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3G Is Here. But What Is It?
Tuesday October 2, 12:00 pm Eastern Time
Forbes.com
By Matthew Herper
Thomas Edison famously remarked that "invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration." For third-generation wireless technology known as 3G, much of the needed inspiration is there. But a lot of engineers will have to do a serious amount of sweating before data starts zipping through the air at high speeds for mobile phone users around the globe.
But even with all this work left to do, Japan's NTT DoCoMo launched the first 3G network yesterday.
There seems to be wide disagreement over exactly how much data a network has to carry for it to be considered 3G. There are certainly competing technical standards and what some would label 3G only ranks as 2.5G (a midway point between the second generation and the third) for others.
At best, a 3G network would carry 2 megabytes of data for a user each second--enough to download music or video more quickly. That's a huge increase : The first- and second-generation systems available in the U.S. carry 43.2 kilobytes of data per second at best and most users make due with 14.4 kbs, almost two hundred times less than what would be delivered by a theoretical 3G network.
That high-speed pipe may be only a dream. "These two-megabyte-per-second systems that people are talking about, this is if nobody else in that cell [area of radio coverage] gets any data," says Vahid Tarokh, an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "If you have 32 people in the cell, you can give one person 2 megabytes per second but the other guys have to just be quiet."
Tarokh, who worked at AT&T Labs until a year ago and Ray Yan, vice-president of the wireless research laboratory at Lucent Technologies ' Bell Laboratories, both said that a more practical definition of 3G might be a network that can give each user a minimum of 40 kbs of data.
Two standards are competing to be the way this infrastructure is developed and, confusingly, both are known as CDMA for "code division multiple access." One of these, CDMA-2000, would build on systems that work with the CDMA standard already used in North America by companies like Verizon and Sprint PCS . The other, wCDMA, is based on GSM, or "global system for mobil communication," which is dominant in Europe and Asia and has limited use in the U.S.
The reason for the redundant naming: CDMA is actually a name for a way of encoding messages so that many users can make calls using the same radio spectrum. "Instead of just dedicating some frequency to one user, they dedicate the entire spectrum to all of the users," Tarokh says. All of the systems use this method, but they are very distinct: In 3G as in 2G, the systems will be different enough that a phone that works in Europe may not work in the U.S.
Joe Ballard, head of 3G market relations for handset maker Nokia , estimates that 80% of those using 3G phones will be making their calls on wCDMA. The CDMA systems that will be used in the U.S. will have to be different anyway because many of the radio frequencies dedicated to 3G by other countries have been used for other applications by the Federal Communications Commission.
"What is fundamentally important about 3G over 2G," says Tarokh, "is the ability to push data rather than just voice. To make this thing work, you have to build an entirely new infrastructure. 3G will not waste resources the way the 2G system did. You have to deploy completely different hardware."
That will mean reengineering entire cellular networks from the ground up--at great expense. It will also mean that the phones themselves will be more complex and, at least at first, more expensive. Ray Jodoin, an analyst at Cahners In-Stat Group, put it this way: A 3G phone is a Cadillac, a 2G phone is a Yugo.
CKSLA; Evidently, APL is pretty big. I assume they have reached #1 in warehouse space, since GALX was #2 prior to the merger. Did you know that the 21m sqft is over 482 acres in size? That is pretty impressive to say the least.
Philo
Teenagers unexcited about new digital music service.
Hopefully this link will bring you to CBS Market watch
http://www.marketwatch.com/tvradio/playerFull.asp?siteid=yhoo&dist=yhooBB&guid=%7B971DC2CB%2...
Mako, that sounded like a nice reply, I liked the part of music first, maybe that will help e.dig. wouldn't it be great if we could see the product sooner, than later?
Philo
Thursday July 19, 1:50 pm Eastern Time
TheStandard.com
Vivendi Puts MP3.com in Play
By Michael Learmonth
Vivendi Universal's aggressive digital acquisition strategy is - officially - beginning to bear fruit.
When the Paris-based media and utilities conglomerate agreed to pay $372 million for MP3.com in May, analysts and journalists noted that the acquisition could provide a technology platform for Pressplay, the nascent music subscription service backed by Vivendi Universal and Sony.
On Thursday, Pressplay made it official. MP3.com will be providing the technological backbone of the service, including content delivery and management, as well as a massive database to collect payment information from consumers. MP3.com also will become the third big "affiliate" for the Pressplay service along with Yahoo and MSN.
"We had already built the back-end content delivery and subscription management system," said MP3.com President Robin Richards. "We've been doing this for four years."
Pressplay CEO Andy Schuon said Vivendi Universal's pending acquisition of MP3.com accelerated the deal. "It allowed us to get to know Robin and his team."
MP3.com initially developed the technology to allow it to launch its classical music subscription service last year. Ironically, it was the label's reluctance to grant licenses that prevented MP3.com from extending the service to popular music. But since the technology was built anyway, MP3.com began shopping it around to potential licensees. Given the legal and technical complexity of such a service, Richards said that pool of potential licensees dwindled to the few players with the resources and label connections to make it happen.
The MP3.com deal demonstrates the difference between Pressplay and MusicNet, the subscription service backed by the other three major labels, EMI, BMG and Warner. While Pressplay will attempt to establish a consumer brand as well as directly manage billing relationships with consumers, MusicNet will rely on its partners such as Real Networks and AOL to fill that role.
"I do believe it is going to be important to the consumer to be aware of the Pressplay brand," Schuon said. He envisions the brand coexisting with that of the affiliates, much like the way that "Intel Inside" coexists with that of PC manufacturers.
Despite the fact that the two companies are backed and financed by competing blocks of record labels, executives at both Pressplay and MusicNet said they expect to license music from all the major labels and as many independents as possible by the time they launch later this summer.
"We are trying to work towards that," said MusicNet CEO Richard Wolpert. "We have been in conversations with both [the other majors]."
Thanks Tin
Tuesday July 17, 11:06 am Eastern Time
AOL Time Warner, Samsung in marketing, tech deals
(UPDATE: recasts; adds details, stock quote)
NEW YORK, July 17 (Reuters) - Internet and media giant AOL Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news) and Korea's Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said on Tuesday they will team up to develop a new version of AOLTV's set-top boxes and entered into a marketing pact to expand the world's top computer memory chipmaker's brand.
Terms of the multiyear agreements were not disclosed. The deals are not exclusive.
The two companies said in a statement that they will work together to develop the newest version of AOLTV set-top boxes, which will feature TiVo Inc.'s (NasdaqNM:TIVO - news) recording abilities, such as pausing live television.
The co-branded product will let AOLTV members engage in Internet activities such as e-mail and Web surfing while they watch television. AOLTV is the company's interactive TV service that aims to marry Internet features with television.
The companies will also explore development of future consumer electronics and digital convergence products such as wireless, Web terminals and e-mail printers.
AOL Time Warner will also work to expand the Samsung brand and promote the company's products through its online and offline media properties such as Sports Illustrated and People magazines, as well as its Moviefone.com service.
The company also plans to launch a Winter Olympics-related contest with Samsung products as prizes.
``This agreement is another example of AOL Time Warner's unparalleled ability to use the combined strengths of our online, print and broadcast brands to help drive growth for our business partners, and ultimately offer increased value to consumers,'' AOLTV President Robert Friedman said in a statement.
Other pacts that the world's largest Internet and media giant has signed this year also include a marketing component.
Many analysts have said the ability of AOL Time Warner to strike deals with technology companies and offer them a way to promote their services and products over several media has helped it weather the advertising slump hitting the Internet and media sector.
Last week, AOL Time Warner teamed up with Dutch Philips Electronics NV , which makes set-top boxes for the current version of AOLTV, to expand both companies' brands beyond their respective borders.
The companies said they will continue to work together to explore several initiatives in the set-top box arena.
Shares of AOL Time Warner, which reports its second-quarter results on Wednesday, were off 32 cents at $48.04 in morning New York Stock Exchange trade.
(-- Reshma Kapadia, New York technology desk, (646) 223-6191))
I just pulled this off of the Hytek website. Does this have e.dig inside or is this the competition?
http://musiccompressor.com/
I just got this emailed to me, could Data Play have some competion?
COMPANY PROFILE
Constellation 3D, Inc. (Nasdaq/NMS: CDDD)
Another timely release by InvestProCentral.com
Constellation 3D (C3D) has developed breakthrough 'Fluorescent Multilayer Disc and Card'
(FMD/C) technology that C3D management believes will vastly increase the capacity of
existing removable data storage formats. The Company has successfully demonstrated both
removable data disc technology capable of storing 100 gigabytes (In comparison, a standard
DVD disc holds just 4.7 gigabytes) and a credit card-sized memory product that holds up to
10 gigabytes. In the future, cards and discs with capacities exceeding 1 Terabyte (1,000
gigabytes) are planned.
STOCK INFO
(Nasdaq/NMS: CDDD)
52-wk range 2.50-$20.188 Shares Outstanding 45.5 M Approx.
Estimated Market Float 14.5 M Market Cap 318 M
Market Makers 42 Inst. Ownership 10%
Current Assets 12.1 M Total Assets 12.5 M
Shareholder Equity 7.1 M Total Liabilities 5.4 M
LINKS
COMPANY SITE http://www.c-3d.net/
INVESTOR FACTSHEET http://www.c-3d.net/factsheet.html
QUOTE http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=cddd&d=v1
PRESS RELEASES http://www.c-3d.net/releases.html
MEDIA ARTICLES http://www.c-3d.net/articles.html
RECENT NEWS
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 16, 2001-- Founding member of DVD Consortium to co-develop Fluorescent Multilayer
Disk manufacturing process
Constellation 3D, Inc. ("C3D") (Nasdaq/NMS: CDDD), developer of Fluorescent Multilayer Discs (FMD) and Cards (FMC),
today announced that the Company has signed a Cooperative Development and Licensing Agreement with Warner Advanced
Media Operations (WAMO), a business unit of WEA Manufacturing Inc., a subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, to co-develop,
cross license and manufacture high density Fluorescent Multilayer ROM media.
For additional information on the above-mentioned headline, point your
browser to:
http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Symbol=US:CDDD&Feed=BW&Date=20010716&...
TECHNOLOGY
Constellation 3D's technology implements the concept of 3-dimensional storage of
information. Data is recorded on up to 100 layers located inside a disc or a card, as
opposed to the single or double layer method available in compact discs, and DVDs.
It is important to understand the differences between Constellation 3D's FLUORESCENT
technology and the REFLECTIVE optical discs like CDs and DVDs
With Constellation 3D's Fluorescent Multilayer technology, each storage layer is coated
with a transparent fluorescent material rather than the reflective metallic layer of a CD
or DVD. When the laser beam hits a mark on a layer, fluorescent light is emitted. This
emitted light has a different wavelength from the incident laser light and is incoherent
in nature, in contrast to the reflected coherent light in current optical devices.
Because of this incoherent nature, the emitted light is not affected by data marks of the
above storage layers, and this allows for the implementation of up to 100 data layers. An
additional advantage of this incoherent light is a high fault tolerance, as it is much
less affected by media impurities. This allows less stringent manufacturing standards for
media and discs (cheaper prices) while providing products with more rugged performance
characteristics than CDs and DVD.
FMD drives and media will be similar in size, design and price to CD and DVD drives and
players currently on the market. Lasers and laser focusing technology will be the same and
only minor modifications are required in the signal-processing unit to allow for the
reading of the incoherent light emitted by an FMD disc rather than the coherent light of a
CD or DVD.
Note: With existing CDs and DVDs, the coherent nature of the reflected laser beam causes
interference and intra-layer cross talk. As a result, the signal quality degrades rapidly
with the number of layers. Dual layer DVDs are the limit, and further research efforts
into multi-layer reflective technologies have been abandoned.
Now you understand the basic technology of Fluorescent Multilayer Technology, it is easy
to determine some major advantages
100 times storage capacity increase.
Reading from several layers simultaneously allows for retrieval speeds of up to one
gigabit/second.
Considerably more robust data carrier than CD and DVDs.
Cheaper manufacturing cost: fewer restrictions in temperature range, vibration and air-
cleanness during manufacturing.
Readers and drives can be backward-compatible with current technology.
Young technology with a lot of space to grow and evolve.
EXCLUSIVITY
C3D believes that its more than 120 approved and/or pending patents provide a broad-based
portfolio that covers virtually all essential elements of Fluorescent Multilayer
technology. As the exclusive owner of fluorescent multilayer technology, C3D is positioned
to enjoy rapid revenue growth and healthy margins as the technology is adopted by disc,
card and drive manufacturers and penetrates various markets.
The company is currently exploring partnership arrangements with data storage industry
leaders in all relevant market segments. The goal of these arrangements is to ensure swift
adoption of the company's multi layer technology into the next generation of devices that
incorporate data storage. Constellation 3D will provide fully functional prototypes of the
relevant storage device and industry partners will undertake the manufacturing, marketing
and distribution of the product. Constellation 3D will realize revenues by licensing its
technology to these partners.
Projected revenue sources include:
Equity-based profits from joint venture enterprises
Royalties and other per-unit revenues from media and drive manufacturers that
introduce the technology into the marketplace
Royalties from sales of key components such as dye polymers
LOI Agreements:
Nippon Zeon - Steag Hamatech - Toolex Intl. - Lite-On IT Corp. - Plasmon - Avica
Technologyn ...
MARKETS
Digital video players and recorders, HDTV, Corporate Archiving, enterprise and PC/laptop
data storage, digital cinema, personal computer storage/backup devices, internet content
streaming and data warehousing.
HDTV: Constellation's videodisc will offer higher resolution, higher bit-rates and greater
realism than current consumer video formats. Recordable FMD media should be capable of up
to 20 hours of HDTV recording.
Digital Cinema Market: the replacement of traditional cellulite prints with a digitalized
alternative could save the U.S. industry $600 million per year (source: The National
Association of Theatre Owners) while generating high visibility for C3D's technology.
For mobile applications, C3D's ClearCard will have capacities of up to 10 Gigabytes, and
offer tremendous per-gigabyte cost savings versus current technology. Current storage
demand in these markets is rising at a rate of about 60% per year. The ClearCard should be
able to quickly infiltrate high-growth industries such as the Digital camera and digital
camcorder markets, portable video players, PC/laptop storage, PDAs, combined MP3/MP4
players, G3 mobile phones, and e-books.
Each market for Fluorescent Multilayer technology should yield numerous revenue streams as
multiple licenses are granted for media and drive manufacturing in each product category.
CONCLUSION
As consumer storage needs grow, so too will the market for FMD discs and drives. The
technology's robust nature and low manufacturing cost make it ideally suited for broad
market acceptance.
The next generation of fluorescent multi-layer technologies will give users the ability to
write and record their own content for future playback. Constellation's rewritable
Terabyte FMD with a 1Gb/sec retrieval speed will be the solution for 21st century storage
needs.
DISCLOSER
Certain information included in this communication contains statements that are forward-
looking, such as statements relating to the future anticipated direction of the industry,
plans for future expansion, various business development activities, planned capital
expenditures, future funding sources, anticipated sales growth and potential contracts.
These forward looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual operations or results to differ materially from
those anticipated. InvestProCentral.com is not a registered financial advisory.
The information presented by InvestProCentral.com is not an offer to buy or sell
securities. InvestProCentral.com accumulates then distributes opinions, comments and
information to those who wish to receive them.
Penny stocks are considered to be highly speculative and may be unsuitable for all but
very aggressive investors. InvestProCentral.com may hold positions in companies mentioned
and may buy or sell at any time. This Profile of CDDD was a paid advertisement by a third
party to InvestProCentral.com This third party has compensated InvestProCentral.com three
thousand free trading shares. Paid advertisements by a company or an affiliated public
relations group, does not necessarily reflect the views of InvestProCentral.com
Good job Moxa. That needed to be clarified.
Philo ~8-)
Napster starts filtering
By Frank Barnako, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:57 AM ET June 28, 2001
It's not exactly the day the music died, but close.
Napster starts filtering
Now you have to download new software to get music files from Napster.com. The software includes a filter to block copyrighted tracks from being distributed freely. Previous versions of Napster software no longer will work, an online statement said.
"We're making this change as part of our ongoing effort to comply with the court's orders," it continued.
The immediate result has been a sharp decline in the number of tracks available for download. "Users of the new client were sharing an average of 1.5 songs, down from a peak of 220 songs per user in February," said Matt Bailey, a senior analyst for Webnoize, which tracks the digital entertainment market. Napster's announcement conceded this and said that as more users upgrade to the new versions, and more files are identified, more music will become available.
"The new client is being used to test Napster's fingerprinting technology for the company's planned commercial service," said Bailey. "By further reducing the music available through the current service, Napster has provided another nail in the coffin of the service consumers originally loved."
Yahoo buys music video site
Yahoo (YHOO: news, msgs, alerts) , whose new chairman's Hollywood background seems to be pushing the company to boost entertainment offerings, is acquiring online music company Launch Media Inc. Yahoo will do the deal for approximately $12 million in cash. Launch has licensed music videos from music labels and has an archive of reviews and news, the Los Angeles Times reported. "The addition of (our company's) enormous music video collection and Internet radio service to Yahoo's existing entertainment offerings will create even more compelling opportunities for online music fans, established and new artists, and advertisers," said CEO David Goldberg. Backers of Launch include Microsoft (MSFT: news, msgs, alerts) , Intel (INTC: news, msgs, alerts) and AOL Time Warner (AOL: news, msgs, alerts) . Launch also announced a settlement of the copyright infringement claim brought against its radio service by Universal Music Group. The deal included a payment by Launch for past performances and granting of a non-exclusive license with UMG for use of its recordings in the future.
Thursday June 28 10:53 AM ET
Webnoize: Song-Sharing on Napster Grinds to Halt
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Napster (news - web sites) has become so effective in blocking the trade of copyrighted material that the sharing of songs on the service has virtually ground to a halt, research firm Webnoize says.
Webnoize said users of Napster's latest software, which incorporates file identification technology, had an average of 1.5 song files to share at any given time as of Wednesday, down from a peak of 220 songs in February.
The newest version of the once-phenomenally popular song-swap software includes audio fingerprinting technology, developed by Relatable, which helps Napster filter out copyrighted songs in order to comply with a court injunction.
The fingerprint technology, which identifies music based on its acoustical properties, has sharply diminished the number of songs that are available to share, Webnoize said Wednesday.
Webnoize senior analyst Matt Bailey said the number of Napster users has also slid as the amount of available music has shrunk.
As of Wednesday, 320,000 users were logged into the system, compared to an average of 1.57 million simultaneous users at Napster's February peak, he said.
Napster had no immediate comment on the findings, but has said more content should be available on the service as a new software upgrade allows users to find songs that had been inadvertently blocked.
A Napster spokesman said the latest version of its software, known as 10.3 and which was released in a beta test version on Friday, should enable people to trade songs by independent or other artists which are not required to be blocked under terms of the court injunction.
WebNoize said the 10.3 version was among the applications it studied. Out of 320,000 logged onto the system, 80,000 users were connected using the new Napster application, it said.
The injunction against Napster is the result of a landmark copyright lawsuit filed by the world's big record labels -- including Vivendi Universal's (EAUG.PA) Universal Music, Sony Music (6758.T), Warner Music (NYSE:AOL - news), EMI Group Plc (news - web sites) (EMI.L) and Bertelsmann AG (news - web sites)'s (BTGGga.D) BMG.
The labels first sued Napster in December 1999, claiming it was a haven for copyright piracy that would cost them billions of dollars in lost music sales.
Napster suffered another legal defeat this week when a federal appeals court rejected its request for a chance to challenge the crippling injunction.
On a more positive note, Napster this month clinched a licensing deal with MusicNet -- a joint music subscription service between RealNetworks Inc. (NasdaqNM:RNWK - news) and BMG, EMI, and AOL Time Warner -- to carry these labels' music once it launches a new secure version, planned for later this summer.
Both EMI and Warner, however, issued statements on the day that deal was announced emphasizing they would not hand over their content to Napster until it had proven it had developed a secure system that pays royalties.
On Tuesday, Napster also signed more than 150 independent European labels to its new royalty-paying service to be launched this summer.
Monday June 25 3:07 PM ET
Judge Denies Music Industry Motion Vs Aimster
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A federal judge has denied a motion by the Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites) (RIAA) and 17 companies to dismiss a lawsuit filed against them in an upstate New York court by file-sharing company Aimster, a recording industry lawyer said on Monday.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence Kahn on Friday refused to throw out a suit by Aimster against the major record companies. He also refused to transfer it to Manhattan, where 36 companies filed two subsequent copyright-infringement suits against Aimster.
In the lawsuit filed in U.S. Northern District Court in Albany, New York, Aimster is seeking a declaratory judgement that it does not violate recording copyrights by allowing music files to be shared over the Internet.
``We see this as a very important victory that allows us to continue this fight in a fair forum without being disadvantaged by the unlimited resources of very large companies,'' said Aimster Chief Executive Johnny Deep.
Aimster has hired David Boies, the top gun lawyer who has been representing leading music-swap service Napster (news - web sites) in its landmark copyright suit, and is seeking to have all the cases consolidated in Albany.
``It is our view that copyright holders should be permitted to determine where the case should proceed,'' said Matt Oppenheim, senior vice president of business, legal affairs for the RIAA. ``Regardless wherever this is litigated, we're confident these holders' rights will be affirmed,'' he said.
Aimster has contended any attempt to monitor its members would itself be a violation of federal copyright law and users' privacy since it has encrypted transmissions on its network.
He has said Aimster, a Napster-like program, is better insulated from lawsuits than a fully open file-swapping services like Napster because users have more control over files as they share only with people designated on instant messaging ``buddy lists.''
But Oppenheim said this was false and that Aimster is much like Napster. Earlier Monday, Napster was denied its request for a rehearing of the RIAA's lawsuit, which resulted in a crippling injunction against the company.
The number of users using Napster has sharply declined as the company is complying with the injunction issued on March 5, barring it from offering copyrighted songs on its service.
The world's biggest record labels -- including Vivendi Universal's (EAUG.PA) Universal Music, Sony Music (6758.T), Warner Music (NYSE:AOL - news), EMI Group Plc (news - web sites) (EMI.L) and Bertelsmann AG (news - web sites)'s (BTGGga.D) BMG first sued Napster in December 1999, claiming it was a haven for copyright piracy that would cost them billions of dollars in lost music sales.
Following their victory against Napster, the labels have vigorously pursued several copyright lawsuits against other online companies, including Aimster.
But Deep is optimistic his company's fate will be different. ``It's a whole new ball game on the east coast,'' Deep said on Monday. ``Its a war but it's a different war,'' he said.
Monday June 25 1:54 PM ET
Napster Request for Rehearing Denied
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Recording Industry Association of America (news - web sites) (RIAA) said on Monday that online song-swap service Napster (news - web sites) has been denied its request for a rehearing of the music industry's landmark copyright lawsuit that resulted in an injunction that forced Napster to block its members from trading copyrighted songs.
``The request has been denied,'' said Cary Sherman, an attorney for the RIAA. Napster had no immediate comment.
Napster first requested the rehearing after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled in February that the company was infringing on copyrights and directed U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Hall Patel to issue an injunction against Napster.
Patel issued the injunction on March 5, barring Napster from allowing the trade of copyrighted songs on its service. The injunction has severely curtailed activity on the once phenomenally-popular service.
The world's biggest record labels -- including Vivendi Universal's (EAUG.PA) Universal Music, Sony Music (6758.T), Warner Music (NYSE:AOL - news), EMI Group Plc (news - web sites) (EMI.L) and Bertelsmann AG (news - web sites)'s (BTGGga.D) BMG first sued Napster in December 1999, claiming it was a haven for copyright piracy that would cost them billions of dollars in lost music sales.
Post-Napster music sales said to dip
By Frank Barnako, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:37 AM ET June 20, 2001
Music retailers report sales are down by 5 percent to 10 percent this year, the Los Angeles Times reported. The downturn in sales raises the issue of whether Napster really hurt the industry. SoundScan research says total music sales are off 5.7 percent this year, primarily because of a drop in purchases of singles and cassettes. CDs present a more interesting situation. Before the March federal court decision that spelled the end of Napster as a site permitting the free exchange of copyrighted music, CD sales were up 5.6 percent from the prior year. Since then, they are down 0.9 percent. Hank Barry, Napster's chief executive, said this proves that Napster was actually aiding retailers by stoking consumers' appetites for music, according to the Times report.
Online home sellers expect less
Homeowners using the Internet to help sell their homes during May lowered their expectations slightly and dropped the average nationwide price goal to $214,000, down 2.8 percent from April's $220,000 target. Compared to May 2000, the figure is 1 percent higher than the $212,000 mark calculated by HomeGain (http://www.homegain.com/) in its monthly Online Home Seller Index. Consumers in the San Francisco Bay area led the nation in May with the highest price expectation -- $388,000, a figure 3 percent lower than April's mark of $401,000.
RealNetworks tools offers security
RealNetworks (RNWK: news, msgs, alerts) released a suite of streaming-media creation and production tools, in the process offering copyright owners online rights protection and options for generating revenue. The RealSystem Media Commerce Suite helps programmers develop purchase, rental, video on-demand, and subscription services. It will provide security for MusicNet, the online music subscription service -- backed by AOL Time Warner (AOL: news, msgs, alerts) , Bertelsmann, EMI and RealNetworks -- that's scheduled for release later this year.
MP3.com links artists to Copyright Office
MP3.com (MPPP: news, msgs, alerts) is offering a streamlined process for musicians to register their works with the U.S. Copyright Office. A new feature of the digital music company's Web site (http://www.mp3.com/copyright wizard) walks users through the process, completing required forms and submitting the registration. Fees for the service range from $60 to $70.
You can listen to Internet Daily, too. Click to hear today's segment: CNN founder says Net will shakeup network TV. Call your local CBS station for broadcast times of Internet Daily on the Radio in your city.
You can also receive Internet Daily by e-mail. Click here to start the sign-up process. If you have a problem, e-mail me, mailto:fbarnako@marketwatch.com.
Frank Barnako is managing editor of the CBS.MarketWatch.com Radio Network in Washington.
Monday June 18 01:21 PM EDT
Open-Source Rival to MP3 Joins Net Music Fracas
By Ed Sutherland, www.NewsFactor.com
Amid talk about the future of MP3, whose developers rolled out a new version last week, a rival to existing audio formats was released Sunday.
Version 1.0 of Ogg Vorbis, a free alternative to MP3, MP3Pro and Microsoft's Windows Media Player, is available to developers, says the group behind the open-source project.
While Ogg Vorbis has gained the attention of many fans of the popular MP3 format, it is already in use by software companies such as Sonic Foundry and AOL Time Warner's Winamp.
Push for Free Access
Ogg Vorbis is part of the Vorbis Project, a plan to create a suite of free media file formats to replace the currently available applications being used by major online music distributors. It is one of several open-source multimedia projects being developed by a group calling itself the Xiphophorus Company.
Although Ogg Vorbis supporters believe the format is technically superior to MP3, industry observers believe the effort may be a case of too little too late. The key ingredient to commercial acceptance for Internet-based audio formats is security, said Ryan Jones, a media and entertainment analyst at the research firm Yankee Group.
Security Questions
When MP3Pro was released last week by Thompson Multimedia and Coding Technologies, the new format's lack of security made analysts question the future viability of MP3. Recently, major recording companies from Sony to AOL Time Warner have announced their intention of entering the online audio market -- and protecting their copyrights will be a high priority, analysts believe.
Ogg Vorbis' open-source status "is one advantage," Jones told NewsFactor Network, but portable devices -- not desktop computers -- are the future for audio, Jones said.
The move from beta to a full release will cause more companies to take a harder look at Ogg Vorbis as an alternative to MP3, reports say. Patent royalties must now be paid by developers and distributors, which is not the case with open-source programs.
"The specification is fully open to the public to be used for any purpose," said a statement from the open-source group.
Vorbis is also at work on an audio format designed for streaming music, called Icecast. "Vorbis is well-suited to Internet radio and other forms of real-time and offline electronic distribution," said the project planners.
Netrek Fans
Begun as a weekend programming project in 1993, Ogg grew from an investigation of music compression methods into its present form, says a statement on the Xiphophorus group's Web site. The project's name, Ogg, comes from the Internet-based game "Netrek." According to the Web site, "Ogg" is a tactical maneuver from Netrek that has entered common usage.
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) is positioning its Windows Media Player as an alternative to MP3. The software company said last week that it is unsure whether Windows XP (news - web sites) will support the MP3 format when the new operating system is released in the fall, though company insiders have told NewsFactor privately that it will.
Whether AOL (NYSE: AOL - news) decides to support Windows Media Player or its current partner, RealNetworks, is said to be one factor in Microsoft's decision of whether or not to drop AOL from the Windows XP desktop.
Napster near accord with three labels
By Russ Britt, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 11:40 AM ET June 5, 2001
LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- Online music swapping service Napster Inc. is near a licensing agreement that would allow it to market songs from three of the industry's five major recording labels, sources close to the parties said.
Bertelsmann AG (DE:522990: news, alerts) , AOL Time Warner Inc. (AOL: news, msgs, alerts) and EMI Group Inc. (UK:EMI: news, alerts) are expected to formally announce a pact either later Tuesday or early Wednesday, the sources said.
Saying that it was "quite obvious Napster would get the music," one source cited the company's powerful marketing presence prior to getting into legal hot water with the major music labels for putting unauthorized music files on the Internet.
Germany's Bertelsmann agreed to invest in Napster late last year if it developed a way to protect copyrighted music files that would compensate artists and record labels. The other two labels are part of an online music consortium with Bertelsmann and RealNetworks Inc. (RNWK: news, msgs, alerts) called MusicNet.
A fourth major label, Sony Corp. (SNE: news, msgs, alerts) , is expected to eventually join the other three and license its songs with Napster. Although part of a different consortium, called Duet, it formed with music leader Vivendi Universal (V: news, msgs, alerts) , Sony probably will still choose to license its material with Redwood City, Calif.-based Napster.
It's unclear what Vivendi's plans are. The Paris-based company already has announced agreements to purchase three online music services, the latest being MP3.com (MPPP: news, msgs, alerts) .
Russ Britt is a Los Angeles-based reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com.
Danl, that was very good, I seems you have way too much time on your hands in the UP there!
Philo
BMG to Share MP3.com Settlement More Widely
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - BMG on Tuesday said it would share damages -- estimated by industry sources to be $20 million -- from a lawsuit against MP3.com Inc (NasdaqNM:MPPP - news) with all of its artists whose copyrights were infringed by the company.
``BMG plans to share its MP3.com settlement with all of our infringed-upon artists, even if not stipulated by their agreements,'' said Bob Jamieson, president and chief executive officer, BMG North America.
A spokesman for BMG, the music and entertainment division of Bertelsmann AG (news - web sites) (BTGGga.D), said Tuesday's statement was an expansion from the company's earlier indications it would share damages only with artists who had contract stipulations requiring it to do so.
BMG is home to such artists as Carlos Santana, Christine Aguilera and the Dave Matthews Band. Industry sources said thousands of artists at BMG had works infringed upon by MP3.com. But legal experts have said that as many as 20 percent to 30 percent of recording contracts lack provisions requiring they participate in settlements.
Billboard Magazine reported earlier this month that several groups were displeased with BMG's stance on the settlement issue. A spokesman said BMG had been reviewing the settlement process for several weeks.
BMG said it is also making an allocation to its music publishing arm, which will share the money with songwriters.
``We value our relationships with our artists and we feel this is the best course to take to foster those relationships. It is our plan to begin crediting our artists' accounts just as soon as all of our recordings and artists have been identified,'' Jamieson said.
French Media giant Vivendi Universal (EAUG.PA) earlier this month said it would buy one-time legal foe MP3.com. Mp3.com's stock had been hammered in the past 16 months due to several reasons, including a year-long legal battle with the five largest record labels in the world.
In January 2000, MP3.com began offering a service called My.MP3.com that allows users to store music digitally and then access via any computer connected to the Internet.
The service included a database of over 80,000 albums copied by MP3.com, which the record labels and publishers argued violated copyright law.
In April 2000, a federal judge ruled against MP3.com, which ultimately led to a shutdown of the service and an estimated payout of over $160 million to the five major record labels -- Universal, Sony(6758.T), Bertelsmann AG's (BTGGga.D) BMG Entertainment, AOL Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE:AOL - news) Warner Music Group, and EMI Group Plc (news - web sites) (EMI.L) -- and music publishers.
Universal refused to settle with MP3.com and was ultimately rewarded with a judgement that was believed to be more than the $20 million the others received.
A BMG spokesman declined to confirm the company's share of the settlement.
All the other labels have said they would split the money with artists, regardless of contract wording.
AIMSTER BEING SUED BY RIAA
Sorry about all of the other stuff with the first post. Here is the beef..........
Thursday May 24 3:41 PM ET
Record Companies Sue File-Sharing Program Aimster
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The recording industry on Thursday filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Aimster, a Napster (news - web sites)-like file-sharing program that piggybacks on an instant messaging service run by AOL Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news).
The suit was filed in federal court in Manhattan on behalf of major record labels including Vivendi Universal's (EAUG.PA) Universal Music, Sony Music (6758.T), EMI Group Plc (news - web sites) (EMI.L) and Bertelsmann AG (news - web sites)'s (BTGGga.D) BMG, a lawyer for the industry said.
A source close to the lawsuit said that major movie companies are expected to file their own suit against Aimster later in the day. The record industry won a court injunction in March against Napster, which lets users swap songs for free.
``Aimster is just like Napster. The big difference between the two is that Aimster also allows you to get movies, software and pictures,'' said recording industry lawyer Matt Oppenheim.
He added that the legal action in New York will seek a Napster-like injunction to bar Aimster users from trading in copyrighted materials.
Sunday May 20 8:44 PM ET
Vivendi Universal to Buy MP3.com
By Derek Caney
NEW YORK (Reuters) - French media giant Vivendi Universal (EAUG.PA) said on Sunday it will buy its one-time legal foe MP3.com Inc. (NasdaqNM:MPPP - news) for about $372 million in hopes of bolstering its online music business.
MP3.com, which operates a music download Web site and a series of other music services, represents one possible springboard for the distribution of music over the Internet for Vivendi Universal, which owns the world's largest record company, Universal Music Group.
Major record companies have been looking for a way to replace the embattled Napster (news - web sites) song swapping service, with services of their own. Vivendi said MP3.com could become an integral part of the Duet music subscription service it plans to launch this summer with Sony Music Entertainment (6758.T).
The deal, which has been approved by MP3.com's board and has the support of the holders of more that 50 percent of the outstanding shares, calls for MP3.com's holders to get $5 per share in cash or stock.
This represents a 66 percent premium over the company's closing Nasdaq price of $3.01 on Friday, but well below its high of $105 on the day of its initial public offering in July 1999.
MP3.com, one of the best known Internet music sites, offering free downloads of music files by largely unsigned and unknown bands, had been battered in the past 16 months from a variety of factors including a year-long legal battle with the five largest record labels in the world.
In January 2000, it began offering an ``online music locker'' called My.MP3.com that allows users to store music digitally and later access via any computer connected to the Internet. The service included a database of over 80,000 albums copied by MP3.com, which the record labels and publishers argued violated copyright law.
In April 2000, a federal judge ruled against MP3.com, which ultimately led to a shutdown of the service and an estimated payout of over $160 million to the five major record labels -- Universal, Sony, Bertelsmann AG (news - web sites)'s (BTGGga.D) BMG Entertainment, AOL Time Warner Inc.'s (NYSE:AOL - news) Warner Music Group, and EMI Group Plc (news - web sites) (EMI.L) -- and music publishers.
Ironically Vivendi's Universal Music refused to settle with the online music firm and was ultimately rewarded with a judgement that was believed to be more than what the other labels received in their settlements.
When the smoke cleared from the legal battle, the company had licensing deals with all five labels and the music publishers that allowed the company to relaunch My.MP3.com in November.
But by that time, Napster, which allows Internet users to copy digital music files for free from other people's computers, in most cases, without permission from labels, artists and publishers, cast a pall over competing stand-alone
Internet music companies as far as Wall Street was concerned.
The labels have since won an federal injunction against Napster that bars the swapping of copyrighted music files. But music stocks have yet to recover.
Vivendi said it will not issue new common shares but will use treasury shares for the share portion of the deal, which is still subject to regulatory approvals.
New-York traded Vivendi (NYSE:V - news) shares closed at $68.15 on Friday, above a year low of $54.30 and about 16 percent below its 52-week high of $80.94.
(Additional reporting by Cyntia Barrera Diaz)
CKSLA, you're way to fast for me
Philo ~8~)
Email from RP to JBqwest4 on RB
RP Email
Subj: Re: Business Plan
Date: 5/8/01 2:59:51 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: Robert@edig.com (Robert Putnam)
To: xxxxxxxxx.com
Hi, Jeff,
With the next generation of consumer electronics product just beginning to
come out, we believe we have positioned e.Digital in the mainstream of
opportunity with our technology, standards support, product platforms, OEM
partners and customers, and business model. With the assistance of
Fleishman Hillard, we are coordinating our efforts with our OEM customers
and their public relations staffs in preparing and disseminating
announcements and information. While the exact timeframes of announcements
and product availability are mainly controlled by our OEM customers, we
expect developments based on our HDD-based portable digital jukebox
platform, DataPlay-enabled devices and other platforms to be announced.
Specifically, based on current information provided by our OEM customers
and OEM licensees, we anticipate availability of consumer products based on
our HDD-based digital jukebox platform in retail distribution channels this
quarter.
Samsung, Toshiba and other OEM customers are expected to market
DataPlay-based, e.Digital-enabled devices later this year when DataPlay's
optical storage technology is scheduled to become widely available. We
expect more information regarding these developments to be forthcoming.
We have dedicated strategic engineering resources to the development and
implementation of new product platforms that include digital video for
portable devices, automotive and home stereo designs, cellular phone
accessories, and set-top boxes. We are working with multiple OEMs on
specific applications of these MicroOS- and MicroCAM-powered platforms for
inclusion in a variety of branded products.
Announced as well as unannounced OEMs and licensees are expected to make
announcements either before or when their "Powered by e.Digital Technology"
consumer products are formally launched. We continue to be very confident
about our company, technology, product platforms, OEM customers and
business. Please e-mail me or call me on my direct line at 858.679.3168 if
I can be of further assistance.
Best regards,
Robert Putnam
Senior Vice President
e.Digital Corporation
13114 Evening Creek Dr. S.
San Diego, CA 92128
http://www.edig.com
Phone: (858) 679-3168
Fax: (858) 486-3922
robert@edig.com
Monday April 30, 1:05 pm Eastern Time
EMI, Bertelsmann deal to be scrapped - report
LOS ANGELES, April 30 (Reuters) - Plans to merge entertainment giants EMI Group and Bertelsmann are expected to be scrapped later today because of European antitrust concerns, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
The newspaper quoted people familiar with the talks as saying the two companies would make a final pitch to European Commission regulators before making that announcement.
The combination of privately -controlled Bertelsmann's (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BTGGga.F) music operations with EMI Group (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: EMI.L) would create the second largest music conglomerate.
European regulators rejected an earlier bid for EMI by AOL Time Warner (NYSE:AOL - news) on the ground that further consolidation in the music industry would hurt consumers.
EMI executives have balked at a proposed sale of the company's Virgin Records division, which sources told the Los Angeles Times would be crucial to getting approval by regulators.
If the latest merger proposal is not carried out, it would be the third time the British entertainment company was left standing alone at the alter.
EMI, ranked fifth among the major entertainment conglomerates in U.S. sales of current albums, has been wooed and then rejected by Seagram Co. and Times Warner, the paper reported.
Analysts have said that they expect to see shares in EMI, home to artists such as Mariah Carey and the Beatles, fall sharply if the merger talks are terminated.
Friday April 27, 10:27 am Eastern Time
L&H Co-Founders Face Fraud Charges
Co-Founders of Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products Face Fraud Charges
By RAF CASERT
Associated Press Writer
IEPER, Belgium (AP) -- Investigators have charged the jailed co-founders of Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products with fraud, a prosecutor said Friday.
The news came as shareholders learned that the high-tech firm's revenue had been overstated by nearly $100 million more than previously thought.
Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie were brought in for questioning Thursday by a judge investigating accusations of fraud. They subsequently were charged with falsification of documents and stock manipulation and ordered held pending a court appearance Monday, prosecutor Jean-Marie Coppens said.
The same charges were filed Friday against fellow former board member Nico Willaert, who was also being detained pending the court appearance. At the hearing, a judge will decide whether the three should remain in custody or be released pending trial, Coppens said.
The charges mark a new low for the one time high-flyers, who only a year ago were receiving Belgian royalty at their offices and hobnobbing with the leaders of such giants as Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - news) and Intel Corp. (NasdaqNM:INTC - news) Those companies each invested tens of millions of dollars in Lernout & Hauspie, Europe's largest maker of speech recognition and translation software.
The co-founders had already been sidelined for several months, ever since a slew of accounting scandals and fraud allegations sent the stock crashing late last year and forced the firm to seek bankruptcy protection in Belgium, the United States and South Korea.
At the extraordinary shareholders meeting ordered by a bankruptcy judge, new chief executive Philippe Bodson said Lernout and Hauspie's personal legal troubles ``will not have an impact'' on the gathering.
Bodson told shareholders that earnings during the period in question -- from 1998 through the first half of 2000 -- had been overstated by $373 million. The company had previously said revenue was overstated by up to $277 million.
Bodson, who took the helm only this year, said the group earned a total of $162 million during the 2 1/2 years, not the $535 million originally reported.
Bodson declined to comment on new reports of the company's imminent disintegration.
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation, reported Friday that the new management has asked investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston to explore selling most of the company's remaining assets to repay more than $600 million in debts. Asked about that report, Bodson said: ``No way I am going to tell you.''
Only 463 shareholders showed up instead of the thousands expected. Because of the lack of quorum, a vote planned on changing how directors are named can not be held, limiting the impact of the meeting.
A year ago, such a situation would have seemed almost unimaginable.
For the past decade, a mix of local pride and belief in the boundless possibilities of high technology drove the fortunes of the two local entrepreneurs up and up. It was a stellar achievement, even at the height of the dot-com craze.
Acquisitions and new ventures kept the company in the news, boosting its value to almost $70 a year ago. Now it goes for little more than a dollar, an overall loss of almost $10 billion.
The bubble burst last summer, when The Wall Street Journal questioned some business activities in Asia. On Nov. 9, the company admitted to past accounting ``errors and irregularities'' -- a term that could cover fraud -- in financial statements for most of the past three years.
The debt-laden company filed for bankruptcy protection while restructuring but a commercial court complained about the ``shabby content'' of the recovery plan.
The company also is being investigated for alleged fraud in the United States. Early this month, accounting giant KPMG accused former officials of Lernout & Hauspie of obstructing its efforts to audit the company, charging it was deliberately given ``false, inaccurate or incomplete information.'' Lernout, Hauspie and Willaert rejected KPMG's contentions.
Many shell-shocked local investors still are looking to recover something.
``Most are here to get their money back. But there is little hope,'' small investor Luc Jacqmin said.
On the Net:
Digital Players Create Fury
Updated 12:33 AM ET April 24, 2001
Current quotes (delayed 20 mins.) AAPL 24.33 0.08 (0.33%)
JMXI 2.04 0.00 (0.00%)
MSFT 68.20 -0.05 (-0.07%)
RNWK 8.51 -0.03 (-0.35%)
By ALLISON LINN, AP Business Writer
SEATTLE (AP) - Across the choppy waters separating Seattle from its eastern suburbs, a battle is brewing for your ears and your eyes. The weapons: computer media players.
On the east side, Microsoft: It is counting on the popularity of its mainstay product, Windows, and its new, consumer-oriented version, called XP, to get people to use Windows Media Player to do everything from catalog music to play home videos.
On the west side, RealNetworks: The digital media company founded by former Microsoft vice president Rob Glaser aims
advertisement
to maintain dominance by being integral to how people get their favorite music and videos off the Web - legally, and for a fee - while also expanding into computer games and real-time sports broadcasting.
While the neighbors have been scuffling for years, the increasingly mainstream popularity of computers for recording, streaming and downloading media means the stakes are now very high.
RealPlayer and Windows Media Player are each striving to become the default player.
"The real truth of the matter is that people wish they didn't have to make a choice. They really would just like for the thing to play," said Phil Leigh, a digital analyst with Raymond James & Associates.
RealPlayer currently maintains the edge, according to Jupiter Media Metrix. A study released this month found that 25.9 million people use a RealNetworks player on their home computer compared with 21.5 million who use Windows Media Player.
At work, 10.5 million people are using Real, compared with 9 million using Windows. Apple Computers' QuickTime is third with 7.3 million home users, and 1.9 million work users.
RealNetworks, still David to Microsoft's Goliath in terms of company size, takes the battle personally.
Microsoft "has spent a lot in the last six years and they still haven't achieved world domination, and I'm in no mood to let them start now," said Steve Banfield, who once worked on Windows Media Player and is now general manager of RealNetworks.
Microsoft may take a less menacing tone, but it's no less aggressive in its claim that Windows Media Player will succeed due to ease of use and familiarity.
"I think, in general, consumers want to have a pretty consistent experience in terms of how their software works," said Mike Aldridge, lead product manager for Microsoft's digital media division.
Once mostly known for its players, RealNetworks has launched subscription-based services for downloading music, viewing sports and using other paid content. Its Gold Pass service - a basic subscription costs $9.95 per month - has about 200,000 subscribers
Real's newest weapon is MusicNet, a legal answer to Napster's free download service, which is now under federal injunction for copyright violations.
MusicNet, a separate company 40 percent owned by Real, is a joint venture with recording industry giants AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and EMI. The partners say it will offer subscription-based music downloads later this year and license RealNetworks' technology.
Microsoft also has an online music service but has yet to announce recording partnerships or a subscription model.
If MusicNet is successful, Leigh thinks RealPlayer stands to dominate.
"Then it just creates more demand for anyone else that's producing video and audio content to encode in the Real format," Leigh said.
Rob Enderle, who tracks Microsoft for Giga Information Systems, said Microsoft's strategy is similar to Apple's successful efforts to incorporate the player into the operating system.
"When you can drop a player directly into the operating system, it becomes a de facto standard and whenever it becomes a de facto standard, it's much more difficult to compete with it," he said.
While previous Windows versions had a media player, Microsoft is aggressively marketing its newest, consumer-oriented player for the first time with Windows XP, due out later this year.
That means the success of Microsoft's player will likely be dependent on XP, Enderle said.
Because of its dominance of the operating system market, Microsoft has run into trouble before for the so-called "bundling" of software applications that competitors say should not be part of the core system.
The landmark Microsoft anti-trust suit stemmed from a complaint by a rival Web-browser company, Netspace, that Microsoft used its muscle to squelch browser competition.
Banfield won't comment on whether RealNetworks would ever take such legal action against Microsoft. But he said Real doesn't feel "Netscaped."
---
On the Net:
Finally some product! Now here is some Moo2 for your listening pleasure http://www.cowdance.com/moo2/moo2.html
Philo ~8~)
Tuesday April 17, 12:05 pm Eastern Time
TheStandard.com
The Day the Streaming Died
By Keith Dawson
The law of unintended consequences struck Internet broadcasting last week. Many large radio stations stopped streaming their content on the Internet because of a clause that was negotiated in the settlement of a two-year-old strike. A few outlets carried news of the outage last week; this week, reporters are still finding new angles.
Washington, D.C., news radio station WTOP explained the beef most cogently. Managing Editor Steve Dolge explained that the settlement terms of the 1999 strike by the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, or AFTRA, included a 300% bonus fee payable to voiceover artists whose commercials are run on the Web. Last week, two groups of ad agencies, whose members are on the hook for the fees, demanded of their client radio stations that they pull the affected commercials off the Web. A number of large station holders elected instead to shut down Webcasting altogether.
Various outlets listed the affected stations as those owned by Clear Channel Communications, Radio One, Emmis Communications and ABC/Disney. (Clear Channel runs 1,710 radio stations, according to the New York Post, and operates 750 Web sites, according to InternetNews.)
InternetNews introduced a new angle on the story and Reuters fleshed it out yesterday. InternetNews' Clint Boulton reported that companies offering ad-insertion technology are encouraging radio stations to bypass the AFTRA union and its demands for a new royalty stream. What royalty stream? Boulton quoted the COO of StreamAudio: "Everybody still wants a piece of the Internet pie that doesn't exist yet."
Crediting unnamed analysts, Reuters reporter Sue Zeidler recited a list of ad-insertion companies that stand to win big in the tussle: RealNetworks, Hiwire, Lightningcast and StreamAudio. These companies can help stations insert Internet-specific - and royalty-free - ads into their Web broadcasts. We guess content just wants to be free.
Radio Stations Turn Chilly on WebcastsExcite
Bad 'Air' Day 'Nets ProblemsNew York Post
When the Music's Over...InternetNews.com
Tech Firms Offer Ways Around Streaming Radio Ad Problem (Reuters)Interactive Investor
Visit www.thestandard.com for The Industry Standard's full coverage, news, and analysis on the Internet Economy. Get free email newsletters at www.thestandard.com/newsletters.
I was going through the job openings at edig, kind of interesting the amount of Windows NT & 98 experiance needed. Of course I'm no techie, I only play one on TV, so it just seems interesting regarding the software engineer needs Windows and Mac experiance. Software bundling? Who knows? Sorry for rambling......sometimes I can't make my thoughts come out through my fingers.
Philo~8~)
e.Digital is Growing
Join a team of highly qualified people in an exciting start-up environment developing new technology for the emerging portable digital device markets. e.Digital offers a very competitive compensation package, including excellent benefits and qualified Incentive Stock Option plans.
Current Openings
Note: Mail/Fax/E-mail your resume to
e.Digital Corporation
13114 Evening Creek Drive South
San Diego, CA 92128
Attn : Beth Bell. No Phone calls please.
E-mail : jobs@edig.com
Fax : (858) 748-6894
Engineering
PC Software Engineer
Sr DSP Software Engineer
Electrical Hardware Design Engineer
TO TOP
PC Software Engineer
Design and develop PC application and driver software for digital music player and voice recorder applications
Qualifications:
BS CS/CE/EE or equivalent
5+ years experience in developing PC applications including Windows 98, NT, and 2000.
3+ years experience developing Device Drivers in Windows 98/2000 a must. NT experience is a plus.
Apple Mac device driver development experience a plus.
Strong working knowledge of C/C++, Microsoft Development tools and MFC highly desirable
Experience developing Device Drivers in the Windows 98 and NT environments
Embedded and DSP programming combined with hardware knowledge is desirable
USB, IEEE-1284, Firewire, IrDA, and network driver experience a plus
TO TOP
SR DSP Software Engineer
Design and develop DSP software for digital music player and voice recorder applications
Qualifications:
BS CS/CE/EE or equivalent
Minimum 5+ years experience in embedded DSP software/firmware development
Strong working knowledge of C/C++, and assembly language skills are a must
Embedded and DSP programming combined with hardware knowledge is desirable
Experience with TI DSPs and tools is a plus
TO TOP
Electrical Hardware Design Engineer
Design and develop micro-controller and DSP based digital music players and voice recorders.
Qualifications:
BSEE
Minimum 5 years experience in embedded system design and development
Experience designing low power portable equipment
Experience designing mixed signal circuitry and or audio products
Experience with digital circuitry and DSP and/or ARM based system design
USB, IEEE-1284, Firewire, IrDA, and network design experience a plus
TO TOP
Wednesday April 11 3:58 PM ET
Musicbank Ceases Operations
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Internet music company Musicbank has ceased operations, according to a statement on its Web site on Wednesday.
``For over a year Musicbank has pioneered efforts to unite music lovers with their CD collections online. We are sorry to say that we are closing our doors,'' the Web site said.
The company, formed in November 1999, had tested its Web site, designed to act as a ``storage locker'' for fans to access personal music collections, but it never launched a commercial version of the service.
Company officials were not immediately available to comment. Industry sources said the company laid off about 40 staff members this week.
Musicbank had relationships with all the major recording companies, such as Universal's (EAUG.PA) Universal Music, Sony Music (6758.T), Warner Music (NYSE:AOL - news), EMI Group Plc (news - web sites) (EMI.L) and Bertelsmann AG (news - web sites)'s (BTGGga.D) BMG.
But it had struggled recently to obtain financing against the current backdrop of consolidation and bankruptcies in the Internet arena, industry sources said.
According to VentureOne, a research company owned by Reuters Group Plc (RTR.L), Musicbank received three funding rounds in 2000 for a total of $40.2 million. Investors included Atlas Ventures, Bertelsmann Ventures, Bonaventure Investments and Universal Music Group.
Musicbank had also secured licensing deals with Warner Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment and EMI Recorded Music.
Wednesday April 11, 10:20 am Eastern Time
TheStandard.com
Napster's Sad Song Falls on Deaf Ears
By Ronna Abramson
File-sharing upstart Napster got an unsympathetic hearing in a San Francisco court Tuesday as a U.S. judge called the company's efforts to block unauthorized music on its service "disgraceful" and left open the possibility of shuttering the service.
"You better find a way to get this off the system," Judge Marilyn Hall Patel told Napster lawyer Robert Silver in response to the music industry's claim that 84 percent of the 6.000 titles record labels have asked Napster to block remain available on the system. "This is disgraceful."
"Maybe the system does need to be closed down," Patel told Silver in front of a crowded courtroom.
The Recording Industry Association of America, which represents the big music companies in their efforts to heel Napster, quickly praised Patel's comments.
"[Tuesday's] hearing reflects Judge Patel's determination to ensure that the court's injunction is obeyed and that Napster's infringing conduct comes to an end," RIAA general counsel Cary Sherman said in a release issued shortly after the hearing. "Napster would do well to do whatever it takes to come into compliance and then turn their full energies into launching a new, legitimate business."
The most concrete result of the three-hour hearing was Patel's support for a newly appointed technical expert to help resolve disputes over filtering between Napster and the recording industry, Silver said after the hearing. That expert, A.J. "Nick" Nichols, was one of three advisers who Napster recommended to the judge.
Nichols, who declined to comment Tuesday, has a Ph.D. in engineering from Stanford University and previously served as an adviser in a suit between Microsoft and Sun Microsystems. Patel expressed hope that he will help her better understand the technical solutions that Napster could be using to block songs, noting that she believes the company can be doing more and acting more quickly to filter copyrighted music.
Napster and the recording industry attorneys spent much of the hearing battling over the Redwood City, Calif.-based company's compliance with a modified injunction issued by Patel on March 5. Napster also is awaiting a decision on its request for a rehearing from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, which ruled in February that the company was infringing on copyrights and directed Patel to issue her injunction.
The recording industry has suggested that Napster's filters should search for copyrighted songs by using technology such as digital fingerprints to analyze the content of the MP3 files. Napster contends that it is not required to use such technology because, as the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals noted, it does not "read" the content of files other than to check that they are in the MP3 format.
Patel expressed frustration with Napster's assertion that the recording industry must provide not only artist and song names to be blocked, but also actual file names. She noted the problem that file names appear and disappear from the system as users log on and off.
But Silver maintained that Napster requires the file names to prioritize which material to block and to prevent overblocking, and he also suggested that the burden on the recording industry to provide such information is a "slight one."
Russell Frackman, an attorney representing the recording industry, rejected Napster's claim that file names are needed to prioritize. "They simply have to shoulder the burden [of satisfying the injunction], whatever it is," he said.
Patel appeared to agree with Frackman, pointing out that if the burden for naming file is so slight, why indeed can't Napster shoulder it. "You created this monster, you figure it out," she told Silver.
The hearing Tuesday came on the heels of a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on digital music last week in Washington. As senators questioned the recording industry on its long-awaited attempts to provide music online, record labels announced numerous deals with the likes of Yahoo and AOL Time Warner to launch subscription music services capitalizing on the success of Napster's wildly popular free downloads. Napster already has said it will launch its own subscription service in July.
Given its plans to evolve into a paid service, it is in Napster's interest to hold on to as many users of its free service until the summer, observers note. Despite its filtering software, Napster enjoyed a rebound in usage in March, according to Webnoize. The online music research firm found that Napster users downloaded 593 million songs during the last week of March, or 25 percent more than the 473 million downloaded the previous week. "Millions of consumers continue to use Napster to access huge amounts of free music," said Webnoize analyst Matt Bailey.
In addition to Patel's hearing on Napster's compliance, she also considered two separate requests from artists and music publishers to give class-action status to their suits against Napster, which would increase the company's exposure to damages. Patel declined to rule on the certification but indicated more willingness to give class-action status to the publishers' suit than the music artists' suit. In addition to the record companies, publishers hold a copyright on music that has been freely traded on Napster. Artists, however, are a more difficult group to join together in a class, Patel noted, because they cross international borders and therefore bring in issues of not only U.S., but also international copyright law. "I'm not going to supervise the world," she said.
In a related matter, Patel considered requests to dismiss suits by Matthew Katz, who owns a record label called San Francisco Sound, against everyone from individuals such as Napster CEO Hank Barry to universities that he claims are allowing young people to share copyrighted music. Patel expressed skepticism about the cases and said she will issue an order on them.
Visit www.thestandard.com for The Industry Standard's full coverage, news, and analysis on the Internet Economy. Get free email newsletters at www.thestandard.com/newsletters.
Well, I just got a Tos from RB, the basher's must be hard at work these days. What a bunch of BS
Dear philozarton,
This is an official warning that you have violated Raging Bull's Terms of
Service as detailed below:
Spam
Further warnings can result in suspension or deletion of your account.
Please email us at tosreplies@ragingbull.com if we can be of any assistance.
Regards,
The Raging Bull Team
Posted: 09/04/2001 at 16:04 GMT
Perhaps, this should have read, either 04/09/2001 or 09/04/2000?
Philo
Morning all, just a quick question. How did Deceptacon get on this board?
Philo ~8~)
Record labels make online music safe
AOL, EMI, BMG create online music service MusicNet
By Nadja Hahn, FTMarketWatch
Last Update: 10:37 AM ET Apr 2, 2001
LONDON (FTMW) - AOL Time Warner (AOL: news, msgs, alerts) , EMI (UK:EMI: news, alerts) , Bertelsmann (DE:522990: news, alerts) and RealNetworks (RNWK: news, msgs, alerts) said on Monday they're teaming up to create an online music subscription service, providing a platform for the secure distribution of music over the Internet.
The new venture called MusicNet will offer a collection of downloadable and streaming music, using advanced technology, which helps to distribute contents of record labels EMI, BMG and Warner Music on a non-exclusive basis on the Internet, while securing the artists' copyrights.
Realnetworks, which provides content, such as broadcasts over the Internet for a fee, will provide the distribution technology. All four companies will own a minority stake in MusicNet.
MusicNet, which is to become an independent company, will initially license its platform to AOL and Realnetworks and extend its offers to other distribution outlets, including Bertelsmann-funded Napster, provided that they meet security requirements.
"Hey Mr. DJ"
The online music platform will combine the works of artists, such as Madonna, Robbie Williams, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bjork and Santana.
"MusicNet will offer consumers an easy, simple way to get the highest-quality music while also protecting the intellectual property of record companies and artists," said Rob Glaser, Chairman and interim CEO of MusicNet, in a statement. Looking ahead, we hope that all the major and independent labels will join MusicNet to create one-stop music subscription offerings with unbeatable consumer momentum."
The move is a response to online music downloading service Napster, which offered music downloads for free until it was sued by the world's major record labels for jeopardizing their artists' copyrights.
Last autumn, Bertelsmann e-Commerce then struck a deal with Napster, dropping its lawsuit and agreeing to take a stake in the company in return for it becoming a subscription based service.
Bertelsmann and EMI are currently in merger talks after the planned combination of EMI and Warner Music failed last year to clear the way for the merger of AOL and Time Warner.
Nadja Hahn is a reporter for FTMarketWatch in London.
Sorry for posting twice, this board is great, but just a little slow.
Philo ~8~)
Monday April 2, 10:16 am Eastern Time
Music giants, RealNetworks build online powerhouse
(UPDATE: adds details, background, shares)
By Merissa Marr
LONDON, April 2 (Reuters) - Three major music groups moved on Monday to bolster their online clout with a deal to build a new online music heavyweight, MusicNet, with U.S. Internet software firm RealNetworks (NasdaqNM:RNWK - news).
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Seeking to broaden their exposure on the Web, the three music players -- AOL Time Warner Inc (NYSE:AOL - news), Bertelsmann AG (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: BTGGga.F) and EMI Group Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: EMI.L) -- said the new service would be made available to other online services and could find its way on to a legitimate version of the Napster website.
The four companies said in a statement each would own a minority stake in MusicNet with the music companies licensing their music and RealNetworks providing the technology for the platform which will operate as a standalone independent company.
``We hope that all the major and independent labels will join MusicNet to create one-stop music subscription offerings with unbeatable consumer momentum,'' MusicNet's Chairman and interim CEO and RealNetworks head Rob Glaser said in the statement.
As yet, the two other major music players, Vivendi Universal and Sony Music , have not joined the venture, suggesting that MusicNet will rival their own planned joint subscription service, Duet, which is due to launch this summer.
``(MusicNet's) goal is to distribute music profitably to as many outlets as possible. MusicNet will initially license its platform to America Online and RealNetworks, each of which plans to launch branded online subscription services later this year,'' the four companies said in the statement.
Winning over MusicNet would be a significant step for Napster which has struggled to convince major music groups to join a legitimate service it is developing with Bertelsmann.
But the four companies said MusicNet would only license its platform to sites like Napster under strict conditions, provided it can satisfy legal, copyright and security concerns.
Napster, which operates a music file-sharing service, is currently under court sanctions to block access to illegally copied music.
The deal is seen as a major coup for Seattle-based RealNetworks which makes the popular RealPlayer software for playing audio and video on a personal computer. The company's shares were 5.75 percent up at $7-7/16 at 1400 GMT.
EMI shares were 3.18 percent down at 440 pence as investors lost patience with its own months-long merger talks with Bertelsmann. AOL Time Warner shares were 1.5 percent down at $39.55.
RealNetworks subscription music service
By Frank Barnako, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:56 AM ET Mar 30, 2001
RealNetworks (RNWK: news, msgs, alerts) reportedly is in talks with record companies to license music for MusicNet, a new subscription service. Phil Leigh, an Internet analyst at Raymond James, called the Wall Street Journal report "the first good news to come to the Internet sector in a year." As reported, the deal includes AOL Time Warner's Warner Music Group (AOL: news, msgs, alerts) , Bertelsmann AG's BMG Entertainment and EMI Group. "Napster has demonstrated consumers want digital distribution," Leigh said. "If RealNetworks could get just a couple million subscribers, a $15 a month subscription rate would imply revenues of $360 million a year." RealNetworks owns the web domain MusicNet.com. Officials from RealNetworks weren't immediately available for comment. Plus: Listen to an interview with Leigh.
LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
This letter is a direct communication from the President and CEO of e.Digital Corporation (OTC: EDIG).
March 29, 2001
Dear Shareholder:
This week will mark the end of the quarter and the end of e.Digital's fiscal year. While our Form 10-K is scheduled to be released before June 30, 2001, I would like to provide you with a summary and update of our activities per our Shareholder Communications policy.
Annual Summary
A year ago, a handheld Internet music player design and the Cquence Mobile products created for Lanier formed the central core of our business. While continuing to support these, we also created a selection of new voice and music product platforms over the last twelve months based on our patented MicroOS(TM) and MicroCAM(TM). We have a growing list of OEM customers, licensees and partners including such respected and pioneering companies as Intel, IBM, InterTrust, Liquid Audio, Microsoft, Dolby Laboratories, Lanier Worldwide, DataPlay, EASTECH, Lucent Technologies, Maycom, QDesign, Remote Solution/HanGo, RioPort, SanDisk, Samsung, Sony, and Texas Instruments, among others.
The past year included the development and introduction of MicroCAM, a powerful new tool based on our patented MicroOS technology. MicroCAM is a key element in our digital audio recorder/player designs. It provides a flexible interface with most major forms of storage media, both embedded and removable, rotating and static. It supports multiple copyright protection technologies. It enables portable units to transparently manage multiple voice and music compression and decompression formats, as well as manage data buffering for rotating storage media by means of our proprietary M4P2(TM) technology (Moving Media Memory Manager for Portable Products). MicroCAM also incorporates e.Digital's proprietary AMIS(TM) (Audio Manager Interface Software), PC software created to handle the seamless transfer and management of audio files between a handheld audio peripheral and PCs employing a variety of popular PC-based audio management programs.
Developed to handle the varying requirements of digital voice and music players, MicroCAM is one example of e.Digital's proprietary, modular approach. MicroCAM is a strong foundation for a new generation of products that meet OEM customers' specific needs for business and entertainment products. The foundation that we have created over the last year is the basis for your company's success in current projects and in executing our plans for the future.
To further strengthen your company's foundation, we added Bob Jecmen and Victor Ramsauer to the Board of Directors, and we have hired additional technical and engineering talent to support our development efforts and OEM projects. In spite of the current general market conditions, we are enjoying a continued influx of new business and projects. We are continuing to hire, building our foundation of technical expertise and engineering experience.
Following our business plan, we have dedicated strategic engineering resources to the development and implementation of new product platforms that include digital video for portable devices, automotive and home stereo designs, cellular phone accessories, and set-top boxes. We are working with multiple OEMs on specific applications of these MicroOS- and MicroCAM-powered platforms for inclusion in a variety of branded products.
Revenues
Revenues for the quarter ending March 31, 2001 are much improved over those for the quarter ended December 31, 2000. We shipped Cquence Mobile recorders and docking stations to OEM customer Lanier Healthcare during the March quarter, and shipments are expected to continue during the coming fiscal year. We expect more information about Lanier and their plan of operations to be forthcoming.
Our customer list continues to grow through our marketing efforts and through referrals from our OEM partners and licensees. Development work performed for our OEMs during the March quarter is expected to contribute to significant growth in non-recurring engineering (NRE) fees and royalties over the next several quarters. Revenues for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2001 are close to equaling the total revenues for the previous three fiscal years combined. The company has minimal debt and a good cash position.
HDD-Based (Hard Disk Drive-Based) Digital Jukebox Platform
Manufacturing of our HDD-based digital jukebox platform has begun with production of limited quantities. Initial production units have been and are being delivered to OEMs and the press.
OEM licensees are moving toward full-scale production of our HDD-based digital jukebox platform, only seven months after this product's conception. While there are the usual initial production and day-to-day parts issues, they are being addressed by our OEM licensees and their manufacturing facilities.
We are very pleased with the initial reception to our HDD-based digital jukebox platform. Using an embedded IBM Travelstar hard disk drive with a 5, 10, or 20 GB capacity, this platform is capable of storing several thousand of the end user's favorite songs. Our storage capacity, feature set, battery life, ease of use, and formats supported widely exceed those of other jukebox-type products currently on the market, while our costs, physical size, and component count are much smaller by comparison. We are further developing this platform to incorporate speech recognition as a way to navigate and find specific songs/files. The benefits of our HDD-based digital jukebox platform are a direct result of the strength and flexibility of our MicroCAM technology.
Based on current information provided by our OEM customers and OEM licensees, we anticipate availability of consumer products based on our HDD-based digital jukebox platform in retail distribution channels within the next quarter. Many of our announced as well as unannounced OEMs and licensees are expected to make announcements when their consumer products are formally launched.
DataPlay-Enabled Platforms
Because of our proven ability to integrate DataPlay's revolutionary digital media into product designs for multiple OEM customers, we have accelerated our development of additional DataPlay-enabled product platforms based on our MicroCAM technology.
DataPlay and e.Digital are working closely together to meet the needs of several OEM customers including those previously announced. Per our royalty-bearing agreements announced in January, e.Digital is developing two DataPlay-enabled product designs for OEM customer Samsung: a PCMCIA Storage device and an MP3 encoder/ multi-codec music player. (Please see our press release dated January 5, 2001 for more details.) We expect announcements detailing additional OEM customers and their products surrounding the consumer launch of DataPlay digital media.
Our "Orbit" music player reference design was mentioned and pictured in the March 2001 issue of Esquire magazine. With the assistance of Fleishman-Hillard, we expect to receive increasing media coverage in relation to our work on DataPlay-enabled product designs as well as our other product platforms.
We also expect to see more media coverage of DataPlay and its technology. DataPlay is receiving widespread industry support and has received investments from industry leaders including Universal Music Group, Creative Labs, Samsung and Toshiba. Three of the five major record labels-Universal Music Group, the EMI Group, and BMG-have announced that they are planning to release pre-recorded music and e-book content on DataPlay digital media. We believe that this strong support for DataPlay will contribute to increasing business for e.Digital and significant sales of our MicroCAM-based, DataPlay-enabled product platforms through multiple OEM customers.
Summary
According to IDC, digital audio player shipments worldwide are expected to increase at a compounded annual rate of 51%, from 3.3 million in 2000 to nearly 26 million in 2005. The United States is the largest market for these products. Shipments in the United States are expected to grow from 2.8 million units in 2000 to 18 million in 2005. IDC also predicts that hard-drive based jukeboxes will become increasingly popular. Portable players are expected to account for 61 percent of worldwide compressed audio device shipments by 2005, dominating the market.
Desktop PC sales growth is on the wane, while new generations of powerful digital consumer electronics products-including those using e.Digital's MicroOS- and MicroCAM-based platforms-are expected to enjoy compounded annual growth worldwide for the foreseeable future.
While I understand your desire for more details and the latest progress reports on our OEMs' consumer products, I want to emphasize that the final feature set, look and feel, retail pricing, distribution channels, and time frames for formal announcements and consumer product launches are controlled by our OEM customers and licensees. In some cases we will be working with our OEM customers for many months before their names and the details of their products are formally announced (i.e. our DataPlay-enabled product platforms). In other cases, development, manufacturing, publicity, and marketing are on more aggressive time frames to meet demand for new products. We do expect announcements concerning other product platform developments beyond DataPlay and our HDD-based digital jukebox platform in our next quarter.
I want to acknowledge and thank our sales, marketing, and administrative staff, and all the members of our talented engineering team for their long hours, dedication, and hard work in meeting the needs of our growing list of customers and licensees. Our revenues, product platforms, and number of OEM customers, licensees and new business opportunities have all substantially increased since March 2000 due to their efforts.
I want to thank you, our shareholders, for your continued support. I want to assure you that we are performing, delivering and continuing to build upon the business foundation that we have put in place over the last two years. With the assistance of our OEM partners, customers, and licensees, we look forward to announcing further developments, and more importantly, rapidly growing deliveries and consumer availability of "Powered by e.Digital Technology(TM)" products in the coming weeks and months.
Sincerely yours,
Alfred H. Falk
President and CEO
About e.Digital
e.Digital Corporation offers an engineering partnership for the world's leading electronics companies to link portable digital devices to PCs and the Internet. e.Digital develops and markets to consumer electronics manufacturers complete end-to-end solutions for delivery and management of open and secure digital media with a focus on music players/recorders and portable digital voice recorders. Engineering services range from the licensing of e.Digital's patented MicroOS(TM) and MicroCAM(TM) technologies to custom software and hardware development, industrial design and manufacturing services. For more information on the company, please visit www.edig.com.
# # #
Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform of 1995: This document contains forward-looking statements relating to future performance, technology and product development that may impact on future results and the future viability of the company. Actual results could be affected or differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of risk factors such as: future products and results; technological shifts; potential technical difficulties that could delay new products; competition; general economic conditions in the markets in which the company operates; the ability of the company, its customers, and suppliers to solve latent Year 2000 compliance issues; pricing pressures; and the uncertainty of market acceptance of new products by OEM's and end-user customers.
Note: e.Digital, MicroOS, and MicroCAM are trademarks of e.Digital Corporation. All other company, product, and service names are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT:
e.Digital Corporation: Robert Putnam, (858) 679-1504, robert@edig.com
This message has been sent to you from e.Digital Corporation
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Tin, you must be keeping busy, as there are alot of posts that are missing. Do you and LGJ run on 12 hour shifts?
This is a nice change from RB........hope you guys don't get tired of all the cleaning though!
Philo