it enables us to significantly further the deployment of premium music content, including heavily sought-after tracks by today's most popular BMG artists, for sale via secure digital download."
Digital World Services' Retail Integration solution includes rights clearing and management as well as retailer integration. These digital downloads are presently offered to consumers in AAC format (Advanced Audio Coding).
"We are excited to have RioPort as a digital one-stop for our digital catalog," commented Sami Valkonen, Senior Vice President, New Media and Business Development, BMG Distribution and Associated Labels. "We also want to acknowledge Digital World Services' retail integration solution, which has played a key role in the RioPort implementation."
The retail integration solution provided to BMG by Digital World Services is designed to ensure maximum reach and accessibility to consumers. Important features include a special module for the integration of retail shopping carts and gift functionality and will soon contain additional features to further enhance usability and consumer reach, such as subscription models.
"Everyday we improve the efficiency and overall capabilities of what is already a very successful retailer integration solution," said Johann Butting, chief executive officer of Digital World Services. "Integrating BMG with RioPort and their significant portfolio of e-tail partners will demonstrate to an even greater audience just what our solutions can do. And that is very, very exciting."
About Digital World Services
Digital World Services provides digital rights management (DRM) solutions and services for the entertainment and publishing industries. The company provides convenient digital content delivery solutions that are transparent for the consumer, retailer and publisher, while protecting the owners' copyrights. Based in New York City and Hamburg, Germany, Digital World Services is part of Bertelsmann AG, one of the world's largest media companies.
Digital World Services offers services such as rights clearing, financial settlement and administration of usage information. The company provides solutions for digital content delivery, content hosting, system integration and distribution platforms.
In February, Napster had announced that they are working with Digital World Services to build a secure file-sharing system. Digital World Services' preferred technology partner is InterTrust Technologies Corp., the leader in DRM technology.
Still more post-conference re XYBR:
http://www.agoracom.com/agora/nonmemforum/msgreview.asp?id=99741&refid=0&orig=99741
I'm sure that after the big buildup I gave to my intentions to post from the show I've no doubt I was a big disappointment but for one reason or another it wasn't to be. I'll do what I can now and am aware that I might be repeating everything you've already heard but my main computer is in the shop and what I'm using is so old and slow I don't want to try to go through all the posts. If I duplicate, so be it.
First of all, I don't see how anyone could have left the show, particularly after this afternoon's presentations, without believing that wearable computing is inevitable and Xybernaut is in the forefront. We heard it everywhere - from every 'user in the real world' and from them loud and clearly. The loved our MA IV and they loved Xybernaut. Each one said they'd tried competitor's products and found them lacking; in some cases wearable computing was going to be discarded as unworkable until Xybernaut came on board and provided the type of service all companies should provide but so few do.
Their ROI has proved to be fantastic. In many cases showing improvement of 90% and more in time, manpower and equipment down time. Mitsubishi Heavy will complete their pilots this year and will examine the wearable computer model for applications in all their vertical markets, in cooperation with X.
GE is bringing online great numbers of new power plants and is unable to find enough trained field engineers for the task. The MA has provided a HUGE productivity benefit and is greatly compensating for the lack of training of the engineers. Their vision for the future is to replace all laptops with the MA and expect 100% rollout of the V by next Spring.
FEDEX: All management is firmly in back of and committed to wearable computing. They intend to stay with X because X has been with them every step of the way, helping and guiding. They've learned that tasks have a typical time to perform and in adverse conditions those times increase dramatically but with the MA the time is cut in at least half and remains the same under all conditions, not increasing with adverse weather, darkness, etc. They are establishing 40 RF LAN networks this calendar year in 40 cities in addition to the 12 already in existance. The MA will be needed in each. They plan to include the LAN to the cockpits so that returning aircraft (and by the way, they are the second largest fleet in the world with 662 aircraft) can wirelessly notify the techs on the ground of the condition of the aircraft so that repairs can begin immediately on landing. They are spreading the word to other airlines and seeing great interest. At one conference after they gave their presentation on wearable use the FAA reps came up afterward and asked if the computers weren't pretty fragile, subject to easy damage; he threw the MA about 20 feet on a hard floor, picked it up and continued using it with no ill effects. FAA was convinced!
DYNCORP has huge potential market, many segments of which already being worked with trials, introductions, etc. Areas include not only Fed government but Law, Health, Logistics, Aviation, Safety and .....the New York Stock Exchange where they've set up a wireless LAN and forsee all traders eventually using the MA. They are working pilots with the Army, Navy, Airforce, EPA and DOE. They are actively engaged in trying to have the MA included in Land Warrior testing, the only drawback now being the non-waterproof issue with the MCPCIA slot installed. They are trying to have the government put up the money for R&D to waterproof.
By the way, I was told by the CECOM Warrant Officer that both CECOM and Land Warrior are currently definitely in the testing stage to determine required specifications and that when the testing is complete the specs will be put out for bidding. Ergo, it would seem we are at least as much in contention as anyone else.
BA - is still in trials but they've had great, positive customer feedback. They are currently letting agents come up with new uses other than check-in. The staff thinks very highly of the MA, full of superlatives.
Bell Canada - Phew! Brad Chitty is probably the greatest ambassador we have. They say the wearable is the single greatest opportunity for growth at Bell Canada. They are operating under the context of 'what if I don't change to wearables' and they believe the answer is that they would be left badly behind. As a result of Bells's tech initiatives they've been asked to be the tech representative for Toronto in that city's bid for the 2008 Olympics.
I was told by Sean Okeefe of Xybernaut, who said he is the main link to Bell Canada, that he has another industry in Canada that will be as large - or larger - than Bell, but he couldn't at this time name the company although he did say he's ready to bring them on line.
International Truck - the same kind of superlatives and an announced intention to roll out the MA in many areas of operations.
To show how little is known about wearables, the Marine Major General who gave the presentation knew almost nothing about them, particularly nothing about the V or the WIA - had never even heard of them. He spent a lot of time talking about how the current wearables were way too heavy and bulky and was happy to know there's something new on line.
The only situation I considered to be a dark cloud on the show - and I was told that it was dangerous to draw conclusions from isolated incidents - was the lack of IBM at the launch and the 'speaker was unable to make it' announcements for both Johnathon Prial and George Tatomyr. Ed told me this morning that he was chewed out by IBM because they had expected IBM to be at the launch and thought Ed had it covered. Other X management told me not to worry about it - there's nothing to worry about. Draw your own conclusions.
And so, after such expectations of IBM commitment and announcements of sales coming out of the show, I can only say that from my point of view it probably was not a suitable venue to announce sales because of disclosure problems but from what I heard from all the 'users' I've no doubt that sales will be forthcoming soon.
Enough for now - I'm tired. I have a small number of XYBR souvenirs - pens, Schedule of Events, MA V folders, tablets that I will be happy to send to the first folks who email me indicating they'd like them. Include your address. ursprung@swva.net
If you haven't seen the MA V, I'd like to say that it looks more than anything like a Nutone door bell - you know, one of those beige boxes with a perforated cover that's mounted on the wall with the bell inside, and just about the same size, 3.5'' x 5.9'' x 2''. But, what a doorbell!!!
It was an enjoyable 2 days spent with my wife, PM179, geekhead, ytsorf7 and his wife, scott 1155, 2 board lurkers with no user names and whom I won't name, and, finally after looking for her for 2 years - goxybr!
More later, if and as I remember.
Trenddetector chats w/Putnam
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=686706
I spoke with RP last night, and will summarize our conversation. These are my words and I believe an accurate interpretation of what his answers were.
Q: Is he concerned with the continued delays from Hytek? And could he tell me why they happened?
A: I think the delays are all behind us now. We still anticipate the JB platform being ON THE SHELVES this quarter.
Q: Everything fine with Hango?
A: Yes. But I think Eastech is going to prove to be a much bigger manufacturer of e.Digital's juke box platform. They are just a much larger company, with many great clients and contacts.
Q: Is F-H responsible for the noticable lack of PR's for the last two months?
A: Not necessarily. We realize the market now wants to see PR's with substance, and not fluff. I think you will some PRs soon.
Q: Any competition for e.Digital and its patents coming out of the woodwork recently?
A: There are other companies that (he got very technical here) can do pieces and parts of what the MicroOS can do, but we are not aware of any company that can do everything we can do.
There is more, but I don't have time right now. I'll try to continue later.
Long and strong,
Trend
OT: Kodak Professional and Pretec Team Up to Show 640MB CompactFlash Card
May 29, 2001--The largest capacity CompactFlash card in the world, 640MB from Pretec Electronics Corp. has been tested and approved by Eastman Kodak Company to be compatible with Kodak Professional DCS760 (3032 x 2008, 6 megapixel) and DCS Pro Back (4080 X 4080; 16 megapixel) digital cameras running current firmware.
Kodak Professional DCS Pro Back is the highest resolution one-shot digital camera in the world with superb image quality and excellent color editing capability. It is ideal for studio but can be used as portable photography as well with sophisticated digital controls. The uncompressed file size can be as large as 48MB for 8 bits per color RGB TIFF to 128MB for 16 bits per color CMYK TIFF. Pretec's 640MB CF card provides needed capacity for super high-resolution cameras such as Pro Back, yet maintains the excellent reliability due to flash memory devices compared with rotating magnetic media. "We are glad to see that Pretec offers the low power and reliable alternative flash storage solution for Kodak Professional digital camera users," said Madhav Mehra, Worldwide Product Business Manager, Photographer Capture Products and Systems, Kodak Professional. "The dual CF slots of Pro Back can provide unprecedented 1.2GB ultra-reliable storage using Pretec 640MB CF card."
Pretec 640MB CF card also offers unparallel speed among all flash memory card solution providers for Kodak Professional digital cameras, preliminary test using DCS 760 shows the average write speed for Pretec 640MB CF card is 1.94MB/sec (with LCD ON) and 2.1MB/sec (with LCD OFF).
Industrial and Military grade 640MB CF card is also available from Pretec. Designed with precision mechanics, and full metal protection, the breakthrough product sustains a wide range ( -40 ~125 ) working temperature and offers ultimate level of new data protection and security features to prevent user's image files, software, crucial data and products from being damaged. The card supports ATA/True IDE standard and consumes low power when operating, ideal for the applications used in harsh environment such as military aircraft, medical instrumentation, transportation vehicles, test and measurement equipments. The new ruggedized 640MB CF card is another excellent track record of Pretec's relentless pursuit of innovation.
About Pretec
Pretec(TM) Electronics Corp. (http://www.pretec.com ) offers a complete spectrum of small form factor memory cards and card readers such as ATA/CF card, Mini-IDE flash drive (MIDE(TM)), Smart Media, and MultiMedia Card for digital imaging, mobile computing, and Military/Industrial control market, and is the creator of Innovative CompactI/O(TM) card for PocketPC(TM), digital cameras and many IA devices. Pretec has consistently demonstrated the highest capacity CF card in the world; such as 80MB, 128MB, 160MB, and 320MB CF card at various locations around the world for the past three years.
About Kodak Professional
Kodak Professional provides imaging professionals with quality products and solutions for virtually every step of the imaging chain -- from capture and production to archiving and distribution. The division serves a diverse set of customers, including commercial photographers, photojournalists, and portrait & wedding photographers, as well photo labs, commercial imaging service providers and the graphic services industry. These demanding imaging professionals constantly push the boundaries of quality, creativity, and skill -- and demand products and applications solutions that do the same. Kodak Professional is a leader in the infoimaging industry, a $225 billion industry created by the convergence of images and information technology. Infoimaging unites three closely related imaging segments -- devices (such as the DCS Pro Back and DCS 760 cameras), infrastructure, and services / media -- that enable people to more easily enjoy, share and profit from images.
SOURCE Businesswire
http://www.beststuff.com/article.php3?story_id=1682
New Mobile PC Takes Center Stage at the Sixth Annual International Conference On Wearable Computers
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-30-2001/0001503775&...
FAIRFAX, Va., May 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Xybernaut Corporation (Nasdaq: XYBR) today unveiled the Mobile Assistant(R) V (MA(R) V), an advanced wearable computer that provides lightweight, hands-free mobile computing, thanks to a new design that features Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) (TI) on-board integrated programmable digital signal processor (DSP) and the Intel(R) Mobile Celeron(R) 500 MHz processor.
The MA V from Xybernaut, produced by IBM Corporation, provides unparalleled processing speed, connectivity, mobility and power efficiency in a package that is 30 percent smaller and lighter than earlier models.
Designed for on-going expandability and connectivity, the MA V has a full spectrum of integrated ports and wireless support, including dedicated FireWire, Type II or III PCMCIA, Compact Flash, and dedicated USB. The advanced, hands-free computing solution is easily configured with a wide variety of off-the-shelf products such as bar-code scanners, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), miniature video camera and a variety of test equipment.
"It's been an incredible experience working with our designers to produce a product that was created with direct insight from our key clients," stated Edward G. Newman, Chairman, President and CEO of Xybernaut. "This is truly a customer designed product that we expect will change the way the world uses computers. A leading industry analyst estimates that there are over 130 million mobile workers world wide, each one of them a potential customer."
"The combination of Texas Instruments DSP processing experience along with Xybernaut and TI's engineering has created a truly remarkable product," said Gene Frantz, senior fellow and new business development manager at TI. "Today we are demonstrating a new product that successfully integrates our DSP tchnology into Xybernaut's wearable computer, opening the door to truly free eople from the wired environment."
The MA V is cased in a lightweight yet highly durable magnesium self-cntained chassis, embedded with up to 256 MB SDRAM, a full-duplex stereo uilt-in sound card, 8 MB SDRAM video memory and a choice of internal HDD onfigurations as well as external higher capacity drives.
The MA V continues Xybernaut's tradition of providing a computing platform capable of hosting any Windows(R), linux or Unix operating system, which makes the MA V compatible with standard office environments.
The MA V can be configured with the latest in display technology, from Xybernaut's all-light readable touch-screen Flat-Panel Displays to its new lightweight, SVGA head-mounted color displays (HMD). The HMD's provide a direct view display with an integrated microphone and earpiece speaker for voice activation and communications.
The MA V is supported by a wide compliment of accessories, including a docking holster, keyboard, pointing device, wireless cards and wearability accessories customized specifically for the MA V.
It will begin shipping in mid-June. Pricing will start at $3,995.
About Xybernaut Corporation:
Xybernaut Corporation is the leading provider of wearable computing hardware, software and services, bringing communications and full-function computing power in a hands-free design to people when and where they need it. The Mobile Assistant(R) V (MA(R) V), Xybernaut(R)'s patented wearable PC, runs all major PC operating systems, including Windows(R) 98/2000/NT, linux and SCO Unix. With the MA V, customers can realize immediate savings in maintenance, repair, diagnosis, inspection, inventory control and data collection in a broad spectrum of industries, including manufacturing, distribution, utilities, government and transportation. Xybernaut also provides hyper linking, multimedia authoring tools, project management, asset management and speech software toolkits. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, Xybernaut has offices and subsidiaries in Europe (Germany) and Asia (Japan). Visit Xybernaut's web site at http://www.xybernaut.com.
About Texas Instruments Incorporated:
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 materials 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. More information is located on the web site at http://www.ti.com
Safe Harbor Agreement:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). In particular, when used in the preceding discussion, the words "plan," "confident that," "believe," "scheduled," "expect," or "intend to," and similar conditional expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Act and are subject to the safe harbor created by the Act. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any of the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, market conditions, the availability of components and successful production of the Company's products, general acceptance of the Company's products and technologies, competitive factors, timing, and other risks described in the Company's SEC reports and filings.
TRADEMARKS
MS-DOS, Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation.
Xybernaut and Mobile Assistant V are registered trademarks of Xybernaut
Corporation.
Intel and Celeron are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation.
Publishers Protest, Labels Balk, and Utopia of Online Music Is Delayed
By Yakob Peterseil and Scott Grimm
As the music industry has begun to position itself “online,” it unfortunately has ended up spending more time than anyone would like positioning itself in the courts. One of the complicated issues the industry is attempting, however slowly, to resolve is how music publishing--the facet of the industry concerned with collecting the royalties owed to songwriters for the performance and distribution of their music--fits into the majors’ digital distribution plans. Several songwriters, acting independently of the labels, have already brought copyright infringement suits against Napster for the unauthorized performance and distribution of their music. Now, in one pending lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG), songwriters and the publishers who represent them are accusing the world’s largest record label of doing the same.
The Wall Street Journal reported on May 1st on the lawsuit filed in 2000 by the world’s largest music publishing union, the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), and representatives from several large publishing companies, against UMG. The suit alleges that Universal, through its online promotion site, Farmclub.com, used songwriters’ work without consent or compensation. Though all of the artists featured on the site are contracted by Universal, the contracts for publishing are subject to a different set of royalty agreements, which were not honored according to the suit. The case against Universal has brought to light a major predicament for the labels: that to launch any sort of digital distribution program, they need the cooperation of the publishing branch of the music industry. The difficulties are compounded when one considers the often-muddled relationship between publishers and labels, a relationship which must be revised in order to complete the industry’s segue onto the Web.
Publishers Say Guilt Is Universal
The songwriters involved in the suit, collectively responsible for such diverse classics as “Jailhouse Rock,” “My Favorite Things,” and “These Boots Are Made for Walking,” cite the inherent contradictions in Universal’s actions against MP3.com, as compared to its own actions in Farmclub.com, Universal’s digital service. UMG, along with the other Majors, became outraged with MP3.com last year for digitally distributing songs from Universal’s catalog without the label’s license. A federal judge found MP3.com guilty of copyright infringement, and the fledgling company reached a $50 million settlement with Universal to continue distributing the label’s tracks.
However, the publishers argue, Universal was guilty of the same thing when it debuted the Farmclub.com website, which made available online songs from its vast catalog--without the licenses from the songs’ publishers. Universal claims that the existing licensing agreements between the label and the publishers--mainly for radio and concert performances--should apply to digital distribution. Since this is an additional usage of the songs, publishers feel that there should be additional compensation. Further, the publishing industry feels that the compensation for songwriters’ material distributed online should be higher than compensation for traditional distribution. Edward Murphy, president of the Harry Fox Agency, the licensing arm of the NMPA, believes that royalty rates need to be revised for the circumstances of the Internet era. He is quoted in the W. S. Journal as saying, “The distribution costs are less, the manufacturing costs are less, and the music should play a greater role.” The labels argue that the costs of implementing the new methods of digital distribution will be so great that rather than pay more to publishers, they will actually need a price break on royalty compensation. Of course, the debate over publishing royalties is nothing new.
These Boots Are Made for Collecting Royalties, or Walking
Historically, songwriters began receiving publishing royalties when sheet music and piano rolls for the old time Pianolas gained massive popularity in the early 1900s. After enough pressure in 1909, Congress guaranteed composers a royalty rate of two cents on each player piano roll. Now most publishing royalties are collected when songs are performed or recorded, e.g., every time you hear a song on the radio, a publishing royalty is collected, as it is each time a record is sold. Currently, the royalty rate is 7.55 cents per track per album, making the royalties from a record around ten percent of the wholesale cost. Music publishing has traditionally been a thorny path to navigate, as record labels and publishers are often left squabbling over the same portion of an act’s revenue and the two factions are constantly debating the royalty rate. And so far, publishers have felt that they have gotten the short end of the revenue stick, having to fight for every increase.
Murphy has likened Universal’s attitude towards revising royalty rates for the digital era with the situation between some publishers and labels at the advent of the compact disc revolution. Apprehensive over the commercial viability of the CD format, several labels requested that publishers take a royalty cut so that labels could boost the new technology. “It turns out they didn’t need a break,” recounts Murphy. This history makes it hard for the leader of the Harry Fox Agency to sympathize with the labels’ concern over the potential of digital music. Citing the high costs of developing a digital music service, along with the fact that the service may not be profitable for awhile, the labels have been reluctant to consider increasing artists’ royalties for the download of their music. Some people concerned with the debate who are quoted in the W. S. Journal article, like David Pakman, president of myplay Inc., fear that the outcome of paying royalties in a business area that has yet to establish a safe road to profitability “may wipe out the economics of a business before it starts.”
Investing in the Enemy
Despite their alleged apprehensions, several labels have shown a good deal of confidence--however confused--in their willingness to exploit digital music technology. Witness BMG, who have riding on the conflict a $60 million investment in Napster, with whom, at the same time, they continue to battle in court under the auspices of the RIAA. If BMG wants this investment to amount to anything more than an additional legal fund, they must act to resolve the publishing dispute. Even if Napster survives their legal troubles with the RIAA, they will continue to face the recent publishing lawsuit filed by songwriters Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller who wrote “Jailhouse Rock” among others. This suit, if successful, sets a precedent for virtually all the songwriters in the Harry Fox Agency to sue Napster as well. All estimates of how much money those suits would total share the distinction of being far more than Napster could pay. Seeking damages that cannot be fully collected seems to be less intelligent than finding a way to resolve differences in a way that can provide revenues.
Since BMG also presides over its own publishing division, they are doubly well-positioned to influence the outcome of this dispute. Squabbling between labels and publishers is one thing, but when they are separate divisions of the same company, it becomes ridiculous. BMG now appears to be on all three sides of the case--Napster’s, the labels’, and the publishers’--so will a court settlement bring them anything by way of relief? If one part of BMG wins, undoubtedly one part will lose.
Don’t Try to Outfox Harry Fox
The stalemate among labels, publishers, and online distribution will eventually have to be resolved just as a matter of business. There is too much money in online distribution, whether actual or perceived (as it is now), for this fighting to continue. UMG may decide that it wants the resolution to come from the courts, but it seems most likely that BMG, at least, needs to break ranks and establish a workable deal with Harry Fox. It would be a great boost to Napster, and help preserve some of BMG’s investment, if BMG cut a deal for online distribution of at least its own titles with the Harry Fox Agency.
Most certainly, the publishers would prefer to receive something slightly less than their “ideal” rate, rather than spend years tied up in litigation. Further, if BMG was willing to drop $60 million into what became Napster’s defense fund, one would think that BMG would prefer to settle with the publishers at something slightly higher than BMG’s “ideal” royalty rate to prevent their investment from completely disappearing. Not only would an early settlement independent of the courts solve these problems, but everyone--the publishers, labels, and maybe even the musicians--could start making, and distributing, money from online endeavors sooner.
BMG would be wise to attempt such a maneuver quickly before another twenty million users leave Napster. If BMG works this out rationally, setting a precedent, would EMI be far behind? And if these two former merger partners, now good friends within Musicnet, make a deal, would the third partner in Musicnet, AOL/Warner follow? These three would account for more than half the music sold and played by the five majors. Even more important, it would be a great boon to the entire industry if the industry itself is able to decide complex issues without resorting to the courts.
http://www.newmediamusic.com/articles/NM01050117.html
Men's Journal link:
http://www.mensjournal.com/equipment/0106/musicplayers.html
Thanks, CompEngineering!
Moxa, that 5D article is pretty old; it has been a link in my General DD post ( http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=66673 ) for many months now. (Look under the "Primers on DSPs, codecs and net music" subsection.)
Ex-CEO of Lernout & Hauspie Arrested
.c The Associated Press
WINCHESTER, Mass. 5/26/01 (AP) - The former chief executive of a Belgian-based speech recognition software company was arrested on fraud charges Saturday near his home.
U.S. Marshals arrested Gaston Bastiaens, 54, on a Belgian warrant charging insider trading, stock market manipulation, and violation of bookkeeping laws associated with the collapsed Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V.
Bastiaens was being held over the weekend in Braintree, Mass., and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. It was not immediately known if Bastiaens had a lawyer.
Extradition proceedings will not be held until after arraignment, said U.S. Marshal spokesman Drew Wade.
The Marshal's office said Bastiaens falsified company earnings to inflate stock prices for his personal benefit.
``He got $25 million out of holdings before the firm's stock fell through the basement,'' U.S. Marshal Chief Art Roderick said in a statement.
L & H, headquartered in Belgium with U.S. headquarters in Burlington, Mass., collapsed after its stock fell roughly $10 billion in value in one year. The company has $495 million in total debt, a Belgian court said last month.
The company was Europe's largest maker of speech recognition and translation software. Both Microsoft and Intel invested millions in L & H.
But accounting scandals and fraud allegations sent the stock crashing, and forced the firm to seek bankruptcy protection in Belgium and the United States late last year.
L & H is also being investigated for fraud in the United States.
Last month, Belgian investigators also charged company co-founders Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie and former board member Nico Willaert with falsification of documents and stock manipulation. The three have denied the charges.
AP-NY-05-26-01 1709EDT
Copyright 2001 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
Re Exxtremedaytrader EDIG pick:
That pick is over a year old...
http://www.extremedaytrader.com/portfolio.htm
SIGMA MPEG-2 SILICON FEATURED IN NEW SERIES OF CONVERGENCE SET-TOP BOXES BY SAMSUNG AND OCTAL
http://www.sigmadesigns.com/press/year2001/010516.htm
(Sigma was also partnering with Lydstrom to incorporate their SongBank platform; see http://www.sigmadesigns.com/press/year2001/010108a.htm )
Based on Microsoft TV Advanced Digital Platform These New Products Offer Video-on-Demand and DVD Playback as well as digital TV broadcast.
Milpitas, CA May 16, 2001 - Sigma Designs (NASDAQ: SIGM), a leader in MPEG decoding solutions, announced today that its EM8400 MPEG-2 decoder solution has been incorporated into a new series of advanced digital set-top boxes being co-developed by Samsung Electronics and Octal. These set-top boxes are targeted for broad deployment starting this year into European DVB, North American Cable, and Asian markets.
This new platform is a significant offering, representing a combination of Samsung's global leadership in electronics and Octal's technology for set top boxes based on the Microsoft TV platform. The two companies are co-developing the necessary hardware and software as well as jointly marketing the products to cable, satellite, and terrestrial broadcast companies around the world. As one of the first commercialized digital cable set-top boxes to use the Microsoft TV Advanced Digital Platform, these products will be capable of receiving digital video broadcasts, broadband internet access, video on demand, integrated WEB DVD player, and other digital media services.
"Ensuring very high quality video output was one of our top goals for this set-top box," stated Dr. Hee-Won Park, Senior Manager of Set-top Box Development for Samsung. "Sigma's EM8400 silicon solution delivers this level of quality for streaming video on demand and DVD playback."
"This is the future of TV, and we are proud to be a part of it," said Nuno Duarte, managing director of OCTALTV. "With the EM8400 MPEG decoder and software drivers from Sigma, our digital set-top box uses a proven quality solution for video on demand and DVD playback."
"This selection by Samsung and Octal represents a significant design win for Sigma," stated Ken Lowe, Sigma's Vice President of Business Development, "Our EM8400 is being used to deliver video on demand and DVD playback on a new flagship product, being offered by leading manufacturers for worldwide consumption. This is a strong indication of acceptance of our REALmagicTM Video Streaming Technology, which is at the core of all of our silicon solutions."
About Sigma Designs, Inc.
Sigma Designs specializes in silicon-based MPEG decoding for streaming video, progressive DVD playback, and advanced digital set-top boxes. The company's award-winning REALmagic™ Video Streaming Technology is used in both commercial and consumer applications providing highly integrated solutions for high-quality decoding of MPEG-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4. Headquartered in Milpitas, California, the company also has sales offices in China, Europe, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.sigmadesigns.com.
About Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., with sales revenue of US$30 billion in 2000, is a world leader in the electronics industry. The Korea-based concern has operations in about 50 countries and 54,000 employees worldwide. The company consists of three main business units: Digital Media, Semiconductors and Information & Communications Businesses. For more information, please visit our website at http://samsungelectronics.com.
About Octal
OCTALTV is a 51% owned subsidiary of Novabase SGPS (Lisbon BVL "NBAN.IN"). The Company offers a wide range of Interactive Digital Cable, Satellite, and Terrestrial set-top box devices for Microsoft based TV platforms. Novabase is one of the leading IT companies in Portugal, with more than 800 employees in Portugal and Brazil. Novabase is headquartered in Lisbon, Portugal, and listed in the Lisbon Stock Exchange (Lisbon BVL "NBAN.IN"). It has built a track record for innovation and high growth (45% per year) in the past 8 years. Its activity is structured in 5 main business areas: Novabase e-Consulting (a leading systems integrator); Novabase ASP (addressing the IT needs for SMEs), Novabase e-Talent (operating in the areas of recruitment, selection, and outsourcing), Novabase Interactive TV and Novabase Capita; (investor in companies with strong synergies with other Novabase businesses). For more information, please visit http://www.novabase.pt
###
Sigma Designs, REALmagic and the REALmagic logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sigma Designs, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
It's the Technology, Stupid
By Kristi Essick - Paris Bureau Chief
May 21 2001 11:41 AM PDT
http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,24647,00.html
Vivendi Universal wants MP3.com in part because the deal would give its Duet service the muscle to compete against MusicNet.
Vivendi Universal's planned $372 million acquisition of MP3.com isn't just about wresting control of a former enemy. It's about catching up to a new one.
On Sunday, Vivendi Universal agreed to acquire MP3.com, an online music site launched in 1997 that the French conglomerate had previously sued for copyright infringement.
One main reason for the deal is that Duet, Vivendi Universal's joint-venture subscription service with Sony, was desperate to catch up with its rival MusicNet. Vivendi Universal might have been worried that the online subscription platform jointly owned by major labels BMG, Warner and EMI and streaming technology giant RealNetworks had a technological lead over Duet. By buying MP3.com, Duet gets instant access to a proven online distribution technology.
"They needed to catch up with MusicNet," said Rebecca Ulph, an analyst with Forrester Research. A competitor backed by three major labels plus RealNetworks was "threatening" to Duet, she said. Backed by just two labels, Duet also was faced with developing its own distribution technology in-house. MP3.com's technology includes patented technology for music distribution, as well as comprehensive data management and tracking systems.
Neither Duet nor MusicNet is set to launch until this summer though both have licensed their platforms to big-name distributors. MusicNet will team up with Warner's parent company AOL, while Duet has already signed up Yahoo as a distribution partner.
However, the fact that MusicNet gave its first public preview of the service last week at a congressional hearing might have pushed Vivendi to act quickly on the MP3.com deal, said Mark Mulligan, an analyst at Jupiter MMXI.
"It would seem no coincidence at all that the deal was announced right after details of MusicNet were announced at the Senate hearing," he said. "This portrays the real agenda behind the sale."
Duet was far behind MusicNet in terms of its technological platform, Mulligan added, and Vivendi Universal might have recognized that when RealNetworks demonstrated MusicNet last Friday. "[Vivendi Universal and Sony] realized that MusicNet was sophisticated and far down the development road," Mulligan added.
But a Vivendi Universal spokesman said the company had been in talks with MP3.com "for some time." He said the MP3.com platform will form the technological base for Duet but that that is not the only reason Vivendi Universal was interested in the company. "The brand and audience reach is also important," he said.
To be sure, MP3.com comes with a dedicated client base and global brand. But that is likely the less important aspect of the acquisition.
"Buying MP3.com gives [Vivendi Universal] the technology; it has nothing to do with the client base," Mulligan said.
The deal gives Duet access to 40 million online music users, but whether MP3.com users – mainly interested in independent music – will want to become paying subscribers of a the Duet service is still unclear. Indeed, both Duet and MusicNet have said they'll focus more on licensing their subscription services to third-party distributors than on building up their own consumer subscriber bases.
In fact, the rivalry between Duet and MusicNet might be short lived. If either service is to attract a large number of paying subscribers, it would have to offer music from all labels – not just the ones that back the service, said Ulph. Plus, the real battle in the future will be between record labels and Internet users who are accustomed to getting music on the Internet for free.
"[MusicNet and Duet] will eventually have to license each other's platforms because they realize the best way for labels to win is to work in conjunction with each other," she said. "Consumers don't buy music because of the labels, they buy it because of the artist."
Nekos chats w/Putnam:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=684582
Spoke with RP last night:
After being a shareholder for over 2 years, I felt now was a good time to talk with Robert for the first time. We spoke for about a half hour, and here is what I've gotten from him that I haven't seen posted by other people:
The board of directors is still intact. If there was a change, there would be a PR about it. He mentioned on his own that this would include strengthening the board with new memebers. Don't read into this, I felt it was a throw away comment.
The CFO is still working for EDIG.
During our discussion he mentioned Jukeboxes being in retail distribution channels. So I asked him point blank, "so this means that I can buy an E.digital jukebox player this quarter on a retail shelf." After a pregnant pause he said "NO". It could happen, but he wouldn't commit to it. My take is that "retail distribution channels" means in warehouses somewhere. I don't doubt that there will be players on store shelves, but I wouldn't hold my breath for this quarter.
I asked him about the burn rate and he stated 250G to 300G per month. So I stated to him that after 6, 7 or 8 months out that EDIG wouldn't have to ask for more financing and dilute more shares. His comment was, "We don't want to do that". Take that for what it's worth.
The rest of convewrsation was general stuff that all have heard before.
The reason why I called was because when I talk to other sharehoders on the phone after they tald to RP, I ask them "what about this and what about that". I tried to pinpoint different scenarios with RP, and he had some difficuslty in answering these questions...but did answer them. Your questions to him have to implicit and direct, and please ask for clarification when you don't understand something, or a statement like "retail distribution channels" which can mean so many things. Be prepared to ask..."So this means..." and you'll get a lot more insight. He's very strong on EDIG's future, but my discussion with him is a little different from what others posted on the board.
All FWIW
DABOSS e-mail from DataPlay:
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=683939
EDIG to produce DataPLAY's music player...
Subj: DataPlay Response
Date: 5/21/01 11:06:33 AM Pacific Daylight Time
From: dtaylor@dataplay.com (Diane Taylor)
To: XXXX
Dear XXXX:
Thank you for your interest in DataPlay. In response to your questions:
When can we expect to see handheld devices sporting DataPlay's technology and will DataPlay be in the device business or strictly a memory option for games?
DataPlay digital media and our partner's products will be launched in the fall of this year. We are hoping to be on the shelves in time for the holiday buying season. Our partner's are developing various products around our engines - everything from handheld game players, to music players, to digital cameras, to pc applications.
I see that there is a big convention in Los Angeles this week for the gaming industry. Will DataPLAY have a significant presence there as they did at CES in Las Vegas ?
No, we aren't planning on doing any other shows at this time.
When will we see handheld music players available in the market with DataPLAY options, like the one showcased at CES and made by e.Digital ?
Again, we plan our launch for the fall of this year.
I see e.Digital is listed as a partner on your website. Are they creating anything significant for DataPLAY at this point in time ?
At this time, e.Digital is working on a music player with us. I am sure they will continue to develop other products after the initial introduction of DataPlay into the consumer market. I hope that answered your questions.
Thank you -
Diane Taylor
Marketing Assistant
Thanks; clearing the cache did the trick.
Is there something wrong with Live Chat? I am unable to get in, either via Chatmaster or the hot link.
EDIG: Info for Investors (5/22 PM rNK)
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://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=682599 (BusyBump chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=109481 (Vivendi/Universal buys MP3.com)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=109041 (Toshiba introduces 5 & 10 GB 1.8" HDs)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=108959
and http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680976 (Sentinel speaks w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=108627 (SDM bogs down again)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=108476 (Cksla speaks w/Putnam)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680645 (RNWK unveils download service before Congress)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=108126 (Sigmatel chip powers Eastech ET-301)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=106017 (Sony's Playstation gets Real)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=105106 (InterTrust Announces Secure Media Player Development Suite)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=105146 (Bostonredsox speaks w/mp3extreme)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=104057 (3 new openings at EDIG)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=101870 (Bostonredsox speaks w/Hammacher)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=102208 (Samsung making a run on Sony?)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=99994 (Some details of STM's DataPlay chips)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=676522 (Pam digs into Eastech)
http://www.eigernet.co.kr/products/mp3/d100.htm (Eiger DataPlayer specs)
http://www.amaxhk.com/products/napa/dp600/dp600.htm (Amax DataPlayer specs)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=676116 (Giants at RB e-mails Putnam)
http://db2.jobstreet.com/jassist/preview.asp?advertiser_id=9564 (Backgrounder on DataPlay Singapore)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=672506 (BusyBump chats w/Putnam)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=668929 (Intel orders MP3 players from Eastech)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=669383 (Eastech lands Sanyo order)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=668935 (Treo ads flying high)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=668916 (Recent Treo sightings)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=91844 (EDIG mention in Volan ad)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=90491 (Recent RP e-mails at RB)
http://www.investorshub.com/beta/read_msg.asp?message_id=84624 (Cksla's XYBR chronicles)
hhttp://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=83856
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=84611 (Hammacher-Schlemmer catalog offers Treo)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=83521 (Brewmeister visits EDIG)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=81983 (Xybernaut to collaborate with IBM, TXN)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=82749 (More re XYBR)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=81621 (Rioport intros Music Delivery Service)
http://www.investorshub.com/beta/read_msg.asp?message_id=81406 (Makomemoney chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=81294 (New look jukebox from Eastech)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79586 (Packers1 chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79571 (Trillium chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79567 (New DataPay player from A-Max)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79579 (Multi-codec player from A-Max)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76832 (Intel VTT plans for China market)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76546 (InHand partners w/Conversay)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76465 (MP2000 details at Global Resource)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76168
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76246 (New IBM platform for internet appliances)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76119
and http://www.siliconinvestor.com/stocktalk/msg.gsp?msgid=15637828 (New XYBR/IBM wearable computer due)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75782 (Some ITRU customer woes)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75784 (Loudeye RIFs and plans roll-out)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75578 (WSJ re MSFT vs MP3)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75655 (POTCE update re Treo)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=659615 (Eastech update per unclejed47)
EDIG news and opinions (pre-4/12/01):
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=82919
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
===========================================================
Treo review compilation: http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=612321
===========================================================
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: A familiar name in the news:
Company Must Pay Attorney Fees In Chat Room Speech Case
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version
By Michael Bartlett, Newsbytes
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.
18 May 2001, 5:24 PM CST
A U.S. District Court Thursday ordered Global Telemedia International [OTCBB:GLTIE.OB] to pay more than $55,000 in attorney's fees to two defendants. The company had sued several anonymous individuals for posting comments critical of GTMI in an Internet chat room.
According to court papers, Barry King and Ron Reader posted numerous messages on the Raging Bull message boards from March to October 2000. The defendants posted anonymously by adopting pseudonyms - King used the handle "BDAMAN609" and Reader was known on the boards as "electrick_man."
Raging Bull is described by the court as a financial Web site that organizes individual bulletin boards or chat rooms, each one dedicated to a single, publicly traded company. The judge noted that the majority of posters appear to be investors or prospective investors in a given company, but stock ownership is not required to post.
GTMI last fall filed a lawsuit against King, Reader and other defendants. The company alleged that negative comments by several posters about GTMI and its management constituted trade libel and interfered with contractual relations.
On Feb. 23, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter granted a motion to dismiss the case by defendants. In his decision, the judge noted that unlike many traditional media, there are no controls on the postings in chat rooms. As a result, such writings are almost always opinions, and therefore are protected under the First Amendment.
"In sum, neither Reader's nor King's postings are statements of fact," the court wrote. "Given the general context of the postings, the colorful and figurative language of the individual postings, the inability to prove the statements true or false, and in one case, the posting of documents to support the poster's statements, the postings are opinions."
Because defendants King and Reader were speaking as investors, not as competitors of GTMI, the court found they were protected by a California law written to protect individuals from retaliatory lawsuits from corporations that feel they have been disparaged. These are referred to as "Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation," or SLAPP lawsuits.
The court ruled the anti-SLAPP provisions are applicable to GTMI's lawsuit against King and Reader. The judge Thursday ordered the company to pay the two defendants' attorneys fees.
Megan E. Gray, who defended Reader, today told Newsbytes, "it is nice to get an award like this."
According to Gray, this is the first time a court has applied the mandatory attorney fee provision in the anti-SLAPP statute to a defamation lawsuit involving anonymous Internet message board posters.
"This is especially important, because there are hundreds of these frivolous lawsuits filed across the nation in an attempt to silence people from posting critical opinions on Internet message boards," said Gray.
About 15 states have similar anti-SLAPP laws, according to Gray.
Bruce Braun, an attorney who specializes in Internet legislation and free speech on the Internet said the court's ruling is potentially significant.
"It is likely that this decision will be used as a guidepost in similar cases," he said. "It is a very important decision."
Braun said he had never heard of another case where attorney's fees were awarded to message board posters, but added that there might be an unpublished decision.
Braun, who was not involved in the GTMI lawsuit, praised California's anti-SLAPP statute. He said defendants can force a corporation to show they have a "probability of success" on its claims of defamation.
"This is an unusual provision. It offers defendants extra protection," he said. "It is a defense of free speech. It lets a defendant tee the issue up at the outset of litigation before the attorneys' fees get too high. The plaintiff must come forward with facts that show a probability of success on merits. The plaintiff must have its ducks in a row."
In the GTMI case, the court found that, even if the postings King and Reader made were statements of fact, the company would have to show damages as a result of the allegations the defendants made online.
Because the company's stock price fell significantly before either defendant made a negative post, the judge found no support of GTMI's claim of trade libel or defamation.
"This case might start a trend," said Braun. "The attorney's fee provision is critical. It is a necessary deterrent to stopping corporations from overreaching."
According to Braun, a company can attempt to silence criticism at a minimal cost to itself, while a defendant would have to hire an attorney.
"This ruling sends a shot across the bow of many corporations. Not only do they generate bad publicity if a lawsuit is found to be frivolous, they have to pay attorney's fees as well," he said. "This brings us closer to the English system, where the winning party's attorney's fees are paid. That results in less litigation."
"With this ruling, companies will be forced to do due diligence before trying to silence people by suing them," Braun added.
Attorneys for GTMI did not return phone calls for this story.
Baker & Hostetler is at http://www.bakerlaw.com .
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California is at http://www.cacd.uscourts.gov .
Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com .
Worth a repost:
26 Million Portable Compressed-Audio Players To Ship By '05 - Study.(Industry Trend or Event)
Author/s: Michael Bartlett
Issue: March 30, 2001
Demand for portable compressed-audio players is expected to grow at a rapid pace in the next few years, according to a new study released today.
IDC, a company that analyzes technology markets, predicts the market for portable music players capable of playing MP3s and other compressed digital music formats will expand by 51 percent per year, from 3.3 million units in 2000 to nearly 26 million in 2005.
Shipments in the US will account for nearly 70 percent of the total, the study said. The US market will increase from 2.8 million in 2000 to 18 million in 2005.
Bryan Ma, senior analyst for IDC's consumer devices program, said the key to increasing sales outside the US is to increase the proliferation of personal computers.
"PCs and portable music players are interoperable with each other," Ma said. "Whether consumers are ripping CDs or downloading music from the Internet, the process is dependent on PCs. In geographic regions where PC penetration is not high, that eliminates a substantial portion of the market."
The importance of the PC to the compressed audio player market is the reason why several computer companies - including Intel, Compaq, Dell and Gateway - have entered the fray in recent months, Ma added. "They are basically extending the PC environment," he said.
Functionality will be more important than price in driving market growth, according to Ma.
"Today's compressed audio players can hold about an hour of music. In the next couple of years, consumers will see devices that can hold 10 hours of music, and in come cases, someone's entire music collection," he said.
Ma predicted the price of these audio players will drop as manufacturers continue to develop alternatives to expensive flash memory. "We expect a proliferation of devices based on alternative media, including hard drives, burned CDs and new storage formats such as DataPlay," he said.
More information on IDC is available on the Web at http://www.idc.com .
Reported by Newsbytes.com, http://www.newsbytes.com
Old but interesting re Eastech:
EastTech reports 44% H1 turnover growth
It aims to generate half of its revenue from Net-related products by 2002
By Toh Han Shih
21 Jul 2000
EASTERN Asia Technology (EastTech), reporting turnover growth of 44 per cent in the first half of the year, yesterday said it hopes to expand and make the most of its revenues from Internet-related products in a few years.
"By the end of 2002, we want half of our revenues from Internet-related products. Now Internet products account for less than 5 per cent of our revenues," the company's chairman Tim Liou said.
EastTech, a Taiwanese consumer electronics firm listed on the Singapore Exchange, posted revenue of $105.5 million in the first six months. It's profit was $2.1 million, twice that of the same period last year.
Since the company was founded 27 years ago by Mr Liou, it has been making audio and video products, starting with turntable record players. Recently it started marketing its first range of Internet-related products, MP3 players, which play music downloaded from the Net.
EastTech aims to launch by Christmas an Internet audio player, which can play Internet radio stations, Mr Liou said.
The Internet audio player will be able to play all Internet radio stations -- over 5,000 of them -- from all over the world and store 1,000 songs downloaded from the Net, he added. In contrast, normal radios can play only dozens of radio stations.
"We must move to Internet audio products to keep ahead of the times," Mr Liou said.
This year, the world's music industry is projected to hit sales of US$40 billion (S$69.8 billion), the bulk of it in CD sales; only 3 per cent of the sales will be from music downloaded over the Internet. By 2005, at least 60 per cent of music is expected to be downloaded from the Net.
"This trend has affected our strategy," said Mr Liou. As a result, the company last year invested heavily in research and development on Internet and DVD technology, as well as expanded its manufacturing facilities, he said.
Because of these investments, for the first half of last year, the company's after-tax profit was $1 million, a small fraction of its turnover of $73 million.
"This year is a natural reward for our heavy investments in R&D and expanded capacity last year. In consideration of the seasonal nature of our business, barring unforeseen circumstances, we expect the performance in the second half to be better than the first half," said Mr Liou.
Currently, he owns 80 per cent of EastTech. However, the company is in talks with strategic investors in Singapore, Taiwan and the US, he disclosed.
Mr Liou said he would not mind diluting his stake in his company but will want to retain control.
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:573040426052f47d:biztimes.asia1.com/5/mkts/msing02.html+%22Tim+...
Totally OT link for the chronic news seeker:
http://www.kidon.com/media-link/english.shtml
Ten O'Clock Tech: Visorphone Calls The Web
When it first hit the shelves last year, Handspring's Visorphone looked like an expensive, esoteric toy for the handheld fanatic.
Why spend $300 to go to the trouble of turning a perfectly good handheld computer, Handspring's (nasdaq: HAND - news - people) Visor, into a mobile phone, when you can buy a mobile phone for less? Not only was the price high, but the mammoth attachment made the handheld 50% heavier, and awkward compared to sleek mobile phones.
Handspring's Visorphone: Talk and surf by hand.
For the costs and benefits, the Visorphone seemed sort of a backward step. But as others like Kyocera and Samsung continue to build phones with Palm (nasdaq: PALM - news - people)-based computers built in, the marriage of Palm device to mobile phone seems, for the moment, secure.
But now the Visorphone is selling for a lower price, and has suddenly become a lot more useful. The company announced this week the release of a CD of new software programs that let you browse the Web, check e-mail, send instant messages and do other things.
The browser is called Blazer and features content from Microsoft's (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people) MSN Web portal. That's an odd combination that strikes Palm fans as a sort of Faustian pact with the devil, given how Microsoft's PocketPC platform is the main rival to the PalmOS platform that the Handspring Visor runs on. Yet for the moment, Palm-based devices enjoy a huge market share advantage over PocketPCs. The CD also includes software to let you connect to Yahoo!'s (nasdaq: YHOO - news - people) instant messenger service.
Handspring also slashed the price of the Visorphone to $250 when purchased with mobile phone service, but it still costs $450 to buy the unit separately without service. It works on networks using the GSM (global system for mobile communications) technology, which is the dominant type of wireless network in Europe and elsewhere around the world. But it's less widespread in the U.S., where another wireless phone technology, CDMA (code division multiple access) dominates. GSM service providers in the U.S. include VoiceStream (nasdaq: VSTR - news - people) and Cingular Wireless.
The Visorphone works with all models of Handspring's Visors, including the Prism, which has a color screen, and the recently released Visor Edge. The CD containing the software will initially be sold through Web distributors like Handango and Palmgear for about $20, and will later be bundled with the Visorphone itself.
Those who watch the handheld market closely will have also noticed that the software release comes right on the heels of the last week's $100 price cut by Palm on its Palm VIIx wireless handheld. Now we know, at least in part, what that was about. Though Handspring and Palm officially consider each other partners when it comes to the Palm OS, the competition between them is shaping up nicely.
http://www.forbes.com/2001/05/16/0516tentech.html
The HanGo connection: http://www.mpride.com/eng/enewp.htm#
EDIG: Info for Investors (5/19 PM rNJ)
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=109041 (Toshiba introduces 5 & 10 GB 1.8" HDs)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=108959
and http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680976 (Sentinel speaks w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=108627 (SDM bogs down again)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=108476 (Cksla speaks w/Putnam)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680645 (RNWK unveils download service before Congress)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=108126 (Sigmatel chip powers Eastech ET-301)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=106017 (Sony's Playstation gets Real)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=105106 (InterTrust Announces Secure Media Player Development Suite)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=105146 (Bostonredsox speaks w/mp3extreme)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=104057 (3 new openings at EDIG)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=101870 (Bostonredsox speaks w/Hammacher)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=102208 (Samsung making a run on Sony?)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=99994 (Some details of STM's DataPlay chips)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=676522 (Pam digs into Eastech)
http://www.eigernet.co.kr/products/mp3/d100.htm (Eiger DataPlayer specs)
http://www.amaxhk.com/products/napa/dp600/dp600.htm (Amax DataPlayer specs)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=676116 (Giants at RB e-mails Putnam)
http://db2.jobstreet.com/jassist/preview.asp?advertiser_id=9564 (Backgrounder on DataPlay Singapore)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=672506 (BusyBump chats w/Putnam)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=668929 (Intel orders MP3 players from Eastech)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=669383 (Eastech lands Sanyo order)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=668935 (Treo ads flying high)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=668916 (Recent Treo sightings)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=91844 (EDIG mention in Volan ad)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=90491 (Recent RP e-mails at RB)
http://www.investorshub.com/beta/read_msg.asp?message_id=84624 (Cksla's XYBR chronicles)
hhttp://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=83856
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=84611 (Hammacher-Schlemmer catalog offers Treo)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=83521 (Brewmeister visits EDIG)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=81983 (Xybernaut to collaborate with IBM, TXN)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=82749 (More re XYBR)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=81621 (Rioport intros Music Delivery Service)
http://www.investorshub.com/beta/read_msg.asp?message_id=81406 (Makomemoney chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=81294 (New look jukebox from Eastech)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79586 (Packers1 chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79571 (Trillium chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79567 (New DataPay player from A-Max)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79579 (Multi-codec player from A-Max)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76832 (Intel VTT plans for China market)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76546 (InHand partners w/Conversay)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76465 (MP2000 details at Global Resource)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76168
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76246 (New IBM platform for internet appliances)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76119
and http://www.siliconinvestor.com/stocktalk/msg.gsp?msgid=15637828 (New XYBR/IBM wearable computer due)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75782 (Some ITRU customer woes)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75784 (Loudeye RIFs and plans roll-out)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75578 (WSJ re MSFT vs MP3)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75655 (POTCE update re Treo)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=659615 (Eastech update per unclejed47)
EDIG news and opinions (pre-4/12/01):
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=82919
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
===========================================================
Treo review compilation: http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=612321
===========================================================
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
Professor describes hacking music industry's anti-piracy technology
By Ron Harris
May 18, 2001 / STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Princeton professor Edward Felten told a spillover crowd at Stanford University Thursday as much as he could about successfully hacking the music industry's latest anti-piracy technology, but stopped short on some details for fear of being sued.
What Felten couldn't share with the students was how he and his colleagues bested the technology.
An ominous letter from the recording industry warned of dire legal consequences if Felten published his team's results.
Felten said the thinly veiled threat on academic publishing could have a chilling effect on computer security work.
"We want to be able to speak as academics do," Felten told the packed room of about 200. He said the freedom to publish research papers should be unencumbered by the wishes of big business.
Felten's team, including Rice University and Xerox-PARC researchers, hacked apart music security technologies from the Secure Digital Music Initiative, a collection of major record labels and hardware/software manufacturers with a common goal of protecting digital audio content.
It took three weeks in September for Felten's team to solve the computer-encoded riddles behind four digital watermarking methods and two other embedded-security measures.
As they were about to announce the details of their research last month at the fourth International Information Hiding Workshop in Pittsburgh, Felten received a warning letter from Matthew Oppenheim, the Recording Industry Association of America's senior vice president of business and legal affairs.
Oppenheim warned that publishing the results of the team's work could land it on the wrong side of a federal lawsuit.
RIAA general counsel Cary Sherman told The Associated Press late Thursday that the letter was a mistake.
"We simply weren't as sensitive as we should have been about how the letter would be perceived," Sherman said.
When asked if the RIAA would sue if the paper were published, as Felten fears, Sherman said "No."
He said the RIAA was acting in the interests of Verance, a company that designed one of the watermarking technologies Felten and his team trumped.
The technology Verance submitted for the contest is currently in use on the market, Sherman pointed out.
"Anybody who is engaged in this kind of research should do whatever is appropriate, but they should not needlessly or gratuitously harm another scientist's technology," Sherman said.
That harm was done all too easily Felten pointed out.
"Once you know where in the haystack the needle is hidden, it's pretty easy to reach in there and pull that needle out," Felten said of the team's attack on SDMI security measures. "All of them can be defeated rather easily."
Felten said his team even cracked one of the watermark technologies on accident.
In theory, digital watermarking on music CDs would be added before releasing the product to market to allow music players and recorders to check for authorized, embedded information before playing the music.
If tampering were detected by the CD player or software, no music could be accessed.
The "secure"' songs made available for the contest by SDMI used watermarks hidden in barely detectable audio echoes and certain boosted frequencies in the music, Felten said.
None of the recording industry's methods stymied Felten's team, except the one involving potential litigation.
Felten held up the unpublished paper at the podium as he explained the futility of the music industry's attempt to put to fetter the song piracy made popular by Napster and other file-sharing services and programs.
"I think that technology alone is not going to solve their problem," Felten said.
"If you can listen to it, you can record it."
http://www.salon.com/tech/wire/2001/05/18/felten/index.html
***Equator and Samsung Announce Partnership to Make Consumer Residential Gateways
(April 23, 2001)
Equator Technologies, a provider of broadband digital communications and media processing infrastructure for the consumer electronics market, and Samsung Electronics announced a streaming media set-top box from Samsung running Equator’s programmable BSP MAP-CA digital signal processor. The host-based SMT F300 set-top box will offer Video-on-Demand (VOD), Interactive TV and time shift Personal Video Recorder (PVR) services. The box is targeted at ADSL consumers and will also be able to function as a residential gateway. The F300 will be in volume production in Q4 2001.
By integrating Equator’s customizable BSP MAP-CA digital signal processor into Samsung’s multimedia home gateway and interactive set-top box, the companies will offer the broadcast market a multifunction set-top box solution. Because the MAP-CA digital signal processor enables streaming high-quality video at low bit rates, service providers will be able to stream a greater number of enhanced services through one box, while maintaining video quality.
The BSP MAP-CA digital signal processor delivers 30 GOPs (Billion Operations per Second) of processing power, offering more than ten times the performance of other available solutions. The system-on-a chip solution delivers core functions through software rather than dedicated hardware and is designed for high-performance, video-intense broadband applications. By using software downloads to update the functionality of products, even after they are launched and in the field, the life cycle of the equipment can be extended, enabling companies to decrease their time-to-market and their time-to-revenue with broadband services and devices. The programmable chip allows service providers to offer more services and functionality, such as time shifting, video conferencing, broadcast media security, video security, VOD, DVD playback, and per viewer advertising.
http://samsungelectronics.com
http://www.equator.com
Sentinel's conversation with Robert Putnam (5/18/01)
I spoke with Robert for about 20 minutes earlier this evening (about 6:30 PST). I had emailed him questions yesterday and asked him to call me, so we could discuss them. The quasi-transcript below is a general recap of my questions, and my interpretation of his answers. The words are my own, but I believe they are faithful to the essence of his answers. I have underlined items which I have not seen brought up before, or which are new to me. To any who question of parts of this post, I will only say that the best way to get the most accurate answers is to call Robert yourself, and I suggest you do so. On the whole, I was very encouraged by the conversation.
Q: When might we hear more about the Platinum/e.Digital relationship?
We should see an announcement of EDIG's formal relationship with Platinum this quarter. EDIG has had a lot of communication with Platinum. They took a little longer than expected to integrate Lanier into the corporate structure, but that integration is complete now. They are waiting for some event (Robert couldn't comment on it's nature) before a public announcement is made, but he believes it will be made this quarter.
Q: Are Cquence units still being shipped?
Lanier continues to ship and RP saw no reason at present that this might change.
Q: If AMIS is for Audio Interface management, is there a Video Interface counterpart?
There is a Video counterpart to AMIS to be announced at some point in the future.
Q: Are there new patents pending or applied for?
They are working on multiple new platform technologies with multiple OEM's, and whenever they are able to work out which parts of the development are rightfully the customer's (who paid for cetain services), and which parts are solely EDIG's, they apply for additional patents. This is a continuous process for all development, so he couldn't really comment on the statuts of specific technologies in relation to the patent application process.
Q: What is the status of the Technical Advisory Group?
Status of TAG still undisclosed other than to say that Mr. Cocumelli is spearheading that effort. He said that there are some outside "potential" members of this group working in what might be an official capacity, but there has been nothing announced and nor did he project when there might be.
Q: Not owning a cell phone, or knowing what somebody might want on one, in addition to being able to make a call, I asked what types of cell phone accesories they might be involved with.
He would only say that they were working on a "peripheral" and that there were voice and music applications that could be developed in conjunction with certain established platforms, for both business and personal use.
Q: What type of work does EDIG do with set top boxes?
EDIG is mainly involved in the interface between the box and the handheld device. I would imagine this is where TWIRL would come in, but I didn't think fast enough to ask.. EDIG is currently taking advantage of "significant opportunities" in this area
Q: When wil we hear bout the third Big 3 company?
A lot of work has been done with the #3 of the Big 3, and all he could say was timeframe for public disclosure was up to them.
Q: What is the status of the oportunity to bundle music players with PC's?
Bundling music players with PC's is still a very real possibility. He said that all these companies are after the same thing, which is getting their hooks into the consumer to keep them as customers as PC sales dwindle. One way to do that is to provide branded "bundled" devices as a mobile "aftermarket presence" which might require upgrades, etc. The pain the PC makers are experiencing actually bodes well for EDIG and other small device makers/designers. He said that everything is "predicated on pent up demand"
Q: What is the staus of embedding the MicroOS in silicon?
As far as embedding is concerned, the goal of the business plan has always been to not develop a full scale OS solution for OEM's to "buy off the shelf", but rather, to provide a kernel of EDIG technology (MicroOS typically) within the chipset as a "developer tool", in order to let developers play with it a bit and eventually come to EDIG for customization within specific products applications. There has been significant progress made toward this goal and he believes they are close to being able to disclose the work they have done in this area. As always though, it is up to the OEM to release EDIG for disclosure and timeframes cannot be guaranteed.
Q: With delays in Hy-Tek's Treo delivery schedule, will there still be JB's on the market this quarter?
EDIG still believes a devices based on the jukebox platform will be available to consumers this quarter. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility that the folks at Hy-Tek were jsut trying to gain some breathing room after being pestered to death (my phrase, not his, and which they admittedly asked for by giving aggressive dates) over there previous delivery projections.
Q: Will other JB devices possibly beat Hy-Tek to market?
He said that he expected EASTECH to weigh in as the big gun in jukebox introduction. He said EASTECH's big, Hango is big, and that there are other, unannounced manufacturers which also had significant capacity that EDIG was working with. He wouldn't commit to a timeframe for an announcement thereof.
Q: Are the content announcements we've been seeing the kind that make OEM's want to rush to market?
The content announcements we've been seeing are very encouraging, and it's a matter of when, not if, this industry really starts to move, but right now, there is still no indication of such vital direction as to which codecs, or business models, will prevail. The Labels talk about subscription services and general timelines, but there are no real details and things are just bit vague yet. The industry is being born before our eyes, but OEM's are moving cautiously. Still, Summer markets will see devices launched, and more will come throughout the year.
Q: Is there a working prototype of the voice controlled jukebox? Schedule for delivery?
The voice controlled jukebox is still in very active development, with EDIG's scope of work on track to be finished by the end of the year. However, the OEM's they are working with may well decide to push launching of this product off into the last half of 2002. It is up to the OEM's.
Q: Will there be announcements this quarter of the other technlogy platforms that EDIG is working on?
RP believes that there will be at least one announcement this quarter of the additional technology platforms mentioned in Fred Falk's last letter, and that these announcements will continue throughout the year.
Q: How big is DataPlay for EDIG, what kind of role do we play, and do they send OEM's to EDIG?
DataPlay is a VERY significant growth driver, and is currently a source for additional OEM's, as they send customers to EDIG much in the same way that Texas Instruments, etc. does. (Here is the best part...) In fact, EDIG is currently the ONLY integrator of DataPlay technology available to third parties with no qualified engineering staffs of their own, and may even have proprietary technology which will prove essential to the majority of future DataPlay device integration. This remains to be seen, and there is always the possibility of future technologies displacing EDIG's. Until then however, EDIG seems VERY well positioned to take advantage of DataPlay's potential success. DataPlay itself is the determining factor in the rollout of their technology and so far they are on track to be able to deliver optical engines as planned, and to launch consumer product in the Fall of 2001.
Q: Is VTT/TTV still set to be the big revenue source for EDIG, or will digital music/video surpass it?
VTT/TTV is still expected to be a major revenue source for EDIG, but that is more long term. Robert mentioned that he has seen a "surge" within the industry to gravitate toward voice control and that a lot depends on the outcome of the LHSP situation. He said that when they start to sell off LHSP's technology, there will be a battle for acquisition of it. Robert said that though EDIG remained "IBM-centric", they were working with another voice technology company, and that the voice activated jukebox will be the first example of that collaboration. Digital music and video, along with other applications, will be revenue generators for the near term and beyond.
Q: What has Fleishman Hillard been doing? What are they expected to do?
Fleishman-Hillard has been VERY busy. In fact, he said that they have gotten more effective exposure from F-H in the few weeks since they've been onboard than they got through all the other PR efforts in the history of the company combined. (Granted there wasn't all that much to "PR" about early on, but he was very high on the efforts of F-H). F-H has the task of "educating the industry about EDIG". To this end, they have already spoken with numerous industry analysts, and he mentioned Jupiter, Forrester and Cahners Instat. This was news to me in that I believed F-H was around to facilitate media reviews and to obtain manistream media exposure. This is even better because when major announcements are made public, these analysts are already familiar with EDIG technology and capabilities, and are able to speak intelligently about them to the press, and whoever else might inquire about them. LOL...Thus we avoid the Jim Seymour syndrome. He said that jukebox platforms have been distributed to media reviewers already and that F-H does work with them as well. He was very upbeat about F-H and spoke about how convenient it was to have such a local global powerhouse.
Q: What is the current burn rate?
Current burn rate is currently $275-300K
Q: What is the current employee count?
There are currently 33 employees, of which 24 are engineers (one was hired last week and 2 positions still need filling). Additionally, there are 4-5 part timers who do things like testing, etc.
Q: Is e.Digital considering expansion?
EDIG is only starting to consider the possibility of expanding their offices, but they have an option on 4800 SF of space "right on the other side of the wall" in the same building, so if they want to do it, it's no big deal.
Q: Could we please have the transcript of Fred falk's shareholder address put back up on the website?
They are considering an "Archive" section being added to the website to store past event items like Fred Falk's shareholders' meeting address. Wendy will be in charge of that.
Q: Is Robert Putnam full time for EDIG, or does he still divide his attnetions?
Robert Putnam is still technically serving both EDIG and ATCO, and is reported as doing such in the SEC filings. BUT, if you measure a "full time" position by a 40 hour work week, then he is "full time" for EDIG. He said that most EDIG employees put in much more than 40 hours a week and he is in that group.
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680868 (part 1)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680869 (part 2)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680879 (part 3)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680888 (part 4)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680890 (part 5)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680891 (part 6)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680892 (part 7)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=680893 (part 8)
Copy-protected CD hacked?
17 May 2001
By Gwendolyn Mariano
Special to ZDNet News
Free copies of songs from country music singer Charley Pride's latest album appeared on the Internet this week, just shortly before a version of the CD incorporating new anti-copying technology was released in U.S. stores Tuesday.
The CD, released by Nashville, Tenn.-based Music City Records, features Pride's new album, "A Tribute to Jim Reeves." Eight of the 15 songs on the CD were posted Monday on a private Web page hosted by Yahoo.
The appearance of MP3s from the album muddies the debate over the effectiveness of CD encryption schemes in one of the first such commercial releases.
Questionable source
Phoenix-based SunnComm, which provided the copy-protection technology for the CD, said the leaked songs did not come from a cracked CD but were likely copied from an unprotected set of 2,000 CDs released in Australia. Apparently, Pride did everything he could to make sure his content in the United States was protected but was unable to do anything for the Australian market.
Regardless of whether the copy-protected CD was hacked, the leak underscores the need for all CDs to be protected for such measures to be effective, analysts said.
No easy success stories
Music City Records' CD "is a short-lived experiment," said Aram Sinnreich, an analyst from research firm Jupiter Research. "If you're going to release a copy-protected CD, then you better make sure the music is not available in an unprotected format anywhere else; otherwise, it's a pointless academic exercise."
Success stories don't come easily in the rough and tumble world of digital content protection. The record industry wants to make it harder for consumers to directly copy CDs, which are the source for most MP3s traded online through services such as Napster. But it faces enormous hurdles. First, any barriers to copying must be "backward compatible" -- meaning the new technologies would have to work on old CD players that don't screen for pirated material and vice versa.
In addition, the industry must tackle considerable nontechnical issues, including potential consumer backlash and legal uncertainties over curtailing copying for personal use.
Bad first experience
That situation was underscored last year in a failed attempt by BMG Germany to push secure CDs using technology from Israeli security company Midbar. After shipping 130,000 copy-protected CDs, BMG was forced to abandon the project in January as complaints piled up from customers, who said the discs wouldn't work on their players.
Those efforts come against a backdrop of frustration in the music industry, which has been working unsuccessfully for years to create a digital copy-protection plan under a project known as the Secure Digital Music Initiative. The group last fall zeroed in on four technologies for installing so-called watermarks in digital files -- a method that can track copies and even block songs from being played on certain devices.
But the SDMI continues to run into snags. The group recently sponsored a "hacking challenge" last fall, inviting programmers to break the finalists' codes. All four codes were successfully cracked by an academic team led by Princeton University Professor Edward Felten, but under legal threats from the record industry, the team last month backed out of presenting their research at a conference.
http://www.zdnetasia.com/products/swaudio/story/0,2000009120,20203796-1,00.htm
Preview Systems Announces Intention to Wind Down Remaining Operations in Conjunction With Sale of Assets to Aladdin Knowledge Systems
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/211380048&ticker=prvw
SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2001--Preview Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq:PRVW), a commerce platform and services provider for the secure delivery of digital goods over the Internet, announced that it intends to adopt a plan to wind down the surviving elements of its business for the purpose of returning the company's remaining capital to stockholders. This plan is expected to be adopted by the company's board of directors following today's announcement regarding the sale of Preview's electronic software distribution (ESD) business to Aladdin Knowledge Systems (Nasdaq:ALDN).
In addition to the sale of the ESD business, Preview Systems is currently in negotiations with other third parties for the sale of its remaining assets, including the technology related to electronic music distribution (EMD) and other non-software digital products. If, and when, concluded, Preview Systems expects that the financial impact will not be material to its overall cash position.
Since its announcement in February 2001 that it was exploring strategic alternatives, the company's board of directors, with the assistance of its advisors, has undertaken considerable efforts to explore many strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value. It has concluded that the best interests of its stockholders will be served by selling its assets to Aladdin, winding down the remaining business of the company and distributing the available cash to its stockholders.
"As indicated in our prior communications this year to stockholders, we believe that the value of our technology may be better leveraged when combined with that of another company," said Vincent Pluvinage, CEO and President of Preview Systems. "Because the overall market has evolved more slowly than originally forecasted, our solution may be more viable as a product line of a larger company than as a stand-alone public entity."
Between now and the conclusion of the sale of its assets and the winding down of its business, Preview Systems will operate its business in a manner consistent with providing ongoing support for its customers while minimizing all other cash expenditures. Preview Systems and Aladdin will immediately begin to work cooperatively in the areas of research and development, customer support, sales and marketing. At the end of the second quarter of 2001, Preview Systems anticipates it will employ approximately 30 people, of which 20 are expected to be retained by Aladdin upon closing of the transaction.
Consistent with the company's current financial guidance, operating expenses for the second quarter are expected to be between $4.5 million and $5.0 million exclusive of any one-time restructuring charges, and any acquisition related costs or stock based compensation charges. In addition, a restructuring charge for the second quarter is expected to be between $4.5 million and $5.0 million, reflecting costs associated with our further reductions in force and the costs of retention and severance packages for remaining employees and executives. Approximately $1.0 million of this charge is non-cash related. Preview Systems currently projects that its cash and marketable securities balance will be between $65 million and $66 million at the end of the second quarter, excluding any proceeds from its sale of assets.
Preview Systems expects to submit to its stockholders for their approval a plan to sell substantially all of the assets of the ESD business to Aladdin and subsequently wind down the remaining business. Upon stockholder approval and after the closing of the Aladdin asset sale, Preview Systems will adequately provide for its debts and liabilities, and then distribute the remaining capital to its stockholders in one or more cash distributions. At the time of the distribution of cash, it is anticipated that a total of approximately 18.2 million shares will be outstanding, 17.3 million of which are outstanding today plus approximately 900,000 vested "in the money" stock options that are likely to be exercised prior to any distribution.
Additional information and answers to stockholders' questions will be provided during a conference call to be held at 11:00am EDT / 8:00am PDT, today, May 18th, 2001. Investors are invited to participate by dialing 1-800-257-1836 within the United States or 1-303-205-0044 internationally or listen live via a Webcast on the Preview Systems Web site, http://www.previewsystems.com. Please go to the Web site at least 15 minutes early to register, download, and install any necessary audio software. For those that cannot listen to the live event, we invite you to listen to our telephone replay of the conference call by dialing 1-800-475-6701 or internationally 1-303-205-0044 and entering reservation number 587679, beginning at 2:00 p.m. EDT / 11:00 a.m. PDT. The replay will be available through May 25th, 2001.
About Preview Systems
Preview Systems' digital rights commerce platform enables service providers and content producers to sell digital goods over the Internet legally and securely. Preview Systems also ensures the protection, delivery and management of the rights associated with the usage of digital products. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., the company counts as its customers a network of software publishers, record labels, distributors, service providers, resellers and hardware manufacturers. For more information, please visit the Preview Systems Web site at www.previewsystems.com.
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and is subject to the safe harbors created by this section. These forward-looking statements include our strategies, intentions and statements containing the words "believe," "anticipate," "expect," and similar words. We wish to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that the transactions described in this press release are subject to substantial risk of noncompletion. No assurance can be given that Preview will be successful in pursuing to conclusion the sale of assets to Aladdin, or that such a transaction and a subsequent winding-down of Preview's operations would actually increase stockholder value. Other important factors include our ability to retain key employees through the transition period between the signing of the agreement and the closing of the sale of our assets; our ability to support those customers that we have retained; delay and or additional costs associated with compliance or failure to comply with rules and regulations associated with our sale of technology assets to a purchaser in another country, Israel; costs incurred if the sale of our assets is terminated due to a superior proposal or the failure of Preview to obtain stockholder approval for the sale of assets or other material contingencies provided for in the sale of assets; the failure of the sale of assets to be consummated; the failure of estimates of net proceeds from the sale of assets to be realized by Preview stockholders; amendment, delay in implementation or termination of any plan to wind down Preview; the liability of Preview's stockholders for Preview's liabilities in the event contingent reserves are insufficient to satisfy such liabilities; the risks posed by the large numbers of patents and frequent litigation based on patent and intellectual property infringement which characterizes our industry and which might become more prevalent following our announcement of this transaction; we have in the past been, and expect to continue to be, subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of our business, including claims of alleged infringement of third-party intellectual property rights; the transactions we have agreed to, and any winding-down of Preview in the future, may result in payments to stockholders that are substantially lower than the price a stockholder paid for shares of our Common Stock. We expect to recognize little or no revenue following the sale of assets contemplated in this transaction. Further, the stock market has recently experienced record volatility. In general, market prices for Internet-related companies and, in particular, our stock has experienced extreme fluctuations. The matters discussed in this press release involve additional risks and uncertainties described from time to time in our press releases and filings with the SEC, including our annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000, including our recently filed Form 10-K/A and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. We assume no obligation to update the forward-looking information contained in this press release.
Note to Editors: Preview Systems and the Preview Systems logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Preview Systems, Inc.
TASKING Delivers Advanced DSP Capabilities for Internet Audio Developers
DEDHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 18, 2001--
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/211382079&ticker=
TASKING Tool Suite Delivers Advanced DSP Capabilities to Internet Audio Developers State-of-the-art SoC debugging reduces development time
TASKING, The Embedded Communications Company(TM), announced immediate availability of a tool suite for the Parthus MediaStream DSP core that enables developers to tap into the exploding media processing market that includes opportunities such as portable Internet audio applications. Recognizing the significance of tight SoC integration for Internet audio applications, TASKING's Parthus MediaStream Tool Suite V1.1 provides a complete development environment tailored specifically for the high-performance DSP capabilities of the architecture.
Equipped with TASKING's highly optimized C/C++ compiler, advanced debugging capabilities and memory management features, developers can take advantage of the flexible memory-based approach of the MediaStream integrated circuit that highly complements the core's fully programmable and upgradeable solution. Code generation is facilitated by features such as graphical symbol browsing of source code to identify all cross references, navigation through application variables and functions, and display of function parameters during editing.
As audio-decoding applications balloon in size and complexity, SoC developers are confronted with the need to slash code size. Using C language extensions that enable fractional datatypes, circular and bit-reversed addressing, memory space qualifiers and other DSP-related features, TASKING's highly optimized compiler ensures that developers never trade code size for performance or have to resort to using assembly language. Through variable usage analysis, loop recognition, automatic stack overflow checking and in-line expansion of predefined functions, developers can address the code density and performance needs of the DSP. The efficiency, reliability and faster development time of the TASKING Tool Suite ensures that developers can power the expanding market of MP3 players, as well as integrate the MediaStream IP into mobile devices.
"The release of TASKING's Parthus MediaStream tool suite reaffirms TASKING's commitment to provide premier DSP development tools to the rapidly expanding base of DSP embedded application developers," noted Laura Horn, TASKING Product Marketing Manager for 32-bit and DSP. "To ensure that developers have what it takes to create sufficiently sophisticated applications, Parthus and TASKING have gone out of their way to provide a fully programmable solution, capable of performing complex audio processing at very low power levels. And, since time to market is critical, TASKING has cut development time through an enhanced development environment as well as compiler options that eliminate the need for specialized assembler programming."
To meet the need for high performance, TASKING's assembler has been fine-tuned to automatically generate the tightest, fastest code. The assembler automatically reorders instruction sequences to avoid pipeline hazards and maximize parallel execution. Through flow analysis, instructions can be rearranged to reduce code size. By providing these capabilities, TASKING enables programmers less familiar with the MediaStream architecture to write better performing code, thereby extending the capabilities of the design team.
Given the complexity of media processing, TASKING's CrossView Pro debugger has focused on ways to ease DSP development. Graphical displays of input/output data quickly verify complex algorithms, code coverage finds areas of unexecuted code, and the contents of control registers, memory locations and stack frame are easily accessed. For granular debugging that lets the developer drill down to more elusive problems, TASKING provides advanced breakpoint handling that steps through code, offering breakpoints based on code execution, data access, timer activity, instruction and cycle counts, or a series of events. By tracing I/O simulation using probe points, developers can examine data structures without stopping code and causing an intrusion with the audio compression formats used. Through this level of depth and responsiveness, TASKING enables developers to tackle the complex design issues and deliver product quickly--a must given that the markets such as Internet audio boast rapid growth and one of the shortest time-to-market windows.
Availability:
The TASKING MediaStream Tool Suite, V1.1, available now on Windows 95/98/NT/2000 and SUN Solaris, starts at $5,380 for a complete tool suite. A demo version of the Tool Suite is available from www.tasking.com/products/MediaStream or on CD-ROM from any of the TASKING offices or distributors. Release notes and manual files can be downloaded from the technical support area at www.tasking.com/support/MediaStream.
About TASKING
TASKING, The Embedded Communications Company, brings together the software technology needed to compete in the embedded communications era. TASKING's award-winning integrated development environment, compiler, debugger, embedded Internet and RTOS offerings support a wide range of DSPs and 8-, 16- and 32-bit microprocessors and microcontrollers for all areas of embedded communications. TASKING was founded in 1974 and has its headquarters in Dedham, Massachusetts, and engineering, sales and support offices in the US, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK. TASKING's 100,000 licensed users include the world's leading telecom, datacom, wireless and peripheral manufacturers.
In March 2001, TASKING was acquired by the world's leading independent desktop EDA tool vendor, Protel International Limited, with the vision of bridging the gap between the design of electronics hardware and software. As a Protel company, TASKING continues to be responsible for the development, sale and support of a wide range of powerful embedded software development tools. More information about TASKING can be found at www.tasking.com and www.embeddedcommunications.com. Additional information about Protel International Limited can be found at www.protel.com.
TASKING, the TASKING logo, and The Embedded Communications Company are trademarks of TASKING. Protel and the Protel Logo are registered trademarks of Protel International Limited. All other trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
--30--fap/ny*
CONTACT: Press contact: Hughes Communications, Inc.
Janice Hughes, 860/434-3782
janice@hughescom.net
or
Marketing contact: TASKING, Inc.
Laura Horn, 781/320-9400, Ext. 254
laurah@tasking.com
OT: The tangled legal Web of e-publishing
By Doug Isenberg
May 15, 2001
A year ago, as the e-book industry was just starting to emerge, the biggest obstacle to its success seemed to be copyright law. Specifically, why would authors and book publishers--that is, copyright creators--allow their works to be distributed in electronic format if people could simply copy and redistribute them for free?
Today, while the e-book debate over copy-protection schemes and the law still simmers, an even larger legal obstacle has arisen. This time, the tension is not between untrusting authors and the public, but between traditional, hard-copy publishers and their New Economy counterparts.
At the center of the storm is a David-and-Goliath lawsuit filed earlier this year against RosettaBooks by Random House. Rosetta is an upstart e-book publisher that offers a modest collection of well-known titles in the new electronic format.
Many of its books are available in the Microsoft Reader, Adobe eBook and Adobe Reader formats. It promises to offer future titles in the Gemstar and Peanut formats, which allow people to read books on special e-book hardware devices and common PDAs such as Palm handhelds, respectively.
Random House is the well-known publisher that bills itself as "the world's largest English-language general trade book publisher." It was founded in 1925 and today is a division of the Bertelsmann Book Group. (Bertelsmann has gained attention in Internet circles in recent months for its "strategic alliance" with Napster through its music division, BMG.)
In its lawsuit, Random House has asked a federal district court in New York to stop Rosetta from publishing a number of titles in e-book format. The titles--including some by such well-known authors as William Styron ("The Confessions of Nat Turner"), Kurt Vonnegut ("Slaughterhouse Five") and Robert B. Parker ("Promised Land")--were previously published by Random House or its predecessors under contracts as many as 40 years ago.
Random House maintains that, under the contracts with Styron, Vonnegut and Parker, Random House has the exclusive right to publish the disputed titles "in book form." Those three words are the key to this lawsuit and, perhaps, to the future of the nascent e-book industry.
Thus, this lawsuit ultimately boils down to one perplexing question: Is an e-book a book?
In their first in-court meeting last week, Random House and Rosetta debated this question and the merits of the lawsuit in a preliminary hearing before the judge overseeing the case. While Random House maintained that e-books are nothing more than a faithful reproduction of the original work, Rosetta attempted to distinguish e-books from their hard-copy counterparts by pointing out the electronic features--such as searching, linking and highlighting--that make e-books something other than books as we've always known them.
This is not an easy case. On the one hand, despite some technological advantages of e-books, these products indeed contain at least the same content as the hard-copy counterparts previously published. And the name "e-book" was created (and is used repeatedly by Rosetta) for an obvious reason.
On the other hand, how could an author grant a publisher the right to publish his book in a format that did not exist at the time he signed a publishing contract? (Although people have been reading documents electronically for years, Rosetta reportedly asserts that e-books were essentially unknown until the mid-1980s--an assertion made all the more believable given that publishing contracts have not mentioned them until recently.)
Although Rosetta obviously has a lot at stake in this case, the outcome is being watched by many others and ultimately could have a significant effect on an entire industry. Until this lawsuit is resolved, many e-book publishers will be unlikely to publish titles previously published by others for fear of getting served with lawsuits of their own.
The issue of electronic publishing rights and the law is not confined to the new e-book industry. Though the Rosetta case is in its infancy, another important case--New York Times Co. v. Tasini--has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which this summer is expected to rule whether online database and CD-ROM publishers have the right to include content from freelancers who originally wrote for hard-copy newspapers and magazines.
And recently, some freelance photographers stopped accepting new assignments from Forbes magazine because of a dispute over how their photos are used on the Internet.
Electronic publishing raises a host of legal issues that were not envisioned just a few years ago. How these issues are resolved could affect electronic publishing for years to come.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1274-210-5923292-1.html?tag=bt_pr
Market estimate for MP3 players:
(courtesy of Savant at SI)
SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 15, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Spatializer Audio Laboratories Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: SPAZ) today announced the appointment of ReignCom Ltd. as its technology marketing representative in Korea. ReignCom is a leading technical marketing and solutions provider with over 50 employees in offices in Seoul. Among ReignCom's distribution lines are semiconductors from Cirrus Logic and LuxSonor. ReignCom is also a major designer of portable digital music players.
The Internet audio player world market is estimated to quadruple in 2001 to above 4 million units and is predicted continue to increase at a 109 percent compounded annual growth rate to 30 million units in 2002. By 2005, demand for MP3 players is expected to surpass conventional cassette tape recorders. Meanwhile the number of OEMs manufacturing MP3 devices swelled from a handful a year ago to more than 50 at present. Korea is now a major producer and exporter of electronics, including MP3 devices, exporting ten times the number of devices that it consumes domestically.
rstring, that news item is in Czech and dated November 16th, 2000. It contains nothing new. Nice dig, though : - )
OT: DETROIT, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- OnStar subscribers are now able to get audio entertainment information, including soap opera updates and horoscopes through OnStar's new Virtual Advisor service.
Rod Egdorf, OnStar's vice president of wireless business, made the announcement today at the "eyeforauto" telematics conference at Cobo Hall. Developed in collaboration with General Magic, OnStar Virtual Advisor gives subscribers hands-free, voice-activated access to personalized, Web-based information including e-mail, news, sports, weather, financial services by Fidelity Investments, and The Wall Street Journal audio content. OnStar will add
traffic information to that lineup later this summer.
"Our subscribers want an ever increasing variety of information, and for most people, entertainment plays an important role in their lives. Whether you are looking to keep the kids happy or get the scoop on your favorite soap, you can get it through Virtual Advisor," Egdorf said. "The addition of entertainment information is yet another example of OnStar adding services to its open Virtual Advisor platform to meet growing subscriber demand."
OnStar's new entertainment information includes:
* Features: Daily and weekly updates covering the latest trends, book reviews, food and wine information, historical facts, consumer issues and more.
* Movies: Weekly movie news and information and celebrity updates.
* Music: Weekly updates highlighting the top ten singles and CDs in adult contemporary, rock, country, classical, jazz/new age, heavy metal, pop, Christian, R&B and alternative.
* Television: Daily listings of prime time programming on major network and cable television channels.
* Series updates: Up-to-date summaries of the most recent episodes of today's hottest television series.
* Soap operas: Daily episode summaries of the most popular soap opera programs, weekly program recaps and news on program celebrities.
* Horoscopes: Daily horoscopes, as well as birthday horoscopes.
* Children's programming: Children's programs updated daily with information that includes activities, short stories, book reviews, video reviews, science programs, jokes and more.
* Lottery results: Up-to-date results from lotteries across the country.
About OnStar
OnStar, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), is the nation's leading provider of in-vehicle safety, security and information services using the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network and wireless technology. OnStar services include automatic notification of air bag deployment, stolen vehicle tracking, emergency services, roadside assistance with location, remote door unlock, remote
diagnostics, route support, OnStar concierge and convenience services. OnStar Personal Calling, being rolled out nationally, allows drivers to make and receive hands-free, voice-activated phone calls through a nationwide network in cooperation with Verizon Wireless. Virtual Advisor, developed in conjunction with General Magic Inc., allows subscribers to access personalized Web-based information, in a hands-free voice-activated manner -- there are
no screens or displays. Additional information is available on the Web at www.onstar.com .
SOURCE OnStar
Hmmm - apparently we go back a ways with Sharper Image...
"For the fiscal year ended March 31, 1996, two customers The Sharper Image and The Good Guys accounted for 10% each of total revenues. The Company has not had enough FLASHBACK marketing history and experience to determine if it will be reliant on a small number of customers." - Norris Communications 10K dated 11/13/96 (late filing)
OT: Malaysia Pilots Psion's netBook for Nationwide Wireless Education
Date: 7th May 2001, 12:31 PM
Author: Andres Jugnarain
One-Ed Dot Com -- a Malaysian based joint venture between the Kedah State Development Corp, Ericsson and others -- have secured government approval to replace school textbooks with 'eBooks' supplied by Psion in all schools by 2004. The move will make Malaysia the first country to implement digital education nation-wide for its student and teacher population of more than 5 million.
Up to 8000 students and 1300 teachers will pilot the use of Psion's netBook in local and wide area wireless configurations, in areas where access to the critical mass of students and teachers is seen as a significant success factor. The joint initiative between One-Ed Dot Com and Psion will initially cover about 4000 secondary students and 650 teachers at 50 Malaysian schools from June this year. All participants in the pilot programme will be using the Psion netBooks powered by the Symbian OS. Students' textbooks and their educational syllabuses will
be made available by One-Ed Dot Com in digital form. The netBook will also act as the teachers and student's personal gateway to the education portals and Internet whilst in the school or at home.
One-Ed Dot Com will be using the netBook as the core component of its `eLearning' programme and mobile learning solution for students and teachers. The netBooks will be equipped with both fixed and wireless communication capabilities allowing students to connect from their homes, roam the school and classroom wirelessly, whilst retaining high speed access to educational content and curriculums.
The netBook is part of a new generation of Psion mobile devices targeted at enterprise-wide implementation. Weighing about 1 kilo, the battery-operated terminals have a standby time of 8 hours. The device runs on the Symbian OS and supports Java and Citrix ICA Client giving MS Outlook and Office access, and IBM MQSeries Everyplace. The sub-notebook-sized netBook features instant power-on capability. The incorporation of Java support will also help provide for rapid application deployment, application re-use and compatibility across the enterprise from hand-held to server.
OT: Japan convenience store offers PDA content to go
By Kuriko Miyake
(IDG) -- Japan's convenience stores are about to get more convenient for users of Sharp Corp.'s popular Zaurus PDA (personal digital assistant). Sharp and Family Mart Co. Ltd., a major Japanese convenience store franchise operator, will launch a new service on May 21 that enables Zaurus users to download and purchase digital content while they shop for milk and rice balls.
Family Mart subsidiary Famima Dot Com Co. Ltd., which runs the stores' online division, and Sharp have reached an agreement to provide services for Zaurus PDA users at terminals currently stationed at 1,300 of the company's 7,616 Family Mart stores in the Tokyo metropolitan area. An additional 200 stores plan to have the terminals by June, the two companies said Wednesday.
Family Mart started providing services such as ticket reservations, music streaming and online shopping to its customers via "Famiport" electronic terminals installed at stores in late January this year, according to Masahiko Tanaka, a spokesman for Family Mart. The terminal functions have been prepared to be used by mobile devices such as PDAs, he said.
At first, it plans to distribute game software and electronic book contents for the Zaurus from Sharp's existing Internet service, called "Sharp Space Town," which is exclusively provided for users of all of Sharp's computer hardware devices. The convenience store terminals, unlike the Internet, do not charge a telecommunication fee and enable users to download one megabyte of content in approximately 10 seconds, the companies said.
The price of game software will range from 500 yen to 1,570 yen (US$4 to $13) and the e-book from 100 yen to 840 yen, Tanaka said.
The companies hope to expand the service to offer more varied content and use more advanced technologies in the near future. At the beginning, memory cards will be needed for downloading, however, they plan to install Bluetooth wireless personal-area networks on both terminals and PDAs, according to Tastuya Kofuji, a spokesman for Sharp.
"It is now a matter of cost. The technology is ready but we need to produce a Bluetooth-embedded Zaurus at the reasonable price," Kofuji said. "It won't be longer than a few years".
In Japan, convenience stores are located nationwide and in cities can be found on almost every other block. The stores are usually open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and attract not only the young but many people who stop by on their way to and from appointments. It is therefore an ideal place for mobile PDA users to purchase content, Kofuji said. "Especially young businessmen, who often use convenience stores, are likely to be PDA users and even for older generations, convenience stores are easy to go in."
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/ptech/05/11/japan.pda.content.idg/index.html
Varovision Wings Video player:
http://www.varovision.com/sub1/wings.html
Enjoy Full-length Movie with Your Hands
Digital Audio & Video
Portable Games
Portable e-Book
PDA
"Wings" is a portable multimedia player which provides to your hand, high-quality MPEG-4 video, digital audio, portable games, and e-book functions. Also, supports basic PDA functions for personal data management on its crystal clear color TFT LCD screen.
"Wings" will open a new era of portable multimedia entertainer which has a large color display and various optional modules.
Features
Storage media: DataPlay Disc(500MB)
3.9" 320 x 240 TFT color LCD with front light
Touch screen
Built-in speaker and headphone jack
USB interface to PC
Rechargeable battery and built-in charge circuit
CompactFlash slot for optional module
Functions:
Digital Audio & Video Play
- Video format: MPEG-4 Video, 320x240, 24fps
- Audio format: MP3/AAC
Portable Games
e-Book
PDA Function
Options:
- Camera module: Digital Still/Video Camera
- Wireless modem module
- TV receiver module
- GPS module
- Joy-stick
EDIG: Info for Investors (5/15 AM rNI)
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=105146 (Bostonredsox speaks w/mp3extreme)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=104057 (3 new openings at EDIG)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=101870 (Bostonredsox speaks w/Hammacher)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=102208 (Samsung making a run on Sony?)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=99994 (Some details of STM's DataPlay chips)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=676522 (Pam digs into Eastech)
http://www.eigernet.co.kr/products/mp3/d100.htm (Eiger DataPlayer specs)
http://www.amaxhk.com/products/napa/dp600/dp600.htm (Amax DataPlayer specs)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=676116 (Giants at RB e-mails Putnam)
http://db2.jobstreet.com/jassist/preview.asp?advertiser_id=9564 (Backgrounder on DataPlay Singapore)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=672506 (BusyBump chats w/Putnam)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=668929 (Intel orders MP3 players from Eastech)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=669383 (Eastech lands Sanyo order)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=668935 (Treo ads flying high)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=668916 (Recent Treo sightings)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=91844 (EDIG mention in Volan ad)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=90491 (Recent RP e-mails at RB)
http://www.investorshub.com/beta/read_msg.asp?message_id=84624 (Cksla's XYBR chronicles)
hhttp://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=83856
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=84611 (Hammacher-Schlemmer catalog offers Treo)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=83521 (Brewmeister visits EDIG)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=81983 (Xybernaut to collaborate with IBM, TXN)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=82749 (More re XYBR)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=81621 (Rioport intros Music Delivery Service)
http://www.investorshub.com/beta/read_msg.asp?message_id=81406 (Makomemoney chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=81294 (New look jukebox from Eastech)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79586 (Packers1 chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79571 (Trillium chats w/Putnam)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79567 (New DataPay player from A-Max)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=79579 (Multi-codec player from A-Max)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76832 (Intel VTT plans for China market)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76546 (InHand partners w/Conversay)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76465 (MP2000 details at Global Resource)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76168
and http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76246 (New IBM platform for internet appliances)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=76119
and http://www.siliconinvestor.com/stocktalk/msg.gsp?msgid=15637828 (New XYBR/IBM wearable computer due)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75782 (Some ITRU customer woes)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75784 (Loudeye RIFs and plans roll-out)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75578 (WSJ re MSFT vs MP3)
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=75655 (POTCE update re Treo)
http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=659615 (Eastech update per unclejed47)
EDIG news and opinions (pre-4/12/01):
http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=82919
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
===========================================================
Treo review compilation: http://ragingbull.lycos.com/mboard/boards.cgi?board=EDIG&read=612321
===========================================================
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