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Cable Modem Shipments Rise Sharply In Third Quarter
Stamford, Conn. -- With computer users thirsting for ever-faster services
and greater bandwidth, the worldwide cable modem market experienced a 19.4
percent increase in shipments in the third quarter, according to
Connecticut-based technology research and consulting firm Gartner. More
than 3 million units were shipped in the third quarter of 2002 compared
with 2.5 million units in the third quarter of 2001. "North America
continues to see strong demand for cable broadband access services,"
Gartner said in its report.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/021205/52087_1.html
http://www.gartner.com
Palm Digital Media on Thursday announced a new version of its
e-book server software that will allow libraries to loan out Palm Reader
eBooks to their patrons. The server assigns a hardware identification
number to a specific handheld or desktop computer, and uses this ID to
lock an e-book to the device and assign an expiration date to the e-book,
beyond which the user will not be able to open it. Cleveland-based
OverDrive will add the new technology to its Digital Library Reserve
service for public, academic and corporate libraries.
http://www.palmdigitalmedia.com
http://www.overdrive.com
Report: 60 Million Americans Have Downloaded Online Music
Minneapolis, Minn. -- Sixty-million Americans -- or 28 percent of the U.S.
population -- report having downloaded a music or MP3 file off of the
Internet, up from 26 percent in June and 24 percent in April, according to
Minnesota-based research firm Ipsos-Reid's quarterly TEMPO consumer
survey. About half of the U.S. population aged 12 and over report they
have listened to a pre-recorded music CD on a PC, translating to over 100
million Americans, while nearly one-third report having listened to
digital music files that were stored on their PC's hard drive. The report
also found that Americans are becoming increasingly more willing to pay
for online music, as 31 percent reported having paid to download music in
September, compared with 27 percent in June. "This may indicate that
downloaders are becoming more realistic in their approach to online music
acquisition, and perhaps realizing that access to online music is a
valuable service, and as such, is worth paying for," said Ipsos-Reid
director Matt Kleinschmitt.
http://www.ipsos-reid.com/redirect/pr/1685.cfm
Pretec CompactFlash card has 3GB capacity
Posted : 05 Dec 2002
Pretec Electronics Corp. has introduced its CompactFlash cards with capacities of 1.5GB, 2GB, and 3GB, and are targeted at storing digital audio and video files.
The cards are designed with precision mechanics, offer full metal protection, and are screened for operation over the -40°C to 125°C temperature range.
They also support the ATA/True IDE standard and are claimed by the company to consume low power during operation, making them suitable for use in harsh environments such as military aircraft, medical instrumentation, and test and measurement equipment.
Impulsesoft Delivers Stereo Music Over Bluetooth
To Deliver Low Cost, Low Power Bluetooth Stereo Headset and Music Adapter Reference Designs Incorporating A2DP Profile
BANGALORE, India, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Impulsesoft, the leading
Bluetooth solution provider, today announced the release of low cost, high
quality Bluetooth reference designs -- iWISH -- wireless stereo headset and
iWISA -- wireless stereo adapter.
Targeted at OEMs developing CD / MP3 player, Audio system, in-car
entertainment systems, TVs, Mobile phones, Multicasting for Conference,
laptops, PCs / PDAs, gaming devices, these solutions will help customers
deliver Bluetooth entertainment solutions early to the market. Developed
around iBTStack -- Impulsesoft's embedded Bluetooth stack, incorporating the
Bluetooth SIG's Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) profile, iWISH and
iWISA are designed to deliver unmatched stereo quality audio.
iWISH is a complete hardware and software offering that will enable OEM's
to bring Bluetooth stereo headphones early to the market. iWISA is a plug-in
device for existing audio systems enabling them to wirelessly transmit stereo
quality audio to other wireless devices like stereo headsets. An extensive
support for codecs, including subband, MP3, WMA and a low bill of material
help provide flexibility and cost advantage to OEMs. In addition, features
like intuitive MMI, power saving system and noise filtering for hi-fidelity in
iWISH and iWISA will help OEMs deliver superior Bluetooth entertainment
products to the market.
"Impulsesoft's solutions will help bring true mobile experience to the end
user by providing complete cable replacement, and delivering stereo-quality
audio at an affordable price," said S. Baskar, Chief Technology Office at
Impulsesoft. "End users can now listen to stereo quality music wirelessly at
home, in their car, or in the subway."
Impulsesoft has already delivered Bluetooth solution for the world's first
wireless hi-fi music headphone developed by OpenBrain Technologies, Korea.
Impulsesoft is now working with customers to deliver Bluetooth solutions for
the next-generation stereo headphones.
Impulsesoft's iBTStack(TM) is an embedded Bluetooth protocol stack
targeted towards high performance applications. iBTStack is optimized for size
and performance for the target RTOS and processor platforms, and provides a
complete and easy to use solution for developers to create applications such
as wireless PCs, headsets, LAN Access Points, Modems, cordless & VoIP phones,
and telemetry and telemarketing applications.
About Impulsesoft
Impulsesoft Private Limited is a short-range wireless solutions company,
headquartered in Bangalore India with a branch office in California, USA.
Impulsesoft is a leading provider of Bluetooth and 802.11 software and
hardware for the computing and embedded systems markets. Impulsesoft's
products and system integration services enable OEMs to bring application
specific Bluetooth wireless solutions to market. Impulsesoft, with
distributors and VARs worldwide, is an early adopter and Associate Member of
the Bluetooth Special Interest Group.
Additional information about Impulsesoft is available at
http://www.impulsesoft.com .
Contact:
Vinita Kurup
vinita@impulsesoft.com
+91.98450 71197
Impulsesoft Pvt. Ltd.
690, 15th Cross, II Phase, J P Nagar
Bangalore, India 560078
giddyup.eom
AT&T, Intel, IBM set wireless Internet access firm
Thursday December 5, 11:28 am ET
NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - AT&T Corp. (NYSE:T - News), Intel Corp. (NasdaqNM:INTC - News) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM - News) on Thursday said they are forming a company to provide wireless Internet access in the U.S.
The company, to be called Cometa Networks, will provide the service for telecommunications companies, Internet service providers, cable operators and wireless carriers to offer to their customers starting in 2003.
Venture capital firms Apax Partners and 3i are also backing the company. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
Cometa will work with national and regional hotels, universities and real estate firms to deploy the wireless access service in U.S. metropolitan areas.
ain't that the thruth,LOL. eom
Not ashamed to plead guilty of free media consumption
By Dawn C. Chmielewski
Mercury News
Posted on Thu, Dec. 05, 2002
I admit it -- I am a pirate.
I have used online file-swapping services since Napster re-introduced me to the music of my youth. Nothing -- not the death of the pioneering peer-to-peer service nor the birth of ``legitimate'' pay services -- has broken me of the habit.
Some seek to justify their use of unauthorized file-swapping networks like Kazaa, Morpheus or Limewire. They'll argue that in the name of promotion, the recording industry already gives away its music for free on the radio. Why shouldn't the same songs be free over Internet?
Others say that peer-to-peer software, which enables users to copy songs directly from someone else's computer hard drive, is just an extension of what we've been doing since college -- making dubs of favorite songs and mixes to share with friends.
Sharman Networks, the company that distributes Kazaa, Morpheus' corporate owner, StreamCast, and Grokster dusted off the NRA argument: software doesn't kill the music industry, it's the way people use the software that's causing the industry to bleed.
These are just rationalizations.
So what's my excuse?
I plead guilty, your honor. Guilty of free media consumption.
The legitimate subscription music services, while dramatically improved, can't compete in selection with what I can get for nothing. And I'm not just talking about the absence of the collected works of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Madonna or half the Top 10 singles in the country, which remain frustratingly beyond the reach of the subscription services. Or the befuddling restrictions that allow me to burn a copy of Bruce Springsteen's ``The Rising'' to CD -- but not Christina Aguilera's aging pop track, ``What a Girl Wants.''
It's not about getting on-demand access to Sheryl Crow's latest video or single. It's all about choice.
Kazaa has become the first stop for all my digital entertainment needs. I can find and download Bill Cosby's time-tested ``Noah'' routine to share with my 10-year-old son, Alex. I can retrieve television bits. I am not ashamed to admit I enjoy the scatological stylings of Conan O'Brien's ``Triumph the Comic Insult Dog.''
I can't get those anywhere else at any price.
I don't need a TiVo or VCR to record such late-night fare. I merely fetch it on-demand, using Kazaa's search engine.
In short, Kazaa and the other file-sharing services make real the promise of ``convergence,'' that long-anticipated meeting of entertainment and technology. Suddenly, the ultimate convergence device isn't my television, the TV set-top box, or my video game console -- but the ever-versatile, ever-more-capable productivity tool, the PC.
Microsoft chief software architect Bill Gates predicted this day would come in a 1998 speech before the annual geekfest known as Comdex, when he described his vision of the American home with a server in every garage. I believe I was polite enough not to laugh out loud.
Guess the joke's on me.
The larger question is why an industry that has survived more media transitions than Ted Turner -- from piano rolls, vinyl long-playing records, 8-track tapes, cassettes and compact discs -- can't simply embrace something that works.
Why not legitimize a service that 13 million Americans are using right now?
Sharman Networks proposed just such a solution last spring. Instead of trying to obliterate peer-to-peer networks, why not monazite them? It proposed a compulsory license by which Kazaa and other unauthorized distributors of digital media would automatically get access to music and other copyrighted works.
Singers, songwriters and other creative people would get paid by the royalties collected from the industries that benefit from Internet media distribution -- namely Internet access providers, the makers of blank CDs, the consumer electronics industry.
Problem solved, right? Suddenly, I'm relieved of my Catholic-girl guilt and the need to rush for a confessional after every session on Kazaa.
The recording and film industries have balked at the notion of compulsory licensing, describing it as un-American -- or at least, anti-capitalism. The recording industry, in particular, points to the 1992 Home Audio Recording Act, which allows consumers to use Digital Audio Tape recorders to make private copies of music without fear of being accused of piracy.
The labels collect royalties from the makers of DAT players and blank media -- fees that it says amount to pennies for every blank tape sold. That's a fine source of incremental revenue, but doesn't come close to replacing the $10.50 wholesale price of a pre-recorded CD.
Small wonder the recording industry isn't rushing to embrace compulsory licensing of peer-to-peer networks, which it views as the equivalent of auctioning off its crown jewels on eBay.
This impasse over peer-to-peer networks seems destined to rob consumers of a beneficial new technology that could fuel another renaissance in home entertainment.
But we've been here before.
The entertainment industry decried the player piano, radio, cable television and the VCR as pirate technologies, built on the backs of their valuable content. All emerged in a copyright vacuum. And ultimately, government stepped in with compulsory licensing to ensure that songwriters, singers and performers got paid.
It's time to do the same for peer-to-peer networks.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact Dawn C. Chmielewski at dchmielewski@sjmercury .com or (800) 643-1902
Finnish taxi drivers to pay royalties for backseat music
Finland's Supreme Court has ruled taxi drivers must pay royalty fees if they play music in their car while a customer is in the backseat.
The order even applies to the radio.
A case, based on one driver's refusal to pay, is likely to set a precedent for the 9,500 cab drivers in the country.
Under the ruling, a cab driver in Finland must pay £14 annually for playing music while transporting a fare.
Lauri Luotonen, chairman of the Helsinki Taxi Drivers' Association, says the ruling is likely to force most drivers to keep their radios off.
Recently, two Finnish churches refused to pay royalties to the country's copyright society for the performance of Christmas hymns. The congregations won their case in a district court, but the society has appealed.
Story filed: 17:43 Tuesday 3rd December 2002
User Comments
W-B
Date: December 3, 2002 @ 4:55 PM
In some ways, I see some similarities in attitude between the "Copyright Mafia" (as some would call them) and groups like PETA and Earth First-type entities. All of which believe everything else in the world (be they certain "endangered species" or copyrights) has more rights than you or I.
But this is yet another example of how the multinational corporations which *actually* rule the world seek to hoard every last nickel and dime (and foreign equivalents thereof) for themselves, not even leaving crumbs for the remainder of the populace.
FiveX
Date: December 3, 2002 @ 5:36 PM
thas a lame thing to do...pay royalties to play?
etucci
Date: December 3, 2002 @ 5:43 PM
la la laaa la laa lla laa.... Don't worry RIAA pigs, the checks in the mail... !
goldenpi
Date: December 3, 2002 @ 5:49 PM
This was unexpected. I would understand if they were to proclaim CDs in cabs are public performance, but radio is broadcast anyway. Surely the stations would be pleased about the extra advertiseing exposure? Someone must have let their lawyer off the leash again.
goofycaca
Date: December 3, 2002 @ 11:28 PM
You have got to be shitting me!
Does this mean if I'm the fare and I'm playing my radio in the backseat I have to pay royalties? Do I have to pay royalties for every single person who heard any of the music?
RyanS
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 1:53 AM
As golden said, I could see this with non-broadcast material, but broadcast?? They've hit an all-time low!
crawdd
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 4:06 AM
Easiest way to assure you burn in hell: Sue a church
Svensta
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 8:21 AM
This is very odd. I would think the entire purpose of broadcast radio is to be heard in just such a circumstance. The Finnish are getting ultra-strange. This is near-mindless, and might actually serve a purpose for our cause.
We can tout this as the end-result of all this copyright and property litigation. If THIS is the ultimate end of their argument, then they will lose more backers, one would hope. This is simply insane.
RIAAistheMOB
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 10:36 AM
NEWS FLASH!
The RIAA has announced that they now own the copyright on ALL sounds. Due to a new law, lobbied for by the RIAA, all citizens of the world must have devices implanted in their ear canal that will prevent them from "accidentally" hearing any music for which they haven't paid a royalty.
A wireless credit card payment system will be included, with a convenient belt clip, that will allow each person to instantly pay a royalty of $100/minute if they wish to hear anything.
ChillinBuzz
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 10:38 AM
only $100 a minute? I'm surprised they dont just lobby our workplaces to have a music listening tax added to our wageslips.
goldenpi
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 12:16 PM
Well, its certinly going to annoy the radio stations. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to fight this now, claiming the license to broadcast music doesn't specify who gets to listen to it .
Spwee
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 12:33 PM
yeah, golden way to shoot radio in the foot
thereby shooting the artists in the foot
thereby shooting the record companies in the foot
Spwee
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 12:39 PM
also
that's a bunch a lame shit
and they know it
yeah, and um you have to pay a royalty for..uh, pooping
Spwee
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 12:40 PM
and when your dick hangs a bit to the left
etucci
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 7:34 PM
Will the RIAA expect me to pay for the voices in my head...?
etucci
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 7:34 PM
Will the RIAA expect me to pay for the voices in my head...?
horsefucker
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 9:32 PM
In some ways, I'm not surprised. Some time ago, there was this discussion about music in departmetn stores. The stores would have to pay for piped music. If they used radio, there were some restrictions on how many people could listen to it at onece before they had to pay royalties.
JediAlex
Date: December 4, 2002 @ 10:10 PM
Not cool at all. Is that not what you pay for when you buy a cd? And last time I checked Radio was free. At least in America. That would not fly hear. Not at all.
only slightly OT..Triumph of a new design paradigm
The reliance of ODMs and their OEM customers on outsiders for cell phone designs is staggering
By Karen D. Schwartz, Illustration by Carie Henry -- Electronic Business, 12/1/2002
Special Editorial Section: Sponsored by Motorola
Sections:
In denial
Drawbacks
To paraphrase Tom Hanks' famous analogy in the movie "Forrest Gump," life in the cell phone industry is like a box of chocolates--you never know which company you're going to find inside. While the label on the handset may say Alcatel, Ericsson, Panasonic, Siemens or Sony, the design probably was supplied by either little-known companies like Bsquare Corp. or major chip makers such as Infineon, Intel, Motorola or Texas Instruments.
In fact, the reliance of original device manufacturers (ODMs) and their OEMs on outsiders for cell phone designs is staggering. Several tier-one OEMs, including Motorola Inc., Schaumburg, IL, and LM Ericsson, with U.S. headquarters in Plano, TX, have put their names on cell phones designed by others, according to industry analysts (see table, below). The consultants add that the cell phones made by second-tier OEMs--LG Electronics, Panasonic, Philips, Siemens and Sony--are almost all based on designs produced by others. As you might expect, the third-tier ODMs in Asia also are dependent on designs from others.
"I suspect most of the seven Taiwanese and 20 Chinese cell phone makers are using [third-party] designs or derivatives thereof," says David Carey, CEO of Portelligent Inc., a consumer electronic consulting firm in Austin, TX, that has studied cell phone designs extensively.
The focal point of the dramatic shift in cell phone development is called a reference design or a platform. Two years ago, Infineon, Motorola and Texas Instruments just offered simple chipsets and some design schematics to OEMs and independent design houses (IDH) that wanted a fast and low-cost way to get a particular type of cell phone to market. Now the big chip makers, and a host of other reference design suppliers around the globe, offer increasingly sophisticated and complete packages. These reference platforms typically specify a processor, memory, I/O, user interface, radio-frequency circuits and core applications software. In some cases, reference platforms include the software to handle e-mail and Internet surfing. The ODM or OEM handset engineer then customizes the reference design to meet customer specifications. Typically, the OEM or ODM adds 20% of a device's functionality. Designers customize the user interface to include, for example, the name of the cellular service provider.
Even though most firms are using reference designs, the companies don't want to acknowledge it. Many OEMs and ODMs contacted for this article refused to acknowledge the use of externally developed designs.
"It's partly an issue of competitive advantage and partly because none of these ODMs or OEMs wants people to think they are simply using a generic pre-existing design," explains Carey. "They want to be seen as innovators of technology, whether they are starting with a chipset or a full design."
In denial
The "Forrest Gump" irony of this denial is that the cell phone industry is just following the pattern set by the PC industry during the past decade. Top-tier PC manufacturers originally created their own designs and did their own manufacturing, but because of market pressures they migrated assembly offshore, notes Tony Sica, vice president and group marketing director of Santa Clara, CA-based Intel Corp.'s wireless communications and Computing group.
"What's happening in the wireless handset market today is much like the path the PC industry took during the past decade."
--Tony Sica, vice president Intel Corp.
And history is about to repeat itself, Sica predicts. "Today, most large PC OEMs are marketing organizations, where their only product is a marketing spec, and that's what we're starting to see in the cell phone business," he says.
Cost, time-to-market and software complexity are the three market drivers behind the shift by OEMs and ODMs to rely on third-party designs. "It's cheaper to manufacture when you start with a reference design," says Allen Nogee, a senior analyst in the Wireless Component Technology division of In-Stat/MDR, Scottsdale, AZ. (In-Stat is a division of ELECTRONIC BUSINESS' parent company, Reed Business Information.) That's especially true with low- and mid-level cell phones, where cost is particularly important, he adds.
Sometimes a low-cost reference design enables an ODM or an OEM to channel limited financial and engineering resources on a key added feature. Financially struggling Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, London, used a reference design from Ericsson Mobile Platforms of Lund, Sweden, as the foundation for a cell phone-camera combination (see story, "Last hope for Sony Ericsson?" below).
"None of the ODMs or OEMs wants people to think they are simply using a generic pre-existing design."
--David Carey, president, Portelligent Inc.
As the cell phone business has taken on the whimsical attributes of the fashion industry, it has become crucial for OEMs and their customers--the cellular service providers--to quickly deliver new designs. However, many OEMs are at a disadvantage because of their 18-month development cycles. Adopting a reference-design-based business model cuts the cycle by one-third to two-thirds, claim chip makers and their customers.
"We've seen our early adopters go from a development time of 12 to 18 months down to a six- to nine-month time frame," notes Ed Valdez, director of platform marketing for Motorola's Wireless Broadband and Systems group.
Denmark-based RTX Telecom, which traditionally develops its own designs, is testing a reference design from Motorola for an Internet-enabled device to be made for a Russian telecommunications equipment manufacturer. Jens Jungersen, director of sales and marketing at RTX, estimates that the reference design model could help shave off about three months of the typical nine-month development cycle.
San Diego- and Beijing-based eAnywhere Tech Inc. uses chipsets and reference designs from Infineon Technologies AG, Munich, to create more specialized, modularized reference designs. eAnywhere cofounder Wayne Huang says his company helps OEMs, other ODMs and its own designers reduce development time to as little as six months. "The modular approach helped us significantly with time-to-market," Huang says.
The real cell phone design battleground these days is features that rely on software, and reference designs, which include the latest software-based bells and whistles that are in demand. "More and more, we are embedding applications for things like Internet accessibility, voice recognition, locator services and gaming," says Tom Pollard, worldwide marketing director of the wireless chipset business for Dallas-based Texas Instruments Inc.
Adds Kent Hellebust, a senior vice president of Bsquare, "there has been an explosion of new device types that have both voice and data capabilities, along with new form factors, designs and display capabilities, all optimized for different market segments." The Bellevue, WA, application developer creates wireless handset designs using chipsets from various chip makers.
Indeed, companies that haven't used reference designs until now are taking their first tentative steps toward adopting the philosophy for products that depend heavily on unique functionality driven by specialized software development. Earlier this year, Taiwan-based BenQ Corp., one of the largest wireless handset ODMs, licensed Motorola's i.250 reference platform for a cell phone with Internet capabilities. While BenQ has never relied on a reference design for a handset, executives struck the deal knowing that the day may soon come when it will need to do so.
"We have a lot of investment in our R&D, so we like to use it whenever possible," says Irwin Chen, BenQ's vice president of Business Group Networking and Communication. "But we have to prepare for the time when we'll be dealing with a totally new technology, chipset or software platform. When that happens, we will be ready to use a reference design."
Drawbacks
Of course, OEMs and ODMs understand that relying too much on a reference design could destroy the ability to maintain a decent profit margin via differentiation. Adopting a reference design means walking a tightrope between too much customization, which would destroy the design's efficiency, and too little, which might cause customers to assume the design is too basic and mass-produced.
"Many of the chips [used in reference designs] today are so integrated that much of the functionality is in the main chip, almost as if the chip was designed for that particular reference design," says Nogee of In-Stat/MDR. "If you pick and choose too much, it almost eliminates the benefit of the reference design in the first place."
Helping bridge the gap between too much customization and too little are reference design providers that function as intermediaries between the chip makers and the OEMs/ODMs. Bsquare, for example, partnered with Intel to develop a reference design for power users of handheld cell phones that also function as personal digital assistants.
Some OEMs, especially the ones with significant market share and the expertise to develop their own designs, continue to follow the traditional business model of doing everything in-house. Such companies retain control of the design as well as the intellectual property. That's especially true of Nokia, with U.S. headquarters in Irving, TX, which claims nearly half the market for cell phones.
However, even mighty Nokia is borrowing a few pages from the reference-design playbook. It has developed a method of wireless handset production that relies on internally developed templates--in essence, internal reference-designs. "We try to use a design in as many similar products as possible to leverage that design," says Adam Gould, chief technology officer of Nokia's CDMA business.
Ultimately, Nokia may be part of a very small minority of the entire electronic industry. Eventually, experts say, reference designs will dominate the marketplace in many or all sectors--not just cell phones.
"The point at which ODMs have the economies of scale that end up being superior to that of tier-one players is the point at which reference designs will become commonplace," Motorola's Valdez predicts. Valdez says he expects that point to come five to 10 years from now.
It's a matter not only of time, but also of acceptance, Bsquare's Hellebust says. "The technology is there now, and we're seeing some organizations willing to work this new way," he notes. "There are still some, however, that aren't yet comfortable with giving up the old ways."
Karen D. Schwartz is a freelance writer specializing in technology and business issues. She has written articles for CIO, InformationWeek, Mobile Computing & Communications and Business 2.0. She can be reached at karen.schwartz@bigfoot.com.
Some reference-design providers and their customers Reference-Design Provider Sample Customers
Ericsson Mobile Platforms Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB, Microcell Telecommunications Inc., GVC Corp.
Motorola Inc. BenQ Corp., Eastern Communications Co., Sewon Telecom Co. Ltd.
Bsquare Corp. Motorola Inc.
Texas Instruments Inc. GVC Corp., Nokia
Infineon Technologies AG eAnywhere Tech Inc., Konka Telecommunications Technology Co. Ltd.
Sources: ELECTRONIC BUSINESS and International Business Strategies Inc.
RealNetworks, Starz Encore to deliver movies on Web
Wednesday December 4, 12:19 am ET
By Reed Stevenson
SEATTLE, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Digital media software maker RealNetworks Inc (NasdaqNM:RNWK - News) and the top operator of U.S. movie cable channels, Starz Encore Group LLC, announced plans on Wednesday to launch an Internet movie-on-demand service next year.
ADVERTISEMENT
Under the new service, users will be able to download movies off the Internet and watch them on personal computers or on televisions hooked up to PCs.
While the allure of selling movies over the Web has attracted the interest of movie studios for years, they have also been reluctant to loosen their grip on film libraries since rampant Napster-style file copying -- especially as high speed home Net connections proliferate -- could threaten the livelihood of the $70 billion film and television industry.
The new online movie subscription service, Starz On Demand, will have robust copyright protection and also allow users to enjoy high-quality video playback, said RealNetworks Chief Executive Rob Glaser.
"I would call it a natural progression, videos on the Internet," Glaser told Reuters, adding that digital rights management technology would be built into the new movie service.
Starz Encore, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corp (NYSE:L - News), said that more than 100 movies would be offered each month to subscribers for a "low monthly fee", but did not provide more specific details on pricing.
Last month, five top Hollywood studios lifted the curtain on Movielink, an online box office that will also deliver movies over the Web.
Movielink allows users to download movies online for $2 to $5. The downloaded movies can be stored on computer hard drives for up to 30 days without being played -- once played, they must be viewed within 24 hours before being deleted.
Without those built-in protections, which weren't incorporated into digital music files, the movie industry would suffer the same fate as the music industry, said John Sie, founder, chairman and CEO of Starz Encore.
Films available on Starz On Demand will be the same titles available on the Starz Encore's scheduled cable and satellite services and the video on demand service as offered by cable operators.
Movies such as "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring", "Black Hawk Down" and "Pearl Harbor" would become available through such services, for example.
Archos' Jukebox: Multimedia Goes Mobile
By David Carey
November 27, 2002 (10:33 a.m. EST)
The Archos Multimedia Jukebox blurs the line among portable audio players, digital imaging products and personal video recorders. Enabled by mobile-friendly mass storage and purpose-built multimedia ASICs, the Jukebox speaks to a future of multimedia digital vaults while displaying a few quirks inherent to low-cost manufacturing.
From a common hard-disk platform, the Archos Jukebox is capable of capture, storage and playback of MP3 audio and JPEG still images along with playback of MP4/DivX movies at a modest CIF (352 x 288-pixel) resolution. Housed in a 110 x 78 x 28-mm enclosure and weighing 290 grams, it's highly portable, though not exactly pocketable.
A Texas Instruments TMS320DSC-21, a dedicated digital-imaging DSP engine, handles coding and decoding for MP3, MPEG-4 and JPEG. An external camera option for the Archos presses the TI part into additional service for still and video acquisition.A Micronas MAS3587 audio chip supports audio interface functions, while flash storage from SST and SDRAM from ISSI constitute system memory. An Atmel CPLD device takes care of controller and interface duties, and an Epson part implements the LCD interface. A cluster of bidirectional bus interface chips creates flexible data paths among external memory cards, the internal hard drive and the primary electronics. The Jukebox model analyzed for this column used Hitachi's 20-Gbyte ATA100, a 2.5-inch notebook hard disk.
Sporting a metal base, heavy plastic top case and hard-rubber reinforced corners, the Archos Multimedia Jukebox 20 takes on an outward appearance of ruggedized construction. But a peek inside revealed that the backlight/diffuser and LCD panel were simply piled up on the mainboard, secured with tape and held in alignment by a gasket on the display window. Space between the mainboard and the hard drive provided a channel in which two 1,100-mA-hr lithium-ion prismatic cells resided. A complex set of hand-soldered header connector blocks was used for vertical interconnect among the mainboard, hard drive and external interface connector.
Estimated cost of goods sold (COGS) for the Archos Multimedia Jukebox 20, including accessories but absent the hard drive, was around $100. The 20-Gbyte drive bumps the total COGS to nearer $160 at the time of writing. It would appear that the hard drive has plowed over all competitors when it comes to cheap, deep, rewritable storage. Neither semiconductors nor optical drives can yet compete with it as a place to put your collection of movies, pictures and music in a palm-size box.
David Carey is president of portelligent (www.teardown.com). the austin, texas, company produces reports and research on mobile, wireless and personal electronics systems.
See related chart
OT Lucent Proposes Reverse Stock Split in SEC Filing
Monday December 2, 7:02 pm ET
Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON -- Lucent Technologies Inc. (NYSE:LU - News) , as expected, submitted a regulatory filing Monday so that it can seek shareholder approval for a reverse stock split that may be necessary to keep its stock listing.
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In the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Lucent also said its chief executive, Patricia Russo, received the $1.8 million bonus guaranteed under her employment agreement for fiscal 2002, ended Sept. 30.
No other executives received bonuses for fiscal 2002.
In October, Lucent said it would seek shareholder approval for a reverse split that would yield a common share price of $15 to $25 a share. At the time, the company said it could be at risk of losing its New York Stock Exchange listing because the shares traded below $1 for 30 trading days.
The stock has bounced back since then and closed Monday at $1.89, up 12 cents.
Even though Lucent's stock has traded above $1 for 30 consecutive days since October, Lucent said the NYSE will determine if the company met the listing rule only at the end of the six-month period. Companies typically have six months to resolve a price issue.
Shareholder approval of the reverse stock split proposal would give Lucent's board discretion over the ratio of the reverse split and the timing of the transaction.
The proposal gives Lucent's board discretion for a reverse split at ratios of 1-for-10, 1-for-20, 1-for-30 or 1-for-40 anytime before Feb. 19, 2004, the filing said.
Lucent has about 3.4 billion shares outstanding.
Lucent has tentatively set its shareholder meeting for Feb. 19, 2003, with a record date of Dec. 23, the filing said.
Lucent first disclosed details of Ms. Russo's fiscal 2002 compensation in February shortly after she joined the company.
In addition to the $1.8 million bonus, Ms. Russo got restricted stock initially valued at $11 million but which was worth $1.3 million as of Sept. 30, the filing said.
Ms. Russo also got 5.4 million stock options with an exercise price of $6.2605 a share, the filing said.
Ms. Russo received a salary of $887,692 for fiscal 2002. She doesn't have a guaranteed annual bonus for fiscal 2003, the filing said.
-Robert L. Grant; Dow Jones Newswires; 202-393-7851 robert.grant@dowjones.com
New DVD Player Receives Digital Media Directly From The Internet
November 27, 2002-Hørsholm Denmark-KiSS Technology, a leading Scandinavian manufacturer of DVD products throughout the world, today announced their DP500, the first DVD player to offer an Ethernet connection and DivX support. The DP500 begins shipping today and represents the second in a series of new DVD players from KiSS, based on a strategic relationship with Sigma Designs, using their EM8500 progressive DVD decoder chip.
The first OEM version of the DP500 will be delivered to TDC Tele Danmark in Denmark and will be sold starting today under the WEBTECH DP500 brand name. TDC is the largest telecommunication company in Denmark with more than 3.4 million customers and broadband ADSL coverage approaching 95 percent of all Danish households.
The DP500 introduces a series of new features including playback of videos encoded in DivX versions 4 and 5, and a new Ethernet 10/100 connection. The Ethernet connection will soon be used for a range of new functions, including Internet radio and PC connectivity for music files, pictures and video material.
"Our new progressive Scan DP500 DVD player with Ethernet and DivX support is the second product in four months to set the trend with first-to-market features.. The Ethernet 10/100 port will give the user new possibilities for entertainment in front of a TV. Users will be able to download files from the PC and watch movies, listen to hours of recorded music, share family pictures, or jump on the Internet and listen to Internet radio stations," said Bo Lustrup, marketing manager, KiSS Technology.
"This innovative move by KiSS Technology takes DVD players to the next logical level, introducing the concept of a networked media player," said Ken Lowe, vice president of business development at Sigma Designs. "We are excited to be involved at the forefront of this trend, which is a further sign of convergence between consumer media, PC media and the Internet."
The DP500, manufactured and designed in Scandinavia, is designed to provide consumers with the highest-quality picture and sound. In addition to DivX compatibility, the DP500 offers a ground breaking progressive scan technology that enhances the visual experience, MPEG-4 support, unique MP3 playback, advanced user interface, and a photo album feature for digital photo collections. The DP500 comes complete with the standard CD/MP3, CD-RW, SVCD, VCD and DVD-RW playback offered by its predecessor, the award winning DP-330. For more information, visit www.kiss-technology.com.
IBM Advances Pervasive Computing Strategy With New Software
Monday December 2, 3:37 pm ET
Voice Portal Technology And Tools Extend IBM Momentum With Device Manufacturers, Service Providers And Enterprises
SOMERS, NY--(INTERNET WIRE)--Dec 2, 2002 -- Building on a continuing wave of pervasive computing customer deployments and industry alliances, IBM today announced new software products and tools that make it easier for developers to build and manage voice portals - as well as extend enterprise applications, such as mobile databases, to new devices.
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Today's announcement underscores IBM's ongoing commitment to help customers extend computing to new devices using an infrastructure built on a foundation of open, integrated and scalable technologies. IBM has built momentum helping enterprises extend capabilities to their mobile workforce, assisting service providers find new ways to decrease costs and increase revenue streams, and enabling device manufacturers to provide intelligent access to the enterprise.
"Pervasive computing plays a significant role in the on-demand era," said Rodney Adkins, General Manager, IBM Pervasive Computing Division. "Over the past year, we've been aggressively laying the foundation that gives people the flexibility to access and interact with information when they want it, where they want it and how they want it. Today's announcement adds to what is quickly becoming an extensive portfolio of technology, hardware, software and services that span the pervasive computing ecosystem."
Adding to its portfolio, IBM unveiled the new WebSphere Voice Application Access product: middleware that simplifies building and managing voice portals and more easily extends web-based portals to voice. Leveraging the scalability, personalization and authentication features of IBM's WebSphere Portal, it enables mobile workers to more easily access information from multiple voice applications - using a single telephone number.
This new offering includes IBM's WebSphere Voice Server as well as ready-to-use email, personal information management (PIM) functions, and sample portlets. It also supports VoiceXML and Java - including development tools based on Eclipse, the open-source, vendor-neutral platform for writing software - and uses open-standard programming languages to create voice-enabled applications that will interoperate with a range of web servers and databases.
In keeping with IBM's strategy to provide solutions across multiple platforms, IBM will be working to make WebSphere Voice Application Access interoperable with offerings from third party VoiceXML vendors, such as Nuance and Cisco. In addition, IBM is also working with independent solutions vendors including V-Enable, Voxsurf and Viecore to extend their current solutions.
"Nuance is pleased to work with IBM to extend its open, standards-based approach to speech technology," said Lynda Smith, vice president & Chief Marketing Officer, Nuance. "By making it easier for third party vendors to work with offerings such as WebSphere Voice Application Access, IBM helps developers and integrators take advantage of Nuance's market leading speech technologies."
"Viecore has been building industry solutions using IBM's WebSphere Voice server," said Viecore CEO Tom Chisholm. "The new WebSphere Voice Application Access enables us to build richer capabilities on our current solutions using existing skills and resources, allowing us to bring additional solutions to market with more efficiency and speed."
Today's announcement also includes availability of new versions of IBM software and tools that extend enterprise applications to new form factors and methods of interaction.
DB2 Everyplace V8.1: A mobile database designed to ensure zero down time by synching multiple servers, DB2 Everyplace provides data encryption at the table-level, helping to prevent unauthorized access to data if a device is lost or stolen. DB2 Everyplace provides the broadest platform support in the industry for mobile computing and helps the sales and field forces respond to customer requests in real time by rapidly serving up data to applications.
WebSphere Studio Device Developer V5.0: Assists developers in the creation, deployment, testing and management of J2ME applications for cell phones, PDAs, handheld computers and other wireless / wireline devices. WSDD uses the eclipse.org extensible architecture to provide developers with an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) that combines the reliability, scalability and security of WebSphere with the convenience of mobile devices.
WebSphere Micro Environment V5.0: A foundation for e-business applications on small mobile devices. By using open standards to combine the portability of J2ME technology with the power of WebSphere, IBM delivers the convenience of mobile devices to e-business. Together with device middleware, IBM provides a complete device-to-services solution for extending existing e-business applications to millions of devices.
WebSphere Voice Application Access is expected to be available Dec 20, 2002. All other offerings are available today. The beta version of WVAA is available for download on alphaWorks, IBM's destination for emerging technologies at www.ibm.com/alphaWorks.
*IBM, DB2 database software and WebSphere are registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States and/ or other countries. All statements regarding IBM's future direction or intent are subject to change or withdrawal without notice, and represent goals and objectives only.
About IBM Pervasive Computing
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. Drawing on resources from across IBM and key Business Partners, IBM offers a wide range of services, solutions and technologies that enable customers, large and small, to take full advantage of the new era of e-business.
Contact:
Contact: Geraldine Kan
Company: IBM Corporation
Voice: 914-766-3284
Email: gkan@us.ibm.com
Hottest Hard Drives
1 hour, 22 minutes ago
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Masha Zager, www.NewsFactor.com
The hard disk drive is one of the great IT success stories. In 20 years, it has progressed from an IBM (NYSE: IBM - news) PC luxury add-on to an indispensable part of any computer, and finally to a component so inexpensive it can be upgraded on impulse. Capacity, performance and reliability all have improved dramatically as costs have fallen. And although one might think manufacturers have nowhere left to go, they continue to push the boundaries of hard drives' capabilities.
• The Data Storage Universe in a Grain of Sand
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• New Technology for More Spacious Hard Drives
Most disk drives on the market today use either Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) or Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) connections. ATA, which is slower but less expensive, is used mainly in desktop and mobile PCs, while SCSI, faster but more expensive, is used primarily in servers and high-end workstations. Another advantage of SCSI drives for servers is that, unlike ATA drives, they are hot-pluggable, which means they can be replaced while the computer is running.
State of the Art
The standard-size ATA drive included with a PC is now 40 gigabytes (GB), and disks as large as 200 GB are common. In terms of speed, 7200 RPM (rotations per minute) has become the industrywide norm. For the first time, in the third quarter of this year, more than 50 percent of ATA drives sold were 7200 RPM models, according to Darrin Bulik, technical marketing manager at drive manufacturer Western Digital (NYSE: WDC - news).
Of course, performance depends on more than rotational speed, and there are differences among drives. Storage Review, an independent benchmarking group, lists the 200 GB Western Digital Caviar and the 180 GB IBM Ultrastar as the fastest ATA drives on the market, measured by I/O (input/output) per second.
According to Mark Geenen, president of the International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association (IDEMA), RPM could be increased even more if PC buses could handle higher data speeds. "The way the PC is constructed slows them down," he told NewsFactor.
High Speed, Reliability
SCSI drives are also in the 40 to 200 GB size range, but their standard speed is 10,000 RPM, significantly higher than the ATA standard, and 15,000-RPM drives have become more widely available. According to Storage Review, the 73 GB Seagate Cheetah and 147 GB Maxtor (NYSE: MXO - news) Atlas are the fastest SCSI models in terms of I/O per second. Based on these statistics, the fastest SCSI drive is about 37 percent faster than the fastest ATA drive.
According to both Bulik and Geenen, disk drive reliability has improved markedly over the years and is now uniformly high. Bulik explained that because the large OEMs to whom disk manufacturers sell their products use the same qualification tests, virtually all of the drives on the market are comparable in terms of reliability.
Bulik added that disk drive capacities also will continue to grow steadily beyond today's 200 GB limit -- and putting a terabyte of data on a PC hard drive is becoming a possibility.
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Coming Attractions
But more important than capacity growth is the arrival of the serial ATA interface, which several vendors will begin shipping in the first quarter of 2003. Serial ATA will raise interface transfer rates to 150 megabytes per second from parallel ATA's 100 megabytes per second -- a 50 percent increase, which will be most noticeable in high-data-volume applications, such as video editing.
And because serial ATA is in its infancy, there is room for additional large increases in transfer rates. Parallel ATA, by contrast, has been in use for 10 years, and, according to Bulik, "You can only stretch it so far. [Serial ATA] starts the clock over again."
The most significant impact of serial ATA may be in the low-end server market, where SCSI drives predominate today. Server and workstation manufacturers are looking hard at serial ATA drives, whose capacity, performance and hot-pluggability will be adequate for many of their computer models at a fraction of SCSI drive prices.
According to Bulik, serial ATA drives will probably be installed in servers used for bulk data storage rather than those with heavy transactional loads. "It will be a while before we see serial ATA driving Wall Street," he told NewsFactor, "but for people who want a lot of capacity at a lower price than SCSI, it becomes an easy ROI to close."
Waiting for Upward Trends
At present, there is little demand for increasing the performance of ATA drives. As Geenen put it, "The fringe users could use 10,000 RPM, but for mere mortals, it's overkill." However, if manufacturers of servers, rather than of desktop computers, become the dominant force in the ATA market, they are expected to push for higher levels of performance. "As [the server] market becomes bigger," Bulik noted, "we may see some drive spec changes."
Another trend mentioned by both Bulik and Geenen is the growing popularity of external hard drives. As OEMs try to shrink the PC footprint, many models have room for only one disk drive. Users who need a second drive increasingly are turning to external drives with USB (universal serial bus) or 1394 (Firewire) interfaces, now that the speed of these interfaces has been raised.
The $40 Disk Drive
In the long run, Geenen said, if manufacturers can reduce their wholesale prices to less than $40, they could "potentially unlock a massive wave of demand." At that price, disk drives would become attractive to consumer electronics manufacturers for such devices as televisions and videocassette recorders, expanding the uses of those devices.
But it is a long drop from $70, the current wholesale price, to $40. "Most of the cost of the drive is materials," Geenen explained. "There's not a lot to play with." In addition, consolidation of the disk drive industry to five major players has reduced the competitive pressures that drove down prices so quickly in the past. "Everyone's a little bit careful about pressing on to completely redesign the disk drive," Geenan said.
But if manufacturers can manage to break the $40 barrier by driving down materials costs or finding new manufacturing efficiencies, the disk drive could become more ubiquitous than anyone has imagined. "This would be revolutionary rather than evolutionary," Geenan said. "It's fantastic if and when it happens.
OT Sony Pictures Digital Debuts a Host of Pop-Culture Content On AT&T Wireless mMode(SM) Service
Sony Pictures Mobile Channel to Offer Original Java Games, Wallpaper,
And More, Bringing 'Wheel of Fortune,' 'XXX,' 'Q*Bert,'
'Soapcity(R),' to Next Generation Mobile Phones
CULVER CITY, Calif. and REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 27 /PRNewswire/ --
Sony Pictures Digital and AT&T Wireless (NYSE: AWE) announced today that
content from the library of Sony Pictures Entertainment is now available to
AT&T Wireless mMode(SM) customers. AT&T Wireless is the first U.S. carrier to
launch a comprehensive array of content from Sony Pictures Digital, including
screensavers, ring tones, games, news and reviews, and more.
"Wireless applications offer a unique and personalized entertainment
experience for the consumer," said Patrick Kennedy, executive vice president
of Sony Pictures Digital. "We look forward to extending into the wireless
arena dynamic and high-quality applications that consumers have come to
associate with our properties."
"Our association with Sony Pictures Digital -- a company synonymous with
quality, leading-edge entertainment -- speaks to the compelling content our
customers can now enjoy on mMode," said John Bunyan, senior vice president of
AT&T Wireless Mobile Multimedia Services. "We view this relationship as an
opportunity for both companies to further capitalize on hit movies and TV
shows, and stimulate mass appeal for new wireless services."
Sony Pictures Mobile
AT&T Wireless mMode(SM) customers are now able to access the Sony Pictures
Mobile channel where they can view information and updates on current and
future Sony Pictures Entertainment feature films, television programs and DVD
releases. The Sony Pictures Mobile channel also features a PhoneCandy(TM)
section where customers can download items such as wallpaper, screensavers and
ring tones based on a wide array of properties from Sony Pictures
Entertainment, including "XXX," "Stuart Little 2," the award-winning animated
short film "The ChubbChubbs," game shows "Wheel of Fortune," "JEOPARDY!," the
recently launched "Pyramid," as well as current and upcoming features such as
"I-Spy" and "Adam Sandler's 8 Crazy Nights," and other previews.
"We are developing mobile channels for mMode that let us offer our
entertainment properties directly to consumers," says Rio Caraeff, vice
president of wireless services for Sony Pictures Digital. "Drawing from the
library of Sony Pictures Entertainment, we are creating unique channels of
mobile programming for users to experience our movies and television
properties in a fun and personalized way."
Fun and Games
At launch, Sony Pictures Digital debuted two original mobile Java games,
"XXX: Triple Threat" and the classic nostalgia video game Q*Bert. Additional
Java games based on a number of Sony Pictures Entertainment's most popular
franchises, including "Stuart Little 2: Air Adventures," "Wheel of Fortune,"
"JEOPARDY!" and "Pyramid," will be added later this year.
Scoop out the Soaps or Dish on Dawson
Content from SoapCity, Sony Pictures Digital's premiere soap opera web
destination which logs over 2.9 million unique users a month, is now available
to mMode customers, providing daily updates and information on their favorite
characters and shows, including "Days of Our Lives," "The Young and the
Restless," "As the World Turns," "Guiding Light," and "The Bold and the
Beautiful," among others.
With the hit show "Dawson's Creek" entering its 6th season, mMode fans of
the show are able to subscribe to weekly updates on the show, trivia and fun
facts about their favorite characters and exclusive, inside information.
When it comes to entertainment, Sony Pictures Digital and AT&T Wireless
have developed a solid portfolio of content for the mobile consumer. For more
information on accessing Sony Pictures content on mMode services, please visit
http://www.attwireless.com/mmode .
About Sony Pictures Digital
Sony Pictures Digital, an operating unit of Sony Pictures Entertainment
(SPE), oversees the activities of SPE's digital production and online assets
including Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Online
Entertainment, Sony Pictures Digital Networks Division which includes
SoapCity, Screenblast, the studio's online promotional arm SPiN, and the UK
interactive television service GoPlayTV. Sony Pictures Digital focuses on
three areas: 1) producing and developing visual effects, digital character
animation and full-length CG motion pictures; 2) developing new forms of
online content, games and interactive programming; and 3) leading SPE's
efforts to provide online, open-access video-on-demand, interactive and
wireless entertainment. For additional information, please visit
http://www.sonypictures.com .
About AT&T Wireless
AT&T Wireless (NYSE: AWE) is the largest independently traded wireless
carrier in the United States, following our split from AT&T on July 9, 2001.
AT&T Wireless now operates the largest GSM/GPRS network in the Western
Hemisphere. With 20.2 million subscribers, and full-year 2001 revenues
exceeding $13.6 billion, AT&T Wireless will continue delivering advanced
high-quality mobile wireless communications services, voice or data, to
businesses and consumers, in the U.S. and internationally. For more
information, please visit us at http://www.attwireless.com .
Apple links up with MP3.com
London, November 28 2002, (netimperative)
The Apple Store has selected MP3.com Europe as the main focus of its online marketing drive to encourage sales of the Apple iPod. The promotion - which will run across the music portal's sites in UK, Germany and France - will be displayed in emails and site advertising, and will be supported by a competition to win one of the devices. The Apple Store will use of MP3.com's 'singleserving' emails for the campaign - some 550,000 music fans will be targeted.
Hitachi shrinks its flash memory card
By Richard Shim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
November 26, 2002, 1:13 PM PT
As demand for smaller devices gets bigger and bigger, Hitachi is latching onto the trend with its new removable mini-flash memory card.
The new cards measure 0.9 inches by 0.7 inches by 0.06 inches--about half the size of multimedia memory cards used in many consumer products. Hitachi is already selling the cards in Japan and is expected to announce the cards in the United States on Dec. 4.
"Devices have been going towards smaller and smaller form factors, and it is necessary to address a smaller card format," said Victor Tsai, product manager at Hitachi.
The new card is the first of its kind to meet the requirements of a recently approved flash memory card format called the Reduced Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC) standard. The RS-MMC specification was approved earlier this month by standards group the MultiMediaCard Association and targets mobile phones, handhelds and digital imaging devices.
Hitachi expects to start shipping the cards in high volume in the second quarter of 2003, and device makers will likely announce support for the RS-MMC format around the same time, Tsai said.
The RS-MMC cards are part of a larger trend toward smaller and less power-consuming removable flash memory card formats for gadgets that are getting smaller but require higher memory capacities, such as new cell phones with built-in digital cameras and wristwatch PDA (personal digital assistant) devices.
As more devices become connected to wireless networks and include integrated features, smaller cards will become a more significant part of the removable flash memory card market, according to Alan Niebel, a Web-Feet Research analyst.
Sony announced in July a smaller version of its Memory Stick, called the Memory Stick Duo, which is currently available in Japan and is expected to be released in the United States in early 2003. In July, camera makers Olympus and Fuji Photo Film announced a replacement for the SmartMedia format, called the xD-Picture Card.
Hitachi's new cards will be available in 16MB, 32MB and 64MB capacities, with 128MB and 256MB versions due out in late 2003. The RS-MMC cards can be used in MultiMediaCard slots using an adapter. Hitachi is selling the cards to resellers for $14 for the 16MB cards, $18 for 32MB cards, and $28 for 64MB cards. Tsai said he expects street prices to be about 60 percent above reseller prices.
OT Gateway gambles on a new strategy
Posted on Mon, Dec. 02, 2002
By Sam Diaz
Mercury News
For the better part of 2002, the tech industry has been giving Gateway a beating -- and for good reason.
While the PC maker's primary competitors -- Hewlett-Packard, Compaq and Dell -- spent the year taking large strides to revamp themselves during the economic downturn, Gateway took baby steps.
As HP and Compaq finalized details of their merger, Gateway tried to attract interest in its redesigned PC line. While Dell courted overseas customers, Gateway tried to convince American consumers to buy into broadband and home networking services.
And while Dell and the new HP pitched their servers and services to the corporate world, Gateway was closing under-performing retail stores and laying off thousands of workers.
It was a business plan that analysts called unsustainable, at best, and many wondered when the Poway company would drive the last nail into its own coffin.
But then Gateway launched its latest business strategy, a plan that involves a new focus for its retail stores, a new logo and a move into other electronic products that not only carry the logo but also undercut competitors' prices.
``This is a transformation as a company and I don't use the word `transformation' loosely,'' said John Heubusch, Gateway's senior vice president of strategy and planning. ``I think what the company is undergoing is a radical transformation of what it sells, how it sells and who it sells to.''
Gateway had to do something. The company was founded in Iowa as a PC maker in 1985 and was losing with its main product. PC sales fell 19 percent in the third quarter compared with last year. Likewise, sales were down 18 percent and 30 percent during the second and first quarters of 2002 compared with 2001.
Revenue shrank 37 percent to $6.1 billion in 2001 compared with $9.6 billion in 2000. Gateway has reported losses of $229 million for the first three quarters this year.
Gateway hopes the fourth quarter fares differently as sales of other tech products get folded into the mix.
In October, Gateway placed some 150 consumer electronic products, from MP3 players and handheld computers to digital cameras and digital camcorders, on the shelves of Gateway Country stores across the country, a scenario similar to what Apple Computer is doing in its stores.
New logo, new line
Around the same time, it switched its longtime cow-spot logo to a variation of the letter ``G'' with more of a high-tech feel to it, Heubusch said. Gateway's new logo is the symbol for a computer power button turned on its side, according to its Web site.
The logo was released recently when Gateway followed the lead of Dell, which recently put its name on a printer and handheld computer, by announcing its first branded product outside of the personal computer line: a 42-inch plasma television that sells for $3,000 -- about half the price of other plasma TVs on retail shelves.
But some fine print comes with this TV. For now, the set is not a high-definition set but is capable -- like many other plasma TVs -- of showing high-definition programs with an added converter box, which usually runs less than $500.
Not being a high-definition TV could be a big deal, said Phillip Swann, president of TVPredictions.com in Santa Monica. Consumers willing to drop thousands of dollars on a plasma screen are probably savvy about high-definition programming, he said.
``If somebody is looking to spend that kind of money and if you can't get HDTV with it, there's going to be a lot of explaining to do in that living room when it comes home,'' Swann said.
But already, prices of plasma TVs have come down -- perhaps in response to Gateway or maybe as a potential boost to the holiday shopping season.
Attention this season is directed toward MP3 players, digital cameras and digital camcorders.
Gateway is hoping that the relatively low TV price will bring customers into the stores. Once they're in, consumers are bound to be impressed with the showcased products, live demonstrations and knowledge of the sales staff, Heubusch said.
``The sales process at the big-box stores is a kid in the PC department who is there to sell, sell, sell,'' Heubusch said.
Customers want guidance, he said.
Heubusch said Gateway's research found that more than 90 percent of the digital camcorders sold today are used much like analog camcorders were -- folks shoot and store video on the tapes and never do anything more with them.
``They have no notion of how to use the PC to make movies and lay music over that video,'' he said. ``What's the purpose of buying a digital camcorder if you don't use it for what it can do?''
Sales staff is key
Gateway, much like Apple, is trying to show consumers how these products work with the computer. But will consumers bite?
Andy Neff, an analyst with Bear Stearns in New York, said it's tough to think of any one company that has been successful with its own retail store.
But Tim Bajarin, president of Silicon Valley tech research firm Creative Strategies, is optimistic that the Gateway store -- carrying the cachet of a well-known brand name -- will attract foot traffic much like Apple stores have, especially in parts of the country where folks are still being wowed by the innovations of consumer technology.
``Technology is not simple to sell,'' Bajarin said. ``The more knowledgeable the salespeople, the better.''
Going head to head with the likes of Dell, Apple and the big-name retail chains could be a challenge for Gateway, though Heubusch counters by saying, ``We've only been at it for a month or so. Give us six months. You'll see.''
Still, he understands the skepticism.
``Wall Street's concerns about our cost structures are well taken,'' Heubusch said. ``But we have a difference of opinion with Wall Street. They think our costs should be attacked by closing stores. We think of the stores as being a salvation.''
Bajarin isn't selling Gateway short. He's seen the company fall and rise again too many times.
``Gateway is one of those companies that seems to have 900 lives,'' he said. ``Every time you think they're about to go under, they resurrect themselves. It's fascinating to see the reinvention of Gateway on an annual basis. If there's one thing I've learned it's that you can't count them out.''
Sony Pictures Entertainment Forms Digital Policy Group
Tuesday November 26, 9:01 am ET
Chief Administrative Officer Beth Berke Leads Corporate Organization to Facilitate SPE's Migration to a World of Secure Digital Formats, Delivery Systems and Networked Devices
CULVER CITY, Calif., Nov. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Sony Pictures Entertainment has formed the Digital Policy Group, a new corporate level organization designed to address the challenges and opportunities arising with the digital distribution of entertainment product, it was announced today by Yair Landau, Vice-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
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Beth Berke, Chief Administrative Officer and Executive Vice President of Sony Pictures, will lead this new corporate organization to facilitate SPE's migration to a world of secure digital formats, delivery systems and networked devices.
"At Sony Pictures, we function in a convergent world and are uniquely positioned to see the evolution of traditional media and the true impact of technology," said Yair Landau. "As the pace of change within entertainment and adoption of technology across all divisions of Sony Pictures Entertainment accelerates, the need to coordinate our policies and strategies across our multiple lines of business is essential. Beth is a proven leader and given the breadth of her responsibilities within the company she has an exceptional understanding of the effect of policy decisions on business, legal and government affairs."
The Digital Policy Group will develop and implement policies that promote the protection of SPE content in a digital world. It will review new technologies that secure digital recording and distribution; synchronize SPE divisions to ensure a consistent approach to digital formats and distribution; represent SPE's position in cross-industry negotiations, legislative and regulatory matters, and other public forums; and partner with fellow Sony companies to advance the development and implementation of a secure digital infrastructure.
"Sony has a unique mix of assets spanning electronics hardware and entertainment content, and it is vital for us to approach the future of digitized content with a full understanding of all aspects of our business," said Yuki Nozoe, President of Sony Corporation's Network Application and Content Services Sector (NACS). "The Digital Policy Group at Sony Pictures Entertainment will play an important role within the Sony Group as we meet the challenge of distributing content and services in a secure fashion."
"We're quickly moving to a world where content is distributed over a network of devices and through new technologies, some of which are being created as we speak. Sony has a unique opportunity to create strategies that permit the maximum flexibility to the consumer electronics and computer industries, while at the same time providing the necessary protection to our content. The goal of the Digital Policy Group is to move forward with a triple win -- for content, for hardware, and for viewers," said Beth Berke.
Joining Berke in the Digital Policy Group are Hope Boonshaft, Executive Vice President of External Affairs, Mitch Singer, Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, and Brian Lakamp, Senior Vice President of Strategic Technology. Representatives from the studio's divisions will also participate in policy matters impacting their business operations.
Berke brings an extensive background in business and legal affairs to her newly added responsibilities. Prior to her current role as Chief Administrative Officer and previous appointment as Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Ms. Berke served in SPE's legal division, rising to the post of Executive Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. During her tenure in the legal department, she served as both chief counsel for Columbia Pictures and the head of the international and corporate legal groups for Sony Pictures.
Berke graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude from UCLA with a B.A. degree, earned a Masters degree in psychology from Stanford University, and received her J.D. degree from UCLA School of Law. She is a member of the American and California Bar Associations and of Women in Film.
Hope Boonshaft, who joined Sony Pictures in 1995, oversees SPE's worldwide government relations and public policy activities, as well as the Company's community affairs and corporate philanthropy. She works closely with all of SPE's operating units to develop a legislative and regulatory agenda that supports the business strategies and initiatives of the company's motion picture, television, home entertainment and digital entertainment divisions. Ms. Boonshaft also coordinates SPE's government activities with Sony's other U.S. operating companies such as Sony Music, Sony Electronics and Sony Computer Entertainment. Boonshaft earned her B.A. degree from Pennsylvania State University and attended Delaware Law School.
Mitch Singer, who joined Sony Pictures in 1990, is Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel in the Intellectual Property Department of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Since 1998, when he joined the company's Intellectual Property practice, Singer has become the senior legal executive representing SPE in all of the major technology negotiations and agreements including the 5C and DVD CSS, Copy Protection for Recordable Media (CPRM) with the 4C companies, High Definition Copy Protection (HDCP) with Intel, and DVD+RW with the +RW group. He is an active member of the Copy Protection Technical Working Group (CPTWG), a cross-industry technical group, the MPAA Copy Protection Working Group, the DVD Copy Control Association, on which he serves as a Director on the Board of Directors, and is involved in various standard setting activities such as SDMI, DVB and MPEG 21. Singer graduated magna cum laude from CSUN with a B.S. degree in finance, and received both MBA and J.D. degrees from the University of San Diego.
Brian Lakamp joins the Digital Policy Group from Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment where he was Senior Vice President, Broadband Services, responsible for leading the division's digital distribution efforts to advance SPDE's content network. Prior to joining SPDE, Lakamp served as one of four Practice Directors at Viant Corporation where he oversaw the operations of Viant's Media and Entertainment Practice. Also during his tenure at Viant, Lakamp was Senior Client Partner where he worked with SPDE on its Movielink initiatives. He holds a B.S. in Applied Mathematics and Managerial Science with a Specialization in Computing and a B.A. in Business Economics from UCLA.
OT Volunteers Wanted For IT National Guard
By Erin Joyce
November 25, 2002
Calling all technology and science experts. Uncle Sam is looking for volunteers for a new IT National Guard that will be established by the landmark legislation package that creates the Department of Homeland Security. President Bush is expected to sign the bill into law today.
The Science and Technology Emergency Mobilization Act, or NET Guard Act for short, proposes the formation of the National Emergency Technology (NET) Guard, which will consist of rapid response volunteers that stand ready to help restore communications/technology in the event of terrorist attacks.
The idea for an IT National Guard was sparked in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, as communications all over the city and northeast were jammed and cut off after New York's Twin Towers fell, knocking critical phone infrastructure out at the same time. A bill, sponsored by U.S. Senator George Allen (R.-Va.) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D.-Ore.), was passed by the Senate in July.
A groundswell of private-sector technology and science experts then tried to provide technology assistance to the rescue and recovery efforts, especially in New York and Washington D.C., but were hampered by a lack of organization of their resources.
In response, the NET Guard bill's purpose is to mobilize technology and science experts to respond quickly to the threats posed by terrorist attacks and other emergencies. In addition to creating a volunteer national emergency technology guard, the bill calls for a technology reliability advisory board, and a center for evaluating antiterrorism and disaster response technology within the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Daniel Hoffman, the chief executive and president of M5, a New York-based a managed telecom service company, said he thought the IT National Guard is a good one, though he's not entirely sure how it could help private-sector IT companies.
"It's really up to the service providers to be ready to respond quickly in the event of an emergency," said Hoffman, whose company provides bundled voice and data service to mid-sized and small businesses. "I can't imagine a team of ten federal IT workers coming in to help me restore service" to customers.
That said, Hoffman added, he saw how invaluable the difference that volunteers made when they donated blackberries, cell phones and technical assistance getting small businesses renetworked with internal and external communications in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
"I think it's a terrific idea. Speaking for M5, we would love to help out in the advanced planning to make such a thing happen."
Under the bill's language, within one year of signing the bill, the President is expected to designate an appropriate department, agency, or office to compile and maintain a repository database of nongovernmental technology and science experts who have offered, and who can be mobilized to help federal agencies counter terrorism.
Although the bill is clear about the effort being all-volunteer and generally unpaid, the legislation calls for opportunities for NET Guard volunteers to assist with "non-emergency tasks related to local preparedness and prevention, including reducing the vulnerability of government information technology systems."
The legislation also called for the creation of a national clearinghouse for innovative civilian technologies relating to emergency prevention and response; and a pilot program to assist state efforts to achieve the interoperability of communications systems used by fire, law enforcement, and emergency preparedness and response agencies.
If members of the volunteer team are formally asked to assist in response work, the bill calls for per diem payment of travel and transportation expenses, as compensation.
Andrew Rasiej, CEO of New York-based Digital Club Network, was among the private sector groups to organize support for the legislation among technology companies.
"Like everybody else, I was completely frustrated watching (the events of Sept. 11) unfold without any ability to use my skills to help," he said at the time of the bill's creation a year ago. Even those who could help were thwarted right away because communications were impacted by the collapse of the World Trade Center. Rasiej made the suggestion to Wyden in a written proposal and the Senator brought the idea to congressional leaders.
One reason the bill gained support of government emergency agencies, organizers said, is because of outdated communications systems among local emergency offices and the lack of interoperability among communications systems that was laid bare in the aftermath of Sept. 11.
"Efforts to develop and deploy innovative new technologies for use by government emergency prevention and response agencies would be improved by the designation of a clear contact point within the Federal Government for intake and evaluation of technology ideas," the bill said.
The bill calls for the creation of compatible communications systems that would strengthen emergency response efforts of police, fire, and other emergency response personnel to help them communicate effectively with each other and with other jurisdictions.
"Some programs, such as the Capital Wireless Integrated Network (CapWIN), have made significant progress in addressing the issue of interoperable communications between emergency service providers," the bill continued. In addition, the federal government is trying to address the issue through its Public Safety Wireless Networks program.
The NET Guard bill also called for the head of the department, agency or office in which the NET Guard program is established to make a total of $5 million worth of grants to help get pilot programs for the IT National Guard up and running.
Comdex discussions focussed on digital rights
By Paul Roberts
November 25, 2002 11:51 am PT
LAS VEGAS -- While vendors at last week's Comdex trade show displayed products that could be used to quickly and easily create copies of music, movies and software programs, experts in the field of "digital rights management" weighed the legal and ethical issues surrounding the untethered electronic reproduction and distribution of copyright material.
In keynote speeches, panel discussions and debates, representatives from the music and film industries called on technology companies to partner with them to develop technologies that protect intellectual capital, while Internet activists questioned the media's growing control over the products of artistic creation.
News Corp. president and chief information officer Peter Chernin used a keynote speech to paint a dark picture of the threat posed by technology that makes the creation and distribution of high-quality digital copies commonplace.
Media companies that produce software, music and computer games suffer billions of dollars in losses each year because of what Chernin described as "digital piracy," with the widespread availability of broadband Internet spreading the threat to the film industry.
The effects of piracy weigh the most heavily on creators, rather than media conglomerates, and those who see piracy as a way to "screw the suits" have it wrong, he said.
To underscore his point, Chernin invited film maker and Star Wars creator George Lucas to share the stage with him. Lucas implored the audience to consider the consequences of pirating creative material.
While Chernin and Lucas reasoned with their audience, tempers flared in a debate where media industry executives squared off against free software advocates.
Part of the show's "Great Debate" series, the forum called, "The Gold Rush for Intellectual Property: Hollywood Versus Silicon Valley," pitted Ted Cohen, the vice president of digital development and distribution at EMI Group's EMI Recorded Music against Richard Stallman, president of the Free Software Foundation and a staunch opponent of laws that strengthen digital copyright protections, and others expressing various viewpoints.
Copyrights and the vexing problem of Internet music file swapping were the central issues of the heated debate, with panel members exchanging sharp words over the ethics of file swapping and the wisdom of the recording and film industries' efforts to quash the activity.
Speaking in favor of those who share music over the Internet, John Perry Barlow, the cofounder and vice chairman of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a former member of the Grateful Dead band, argued that the entertainment industry's preoccupation with legally enforced copyrights threatens to stifle creativity. Humans have been making music for thousands of years, Barlow said, but the notion of copyrighting and restricting music has been around for no more than a couple of centuries.
Speaking from personal experience, Barlow likened the crackdown on file-swapping services such as Napster to the Grateful Dead's efforts to crack down on fans who made bootleg recordings at concerts.
Policing bootleggers proved to be both "bad for our karma" and bad for business, Barlow said. Allowing fans to make bootlegs increased interest in the Dead's concerts and recordings.
The current system of music distribution is "ill-suited to cyberspace," he said. In addition, the recording industry's efforts to perpetuate the existing system require more and more control over the activities of individuals, Barlow said.
The Free Software Foundation's Stallman took an even more radical position, likening file swapping to an act of civil disobedience against the disproportionate power of media conglomerates.
"For the marketplace to do anything meaningful, it must be a free market not one in which media companies control the marketplace," Stallman said.
More sanguine assessments of the state of online music sharing were heard from executive director of the Digital Media Association Jonathan Potter and J. Scott Dinsdale, vice president of digital strategy for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), both of whom suggested that media companies are becoming more savvy about the Internet and will soon arrive at a distribution model that is acceptable to Internet users, but allows media companies to be compensated for their copyright material.
But not as much was heard on the show floor about the next generation of hardware and software that will help secure copyright material.
During a panel discussion outside of Comdex, senior executives from Microsoft Corp. said that the company's Palladium technology, when finished, will provide a secure hardware and software platform to begin offering digital rights management on newly released material.
Microsoft, however, disagreed with the entertainment industry's focus on enforcing copyrights on insecure material that has already been released.
"The media industry has been too focused on trying to bring forward copy protections and apply them to the general environment of the computer system," said Craig Mundie, senior vice president and chief technical officer of advanced strategies and policy at Microsoft.
"Microsoft would rather come together [with the media industry] around a strategy of rights management than look backwards at areas of copy protection," Mundie said.
When released, Palladium will complement the industry's efforts to secure copyright content, enhancing digital rights protection with hardware-based encryption, according to Mundie. Microsoft executives didn't say when Palladium will be out, but said it will be part of a set of features in a future Windows release.
Addressing the thorny problem of how to ensure that copyrights are enforced on material that is so broadly distributed and used, Mundie said that the very nature of music and images makes it unlikely media companies will ever be free of the issues of piracy and unlicensed use.
"The media industry will always have a problem other industries don't have: They have to render their product for a human audience," Mundie said. "Once you've done that, it can be captured. It's never a foolproof guarantee. Once media is out for consumption, it can be captured."
OT Here's another promising a bright future for downloadable content..oh to snag some of this work...
United States Patent Application 20020174444
Kind Code A1
Gatto, Jean-Marie ; et al. November 21, 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trusted transactional set-top box
Abstract
A set top box (STB) includes a trusted transactional cache and associated transactional protocol and enables e-commerce transactions to be securely committed to a remote server extremely quickly and with little network overhead. The invention does away with the user concern of whether the transaction was successful. The STB operates equally well on robust private networks as on unpredictable Internet or wireless networks, and avoids upsetting users who would otherwise have to wait in front of a display screen for confirmation of completion of the transaction after a temporary communication failure with the central site. The method may advantageously be used to provide cost-effective micro-payments solutions. The STB may include a dual headed display capability in which data and video maybe be directed to separate displays. The STB may feature an embedded ticket printer, as well as an embedded barcode scanner. This enables non computer literate users to more conveniently track transactions committed via the STB, or to take advantage of promotional coupons. The STB features an embedded hardware true Random Number Generator to produce maximum entropy encryption keys, therefore providing maximum secure and fool-proof means to protect private data using government authorized encryption schemes.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inventors: Gatto, Jean-Marie; (London, GB) ; Brunet de Courssou, Thierry; (Palo Alto, CA)
Correspondence Name and Address:
YOUNG LAW FIRM
A PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
4370 ALPINE ROAD SUITE 106
PORTOLA VALLEY
CA
94028
Serial No.: 862165
Series Code: 09
Filed: May 21, 2001
U.S. Current Class: 725/133; 725/109; 725/120; 725/23; 725/31; 725/78; 725/82; 725/85
U.S. Class at Publication: 725/133; 725/109; 725/78; 725/85; 725/82; 725/120; 725/23; 725/31
Intern'l Class: H04N 007/173; H04N 007/16; H04N 007/167
Digital mp3 audio device..Interesting patent app. ..sure would like to know whose this is.
United States Patent Application 20020173866
Kind Code A1
Dangberg, Andreas ; et al. November 21, 2002
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digital mp3 audio device
Abstract
An appliance for recording and playing back audio signals, having a semiconductor memory which stores digital audio signals coded and compressed in a first format, a broadcast radio receiver for digital audio signals coded and compressed in a second format, a controller which is used to store audio signals received by the broadcast radio receiver in the semiconductor memory without recoding, and a playback part which can be used to render the audio signals stored in the semiconductor memory audible.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inventors: Dangberg, Andreas; (Paderborn, DE) ; Muller, Wolfgang; (Paderborn, DE)
Correspondence Name and Address:
BELL, BOYD & LLOYD, LLC
P. O. BOX 1135
CHICAGO
IL
60690-1135
US
Serial No.: 130399
Series Code: 10
Filed: May 14, 2002
PCT Filed: September 13, 2001
PCT NO: PCT/DE01/03523
U.S. Current Class: 700/94; 360/32; 369/63; 704/270
U.S. Class at Publication: 700/94; 704/270; 360/32; 369/63
Intern'l Class: G06F 017/00
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Foreign Application Data
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date Code Application Number
Sep 14, 2000 DE 100 45 557.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Claims
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. An appliance for recording and playing back audio signals, having: a semiconductor memory which stores a plurality of streams of coded and compressed digital audio signals independently of one another, a broadcast radio receiver for coded and compressed audio signals, a controller which is used to store coded and compressed digital audio signals received by the broadcast radio receiver without recording into a stream in the semiconductor memory, a playback part with [lacuna] a stream of coded and compressed digital audio signals which is stored in the semiconductor memory or is received by the broadcast radio receiver is rendered audible.
2. The appliance as claimed in claim 1, where the playback part reproduces streams even if their storage of these streams is not yet complete.
3. The appliance as claimed in claim 1 or 2, where the broadcast radio receiver provides a plurality of streams of coded and compressed audio signals, and the controller stores more than one of these streams in the semiconductor memory at the same time.
4. The appliance as claimed in one of the preceding claims, where the semiconductor memory provided is replaceable modules.
5. The appliance as claimed in claim 4, where, for each stream, an indicator for the compression format is stored, and the playback part uses this indicator to select one of a plurality of decompressors when the stream in question is rendered audible.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Description
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[0001] The invention relates to an appliance for playing back and recording audio signals using semiconductor memories.
[0002] The recording of audio signals on magnetic tapes has been known for a long time. Progress in microelectronics has resulted in corresponding players, for example known under the brand name `Walkman` from Sony, having become available generally and inexpensively as pocket appliances. The digitization of audio signals has also created a demand for players for audio media with digital storage. Mention will first of all be made of the `compact disc` and the `minidisc` in this regard. The former uses uncompressed storage and therefore uses an optical storage disc. The `minidisc` uses the lossy compression ATRAC and can therefore use a magnetic storage disc. Hence, for the `minidisc`, appliances in pocket format are known which can also record.
[0003] The recording of audio signals in digital form poses a problem to the extent that a pocket appliance can accommodate the processing power only with difficulty. For uncompressed storage, no techniques are known which could store for up to an hour with low power consumption in a pocket appliance. This has been implemented to date for the compression method ATRAC only, as indicated, which included this option from the outset.
[0004] As another variant, which uses no movable parts, the compression format `MPEG2 layer 3 audio`, normally denoted by the abbreviation `MP3`, has recently been used. For this, players in pocket format are known which use high capacity semiconductor memories as audio media and can easily play back an audio program of up to an hour. The semiconductor memories used are also used in digital cameras.
[0005] However, creation of the audio media has to date always required a fixed appliance. The reason for this is that the compression format MP3 was developed for playback of films, where compatibility and speed during playback take priority. For the production of a film, the necessary coding for the audio signal is a negligible extravagance.
[0006] Wireless transmission of audio signals by broadcast radio stations has been known for a long time. The miniaturization of receiving circuits through microelectronics has resulted in a need to accommodate an appropriate receiver for analog audio broadcast radio signals in a matchbox without difficulty. It is therefore not surprising that there are players of the aforementioned type which incorporate a broadcast radio receiver and can be used either to play an audio medium or to receive a radio program.
[0007] In this context, appliances are well known in which the broadcast radio program can be recorded on magnetic tape by analog means. Digital recording on `compact disc` has been unsuitable from the outset. However, digitally recording a radio program on `minidisc` can be regarded as less problematical from a technical point of view for a pocket appliance, since pocket appliances with a recording function are known and the incorporation of a broadcast radio receiver is evidently not a problem.
[0008] However, there has been no disclosure to date of combining a player for MP3 coded audio signals which uses semiconductor memories as data media with a broadcast radio receiver so that the broadcast radio program can be recorded in MP3 format. This is because real-time MP3 coding of the broadcast radio signal received in analog format requires computers whose power consumption does not allow sufficient operating time for a portable or pocket appliance.
[0009] However, an MP3 player is known in which a notepad function stores audio signals recorded by a microphone in a second semiconductor memory. The recording quality and storage time are very limited, however, which is why it is not suitable for recording broadcast radio signals.
[0010] It is therefore an object of the invention to specify an appliance which can be used to store radio programs at high quality in semiconductor memories and whose power consumption is nevertheless low enough for a portable appliance.
[0011] The invention achieves this object by using a broadcast radio receiver for digitally coded audio signals and storing these digitally coded data directly, i.e. without recoding, in the semiconductor memory.
[0012] Broadcast radio with digital uncompressed audio data is known by the abbreviation DSR (Digital Satellite Radio); transmission was stopped a short time ago, however. Broadcast radio with digital lossy audio data is known by the acronyms ADR and DAB. ADR is broadcast exclusively by satellite and is also not intended for terrestrial transmission. By contrast, DAB (Digital Audio Broadcast) is matched to the specific requirements of terrestrial transmission and is already being transmitted in Germany. Further information relating to DAB can be obtained from the European Broadcasting Union, Ancienne Route 17A, CH-1218 Grand-Saconnex. Up-to-date information about this can also be retrieved electronically at http://www.worlddab.org/.
[0013] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of an appliance in accordance with the invention.
[0014] The interior of the digital audio appliance 10 contains a receiver 22 for digital broadcast radio, a decoder 32 and a memory controller 42. The receiver 22 is connected to an antenna 21, which in this case is shown outside the appliance but can naturally also be arranged in the interior of the housing. The decoder 32 is connected to a loudspeaker 31, which can naturally also be replaced by an earphone or the like. The memory controller 42 is connected to a digital semiconductor memory 41, for example in the form of a `compact flash` memory card, as is also used in digital cameras. The memory 41 is shown as being replaceable in the drawing.
[0015] The receiver 22 is shown with a series of outputs 23a, 23b, 23c and 23d. This is to be understood as a basic illustration which is explained further below. A selector switch 33 makes it possible to select either one output of the memory controller 42 or one of the receiver's outputs 23a to 23c for the decoder 32 and to convert the selected signal into an audible audio signal. It is assumed in this context that, at the same time as the selector switch 33 is set, the decoder 32 is also set to the appropriate format in which the data are output from the source. At all events, in accordance with the invention, the decoder is supplied with a digitally coded audio signal. This does not prevent one development from also involving the incorporation of an analog receiver, and the latter's signal being able to be supplied upstream of the loudspeaker 31 instead of the digital decoded signal.
[0016] Accordingly, a recording selector switch 45 is provided which can be used to connect one input of the memory controller 42 to one of the outputs of the receiver. The memory controller, when activated, stores the digital data arriving via the connection 44 in the memory card 41 without further processing.
[0017] The figure does not show a global controller, which comprises input means (not shown) which the user of the appliance can use to control the appliance. Such controllers based on a microcontroller or customer-specific digital circuits are known generally. The task of the global controller is to set the changeover switches 33 and 45, to tune the receiver 22, to control the decoder 32 and to control the memory controller 42. The latter needs control for reading and writing, in particular. Customary memory cards are organized in a comparable way to a file system, which means that the memory controller needs to be notified of which file is being read and which file is being written to. In this context, it is assumed that competing reading and writing are available in order to implement the preferred embodiment.
[0018] The receiver 22 has been shown in FIG. 1 with, by way of example, four outputs 23a to 23d. This is because digitally coded broadcast radio, particularly also DAB, involves the use of a connection which provides a much higher bandwidth than is required for a single program. The various programs are transmitted using multiplexing and are split in the receiver by means of a demultiplexer. It is therefore no complex matter in digital radio broadcasting to provide a plurality of audio channels at the same time.
[0019] Accordingly, the invention provides a simple way of simultaneously listening to one broadcast radio program and recording another, or of listening to a stored item and recording a broadcast radio program. If the memory controller 42, the changeover switch 45 and the connection 44 are of appropriate design, it is even possible to record a plurality of programs at the same time, provided that the bandwidth of the memory 41 is not exceeded. If appropriate, the switch 45, which is preferably a second demultiplexer for themultiplex signal, is incorporated into the recording controller.
[0020] Accordingly, the controller (not shown) is provided with a clock, so that, by way of example, a piece of music from one radio station can be recorded and also the news is always recorded on the hour. Digital controllers also allow the news or another program which is being recorded to be heard from the start, and then naturally with anappropriate time shift. Appliances known to date merely allow the program which is being recorded to be heard at the particular point being transmitted, or else to be heard from the beginning only after recording has ended.
[0021] The invention now makes it possible also to use portable appliances similar to a `walkman` or `discman` to listen to stored digital audio signals, to listen to digital radio programs and to record a digital radio program at the same time, which can even be done at the same time as listening to another radio program and in which case it is actually possible to start playback during recording.
RIAA orders US Navy to surrender
By Andrew Orlowski in San Francisco
Posted: 24/11/2002 at 22:43 GMT
In a timely reminder of who's really in charge here, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has mounted a daring raid on the US Navy.
Acting unilaterally at the behest of the RIAA, Navy officials confiscated 100 computers on suspicion of harboring illegally downloaded MP3s, The Capital, an Annapolis, MD daily reports. A Naval official quoted confirms the raid, adding that punishment ranges from "court martial to loss of leave and other restrictions".
For the RIAA, there are no half measures: you're either with them, or against them. So even if you're risking having your ass blown off for your country, there's no mercy.
It's no picnic in the Navy, as many Register readers serving in the forces remind us. From a terrific account of Gulf War combat by a US marine sniper in the new Harper's magazine* we learn that shortly before entering a live combat, infantry are required to remove "foreign material" from their packs: letters from women who aren't their girlfriends, mothers or wives , and pornography, because in the event of death the personal effects will be dispatched to their next of kin in their entirety.
So have MP3s now joined this list of "foreign material"? Any Reg readers in the know? ®
* By popular request, he's called Anthony Swofford, his Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles will be published next spring (Scribner), and he wrote:- "Our staff sergeant advises us to remove any foreign matter from our rucks. By foreign matter he means letters from women othen than our wives or girlfriends, and also pornography or other material that wives and girlfriends and mothers might not like to receive after our deaths when our personal effects will be shipped to the States, directly to our Homes of Record."
Amazon has it in the catalog here, and underneath you get an advertisment so:- "Customers who wear clothes also shop for: ... Clean Underwear from Amazon's Gap Store".
This is pretty funny, after you've read Swofford's account of combat:-
"I stand in place and piss my pants again, piss all over and running into my boots, thighs both, knees both, ankles both, bottom of my feet both, clear piss and no underwear, because otherwise chafed crotch because Vaseline only works to mile ten and all wars and battles occur farther than ten miles from all safe points, and rotten balls if you don't remove your underwear at mile ten..."
An amazing read. ®
Related stories
OT Colts win..Colts win..Colts win..sorry.eom
OT New Technology Argues for Loosening Control of Airwaves
Saturday, November 23, 2002
NEW YORK -- It almost sounds too Star Trek to be possible: A multipurpose cell phone that also serves as an FM radio, walkie-talkie, garage door opener and TV remote control.
And what if every time you made a call with that handset it increased the performance of other phones already in use -- instead of competing for airwaves with them?
While such wireless wizardry remains a few years off, those days could be coming faster now, thanks to a rare confluence of technology breakthroughs and a rethinking of airwave regulation by the federal government.
"It is kind of an interesting point in time when it comes to wireless networks," said Dallas Nash, co-founder of Mississippi-based SIGFX LLC, a player in the impending wireless revolution.
SIGFX figured out how to transmit cell phone calls in a thin part of the airwave spectrum already used by TV stations. By dramatically reducing the cost and increasing the range of wireless phone networks, the invention could bring reliable service to rural areas and developing countries.
Vanu Bose has big dreams, too: to create that new generation of radios -- that's really all that cell phones and garage-door openers are -- that can move between various functions with an icon click. The trick is to replace much of the circuitry found in radios with flexible software.
Bose began working at it in a military-sponsored communications project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. After graduating in 1998, he started his own company, Vanu Inc., to further develop the technology.
Now Cambridge, Mass.-based Vanu Inc. has created an all-software base station -- which relays calls from wireless phones on cellular networks. Vanu also has built a prototype handheld computer that can make calls on different kinds of wireless networks and work as a walkie-talkie, baby monitor, FM radio -- "whatever you want," Bose said.
The big challenge is that the device is limited to 10 to 20 hours of battery life. Bose -- son of the stereo engineer who founded Bose Corp. -- believes that with more development and improvements in low-power microprocessors, the device could be the size of a cell phone and have a much longer battery life.
At the same time, other researchers are making progress in developing "smart" radio receivers that can, on their own, determine instantaneously when and where a bit of spectrum is going unused and switch their communications accordingly to avoid interference. (A method of doing that is already employed in cellular networks and cordless phones).
In fact, advocates of an "open spectrum" or a "commons" policy believe new generations of radio receivers will routinely handle their own conversations and help relay others at the same time.
"If every radio is both a transmitter and a receiver, as you add more, you add capacity to the network," said David P. Reed, a former chief scientist at Lotus Development Corp. and a leader of the "open spectrum" movement.
"My gut feeling," Reed said, "is that in 10 or 20 years this will be as big as the Internet."
That may seem a wide-eyed prediction, but ideas like this are not just grass-roots dreams.
Intel Corp. backs software-defined radio in hopes it will ignite an explosion of demand for wireless chips. The military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is working on several ways to "increase spectrum usage by dynamically sensing and adapting in frequency, time and space."
Researchers at Bell Laboratories, part of Lucent Technologies Inc., recently announced a breakthrough in their BLAST technology, which takes advantage of interference on a network to increase the rates at which data can be sent.
Many technology experts say such breakthroughs should force a revolution in how we treat the airwaves. Since the 1920s, electromagnetic spectrum has been handled like real estate. The government licenses use of slices of spectrum and tightly regulates what can be done in those bands.
Much of the spectrum is tied up -- largely by the military -- and there's only so much room for experimental and innovative new technologies in unlicensed bands, such as those occupied by cordless phones and the wireless networking system known as WiFi.
But in what looks like the beginning of a historic policy shift, the Federal Communications Commission has been listening closely to the technology crowd -- and to cellular carriers that spent tens of billions of dollars for spectrum licenses and want more freedom to use or trade them as they see fit.
"We have perhaps the most interesting debate in spectrum governance taking place in America since the 1930s," said Adam Thierer, director of telecommunications studies at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
This month, a task force appointed by FCC Chairman Michael Powell -- and headed by the former leader of DARPA's communications research -- offered a framework for a spectrum policy overhaul expected to begin next year.
The group said the government should grant wireless carriers more flexibility with their expensive spectrum licenses so they may lease portions of the airwaves that go unused at certain times, for example.
It also endorsed the "commons" concept in some circumstances, saying new technologies should have more freedom to operate in regulated bands -- as long as they don't interfere with cellular conversations or radio broadcasts -- and in unlicensed parts of the spectrum as well.
In essence, the FCC finally would be treating spectrum like real estate in the physical world, where the public has easements and parks alongside private property, and airplanes can fly overhead.
Such monumental changes probably will provoke some fights in Washington.
"Certain ossified licensees will inherently be resistant to change," said Bryan Tramont, Powell's senior legal adviser.
Even parties who are clamoring for change are circumspect. Wireless phone carriers, for example, praise the FCC's efforts to modernize spectrum policy. But some say technologies such as software-defined radio might be too unproven to form the basis of policy changes.
They also worry that low-power transmissions by rival technologies on or near already-licensed frequencies could interfere with wireless phone conversations.
"It's hard to oppose looking at spectrum policy anew," said Doug Brandon, AT&T Wireless' vice president of federal affairs. But, he added, eventually, "someone will say, 'My ox just got gored."'
Hmmm..MusicNet, Pressplay Mark Advances
By Joseph Palenchar
TWICE
11/20/2002 8:31:00 AM
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New York - Streaming/download service MusicNet is joining rival Pressplay in allowing authorized downloaded music to be burned to disc and transferred to secure music portables.
The change will debut with the next version of the company's product, which will be available through AmericaOnline by the end of the year and on RealNetwork's site early in 2003, a MusicNet spokeswoman said.
In another advance for MusicNet, Sony and Universal authorized the service to offer their music for the first time. With the announcement, music from all of the five biggest music companies will be available through MusicNet's service for streaming, downloads to a PC's hard drive, transfers to secure portable devices, and burning to a CD.
MusicNet is owned by AOL Time Warner, EMI Recorded Music, music company Zomba, Bertelsmann (owner of the BMG music company), and RealNetworks.
In another advance for downloaders, Warner Music agreed to offer its music through rival service Pressplay, which is owned by owned by Sony and Universal. With Warner's announcement, all five of the largest music companies make their songs available through Pressplay, which earlier this year began offering burning and transfer options. All of the five largest music companies authorize burning and transfers of their music through Pressplay.
The Pressplay sites support transfers only to select portables that support Windows Media Audio's codec and the WMA digital-rights management (DRM) technology, although not all WMA-codec-compatible devices support the WMA DRM. Pressplay also supports devices based on Sony's ATRAC3 compression codec wrapped in the WMA DRM.
Ironically, MusicNet supports the RealOne player, which uses the ATRAC3 codec developed by Sony, co-owner of rival Pressplay. The only portable devices supporting ATRAC3 natively are from Sony.
Pressplay makes music available through such sites as Yahoo!, MSN, and MP3.com. Liquid Audio makes music available through bestbuy.com, Compact Disc World's clubcd.com, Face The Music's facethe.com, waterloosrecords.com , and Liquid's own site.
Universal Music kicks off digital download plan
Wednesday November 20, 12:00 am ET
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Universal Music Group, the world's largest music company, on Wednesday announced it would make more than 43,000 song tracks available for download at retail outlets and music Web sites, opening a new front in the marketing of digital music.
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The initiative is aimed at attracting fans who may want to buy songs or albums on a one-off basis online rather than through monthly Internet subscriptions, the alternative the major labels have offered to peer-to-peer song swapping services.
Universal Music, a unit of Vivendi Universal (NYSE:V - News; Paris:EAUG.PA - News), said the downloads will be burnable to CD and transferable to secure portable devices. The digital tracks will be available for purchase by consumers in the U.S. for 99 cents for individual tracks and $9.99 for albums.
The digital downloads will be available through over 25 retailers and music sites, including Best Buy Co. Inc. (NYSE:BBY - News), Circuit City Stores Inc. (NYSE:CC - News), MP3.com, Rolling Stone, Tower Records and others.
"This is a direct blow to the peer-to-peer services by providing consumers with a cheap and easy way to get a trusted file," said P.J. McNealy, analyst with GartnerG2.
The labels all attempted to sell limited digital downloads in the early days of their online efforts, but at about $2.99 or $3.99 a track or higher and with heavy restrictions.
McNealy said he expects the other major labels to wait and see how Universal fares before attempting a similar push.
Universal's downloading program follows on the heels of a spate of online licensing deals announced last week by members of the recording industry as the sector attempts to lure a fan base to their online products and away from popular, free, unauthorized peer-to-peer services like Morpheus and Kazaa, which it claims has eroded music sales.
Using technology from Liquid Audio Inc. (NasdaqNM:LQID - News), music fans can buy tracks from the UMG digital catalog, including such artists as Eminem, Diana Krall, Jay-Z, Nelly, Shaggy, Shania Twain, Sheryl Crow, and U2.
The digital catalog includes current and catalog releases. Music fans can preview and purchase music tracks in both the Liquid Audio and Microsoft Corp. (NasdaqNM:MSFT - News) Windows Media formats.
Universal said it was kicking off the initiative by making the new single from superstar Mariah Carey available online before the release of her upcoming album.
Liquid Audio Launches New Digital Downloads from Universal Music Group
Wednesday November 20, 12:02 am ET
Company Expands Digital Music Catalog and Increases Reach of Retail Distribution Network
REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Liquid Audio, Inc. (Nasdaq: LQID - News) today announced that it is making thousands of songs from Universal Music Group (UMG), the world's largest music company, available to consumers in the U.S. as digital downloads for the first time. Beginning today, music fans can preview and purchase more than 43,000 UMG tracks from many different artists and genres of music. The downloads can be burned to CD and transferred to secure portable devices and are available in both the Liquid(TM) and Windows Media format.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990915/LQIDLOGO )
Universal Music Group (UMG) is part of the growing number of major and independent record labels worldwide that are utilizing Liquid Audio's extensive network of retailers, as well as Liquid Audio's distribution services including encoding, hosting and clearinghouse functions, to securely deliver music to consumers. Today Liquid Audio distributes the largest catalog of secure digital music available with more than 400,000 tracks from 17,000 artists and 1,800 record labels. Liquid Audio distributes its digital music catalog through a broad network of music and retail Websites from Best Buy to Tower Records. For the UMG launch, Liquid Audio has expanded its network of affiliates to include Black Entertainment Television (BET), Circuit City, Rollingstone.com and Transworld's FYE.com.
"We're thrilled that Universal has chosen Liquid Audio to be their digital music service provider for this groundbreaking launch," said Gerry Kearby, President and CEO of Liquid Audio, Inc. "The depth and breadth of the content, the array of so many important affiliates and the consumer offering are all precedent setting. Universal is raising the bar for the delivery of secure digital music."
Liquid Audio, Inc. is a leading provider of software, infrastructure and services for the secure digital delivery of media over the Internet. The Liquid Audio solution gives content owners, Web sites and companies the ability to publish, syndicate and securely sell digital media online with copy protection and copyright management. Using the Liquid(TM) Player software, available for free download at www.liquidaudio.com, consumers can preview and purchase downloadable music from hundreds of affiliate Web sites in the Liquid Music Network(TM).
NOTE: Liquid Audio, Liquid Player, Liquid Music Network and the Liquid Audio logo are trademarks of Liquid Audio, Inc.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements made in this release, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "will," "guidance" and similar expressions typically are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts about the businesses of Liquid Audio and the industries and markets in which the company operates. Those statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that will be difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Factors that may affect Liquid Audio's businesses, financial condition and operating results include the effects of changes in the economy, consumer spending, the stock market and the industries in which they operate generally, changes affecting the Internet and e-commerce, the ability of the company to maintain relationships with strategic partners and suppliers, the ability of the company to timely and successfully develop, maintain and protect their technology and product and service offerings and execute operationally and the ability of the company to attract and retain qualified personnel. These factors may also include, but are not limited to, general market conditions, our ability to develop new products to meet market demand, our ability to successfully combine two geographically dispersed businesses, our ability to realize synergies of the merger; our ability to maintain cost controls; the mix of products and services our customers require and the effects of natural disasters, international conflicts and other events beyond our control. More information about potential factors that could affect Liquid Audio can be found in its most recent Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and other reports and statements filed by Liquid Audio with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Liquid Audio expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update those forward-looking statements, except as otherwise specifically stated by it.
SONICblue Transfers to Nasdaq SmallCap Market
Monday November 18, 8:07 pm ET
Begins Trading on the Nasdaq SmallCap Market Effective November 19, 2002
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2002--SONICblue(TM) Incorporated (Nasdaq:SBLU - News) today announced that its request to transfer from the Nasdaq National Market to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market has been approved and will take effect tomorrow, November 19, 2002. SONICblue's common stock will continue trading under its current symbol: SBLU.
The transfer to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market extends the grace period to achieve the minimum $1.00 bid price requirement to February 18, 2003. SONICblue may also be eligible for an additional 180-calendar day grace period provided that it meets the initial listing criteria for the SmallCap Market, other than the minimum $1.00 bid price as of that date. Frequently asked questions and answers regarding transferring from the Nasdaq National Market to the Nasdaq SmallCap Market can be found at: http://www.nasdaq.com/about/LegalComplianceFAQs.stm#phasedown.
About SONICblue Incorporated (www.SONICblue.com)
SONICblue is a leader in the converging Internet, digital media, entertainment and consumer electronics markets. Working with partners that include some of the biggest brands in consumer electronics, SONICblue creates and markets products that let consumers enjoy all the benefits of a digital home and connected lifestyle. SONICblue holds a focused technology portfolio that includes Rio® digital audio players; ReplayTV® personal television technology and software solutions; and Go-Video® integrated DVD+VCRs, Dual-Deck(TM) VCRs, and digital home theater systems.
Note to Editors: SONICblue and Dual-Deck are trademarks of SONICblue Incorporated. ReplayTV, Go-Video and Rio are registered trademarks of SONICblue Incorporated. All other products and brand names as they appear in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:
SONICblue
Amanda Sanyal, 408/588-8060 (Press)
asanyal@sonicblue.com
Ian Shea, 408/588-8242 (Investor Relations)
ir@sonicblue.com
OT Do You TiVo?
Monday November 18, 5:18 pm ET
By Dorthy Pomerantz
TiVo singlehandedly created the market for digital television recorders. Profits don't go with that accomplishment
Thank goodness for pioneers. Someone had to open the West, invent FM radio and develop the digital TV recorder market. But the hardy souls who break new ground don't always fare well.
Read the despairing disclosure statement for an October financing for TiVo Inc., the Alviso, Calif. pioneer in TV recording. The 11,200-word confession explains that the company will probably continue to lose money "for the foreseeable future." The stock, once at $79, is down to $4 and change.
TiVo's gadget allows a TV addict to digitally capture a show for later playback. The system beats the old-fashioned VCR because (a) it's easy to program--it knows when your favorite show is on--and (b) it lets you fast-forward through annoying ads. Great idea, but TiVo has nearly killed itself persuading consumers just how great. So far the company has racked up half a billion dollars in losses while winning a mere 464,000 subscribers. It takes some heavy salesmanship to get people to pay $300 for the recording device plus $13 a month for the digital signals that provide program times and thus tell the box when to start recording.
"TiVo did the heavy lifting. Now I think they're going to flame out," says Manu Mehta, the founder of Metabyte Networks , a small (less than $1 million sales) Silicon Valley outfit that has big plans to knock TiVo off its perch. Metabyte, funded in part by Scientific-Atlanta, sells software that helps TV viewers digitally record from an on-screen menu, much like TiVo. Metabyte has a deal with Scientific-Atlanta to put his software in new boxes that AOL Time Warner's cable unit is already installing in Rochester, N.Y., Green Bay, Wis. and Austin, Tex.
The greater problem confronting TiVo, like other consumer electronics pioneers before it, is that by working so hard to promote its brand while also educating consumers about what it does, it sowed the seeds of its own destruction. Upstart competitors, including Sonicblue's (NasdaqNM:SBLU - News) ReplayTV, Paul Allen's Digeo and a digital recorder offered by the EchoStar (NasdaqNM:DISH - News) satellite service, have been able to throw their knockoffs into the market that TiVo spent so dearly to create.
Since its inception in 1997, TiVo has spent $178 million on sales and marketing, more than twice the $79 million it spent on R&D during the same period. The money went into such things as the "TiVo, TVYour Way" 2000 national advertising blitz.
The good news is that direct marketing outlays--meaning rebates and some television advertising--have dropped, from a peak of $102 million in 2000 to $29 million last year. The bad news is that something else called "sales and marketing--related parties," jumped 41%, to $76 million last year. Add it up, and TiVo has spent $767 to win each of its 464,000 subscribers.
The related parties are the myriad partners TiVo has aligned itself with to help promote its brand:AOL Time Warner, DirecTV, Philips, Sony, Creative Artists Agency and so on. But these folks don't do anything for free. In the past TiVo has had to expense the cost of the cobranding, either in the form of direct subsidies, or as a noncash charge to amortize stock and warrants issued in return for services.
As a model for future deals, TiVo has agreed to give up a substantial chunk of its subscription fees to its largest partner, DirecTV, in exchange for hyping the service. These fees are the company's largest source of revenue and second-most-profitable business, behind technology licensing, and are expected to account for 62% of $61 million in sales for the fiscal year ending next Jan. 31, according to Matthew McCormack, an analyst with Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co.
But these revenues are especially shaky if TiVo finds itself in a price war with the upstarts. The company has to share the same percentage of subscription revenues with its partners, irrespective of whether it's practically giving the service away.
For now at least, TiVo's 52-year-old Scottish chief executive, Michael Ramsay, is nonchalant about the competitive threat and the price he has paid for creating a new service.
"It's nonsense that the pioneers are the ones who get the arrows in their backs," says Ramsay. "Like many small companies, we've had our challenges with growth and all the things that have impacted companies because they can't raise capital. But we've weathered the storm and become a higher-profile company than when we came in." Investors, though, don't want profiles. They want profits.
RealOne MP3 Player Coming For the Palm Tungsten T
Posted By: Ryan on Monday, November 18, 2002 10:23:50 AM
RealNetworks and Palm, Inc. today announced a strategic alliance that will enable consumers to use their Palm Tungsten T handhelds as digital audio players. RealOne Player Mobile, which is based on the Helix platform, will deliver audio multimedia playback and storage for both RealAudio and MP3 files on Palm's newest handheld, enabling users to play and store music wherever and whenever. It will be made available as a free download by the end of the year.
The RealOne Player Mobile will enable consumers to:
* Transfer personal audio media collections from their RealOne Player on the PC onto their Palm Tungsten T handhelds
* View full display of current tracks playing, including song name, album and artist
* Select and playback songs from sound device cards
* Easily access content with the Tungsten T handheld's 5-way navigation
* Run multiple tasks while listening to RealAudio or MP3 programming
* Conserve battery power through the auto-dimming capability
"Our recently introduced Palm Tungsten T handheld empowers users to efficiently manage information with business-critical functionality in an industrial-strength handheld computer," said Ken Wirt, Palm's senior vice president of marketing and product management. "Now with the added audio multimedia feature from RealNetworks' RealOne Player, users will be able to download, store and play back news, entertainment and music -- an exciting element for Palm's innovative new handheld."
The RealOne Player Mobile for the Tungsten T handheld is based on the Helix DNA Client, a software engine that device manufacturers and software developers can use to build a multiformat media player for any device. RealNetworks is working with the Helix Community to make the Helix DNA Client available for the Palm OS(R) 5 platform, which will enable other media applications to be developed for the Tungsten T handheld and other Palm handhelds.
"We are delighted to enable Palm's customers to enjoy portable music on their Tungsten T handheld," Dan Sheeran, vice president, Media Systems, RealNetworks, Inc. "This is a great example of how the Helix platform enables new media experiences for today's mobile consumers."
Availability
Palm Tungsten T handheld users will be able to download the RealOne Player Mobile for free from www.palm.com/realoneplayermobile by the end of the year. The RealOne Player Mobile also will be shipped with select future Palm handhelds.
Does Europe need music cellphones?
By Bernhard Warner
Monday November 18, 07:01 PM
LONDON (Reuters) - A consortium of European telecoms companies and music firms are banding together on an initiative aimed at transforming the mobile phone into a virtual jukebox.
The technology to play back high-fidelity recordings on a mobile phone is already here as is evidenced by some new models that have built-in MP3 players and FM radios.
But what's lacking is a business model. In Europe a consumer cannot pay to download a Shakira song straight onto a handset as one could with other portable gadgets. And safeguarding against copyright theft -- the age-old quandary -- looms.
Despite the uncertainty, mobile operators are keen to pounce early, hoping to avoid a repeat of the Internet experience where the emergence of free file-sharing networks has hobbled subscription ventures by music labels and online firms alike.
"We have to consider the reasons that led Internet companies to failure with online music distribution," said Kyriaki Lambropoulou, a senior engineer at Greece's Intracom, the project's coordinator.
"The project has to overcome a number of challenges," she added, many of which are specific to the mobile phone industry from handset design to patchy roaming services, both of which can interfere with music playback.
REALITY OR PIE IN THE SKY?
The project, dubbed "Musical", involves 10 organisations including Nokia, Greek mobile operator Vodafone Panafon, Finnish mobile network operator Radiolinja and Greek IT firm Pouliadis Associates.
Providing the musical content and expertise is MusicIndie, the new media arm of the Association of Independent Music, a trade body representing 700 independent European music labels, and Greek TV broadcaster MAD TV.
"The goal of Musical," said Gavin Robertson, managing director of MusicIndie, "is to establish the type of music service people want, and at what sort of price." He added the project culminates in a pan-European trial of a download and/or playback service.
In the meantime, Musical will gather input from consumers, technical developers, music professionals and mobile phone executives.
The goal is to answer the question: Can a mobile phone service that delivers tracks, video clips, and promotional offers become a market reality? Or, is it pie in the sky?
NICHE MARKET
"It's doubtful that this type of service will take off in the next couple of years," said Simon Dyson, an analyst with market research firm Informa Media Group.
But he said the technology was progressing so quickly that it would expand handset memory for more song storage.
And the major music labels, stung by rampant online piracy that's eaten into CD sales, seem more willing to license their songs to technology outfits than they did just a year ago.
"It's the one plus in an industry with so many minuses," he said of the labels.
But there are a number of technological drawbacks that need to be addressed, experts say. For example, unlike the Internet's MP3 technology, there is no industry-accepted standard for the storage and playback of digital music recordings on mobiles.
And then there's the economic dilemma: will consumers pay to listen to their favourite tunes on a mobile phone when they can get it for free on any number of other hi-fi gadgets?
"It looks like this could be a niche market for the next two years until they can work out all these questions," Dyson said.
MP3 Detection Program Reduces Liability
November 15, 2002 (3:16 p.m. EST)
TechWeb News
Apreo this week debuted the QuickStart MP3 Detection Program to sniff out downloaded music on company networks.
The core of the program is Apreo's SoundJudgment, software which detects MP3s and online file-sharing programs on all desktop and network drives, sniffing them out even if they're squirreled away by employees.
Apreo's efforts, it says, will minimize legal liability as the RIAA and increasingly focuses its anti-piracy campaign on nailing Fortune 1000 violators, which are, of course, easier to track down than at-home users stealing songs.
(don't know how they would know if you brought MP3 files ripped from CDs at home to work to listen to?- gern)
Festive season pushes up demand for gift items
Dubai /By A Staff Reporter / 16-11-2002
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With the ongoing Dubai The City That Cares 2002 and the Ramadan season, demand for a variety of high tech gadgets has gone up and people are buying them as gift items.
The local corporate gifts market - annually valued in the tens of millions of dirhams - will also be reaping huge dividends as the weeks go by.
Demand has been helped by the fact that most of the key products have seen a downward revision. Another incentive will be traditional promotions during the month from retailers.
Industry sources suggest that the second half of November will see a sharp increase in sales of most of these gadgets.
"Generally, sales of the stock stays the same in terms of mix. However, we stock large quantity of MP3 players, discmans, PDAs and cameras as these types of units are bought as gift items during Ramadan and Eid," said Andrew Nixon, divisional manager at Plug-ins, the specialised electronics and IT store from the Al Futtaim Group.
"But we also see an increase in the sales of white goods in Sharjah, so it does vary from location to location." While they have been there in the market for some time now, gadgets such as MP3 players and PDAs (personal digital assistants) are only now seeing volume gains.
Obviously, the softening of prices of leading brands has boosted the volumes. Digital cameras are on the same track.
As with other retail sectors, most outlets are offering extended opening hours in the evening. "Obviously the daytime traffic decreases, but the evening rush is high," he said.
"We generally see about a 10 to 15 per cent increase in footfall during Ramadan, but this is also a result of the extended opening hours, especially at Deira City Centre."
Another key component that will aid retailers is the projected increase in tourist traffic numbers by the last week of November and early December. It is projected that GCC, European and Asian clientele will push up the demand further.
"Now a good portion of the sales are being brought in from domestic buyers, said a senior manager at a leading electronics retailer.
Another DVD/DivX/MP3 stand-alone player released
Nov. 14, 2002
Related articles
· First DivX compatible DVD player launched (10/22/2002)
· DivX-DVD stand-alone players are on their way! (8/30/2002)
Smaller and less known brands are now pushing DivX to out livingrooms. Earlier we saw the KiSS Techology's announcement of a such player, and now there is another one by a small start-up.
The device, dubbed Maestro DVX-1201, will operate like a standard home entertainment DVD player, except that it can also play computer file formats such as DivX and MPEG-4 for movies, MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) for music and JPEG for images.
It will be the first product from start-up Neuston, a Singapore-based firm, and will be among the first DivX/MPEG-4-compatible players available anywhere. It is expected to be launched in January for under $350, said its marketing director
The timing is certainly curious. Let's see..Musicnet and Pressplay announcing digital music cross-licensed from all five major record labels, Odyssey player about to be released, and zack miller, a known basher, reveals his archealogical exacavation from the archives...file this one under the category of.. Things that make you go Hmmm....
Hey, if the allegations are true....prosecute to the full extent of the law
If they are false....
well of course just in his humble opinion and no intent to libel or otherwise harm...you know..all in good fun.