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Hard-Drive Music Storage Abounds
Staff
TWICE
9/3/2001
Escient: The $1,999-suggested FireBall is a "music-search engine" that streams Internet audio (via the Radio Free Virgin service), stores music on its internal hard drive, select music from connected compatible megachangers, and transfers music to select Internet audio portables. Year-end availability is targeted.
Users rip music from the connected changers or from CDs in the device's CD drive, which can also be used to burn music onto CD-R/RW discs from the hard drive.
"Ours is the only one to control different brands of changers," said president Bob Pankratz. It finds and plays CDs in select Sony and Denon CD megachangers and in select CD/DVD megachangers from Denon, Integra, Kenwood, Marantz and Pioneer.
Multiple FireBalls are needed for multizone capability. It connects with ADA, AMX, Crestron, Elan and other home-control systems.
Music can be stored in MP3 and WMA format.
In a related introduction, the company will unveil the TuneBase 200 at $1,199 suggested, replacing the $3,000 TuneBase 100 and adding an RS-232 port to connect with RS-232 control systems, not just with IR-based control systems. It also adds HomePNA networking to connect to HPNA-enabled broadband modems but continues to incorporate a dial-up modem.
TuneBase connects to select compatible CD changers, identifies their CDs, and downloads track and title information from an on-line database. It's due by year's end.
Imerge: For its single-zone S1000 SoundServer, the company will demonstrate the new Thin Client LCD touchpanel to distribute the hard-drive's music to a second zone. The RJ-45-connected touchpanel ships in January. It will be available optionally in a tabletop stand. Pricing hasn't been set. The company also offers multizone M1000 expandable to 16 zones.
Onkyo and Integra: These two Onkyo USA brands will unveil their first hard-drive recorders, a 20GB and 40GB version, respectively, at a suggested $800 and $950. They ship in September and October, respectively. The single-zone products feature built-in CD-ROM drive and RS-232 ports for connection to distributed-audio systems. They store music in MP3 or Redbook CD form.
Yamaha: The $999-suggested CDR-HD1000, due late summer, includes a CD drive/burner letting users rip music to hard disc and then transfer the music from the hard drive to a CD-R/RW disc. To comply with SCMS requirements, the song disappears from the hard drive when it is transferred to a recordable disc.
The single-zone device stores music only in Redbook CD form, allowing for storage of about 30 CDs on the 20GB hard drive.
OT Study says Internet replacing libraries for homework
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - For a majority of U.S. teenagers, ``homework'' is finally living up to its name. Thanks to the Internet, research projects and other school assignments are being completed at home, online, replacing last-minute trips to the library, according to a study released Saturday.
Seventy-one percent of middle school and high school students with Internet access said they relied on the electronic technology the most in completing a project, according to a survey conducted by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
That compares to 24 percent who said they relied on libraries the most, according to the survey.
Of students aged 12-17, the Pew study found that 73 percent, or 17 million children, have Internet access. The Pew study surveyed 754 of those students.
Nearly all of them, 94 percent, said they use the Internet for school research and 78 percent said the Internet helped them with their homework.
The Pew study quoted one 15-year-old boy, who said, ''Without the Internet, you need to go to the library and walk around looking for books. In today's world, you can just go home and get into the Internet and type in your search term.''
More and more, parents might be off the hook in trying to solve those difficult questions or problems that stump students doing their homework.
According to the Pew study, 41 percent of online teens said they use e-mail and instant messaging to contact teachers or classmates about homework.
``If we need help on homework, it's great because you can get three or four people working on a really tough problem together,'' said one 17-year-old girl quoted in the Pew study.
Parents apparently are embracing their kids' use of the Internet. The study said that 93 percent of them believe the Internet ``helps children learn new things'' and 87 percent of parents said the Internet helps them with their schoolwork.
And 96 percent of teachers said knowledge and use of the Internet is an ``essential'' aspect of communication.
But using the Internet for homework does have a ``dark side'' by making cheating easier, according to the Pew study.
``Cutting and pasting text from a Web site and into a (research) paper is effortless. So is wholesale copying or purchasing finished essays or reports,'' the study said.
The survey said that 18 percent of students said they know of someone who has used the Internet to cheat on a research paper or test. And that cheating appeared to escalate as students gained more experience on the Internet, the Pew report said.
MediaCloQ CD Protection Sidestepped
[08-31-2001]
Url: http://www.cdrfaq.org/
Tech News:
- Spatializer Audio Laboratories Inc. Delivers Expanded Availability Of Dramatic Audio Enhancements For Portable And Home Entertainment Devices For The Texas Instruments TM320C54 Platform
- SRSWOWcast Technologies Ships New Audio Software Product For Sound Designers And Multimedia Or Audio Production Professionals
- SCM Microsystems Supplies Blaupunkt With Reader Technology To Take Digital Music On The Road
This is an excerpt from section (2-4-4) of the CD-Recordable FAQ. It describes a series of experiments performed on Charley Pride's _A Tribute to Jim Reeves_.
The packaging is labeled with the SunnComm logo, and states, "This audio CD is protected by SunnComm(tm) MediaCloQ(tm) Ver 1.0. It is designed to play in standard audio CD players only and is not intended for use in DVD players." However, my DVD player was able to play the disc after overcoming some initial confusion.
The disc itself has an unusual construction. There is a heavy band at about the point where the music stops, and some odd radial patterns outside that. These are either decorative or an attempt to make the disc harder to counterfeit. There are also faint circles on the disc at about the point where each track ends. It's unclear what these are for, what a CD player does with them, or if they have any bearing on the copy protection. Some images are available on http://www.fadden.com/cdrpics/.
A computer running Win98SE with a Plextor 40max CD-ROM drive saw the disc as having two sessions and 16 data tracks. My CD player only saw 15 audio tracks. This feature alone makes the disc difficult to rip or copy, because the software doesn't see any audio tracks, and a CD-R copy would be full of tracks that even a CD player would see as data. Another machine, with a Plextor 12/20 and a slightly different set of software, seemed to have a lot of trouble figuring out what the disc was. It eventually sorted things out, but I get the sense the disc has been tweaked in ways that confuse the drive firmware.
I tried using "Session Selector" to select the first session and then access the tracks. This resulted in a Plextor 8/20 CD recorder becoming unusable until a reboot. I'd guess the firmware got confused. The next thing I tried was to crank up CDRWIN v3.7a (section (6-1-7)), and extract some tracks using my Plextor 12/20. No dice -- the display showed 15 unselectable tracks and 1 MODE-2 data track.
Next, I tried the "Extract Disc/Tracks/Sectors" function, selected "Extract Sectors", chose "Audio-CDDA (2352)" for the data type, and entered a nice range (0 to 300000, where each audio sector is 1/75th of a second). This choked when trying to read starting at block 173394, so I tried again stopping at 173390. This resulted in a rather large WAV file, which I opened with Cool Edit -- revealing the entire contents of the disc, plain and clear. Playback revealed no audible defects.
I believe this worked because the sector extraction function ignores track and session boundaries, and just pulls the blocks straight off. Losing the track markers is annoying, but it's easy to add them back with something like CDWave (section (6-2-16)).
U.S. digital copyright review seeks some changes
Posted at 6:02 p.m. PDT Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2001
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A study released Wednesday on how revised U.S. copyright law is working in the digital age recommends some legislative changes to clarify fair use by purchasers of legal copies.
But the U.S. Copyright Office study did not find sufficient evidence for a digital provision in that part of traditional copyright law that allows the owner of a legal copy of a work to sell or give it away.
There were problems, it said, ensuring that the sender of a digital work destroyed his or her copy. Physical copies degraded with time while digital formats could be reproduced flawlessly and disseminated nearly instantly to almost anywhere at little cost.
``We find the analogy to the physical world to be flawed and unconvincing,'' the study said.
Some say the owners of copyrighted works are using new digital formats like music files and electronic books to undermine that right of resale aided by technologies like encryption and restrictive licenses.
The protection of software, music, movies and other media from digital piracy was strengthened by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.
Hailed by copyright owners like the music industry, which has managed to sharply curb the activities of Napster Inc., the online song-swapping service, the law has been criticized by others for restricting ``fair use'' rules allowing the public to make copies of protected material for personal use.
Libraries, in particular, are concerned that their ability to make interlibrary loans, provide off-site access to materials and use donated copies is impaired.
But the Copyright Office, directed by the 1998 legislation to review the law, said it saw no need, just yet, to specifically cover digital transmissions in section 109 governing the sale of legal copies of copyright works.
``We are in the early stages of electronic commerce,'' it said. ``We hope and expect that the marketplace will respond to the various concerns of customers in the library community.''
But the Copyright Office study said Congress should allow copy owners to make backup copies of digital works while ensuring that the copyright owners are protected by preventing the sale of these archival copies.
This change would give backup copies of digital works like films and music the same protections currently enjoyed for additional copies of computer programs.
Congress was also advised to protect those engaged in sending audio files from additional royalty claims on the incidental and temporary buffer copies made by computers to allow smooth audio transmissions.
Earlier this month, two U.S. lawmakers unveiled legislation aimed at promoting competition among online music services that included provisions covering ``fair use'' copies.
The Music Online Competition Act sponsored by Republican Rep. Chris Cannon of Utah and Rep. Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat, would allow users to make backup copies of legally acquired music files as protection against a computer crash or similar technical glitch.
Online distributors would be able to make multiple in-house recordings, called ephemeral copies, for efficient distribution of music online via different file formats.
cksla, thanks I really enjoyed some of the creative responses especially the last guy LOL.
cheers
johcol, I think it is unlikely that we are in Creative's jukebox. Unfortunatly, they seem to be our main competition branding-wise. Although it is still early days in this market it seems it will be nice to see our jukebox design start to emerge. I think we will have to rely on Easttech for this though as Hy-tek doesn't seem quite up to the task IMO.
cheers
CREATIVE NOMAD JUKEBOX PACKS MORE PUNCH
20GB version digital audio player shipping immediately
MEDIA ALERT - August 7, 2001 - What: Creative Technology Ltd., the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products for the personal computer and the Internet, today announced the shipment of the NOMAD® Jukebox 20GB. With an estimated street price of US$399.99, this version of the popular NOMAD Jukebox packs in 14 more gigs than the previous version of the Creative NOMAD Jukebox.
With the storage capacity to hold over 333 hours of CD-quality music or over 8500 hours of spoken word, the NOMAD Jukebox 20GB is one of the highest capacity players on the market. This NOMAD player caters to music lovers and audio book enthusiasts seeking an optimal storage and playback solution for large quantities of compressed digital audio files.
Like the original player, the NOMAD Jukebox 20GB is a compact and lightweight (14oz.) product featuring a line-in for analog recording from external sources and dual line-out connections. Equipped to store about 500 or more CD's worth of music, the NOMAD Jukebox 20GB includes an onboard real-time digital signal processor (DSP) for superior audio playback, and a time-scaling feature to allow the user to control the listening environment. A Headphone-Out jack supports headphone spatialization and equalizer effects. The onboard EAX® processing allows for superior audio quality and customization, as well as tone controls for personalizing audio settings. The NOMAD Jukebox 20GB supports MP3, WMA and WAV files and is firmware upgradable to support future formats as well.
Features & Benefits
Massive Storage: holds over 333 hours of CD-quality music-about 500 albums-or over 8500 hours of voice
Creative PlayCenter™ 2: provides an easy-to-use interface for playing, organizing, encoding, decoding and archiving high quality MP3, WMA and WAV files
iTunes: the premier MP3 player and recorder for the Macintosh allows easy encoding, downloading of music, building of custom playlists and sorting of music by artist, track, song, genre and more
Time scaling: offers adjustable playback-perfect for digital audio books, educational or controlled music listening
Real-time DSP: onboard for superior audio playback and customization
Dual Line Out: allows for 4 point surround speaker connectivity
Line In: supports direct audio recording from external devices
Adjustable Playback Speed: implementation for voice or music for optimized playback
Parametric EQ: allows control of treble, bass and mid-range settings
Headphone-Out Jack: supports headphone spatialization and equalizer effects
USB Interface: offers fast digital transfer rates, connectivity and setup
5 Minute Shock Protection Buffer: for superior performance while on the move
Future Support: for downloadable features including new EAX processing algorithms, security features, auto playlist generators, and more
Pricing and Availability
The NOMAD Jukebox 20GB is shipping immediately to retail and e-tail outlets in North America at an estimated street price of US$399.99. This digital audio player comes bundled with stereo backphones, universal AC power supply, USB connector cable, carrying pouch and two 4-packs of AA NiMH batteries (one spare). More information about the NOMAD Jukebox 20GB can be found at www.nomadworld.com.
About Creative
Creative (Nasdaq: CREAF) is the worldwide leader in digital entertainment products for the personal computer and the Internet. Famous for its Sound Blaster® sound card and for launching the multimedia revolution, Creative is now driving digital entertainment on the PC platform with products like its highly acclaimed NOMAD® Jukebox. The company's innovative hardware, proprietary technology, applications and services leverage the Internet, enabling consumers to experience high-quality digital entertainment -- anytime, anywhere.
# # #
This announcement relates to products launched in the United States of America. The product names, contents, prices and availability are subject to change and may differ elsewhere in the world according to local factors and requirements.
The Creative logo, Sound Blaster, Blaster and EAX are registered trademarks of Creative Technology Ltd. in the U.S. and/or other countries. NOMAD is a registered trademark of Aonix and is used by Creative Technology Ltd. and/or its affiliates under license. iTunes is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
All other brand or product names mentioned herein are either trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are hereby recognized as such.
Keeping an Eye on Your Ears
Major labels and some tech firms want to keep tabs on when and how digital music is used.
By Tech Live staff
August 29, 2001
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Digital Coding Research Stirs Controversy
Did hackers crack SDMI?
After being burned once by Napster, the recording industry wants to make sure that it can keep a tight leash on music copyrights in the Internet Age, when music piracy is as easy as clicking a mouse.
If the industry and some tech companies have their way, the Net-connected portable audio player of the future will keep tabs on its owner's listening habits and will make sure that the user has paid for the right to download copyright tunes from subscription-based sites.
For example, a wireless audio player being developed by electronics maker Sonicblue is able to go online, find a particular song selected by its owner, and then check to make sure the owner has already paid to download the song.
"The device allows [music sites] to license a particular user with a specific set of rights," said Andy Wolfe, chief technology officer at Sonicblue. "And the way most of the sites work is they identify the device and generate a key specific to that device, so [the user] has to have both the device and the key in order to play that particular piece of music."
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But getting these smart devices out into the public is only one half of the music industry's strategy to make sure people pay for downloaded music.
The major recording labels and some tech companies also want to ensure that they can track music on the Internet by placing an indelible mark on each and every music file.
The Secure Digital Music Initiative, a consortium of recording industry and technology companies, is developing a file format that contains digital watermarks -- encrypted pieces of code that indicates who the file belongs to and tracks how many times the file has been copied.
So far, however, SDMI hasn't been able to come up with a hack-proof file format that prevents users from tampering with the watermarks. Earlier this year, a Princeton professor and a team of graduate students answered SDMI's public challenge and cracked its prototype watermark encryption system.
But privacy advocates warn that even if digital watermarks and other anti-privacy technologies are successfully implemented, they may infringe the privacy of consumers.
"That's certainly something about watermarks that we're very concerned about," said Fred Von Lohmann, staff attorney of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization that monitors privacy on the Internet. "Traditionally, you went to the store, you bought a CD, and when you went home you played that CD. Nobody kept track of when you played it, how many times you played it, what you played before it, what you played after it."
Privacy issues and technical roadblocks aside, most industry watchers believe secure file formats will be the basis of music distribution in the future. Making sure that digital music is distributed legally and fairly may even bring artists closer to their audience, Sonicblue's Wolfe said.
"People who listen to music like to listen to different kinds and use it in different places, and they'd prefer to get music directly from the people who create it," Wolfe said. "So by having this secure tech, artists and the publishers are going to put music out there for customers to buy and then customers are going to listen to that music on new kinds of devices that give them more freedom."
COME FEEL THE RUSH OF PHILIPS' NEW SECOND GENERATION MP3 AUDIO PLAYER
29 Aug 2001 03:06 GMT
(Ybreo Newswire)- Philips is to introduce a second generation solid state audio device - the Rush SA209 which, like it’s predecessor, combines eye-catching looks with a compact, pocket-sized design.
At approximately 6cm x 6cm square and weighing less than 50g, Rush SA209 is 15% smaller than its design award-winning predecessor, but still manages to feature a large 12 character, two-line backlit LCD display that displays artist name, song title, track number and length.
This neatly-sized player also offers up to nine hours of playback from a single AA battery. An internal 64Mb flash memory capable of storing up to 90 minutes of near-CD quality (96kbps) music can be endlessly erased, overwritten and re-indexed. For quick downloads of compressed audio from a PC, the Rush SA209 can be connected via its USB mini-port (5-pin).
An exclusive feature is voice-recording. With the press of a single button, the Rush SA209 turns into a neatly-sized digital dictation device for storing up to ten hours’ worth of phone numbers, shopping lists, addresses, ideas, notes and much more.
Choose your sound and sequence
The Rush SA209 has been designed to make listening to compressed audio files easy and fun. Its unique program list makes it simple to create a playlist of favourite tracks and list them in order of preference.
Particular passages in a piece of music – or a ‘talking’ book can be bookmarked. Navigation through its library is equally easy, with the player’s ‘jog’ selector controlling track access and all play modes. An automatic power-off function helps preserve battery life when then player is not in use.
The Philips Rush SA209 offers a wide selection of digital sound settings to equalise audio playback to suit the material and personal preferences. The EQ function gives users a choice of two bass settings for deep, rich sounds, and a choice of five frequency settings – Rock, Pop, Jazz, Classic and Normal – to equalise output according to taste.
Robust and 100% shockproof
Thanks to solid state technology, Rush SA209 has an ultra-compact, robust and 100% shock proof design that makes it ideal for people on the go. Simple to use, it is also futureproof, enabling owners to upgrade its playback software to accommodate new audio compression standards as they become adopted by Philips. Software upgrades will be posted on the Philips website which can be accessed by Rush SA209 owners to download into their player to play audio files in the new compression formats.
Important editorial notes
The Philips Rush SA209 is also compliant with current Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) proposals.
The products described in this press release are for personal use only. Unauthorized duplication and distribution of Internet/CD recordings is a violation of copyright law.
In certain countries, including the United Kingdom and certain Commonwealth countries, use of the products as suggested in this press release may require the authorization of copyright holders.
Model numbers may differ slightly in certain countries. Please check with your local contact.
Survey: Users not ready to pay for Web Music
Posted at 9:11 p.m. PDT Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2001
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Consumers have not accepted purchasing and downloading music via the Web and are not likely to change with the new services being developed by the recording industry, according to a survey by research firm GartnerG2 on Wednesday.
The survey of 4000 adults on the Internet found that nearly 50 percent of those polled listened to CDs on their PCs; whereas only 25 percent listen to music downloads from the Internet on their PCs.
In the same GarterG2 survey, it was reported that only 6 percent of the same demographic purchased digital music downloads in the last 3 months.
``The percentage of Internet music buyers is not likely to increase with new Internet services being developed by the big five music companies unless they make their copyright protection systems more flexible to entice consumers,'' said GartnerG2 analyst PJ McNealy in discussing the survey.
The report reflects a contrarian view to many other research reports projecting huge spikes in online music sales in coming years.
The report said that in order for the digital music revolution to become viable, the ``Big 5'' record labels, including Vivendi Universal's (EAUG.PA) Universal Music, Sony Music (6758.T), AOL Time Warner Inc. (AOL.N) Warner Music, EMI Group Plc (EMI.L) and Bertelsmann AG's (BTGGga.D) BMG must agree to a standard platform for digital music distribution.
As each label struggles to find 'the right' digital rights management (DRM) solution, they are simultaneously alienating their consumers and stalling the economics of the proposition, according to the GartnerG2 report.
``Digital distribution needs to be brain-dead simple for consumers, and any DRM solution deployed should work with all music software and hardware. In order for this to happen, the Big 5 need to work together, and that doesn't look hopeful before 2002,'' McNealy said.
OT interesting software for use w. handhelds&DAPs...
TextAloud for Pocket PC
TextAloud MP3 ($19.95) converts digital text into digitally spoken words, captured as MP3 files. It resides on your desktop PC and can be used to either immediately read aloud your text from email, web pages, and documents, or you can save to MP3 files to download and listen to on your Pocket PC.
ReplayRadio for Pocket PC
ReplayRadio ($29.95) lets you automatically record your favorite radio programs from Web Radio broadcasts, and then listen to them later on your PC, MP3 player or Pocket PC.
Interesting refer to it as personal jukebox.oems
OT SunnComm MediaCloQ -- Ver 2.0 -- is Ready for Market; Version 2.0 MediaCloQ Technology Rolls Out in September
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2001--Today Phoenix-based SunnComm Inc. (OTC:SUNX) announced the completion of Version 2.0 of MediaCloQ designed to substantially reduce the illicit copying of music CDs.
This Version 2.0 provides significant improvements in compatibility with a broad range of devices used by consumers to listen to music. The enhancements maintain a high level of security to protect the music industry from the current onslaught of piracy while improving compatibility in personal computers and DVD players.
Stanley Babowicz, principal scientist for SunnComm, said, "The improvements in Version 2.0 extend the capabilities of Version 1.0, released earlier this year." He continued, "Version 2.0 of MediaCloQ offers new developments in security technology while expanding access on PC and DVD platforms."
SunnComm's chairman, John D. Aquilino, stated, "Our efforts are focused on continued improvement of our technologies in the face of a rapidly changing market. The enhanced capabilities of Version 2.0 raise the bar and set a new standard for copy protection and PC compatibility.
"The SunnComm solution outpaces our competition by providing robust security while not violating the integrity of the music itself."
SunnComm Inc. is a leader in digital content security for optical media with its MediaCloQ suite of products. The SunnComm technology was commercially released by Music City records and became the United States' first "cloaked" audio CD. "Charley Pride -- A Tribute to Jim Reeves" is available at retailers around the world.
SunnComm develops proprietary (patents pending) software applications designed to protect digital intellectual property from unauthorized duplication.
SunX, Digital Content Cloaking technology, DC2, MediaCloQ and SunnComm are trademarks of SunnComm Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Statements contained in this release, which are not historical facts, may be considered "forward-looking statements" under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. We caution the reader that such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance.
Unknown risk, uncertainties as well as other uncontrollable or unknown factors could cause actual results to materially differ from the results, performance, or expectations expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
--30--twt/ix*
CONTACT: SunnComm Inc., Phoenix
William H. Whitmore Jr., 602/267-7500
bill@sunncomm.com
Danl like this...10G HD player-The first THOMSON product ready to take full advantage of mp3PRO, the enhanced version of the mp3 music compression format that doubles the amount of music in memory and improves the audio quality of compressed music files, will be the new LYRA Personal Jukebox (PDP 2800), a portable mp3 player with a 10GB hard-disc drive that will hold hundreds of albums, thousands of songs, and can even be used as a remote hard drive to backup data files for the computer. The LYRA Personal Jukebox will play mp3 files and will be mp3PRO-ready.
Universal Music Group to Make Music Available On High-Quality Super Audio CD Format
- UMG to Release Titles on Super Audio CD as a Preferred Format -
SANTA MONICA, Calif., Aug. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Music Group (UMG),
the world's largest music company, today announced it will make titles
available on the high-quality Super Audio CD format which has been jointly
developed by Philips and Sony. UMG plans to release Super Audio CD titles
consisting of a combination of best-selling new releases and catalog. Many of
the releases will incorporate the multi-channel surround sound capabilities of
the Super Audio CD format.
"With the increasing penetration of Super Audio CD players in the
marketplace, UMG recognizes the substantial potential for this innovative new
format," said Jorgen Larsen, Chairman and CEO, Universal Music International.
"By making titles available on Super Audio CD, UMG intends to help drive the
growth of this high-quality, secure music format, with its many benefits for
consumers and recording artists. The objective is to make Super Audio CD a
standard for the industry."
The combination of Super Audio CD's high-quality stereo and multi-channel
surround sound enables consumers to get as close as possible to the studio
master quality experience. In addition, the Super Audio CD technology
incorporates a unique set of copyright protection measures, providing better
protection of artists' rights.
"UMG looks forward to providing consumers with a compelling musical
experience. Super Audio CD provides extraordinary resolution and sound
quality, which truly brings the music 'to life,'" said Larry Kenswil,
President, UMG eLabs. "Super Audio CD offers a new 'palette' to present our
artists' music in more original and dynamic ways."
About Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is the world's leading music company with
wholly-owned record operations or licensees in 63 countries around the world.
Its businesses also include Universal Music Publishing Group, one of the
industry's largest global music publishing operations.
Universal Music Group consists of record labels Decca Record Company,
Deutsche Grammophon, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music
Group, MCA Nashville, MCA Records, Mercury Records, Motown Records, Philips,
Polydor, Universal Records, and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of
record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around
the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalog of music
in the industry, which is marketed through two distinct divisions,
Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and UM3 (outside the U.S.).
Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, its division dedicated to strategy,
business development, and management of new businesses in the online and
advanced technology space.
About Universal Music Group eLabs
eLabs is the division of Universal Music Group dedicated to exploring,
developing, and evolving global business and new technology strategies to
expand the role of music in consumer's lives. eLabs houses an incubation team
for developing and implementing new e-music programming and digital music
distribution initiatives across all emerging technology and convergence
platforms, including Internet PC, wireless, PDA's, Home Networking and TV
set-top box systems.
For further information, please contact: Krista Gariano, Dir.,
Corporate Communications eLabs, Universal Music Group, +1-310-865-9609,
elabs.communication@umusic.com; or Lisa Bond, Vice President, Communications,
Universal Music International, 0207 747 4217/07880 785108,
lisa.bond@umusic.com.
CD padlock strategy risks consumer anger
Security move keeps discs copy-proof
BY RON HARRIS
Posted at 6:30 p.m. PDT Sunday, Aug. 26, 2001
Associated Press
Slipped quietly alongside regular music CDs in record stores, mostly in Europe, are more than 1 million secretly altered discs -- stealth compact discs that represent the recording industry's hopes for a solution to digital music piracy.
The five major record labels aren't disclosing many details on this experiment in copy protection -- including which artists' works have been digitally padlocked -- and various different technologies are used.
The nature of these discs could explain the labels' reticence. They aim to do something no CDs before them could -- provide an impervious barrier against the Internet music free-for-all that Napster and CD burners have made so popular.
Plunk a stealth CD into your stereo and it will play fine, tech experts say.
But try to stick one in your computer and turn it into MP3 files, or try to record its contents onto a blank disc, and you're in for a rude awakening: either it won't work at all, or the result will sound so bad that it's not worth sharing.
This new anti-copying strategy for CDs isn't widespread yet. Among the nearly 400 million CDs shipped in the United States alone in the first half of 2001, they're merely a beta test.
And if it becomes standard music industry practice, it could provoke a consumer backlash. Music fans have long made personal copies of purchased music in the format of their choice -- an activity legally sanctioned as a ``fair use.''
Daniela Mohor, a 26-year-old University of California-Berkeley graduate student who often makes copies of CDs for her friends, thinks the new industry strategy is ridiculous.
``With tapes it was the same thing; you could record them and the industry didn't fall apart,'' she said. ``I understand the industry is trying to protect its profits, but they should find a solution that will benefit both sides.''
The recording industry disagrees. Giving consumers the ability to make perfect digital copies that can be shared on the Internet goes far beyond fair use, it argues.
So after prevailing in cyberspace against Napster, Universal, Warner, EMI, BMG and Sony are exploring technologies that will limit the digital duplication of CDs.
Warner and EMI would not comment on their CD-protection trials. Universal Music Group confirms it evaluated copy-protected CDs but says it has not put any such music on store shelves in the United States or Europe.
BMG has introduced some copy-protected CDs in the European market -- it won't say how many. Sony confirms that it released stealth CDs in Europe but says it hasn't put any on U.S. shelves to date.
Phil Leigh, a digital media analyst for Raymond James and Associates, thinks such efforts are doomed to fail.
``Music needs to be portable,'' he said. ``It needs to get into the car and into your portable device, and the industry will find it's a losing battle unless they provide copying.''
In Europe, more than 1 million CDs using the copy protection technology of the Israeli company Midbar Tech have been released -- including 10,000 CDs Sony released in the Czech Republic and Slovakia late last year, the company says.
One of Midbar's three copy-protection options permits tracks from a CD to be copied to a computer for listening but not moved to another PC or shared online.
Another Israeli company, TTR Technologies, has developed a way to add distortion that it claims is undetectable to even the music industry's golden-eared experts. Cassette tape copies would sound just fine, but the distortion would create annoying pops, clicks or hissing in unauthorized digital copies.
TTR founder and Chief Executive Marc Tokayer says the technology, called SafeAudio, is being tested by each of the top record labels -- including one that put 200,000 SafeAudio-protected CDs on store shelves in Europe.
Sami Valkonen, senior vice president of new media and business development at BMG Music, says his company is not looking to eliminate music from computer desktops -- but rather wants to control how it gets there.
``A lot of people enjoy their music digitally these days,'' Valkonen said. ``We would never ever in the U.S. have the situation where people would not have the ability to enjoy their music as digital files.''
The various methods employed to protect content on compact discs do not appear destined to make handling digital music any easier.
One involves disguising the disc's directory of songs so that popular CD-ripping programs can't find the tracks to extract.
SunnComm of Phoenix used this method to protect 50,000 copies of a Charley Pride CD released in May, and the company president says its technology has withstood the test of would-be hackers.
But it didn't please fans who weighed in on Amazon's Web site where the CD is sold, saying the Pride disc was unplayable on their home stereos.
SAMSUNG CARNIVAL SALE 2001
Come join us for this GREAT SALE! Invite your family members and friends to grab some good bargains!
SPECIAL BUY!!!
New WINGO MP3 Audio System (Limited Quantity)
New DVD-V5000 (DVD-VCR Combo Player)
Mobile Phones
YEPP MP3 Digital Audio Player
TFT-LCD & CRT Color Monitors
Flat Screen and Projection CTVs
Refrigerators
Washing Machines
Microwave Ovens
and many more exciting products
DON'T MISS IT!!!
Date: August 25 & 26, 2001
Time: 12pm - 7pm (Sat) / 10am - 7pm (Sun)
Venue: 20 Toh Guan Rd (Accord Distri Center) - Beside IMM Building in Jurong East
(Closest MRT Station: Jurong East MRT Station)
Payment: Strictly CASH or NETS only!
See you there!
http://www.samsung.com.sg/carnivalsale.html
OT PCA TECHNOLOGY Creative's jukebox maker 1 Aug 2001
SGX-Mainboard aspirant, PCA Technology has received in principle approval to offer its shares to the public. The company provides electronic manufacturing services (EMS) to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) such as Hewlett Packard and Creative Technology.
Led by Chief Executive Officer Ng Yiak Say, the company began to provide PCBA reworking and upgrading services in 1990 with 6 workers (including the CEO) and 1 production line. The company made progress by the leaps and bounds. In 1992, it was contracted by Creative Technology and in 1994 by Hewlett Packard to fulfil their manufacturing requirements. Both clients, HP and Creative Technology, remain as their biggest clients and today account for more than 90% of their revenue.
From simple PCBA reworking, six workers and a production line, the company now offers PCB assembly, prototyping and testing, Box-Build Assembly and after sales services. It has the ability to provide both turnkey and consignment based electronic manufacturing services with its 8 SMT lines, 8 PTH (Pin-Through-Holes) lines and 8 Mechanical lines on 140,000 sq feet of factory space (with another 220,000 sq feet ready for production by end 2001) and more than 900 employees.
So far the company has only grown organically, from $600,000 revenue in 1990 to more than $151 million revenue in their last financial year. While the company is unable to reveal its bottomline numbers, it assures that it is well within the industry average of between 3-5%.
Together with their elder brother, CEO Ng and youngest brother Dy CEO Hobson Ng collectively holds 75% of the pre-floatation shares. Its other significant passive shareholder is Creative Technology which holds 12.8%.
A shareholder and business partner, Creative Technology outsources all its manufacturing requirements for the Jukebox and the Nomad to PCA Technology exclusively. PCA in turn provides the full turnkey and boxbuild services to Creative and ships the end-products to their distributors. Both the Jukebox and the Nomad continue to receive accolades from both critics and consumers and continue to be one of the most desired gift item.
Technology Forecasters believes that contract manufacturing services will continue to grow at 30% each year. For EMS provider like PCA, it certainly spells good news for them. In addition, with the current consolidation among the top tier EMS providers, PCA could stand to gain more business as those mid-sized OEMs could look elsewhere for other manufacturing partners who meets their needs better.
The cash raised would be used by the company to finance its planned expansion in Malaysia as well as for working capital and strategic acquisitions when the opportunity arises. With additional capacity, the company can take on more jobs, diversify its customers base and reduce its reliance on the two major clients.
One, however, could not help but wonder how badly has the company been hit during this economic slowdown. Both HP and Creative has slashed its sales forecasts for the year. In addition, if the expected economic recovery by the 4Q of 2001 does not materialise, the company could be left with too much idle capacity (the additional production capacity is due last quarter of 2001). However, Hobson Ng was quick to point out that the slowdown does present some valuable opportunities and the two times Enterprise 50 Award winner would grasp this opportunity to train their workers to enable them to handle multiple functions.
The company is expected to launch its IPO and you would be sure that Wallstraits would be bringing more information to you. Do keep an eye and meanwhile do your homework, stay alive and invest wisely and not forgetting to have lots of fun. Remember Wallstraits' adage, Investing is Serious Fun!
-Wallstraits.com
BMW To Install Sirius In 2002 Vehicles
NEW YORK - August 23, 2001 - BMW of North America, LLC and Sirius Satellite Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI), the satellite radio broadcaster, announced today that BMW will offer Sirius satellite radio service to new car buyers beginning in the second quarter of 2002. Sirius radios will be available in select BMW 3 Series, 5 Series and X5 vehicles. BMW owners will be among the first with access to Sirius audio entertainment service with up to 100 channels.
BMW will offer Sirius radios as an accessory in its most popular models through BMW centers across the country. BMW centers will also offer subscription activation services for its customers who purchase Sirius receivers.
A recent JD Power survey showed BMW owners as among the most likely early adopters of satellite radio. The JD Power 2000 Automotive Emerging Technologies Study revealed that, of all car owners surveyed, BMW owners expressed the strongest desire to include satellite radio in their next new car.
AudioSurge.com Quietly Emerges As One Of The Largest Independent Digital Music Properties
Email: thesurge@audiosurge.com
Url: http://www.audiosurge.com/
Since their launch at the first ever Internet & Music Expo in 1999, AudioSurge.com (owned by parent company, TDMC: http://www.tdmcinc.com)has recently grown to surpass the 3000 artist mark and 70,000 registered fan milestone. AudioSurge.com is now one of the very few remaining, Independent Digital Music communities in the wake of competitors IUMA and MP3.com sale to Universal.
Most significantly, AudioSurge has succeeded in becoming a full fledged music services provider. The company has conveniently aligned an array of solutions including promotion, CD duplication, e-commerce, and distribution- all from its web based Fan Club Manager(TM) tool, located at http://www.audiosurge.com/mysurge
The site employs a popular incentive program called AudioPoints(TM), which helps draw fans of major and independent artists alike. Fans can earn and "cash-in" AudioPoints for certain prizes. In addition to AudioPoints, fans really enjoy the interactivity that AudioSurge offers through its fan club, song rating, and message board areas.
Bands appreciate AudioSurge because of its favorable fan-to-artist ratio and conveniently priced services.
In addition to its work with small labels and indie artists, AudioSurge has done direct email promotions for Roadrunner Records, Grand Royal Records, and is currently working on a Sony/Immortal promotion.
AudioSurge partners have included Listen.com, Creative Labs, Acoustic Systems, Liquid Audio, and others. AudioSurge.com looks forward to its most exciting year yet with announcements of many new features and partnerships to come.
Wippit Announces Launch Date And Subscription Price
London, 23rd August 2001 ? Wippit, the legitimate online peer-to-peer (P2P) music service, announced today that it will be launching its commercial service on 4th October, 2001. Wippit is a subscription-based service with a charge of £50 per year for an unlimited number of downloads. In addition, a 'Gold' service will also be available next year, offering enhanced content such as music videos, exclusive content and technical advances.
Wippit is the world's first subscription-based P2P music service and offers consumers access to thousands of music files from their home or work PC for such outstanding value for money - less than the price of four CD's. To further emphasise this point and express gratitude to Wippit's alpha testers that have been helping shape the service since September last year, the service will be available at a substantial discount for all alpha testers of Wippit for the first month.
Paul Myers, CEO of Wippit, says: "Wippit is committed to offering consumers a great, reliable and legitimate service and has an intimate understanding of the UK and European markets."
Wippit gives users access to a huge range of music including pop, alternative, jazz, classical, unreleased recordings and remixes, and previews of album tracks before their release.
Wippit users will also be able to search for music from their mobile phone using Wippit's unique 'Wireless Search Facility'. Wippit is also the first P2P service to offer downloadable ringtones so that music-lovers need not be tied to their PC to enjoy their favourite music.
Paul Myers comments: "The feedback that we have gathered from Wippit's Alpha tester's shows that a lot of new music is heard for the first time on the radio or at a pub or club." Paul continues: "This makes the SMS search facility an ideal solution and is also another first that the Wippit service can offer."
Wippit will make an announcement shortly citing content agreement information. And also says that the service is now seeking distribution partners both online and offline for the service. back / top
PlayMedia Systems Optimizes AMP(R) MP3 Playback Engine for Intel(R) StrongARM* And Intel(R) XScale(TM) Microarchitecture
PlayMedia Also Unveils NewArk(TM) Software Framework for Building Audiovisual Applications
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- PlayMedia Systems, Inc. has optimized its popular AMP® MP3 playback technology for the Intel® (Nasdaq: INTC - news) StrongARM* processor and the Intel® XScale(TM) Microarchitecture. PlayMedia, a global provider of digital audio technologies to companies including Napster, DirecTV Latin America, and AOL's Nullsoft, has simultaneously introduced a new audiovisual framework called NewArk(TM), which is making its embedded system debut on the Intel® StrongARM SA1110 microprocessor and Intel® XScale(TM) Microarchitecture. PlayMedia will be showcasing its AMP® and NewArk(TM) technologies at the Intel Developer's Forum next week.
In development for over two years, the NewArk(TM) Audiovisual Framework enables consumer electronics manufacturers to expand and improve the performance of their products and applications. NewArk(TM) enables developers to easily execute a variety of important audiovisual-related tasks, including MP3 encoding and decoding, video encoding and decoding, and special audio effects such as cross-fades and echo. PlayMedia's AMP® decoder is available both as a NewArk(TM) module and as a stand-alone application. Additionally, NewArk(TM) supports digital rights management technologies from PlayMedia and third-party providers.
Previously, MP3 playback on portable devices required a costly and inflexible dual-chip design: a dedicated digital signal processor was needed to handle decoding functions while a main processor executed other playback tasks. The high performance and low power consumption of the Intel® XScale(TM) Microarchitecture enables NewArk(TM) and AMP® to perform both these tasks on a single processor while helping reduce the amount of battery power required. Developers can also configure how much RAM is allocated to decoding tasks, thus providing manufacturers with the flexibility to reduce costs with a single-chip design and use system resources more efficiently.
``Consumers want the ability to listen to digital music files not only on the PC, but wherever they are,'' said Brian Litman, PlayMedia Systems' chief executive officer. ``This mandate for ubiquity is driving demand for a full spectrum of MP3-enabled consumer electronics devices such as portable digital audio players, handheld computers, GSM phones, car stereos, set-top boxes, home theater systems, and many others -- that can play back the MP3 digital music standard. Our advanced NewArk(TM) framework, optimized for Intel® StrongARM microprocessors and the Intel® XScale(TM) Microarchitecture, enables consumer electronics manufacturers to offer powerful new features and benefits for consumers, while satisfying copyright holders' security demands.''
``Innovative companies like PlayMedia Systems demonstrate the commitment of the industry to the Intel® Personal Internet Client Architecture (Intel® PCA) in the rapidly growing mobile media marketplace,'' said Mike Iannitti, Director of Marketing for Intel's Handheld Computing Division. ``The optimization of PlayMedia Systems' technologies for the Intel® StrongARM SA-1110 processor and Intel® XScale(TM) Microarchitecture will offer mobile device manufacturers the ability to satisfy consumers' demands for high quality digital audio playback.''
Added Dr. Mario Kovac, PlayMedia Systems' chief technology officer, ``We have been working closely with Intel's engineers to make maximum use of the benefits of Intel® StrongARM microprocessors and the Intel® XScale(TM) Microarchitecture. We're also pleased that Intel® processors are one of the first silicon solutions available to support the NewArk(TM) framework.''
About PlayMedia's NewArk(TM) Audiovisual Framework
PlayMedia's NewArk(TM) Audiovisual Framework consists of a base structure and numerous modules, or ``nodes,'' that handle dedicated audiovisual processing tasks. By grouping different nodes together, developers can add product- differentiating audiovisual effects, file security and rights management methods.
PlayMedia offers a library of pre-programmed nodes that perform data input and output, data processing, special effects and multi-stream functions on the NewArk(TM) framework. The input and output nodes perform tasks such as automatically determining an audio file format and enabling playback to a sound device.
PlayMedia's processing and special-effects nodes enable advanced playback functions such as automatic gain control, cross-fading, audio equalization, reverb and tempo control. NewArk's multi-stream modules can enable multiple audiovisual tracks to be mixed or split to enable complex audiovisual configurations. PlayMedia also provides nodes for its own digital rights management and file security technologies. Customized nodes can also be created to perform other specific audiovisual-related tasks or to support third-party technologies.
The NewArk(TM) framework uses a low memory footprint and single-threaded multi-stream processing, which reduces system resource consumption and allows it to run on simpler system architectures. In addition, the NewArk(TM) kernel requires only a single string of execution commands to perform processing and control functions.
PlayMedia Systems currently offers, or has in development, versions of the NewArk(TM) audiovisual framework for the Microsoft® Windows®, Symbian®, Unix/Linux, Palm® OS and Mac® operating systems.
About PlayMedia Systems' AMP® technology
PlayMedia Systems' AMP® technology was developed four years ago to support the MP3 audio encoding standard. One of the world's most-used technologies for MP3 music playback, AMP® has enabled millions of people to listen to digital music through players such as AOL's Winamp, Napster and Subband's MacAmp(TM). AMP® is also used in other diverse applications such as CD-ROMs, online games, music education applications, digital music jukeboxes and music playback in retail establishments.
PlayMedia's AMP® technology runs on major wireless and handheld operating systems such as Microsoft's Pocket PC, Symbian® OS, Unix/Linux, and Palm OS(TM). AMP® is also supported on common mobile telephony systems, including GSM, GPRS, CDMA, CDPD and WCDMA. This support makes it convenient for consumers to transfer content onto their portable devices.
About PlayMedia Systems, Inc.
PlayMedia Systems Inc. designs, develops and deploys media and security systems that support viable business models for digital content distribution and related e-commerce. The company's media systems and conditional-access technologies enable media, travel and event-marketing companies to maximize the value of their digital assets and inventory by empowering consumers to access these experiences in advanced, yet convenient, ways. PlayMedia's AMP® MP3 playback technology, the namesake ``AMP'' in AOL's Winamp, powers various digital audio players, including Napster's, and is used by tens of millions of people around the world. The company's file format and security systems are also a key component of leading business-to-business music distribution systems such as DMX/AEI Music's ProFusion(TM) and DirecTV® Latin America. PlayMedia Systems was founded in January 1998 and is headquartered in Los Angeles. On the Web: www.playmediasystems.com.
PlayMedia® and AMP® are registered trademarks of PlayMedia Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Intel and Intel XScale are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
SOURCE: PlayMedia Systems, Inc.
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products Offers Award-winning RealSpeak Software for Mobile Devices: L&H
RealSpeak Compact
SDK now Generally Available
IEPER, Belgium and BURLINGTON, Mass.--(Business Wire)--Aug. 21, 2001--
In addition to a high-quality, natural-sounding text-to-speech synthetic voice, L&H's new standard for
synthesized speech brings ease of use, convenience and safety to the world's mobile and automotive
markets
Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV (OTC: LHSPQ) (`L&H' or `the Company'), a world leader in speech
and language technology, products and services, today announced that its Speech and Language
Technologies Division (SLT) has made the L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) Compact SDK (Software Development
Kit) generally available. This new member of the award-winning L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) family makes
high-quality, natural-sounding text-to-speech (TTS) technology available for a broad spectrum of electronic
devices and vertical markets. Applications for this advanced software include mobile devices, such as PDA's
(Personal Digital Assistants) and PDT's (Personal Digital Terminals), and handheld computers. The new SDK
also empowers numerous vehicle-based information solutions, such as in-vehicle telematics and car
navigation systems, offering drivers improved comprehensibility and overall quality of these systems' synthetic
voices.
A reduced footprint allows the L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) Compact SDK to speech-enable virtually any
application designed for a standard mobile device, such as a PDA running on the Microsoft(R) Windows(R) CE
operating system or Linux(R) platform. The software converts several types of written text format, ranging from
e-mail to currencies, dates, or web pages, into high-quality, natural-sounding speech. Special text
pre-processors generate accurate pronunciation of e-mail addresses, URL's, and date and time formats. In
addition, the L&H(TM) Application Programming Interface (API) enables application developers and system
integrators to easily and rapidly build a user-friendly speech interface into their applications.
In November 1998, L&H introduced the first version of L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM). Today, L&H continues to
be one of the leading companies offering high-quality TTS for the speech and language technology market.
L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) is available in 18 languages and is utilized by more than 300 customers worldwide.
The L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) Compact SDK is now available in U.S.-English. The languages Japanese,
German, Italian, Spanish, French and others are scheduled for later this year.
Robert Bury, director of product management, commented: "Ease of use and a natural operating experience
for the end user are key performance features for successful mobile applications. For automotive information
products and services in particular, a top-quality speech output is essential for safety and comfort. Our new
L&H RealSpeak Compact SDK allows PDA manufacturers, mobile CRM systems integrators, car navigation
and telematics service providers, and many others to incorporate the high-quality, natural-sounding TTS
required for today's solutions."
Markets that benefit from using L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) Compact SDK are:
--Automotive: speech technology provides hands-free and eyes-free access to information from within the
vehicle
--Enterprise: voice-enables applications for the mobile workforce that wishes to access business-critical
information from almost any location
--Mobile learning: enhances interactive learning, such as foreign language programs
--Mobile games: enhances a player's interactivity with the game
--Industrial: eases the direct delivery and retrieval of data from the factory floor to and from information
management systems
Peter Hauser, L&H's vice president and general manager, international and automotive said: "With the
launch of L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) Compact SDK, L&H once again demonstrates its commitment to
developing best-of-breed speech technologies and sets yet another new standard for synthesized speech for
embedded markets. In addition to the ASR1600 and Distributed Speech Recognition engines, which enable
effortless and intuitive voice-controlled access to data and devices, L&H now offers its renowned
text-to-speech technology, L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM), for the mobile and automotive markets." Mr. Hauser
added: "For years, L&H has led the TTS market for mobile devices, and now we are taking it to a higher level
of performance."
Detailed technical and sales information about L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) Compact SDK can be found at the
L&H web site www.lhsl.com.
About L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM)
L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) is Lernout & Hauspie's advanced text-to-speech technology (TTS) that can
generate nearly human sounding synthesized speech. It is used in a wide variety of advanced applications,
from the creation of voice portals to speech-enabling virtual newscasters. Typical markets for deploying
L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) include: banking, financial, telecommunications, call center and media industries.
L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) technology supports over 5 operating systems and is currently available in 18
languages: US and UK English, German, French, Dutch & Belgian Dutch, Castilian and Mexican Spanish,
Italian, European and Brazilian Portuguese, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Cantonese & Mandarin
Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. The L&H(TM) RealSpeak(TM) TTS engine has already received a number of
industry awards in recognition of its superior technology and capabilities. The engine won in the Web software
category of the Computing Awards for Excellence 2000 run by VNU Business Publications and the "Best
Speech Technology" category at VOICE Europe 99. Other awards include SpeechTEK's "Peak Performance
Awards," and the "Best of CTI Expo Spring 1999" Award.
About Lernout & Hauspie
L&H is a global leader in advanced speech and language solutions for vertical markets, computers,
automobiles, telecommunications, embedded products, consumer goods and the Internet. The company is
making the speech user interface (SUI) the keystone of simple, convenient interaction between humans and
technology, and is using advanced translation technology to break down language barriers. The company
provides a wide range of offerings including: customized solutions for corporations; core speech technologies
marketed to OEMs; end user and retail applications for continuous speech products in horizontal and vertical
markets; and document creation, human and machine translation services, Internet translation offerings, and
linguistic tools. L&H's products and services originate in four basic areas: automatic speech recognition
(ASR), text-to-speech (TTS), search and retrieval and audio mining and text-to-text (translation). For more
information, please visit L&H on the World Wide Web at www.lhsl.com.
This Press Release contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, including
statements about L&H's plans, objectives, expectations and intentions. Readers are cautioned that forward
looking statements include known and unknown risks, including uncertainty of new product development, the
risk that newly introduced products may contain undetected errors or defects or otherwise not perform as
anticipated, early state of development of the speech, language and medical information technology markets,
the ability of L&H's customers to successfully integrate and commercialize L&H's technology, the uncertainties
associated with the Company's recent Chapter 11 filings in the US and related proceedings in Belgium, the
retention of key technical and other personnel, currency and other risks related to international operations,
rapid technological change and intense competition, as well as other risks set forth in L&H's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward- looking statements contained herein speak only as of the
date of this Press Release.
L&H and RealSpeak are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products
N.V. in the United States and/or other countries. All other product names or trademarks referenced herein are
trademarks of their respective owners.
--30--ds/bos*
CONTACT: L&H Speech and Language Technologies Division:
Media Contact EMEA:
Lernout & Hauspie
Vanessa Richter, +32 (57) 22-9518
vanessa.richter@lhs.be
or
L&H Speech and Language Technologies Division
Media Contact US:
Lernout & Hauspie
Catherine Van Evans, +1 (781) 203-5286
catherine.van.evans@lhsl.com
or
L&H Corporate:
Corporate Comm:
Lernout & Hauspie
Ron Schuermans, +32 (57) 22-8888,
ron.schuermans@lhs.be
or
L&H Corporate:
Media Contact EMEA:
Lernout & Hauspie
Hans Michiels, +32 (57) 22-9547
hans.michiels@lhs.be
or
L&H Corporate:
Media Contact US:
Thomson Financial/Carson
Karina Byrne, +1 (212) 510-9266
or
L&H Corporate:
Investor Relations:
Lernout & Hauspie
Allan Forsey, +1 (781) 203-5233
aforsey@lhsl.com
Intel and Symbian Combine Efforts to Expand Capabilities of
Wireless Communications Devices
SANTA CLARA, Calif. & LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 21, 2001--Intel Corporation and
Symbian today announced that the two companies will work together to accelerate software
application development for wireless devices based on the Intel® Personal Internet Client Architecture
(Intel PCA) and Symbian OS, Symbian's operating system for data-enabled mobile phones.
Symbian also announced its support for Intel PCA, Intel's open design for building wireless handheld
communications devices and software applications that combine voice communications and Internet
access. The two companies are working together to port Symbian OS to the application processing
engines for Intel PCA -- extending Symbian's support for the Intel® StrongARM* processor to future
processors based on Intel XScale(TM) microarchitecture.
To support third party developers, the two companies will develop design guides for working with
Symbian OS and Intel PCA, offer Symbian's operating system tools with Intel PCA software developer
kits and host education and technical sessions at each other's technical development conferences:
the Intel Developer Forum and the Symbian Developer Expo.
``Symbian is working closely with leading industry players like Intel to create a mass market for
data-enabled mobile phones,'' said Mark Edwards, executive vice president, Symbian. ``The key to
success in this market is the provision of applications and services that give additional value to mobile
phone users. Our initiative with Intel PCA allows us to extend Symbian's offerings to a wide developer
base, bringing a focus to their efforts in building solutions for wireless devices.''
``Adding Symbian to the growing roster of companies supporting Intel PCA is a key milestone for us,
as we work with the industry to help bring true data applications capability to mobile devices,'' said
Ron Smith, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Wireless Communications and
Computing Group. ``Intel is pleased to work with Symbian to provide developers leading-edge
development platforms for innovative wireless solutions.''
About Symbian
Symbian supplies an operating system to the world's leading mobile phone manufacturers enabling
them to create mobile phones which combine voice communications, wireless Internet access and
computing functionality. Ericsson, Nokia and Psion are already shipping Symbian OS based devices.
Other companies developing next generation mobile devices on the Symbian OS include Kenwood,
Motorola, Panasonic, Sanyo, Sony and Siemens. Symbian's website can be found at
www.symbian.com. Symbian Developer Expo 2001 will be held in Barcelona, Spain on November
6-7. For more information go to http://www.symbian.com/devexpo2001/.
About Intel
Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and
communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.
Third party marks and brands are property of their respective holders.
Intel and XScale are trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other
countries.
Contact:
Intel Corporation
Daniel J. Francisco, 916/356-0546
daniel.j.francisco@intel.com
or
AxiCom for Symbian
Valerie Breslow, 954/761-9777
vbreslow@usaxicom.com
China's Electronics Market Lures Int'l Players-see bolded
Many companies are excelling in the competitive Chinese home electronics
market with LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics going head-to-head across
nearly all sectors.
According to industry sources, the two leading electronics companies are
continuing their market share expansion for products ranging from television
sets and video cassette recorders to washing machines and air conditioners.
``In most areas, the real competition is between those two and not with other
foreign companies, particularly in monitors, microwaves, refrigerators and
washing machines,'' one industry analyst said.
In the computer monitor market, Samsung now has 35 percent of the huge
Chinese market, estimated to be at around 4.5 million units, with LG commanding
another 20 percent.
LG, unsatisfied with its current market share, is looking to increase production
capacity in Nanjing to further increase its market share in the market with
perhaps the greatest potential in the world.
LG has secured a market share of 25 percent in washing machines, placing it
second overall, and in microwaves, Samsung controls 20.2 percent of the market.
``We are currently engaging in brisk marketing activities, especially with Beijing
having secured the Olympic Games in 2008. Our market share will continue to
rise,'' said one Samsung official.
True to form, the two top Korean electronics companies have been boosting
their brand value in the Chinese market for quite some time now and operate a
number of production facilities there as well.
``We are sponsoring numerous sporting events and other marketing events as
part of our efforts to raise public awareness of the quality and performance of
our products,'' said an LG marketing official.
In the color television market _ some 20 million of them are expected to be sold
this year alone _ Samsung has a minor share of 2 percent overall but its
presence in the large sized end of the market is expected to increase to as much
as 12 percent at the end of this year.
LG currently has some 4 percent of that market but with the introduction of
plasma display panels, the proportion is projected to increase.
Another sector where the two companies are competing fiercely is the compact
disc-read only memory (CD-ROM) market where both are looking at shares of 22
percent by the end of the year.
Where MP3 players are concerned, Samsung is in a commanding position with 41
percent. There is little indication that any other company will come close in the
foreseeable future.
All combined, Samsung is hoping to sell $3.6 billion worth of products in the
mainland market this year, up $600 million from the performance last year, while
LG is shooting for $3.7 billion.
``We tend to believe that we have a strong network in the Chinese market and
we will continue to increase our investment to sustain our market position,'' the
LG official said.
jakenho@koreatimes.co.kr
Danl, another take..ARC's design-in for digital audio
Richard Wilson
The configurable microprocessor technology of ARC has been incorporated into intellectual property (IP) for audio applications
such as MP3 and AAC by the Fraunhofer Institute for Integrated Circuits (IIS) in Germany.
Combining ARC's ARCtangent-A4 32-bit Risc processor and Fraunhofer's fixed point reference Codecs, the hardware/software
platform is intended to provide a system-on-chip building block for digital radio systems, portable audio players or
telecommunications devices.
Fraunhofer IIS is a specialist in developing audio coding schemes and the collaboration is an important digital audio design-in for
the London-based microprocessor IP firm.
According to Fraunhofer, the codec benefits from the ability to configure and extend the ARCtangent. This enables a common
technology platform which uses the same underlying architecture, yet be configured to execute different audio standards.
Available for both the ARC3 and ARCtangent-A4, at present, the SoC platform is configured to support both current audio
decoding standards like MPEG-2 AAC and MPEG Layer 3 (MP3).
A migration path to the quality enhanced successors mp3PRO and AAC+SBR (aka AAC plus) is also under consideration. Future
versions include options for real time audio encoding and for video (H.263) or still image applications.
Perhaps most significant is that the synthesisable nature of ARCtangent-A4 makes this SoC design independent of any silicon
foundry or technology.
In addition, with ARC’s processor core available in a high-level hardware description language it should simplify hardware
configuration for specific system requirements.
The audio software algorithms are based on Fraunhofer IIS's fixed point reference Codecs. The audio codec is optimised to run
using the ARC processor’s extensions such as barrel shifter (single cycle) and its DSP extensions including the 24x24 bit MAC
and saturated add/sub.
onamission, Poway,CA outside SD. see www.edig.com for more info
cheers
Approx. 250 4 minute songs in MP3 cksla.500 in WMA.oem
UCSD'S Center for Wireless Communications Awarded $1.5 Million in California Matching Funds for Corporate Research Projects
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 2001--The Center for Wireless Communications (CWC) at the
University of California, San Diego, has been awarded $1.5 million in matching funds from the State of
California, to complement roughly $2 million in corporate funding for five separate research projects in the
wireless arena.
The grants from the University's Communications Research (CoRe) Program will fund research for two years
effective August 15, with industry funds coming from 12 CWC member companies including Hughes Network
Systems, Texas Instruments, Nokia, Fuji, Conexant, Intersil, STMicro, IdeaEDGE, Ericsson, AMCC, KDDI and
Qualcomm.
"This is a vote of confidence in our mission to leverage the synergies of the state, member companies and
faculty resources to do the research that will keep the State of California and the nation on the cutting edge of
wireless technology," said Lawrence Larson, CWC director and Communications Industry professor of
electrical engineering at UCSD's Irwin and Joan Jacobs School of Engineering. "The CoRe program allows
more research to be accomplished in areas that are crucial to the future of society and the wireless
telecommunications industry."
"Our ability to attract this kind of support from our industrial partners and the State underscores the value to
industry of our faculty at the CWC and the Jacobs School," said Robert Conn, dean of the School and a
primary force in the creation of the wireless center in 1995. "The success of the CWC is directly attributable to
the loyal and increasing support of industry and the State, as well as to the excellence of our faculty research
staff."
"Governor Gray Davis is a champion for industry-university cooperative strategies that advance research
and education while simultaneously strengthening the competitiveness of California businesses," said
Susanne Huttner, Associate Vice Provost for Research in the University of California system and Executive
Director of the Industry-University Cooperative Research Program (IUCRP), comprised of CoRe and five other
targeted matching grant programs. "CWC, and the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information
Technology in which it participates, are proving that his concept of teaming university researchers, companies
and the States is a winning formula that will help California retain businesses and attract new companies and
investments."
The grant -- awarded following a rigorous scientific peer review of the research proposal -- will be used
primarily to support Ph.D. students performing wireless research on five projects, including Enhanced
Coverage of High Data Rate Wireless Systems, and Space-Time Processing for Wireless. Larson, who will be
a principal investigator on one of the five projects, added: "These projects address some of the most urgent
issues facing the wireless world, issues such as achieving higher data rates for wireless internet access and
lowering the cost of wireless access for all citizens. At the same time we are educating outstanding Ph.D.
students. We want to thank the State and our member companies for making this new commitment to
excellence in wireless research."
About CWC
The Center for Wireless Communications at UCSD offers a cross-disciplinary program of research and
education targeted at the emerging needs of the cellular and wireless communications industry. Founded in
February 1995, the Center is committed to developing the strong university-industry partnership needed for
producing a relevant program of systems and technology-oriented research. With funding from 17 industrial
members, the Center places high priority on strategic planning, collaboration, technology transfer, and the
generation of highly- trained graduates at all degree levels to meet industrial human resources needs. For
more, see http://www-cwc.ucsd.edu/.
About CoRe
CoRe was launched in November 1998 as part of the Industry-University Cooperative Research Program of
the State of California. It provides matching funds up to $2 million a year for industry-sponsored research at
University of California campuses in the telecommunications area, especially on communication systems and
components that will enable anywhere, anytime communications. CoRe is helping to address the problem that
no one currently knows how to support the increased level of traffic and the rapidly expanding array of voice
and non-voice applications, such as internet access, multimedia e-mail, videoconferencing, entertainment
video-on-demand, picture phone, and other new telecommunications applications. More information on CoRe
and the IUCRP is available at http://uc-industry.berkeley.edu/sectors/core.htm.
About the Jacobs School
The Jacobs School of Engineering is a premier institution in the midst of vibrant growth. Its strategy is to lead
in targeted research areas critical to national technological leadership, the economic prosperity of the region,
and the quality of life for people everywhere. Student enrollment includes 3,776 undergraduates and 788
graduates, and 144 faculty are involved in research projects that attracted $112 million in government,
industry and endowment funding in the latest fiscal year. Partnership with industry and our community is at the
core of the school's mission: to put the knowledge that the Jacobs School develops to work. The school
proactively creates new ways to transfer innovations to the private sector to benefit people everywhere. For
more go to http://www.soe.ucsd.edu/.
--30--ts/sd*
CONTACT: UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering
Doug Ramsey, 858/822-5825
dramsey@ucsd.edu
Electronics Firms Enter Set-Top Box Market
The three largest electronics firms have stepped up their efforts to advance into
the digital broadcasting equipment market ahead of the country's planned
launch of digital TV broadcasting in November. LG, Samsung and Daewoo have put
on the market a series of set-top boxes capable of receiving a high-definition
(HD) broadcasting.
Samsung, which has introduced a digital TV set-top box that receives both
analog and digital broadcasting, plans to market new set-top boxes with add on
functions by forming technical tie-ups with local and foreign firms.
LG offers a high-definition digital TV set-top box of its own, on the market since
May. It plans to form a technical tie-up with Direct TV, the biggest satellite
television service provider in the United States, to develop a new set-top box
that catches satellite and cable broadcasting.
Daewoo plans to sell its own product that enables users to watch digital
broadcasting programs on either TV or PC.
Samsung and LG offer their set-top boxes at a price of 1.3 million won ($1,017) but
Daewoo plans to woo customers by offering its product for 950,000 won.
Crowded by 80 firms, the set-top box market is expected to grow to 265,000 units
in 2002 and 487,000 units in 2003.
Samsung's Chin to Deliver Keynote Speech at CES 2002
Dr. Chin Daeje, president of the digital media group of Samsung Electronics, has
been given the honor of delivering a keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics
Show in Las Vegas next January.
According to company officials, Chin has been invited to make the speech at the
opening of the world's largest consumer electronics show scheduled for Jan.
8-11 in the famous gambling city.
This is the first time that a Korean has been invited to speak at the opening
ceremony and it reflects the increasing recognition of Samsung in the global
arena.
Through the years, participants in the CES have heard visionary speeches from
the likes of Microsoft chairman, Bill Gates, and Intel chairman, Craig Barrett.
``The fact that Dr. Chin has been invited to speak at the opening ceremony is
significant in itself and this will further boost the Samsung brand in the
international marketplace,'' one Samsung official said.
Chin is a prominent personality in his own right in the electronics industry,
having been one of the key figures behind the success of Samsung's endeavors
in semiconductors.
A graduate of Seoul National University, Chin picked up his doctorate from
Stanford University, the institution that gave birth to Silicon Valley.
Chin is expected to speak on recent trends in digital technology and present his
vision of what the digital era holds for the future, the company officials said.
jakenho@koreatimes.co.kr
OT Verbatim Signs License Agreement to Manufacture AT&T Branded CD-R/CD-RW Products
Business Editors/High-Tech Writers
CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 2001--Verbatim(R) Corporation, an industry leader in the development and production of high-quality optical media products, announced today it has entered into a licensing agreement with AT&T. Under the terms of the agreement, Verbatim will produce and market a complete line of AT&T-branded CD-Recordable and CD-ReWritable media. Retailers throughout the U.S. will offer AT&T-branded optical media in Fall 2001.
The new AT&T branded CD media will include 24x CD-R, 4x CD-RW and 10x CD-RW discs. Manufactured to the highest standards for performance, compatibility and reliability, the new product line provides cost-effective solutions for storing, retrieving, sharing and distributing data, image and AV files.
"We're excited about partnering with AT&T to bring high-quality CD media to its very broad, brand-loyal customer base," said Ron Hanafin, Verbatim CD Product Marketing Manager. "The AT&T brand is respected worldwide, and we can now leverage that power to extend our reach to an even wider audience."
With the ability to support recording speeds ranging from 4x to 10x, the AT&T branded High Speed CD-RW discs are ideal for fast storage and retrieval of rewritable information. The AT&T branded 24x CD-R discs deliver the ultimate in stable, error-free high-speed recording up to 24x. At 24x, the time required to burn an entire CD is reduced to about three minutes. Data stored on the new AT&T branded media can be read on conventional CD-R/RW drives as well as MultiRead-compatible CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and rewritable DVD drives.
"Through licensing, AT&T is committed to providing our customers with high-quality products that complement AT&T's wide range of business and consumer services," said Sara Lipson, AT&T vice president, Corporate Brand Asset Management. "Licensing agreements with leading-edge manufacturers like Verbatim allow us to expand the range of innovative, reliable, high technology products offered under our AT&T brand. It's a brand consumers know, trust and feel connected to in both their personal and business lives.
Featuring new packaging that provides instant recognition of AT&T-branded products, the optical media is fully tested by Verbatim to ensure consistent product performance, reliability and broad compatibility with the leading CD drives. The quality of the media is also tested by AT&T's Quality Assurance Group.
A 32-year veteran in the data storage industry, Verbatim has maintained its leadership position through its extensive product development efforts and the introduction of new optical media technologies.
About Verbatim
Verbatim Corporation, a Mitsubishi(R) Chemical Company, is currently the only firm in the world that designs, develops and manufactures high-performance, high-quality CD-Recordable, CD-ReWriteable, DVD-Recordable and ReWriteable DVD media products, as well as a complete family of 3.5-inch and 5.25-inch MO media in a full range of capacities. For complete information on Verbatim's new 24x CDR media, contact Verbatim at 1200 W.T. Harris Boulevard, Charlotte, NC 28262, 800/421-4188, FAX 704/547-6609; or visit the company's web site at www.verbatim.com.
About AT&T
AT&T (www.att.com) is among the world's premier voice, video and data communications companies, serving consumers, businesses and government. In 2000, AT&T had annual revenues of nearly $66 billion. Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company runs the world's largest, most sophisticated communications network and is the largest cable operator in the U.S. The company is a leading supplier of data and Internet services for businesses and offers outsourcing, consulting and networking-integration to large businesses. Concert, the AT&T/BT Global Venture, serves the communications needs of multinational companies and international carriers worldwide.
In October 2000, AT&T announced a restructuring plan to create a family of four businesses, each operating under the "AT&T" brand, committed to uniform standards of quality. Under the plan, expected to be completed in 2002, each of these four businesses will become publicly held, trading as either a common stock or tracking stock.
On July 9, 2001, AT&T Wireless was split off as an independent, publicly-traded company.
Note to Editors: Verbatim and DataLifePlus are registered trademarks of Verbatim Corporation. Other company and product names contained herein are trademarks of their respective companies. Specifications subject to change without notice.
--30--jag/sf*
CONTACT: Verbatim
Ron Hanafin, 704/547-6500
rhanafin@verbatim.com
or
AT&T
John Heath, 908/221-6659 (Public Relations)
johnheath@att.com
or
Marken Communications (for Verbatim)
Andy Marken, 408/986-0100
andy@markencom.com
SimpleTech, Hitachi ally on 1-Gbyte flash cards
By Will Wade
EE Times
(08/14/01, 4:40 p.m. EST)
SAN MATEO, Calif. — SimpleTech Inc. is developing a flash memory card with 1 Gbyte of storage capacity, the product of the company's partnership with Hitachi Semiconductor. SimpleTech sees such high-density products as capable of creating new applications for the nonvolatile memory technology, including the possibility of using flash instead of hard-disk drives in some computing platforms.
The Santa Ana, Calif.-based company specializes in creating flash cards using chips from other vendors, and has long been a Hitachi customer. The two companies formalized their relationship last month by striking a deal whereby SimpleTech becomes the sole U.S. supplier of Hitachi flash components, which are to be delivered only in SimpleTech-produced cards, drives and modules. The two companies will jointly market the finished flash products.
Bob Funco, director of system memory products for Hitachi, said that SimpleTech uses almost 40 percent of all the flash chips that the Japanese company produces. Hitachi also implements its flash chips in cards and modules using several form factors, and will continue to produce those cards and modules for sale outside the United States.
The first designs to result from this alliance will be a pair of CompactFlash cards using the Type II format, with densities of 1 Gbyte and 850 Mbytes, as well as a 640-Mbyte CompactFlash card using the thinner, Type I form factor.
"By leveraging Hitachi's 1-Gbit flash silicon, we have the capacity to build the first flash card in the world with this kind of densities," said Jeanclaude Toma, vice president of marketing for SimpleTech.
Hitachi's most advanced flash chips are actually multichip modules, with a pair of flash die stacked inside. Toma said that SimpleTech's expertise is in stacking die within a card, and the 1-Gbyte card features eight of the 128-Mbit chips, arranged in four stacks of two. The 640-Mbyte card does not use this stacking capability, because it uses the Type I format, which is just 3.3 mm tall. The Type II standard allows for cards 5 mm thick.
These cards use Hitachi chips that are produced at the 0.18-micron level, while earlier SimpleTech parts used chips manufactured using 0.25-micron technology. Not only does the process shrink allow for smaller die sizes and higher-density devices, said Toma, but the resulting cards use less power and can write at one-third the speed of existing cards.
Hitachi's Funco said that it takes about 1 Mbyte to store a minute of digitally recorded music, so a 1-Gbyte card could hold more than 16 hours of music and, depending on the resolution levels, several hundred digital photos. SimpleTech expects to sample these cards in September and move them into volume production by October.
SimpleTech has not yet set the pricing levels for these designs. Its current 8-, 16- and 32-Mbyte parts retail at $30 to $50, or just a bit less than $2 per megabyte. Toma said that price should be closer to $1/Mbyte by the holiday shopping season, and said that the higher-density cards will likely follow similar pricing formulas.
At that level, the technology is not likely to easily penetrate the consumer market, but it could become standard equipment for professional photographers, said Richard Wawrzyniak, director of nonvolatile memory research for Semico Research Corp.
'Permanent storage'
Though he is interested in that segment, Toma has bigger fish to fry. "Essentially, what we're seeing with this level of density is a paradigm shift in how flash storage is viewed," he said. Flash is now used to move data from one medium to another, such as a camera that stores pictures on a flash card until the images are downloaded onto a hard drive or other long-term storage system. "Now we are going to see flash start to be utilized for permanent storage."
Toma pointed to networking systems that use flash to store lookup tables for routing da-ta traffic to the correct location as forerunners. While flash is much more expensive than any type of rotating hard drive, its solid-state design also makes it more durable. And Toma stressed that with densities as high as 1 Gbyte in a CompactFlash form factor, the space required to store data on flash is no longer a problem for system engineers.
Besides consumer and networking systems, he sees demand for flash parts in industrial, medical and transportation markets, and even as a replacement for hard drives on some low-end networking appliances. "The beauty of this technology is that it is very rugged and very small," Toma said. "We see this being adopted more and more, not only by consumer uses, but also in many industrial areas."
Analyst Wawrzyniak agreed that flash could find a home in some of these applications, especially networking, where the high price of the total system will be able to absorb the high price of flash. Areas like industrial applications in harsh environments have always depended upon solid-state memory, because it is more rugged than hard drives, he noted.
Networking systems could actually see some speed gains by shifting to flash memory because it has low latencies. "If you have a Web server that is getting millions of hits, this small gain can really add up over time," Wawrzyniak said. "People want storage, and they want higher capacity. There is a huge market for this technology."
Interesting emphasis on "microdrive"-enabled players...
We are particularly excited by plans to brand and market different versions of our Microdrive-enabled digital music player platform this fall, and we look forward to sharing details about this important new product line in future communications.
Big Blue as Strategic Partner looking more likely perhaps.
Digital copyright law under fire Millennium Act already out of date, critics
say
Benny Evangelista, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, August 13, 2001
When the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was enacted
in October 1998, President Clinton hailed it as a law that
would protect the work of writers, performers and artists
from piracy far into the new digital age.
But that was before Napster and CD-ROM burners turned
copying digital music into a worldwide consumer pastime;
before a team of computer scientists cracked anti-music
piracy technology; and before a Russian programmer
landed in a U.S. jail for allegedly hacking eBook software.
Just eight months into the new millennium, legal experts
question whether the copyright law for the next 1,000
years is already out of step with the times. Although
supporters say recent high profile cases still in the works
will prove the law is sound, those same cases have
turned up the volume of critics who believe technology is
advancing beyond the reach of the DMCA.
"It's outdated," said Anthony Berman, an entertainment
and Internet law attorney with Idell, Berman & Seitel of
San Francisco. "The DMCA is woefully inadequate. And
we're dealing with a serious stifling of innovation."
And James Burger, a Washington, D.C., intellectual
property attorney, said the DMCA's vague language is
turning citizens into criminals.
"It appears to be crumbling," said Burger, of the law firm
Dow, Lohnes & Albertson. "We've got a statute that is very
problematic. The technology just keeps increasing and
this is the problem with government regulating
technology."
The DMCA was written to create a legal framework for the
distribution of digital content in the copy-and-paste world
of the Internet. The law incorporated provisions of the
World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty
signed by the United States and other world powers in
1996.
Industries that produce records, movies, books and
software say the DMCA is proving to be an important tool
to protect their intellectual property rights.
But in a number of cases, including the widely-watched
lawsuit against Napster Inc. of Redwood City, critics
contend the DMCA is also a tool used by those same
industries to control their markets and revenues.
PROGRAMMER ARRESTED
The latest test is the case of Dmitry Sklyarov, who last
month became the first person arrested and accused of a
criminal violation of the DMCA.
The 26-year-old Russian computer programmer faces
formal indictment later this month because he wrote parts
of a program that can be used to make copies of
electronic books published using a copyright-protection
technology made by Adobe Systems of San Jose.
Authorities claim Sklyarov, who works for Russian
software company ElcomSoft, violated DMCA rules
prohibiting the making or distributing of technology
designed to circumvent anti-piracy measures.
Those provisions help companies protect electronic
books, published in all- digital form to be read on a
computer or specially designed e-book device, from
illegal copying.
But DMCA critics also contend the law creates a no-win
situation for consumers looking to make copies for their
own personal use. To make a personal back-up copy of
an e-book, an act protected by copyright laws, consumers
have to first use the illegal code-breaking technology.
Burger said the DMCA does a poor job defining the kind
of "effective technological measures" that Sklyarov is
accused of circumventing.
"The problem with it is we're entering into an era where
the definition could make criminals out of a lot of people,"
Burger said. "Criminal law needs to be clear, it can't be
vague."
"The law says it's a crime to hack an effective
technological measure, but what is an effective
technological measure?" Burger said. "On one hand, it's
technology that can't be broken by anybody. But then you
have the other end of the spectrum where you can say
anything I can break isn't effective because I broke it."
NOTHING IS FOOLPROOF
And the DMCA hasn't slowed a world of programmers,
armed with no more than a standard desktop computer,
who delight in showing no encryption technology is
foolproof.
For example, this month a European hacker Web site
called CD Freaks posted a method to bypass SafeAudio,
a new technology from Macrovision Corp. of Sunnyvale
that can prevent computer users from copying a CD.
An audio purist who builds a computer using that bypass
to rid a CD of noise introduced by the encryption could
also be violating the DMCA, Burger said.
In another famous example in 1999, Norwegian farm boy
Jon Lech Johansen, then 15, wrote a program that
unlocked the Content Scramble System, a technology
that scrambles movies recorded on a DVD to thwart
piracy. The DVD Copy Control Association of Morgan Hill,
which developed the scramble system, is an electronics
industry group that licenses the technology to makers of
DVDs players, software and discs.
WIDELY POSTED
Johansen's program, called DeCSS, was soon widely
posted on the Web and picked up by users of the Linux
operating system who said they otherwise had no way of
watching DVDs on their computers.
The Motion Picture Association of America, backed by the
DMCA, went to court to force sites like "2600: The Hacker
Quarterly," (www.2600.com) to take down DeCSS. But
online civil rights organizations like San Francisco's
Electronic Frontier Foundation are challenging the DMCA
as an affront to free speech rights, saying the DeCSS
code is a legally protected language.
That argument is also being raised by Edward Felten, a
Princeton University professor who earlier this year
helped crack four types of programs developed to thwart
piracy of Internet music.
Felten and a team of computer researchers from Rice
University in Houston and the Xerox Palo Alto Research
Center answered a public challenge by the Secure
Digital Music Initiative, a coalition of about 200 recording
industry and technology companies that developed the
programs to protect copyrights of songs downloaded off
the Internet or played on a portable device.
Felten wanted to publish the team's findings in April, but
said he was stopped by the threat of legal action by the
SDMI and the Recording Industry Association of America,
which warned of possible DMCA violations.
Felten, represented by the Electronic Frontier Association,
sued the RIAA in June, seeking to overturn parts of the
DMCA they claimed could infringe on the free speech
rights of all computer researchers. The RIAA, meanwhile,
maintains that it never threatened to sue Felten.
"Dr. Felten and his friends were doing nothing but looking
for publicity," said Hilary Rosen, the RIAA's president and
chief executive officer.
The DMCA, meanwhile, has done its intended job,
protecting the rights of copyright holders on the Internet,
Rosen said.
"Congress went well out of their way to make sure
legitimate scientific research was not affected by these
provisions, and I have yet to see a scenario where it is
inhibiting technology or inhibiting development," Rosen
said.
But San Francisco attorney Berman said the law hasn't
helped online music companies fulfill the dream of
creating a "celestial jukebox," giving consumers access
on demand to digital content of all types.
"It is having a chilling effect because with the DMCA,
among other factors, we're seeing all of the independent
companies being squashed or bought out and everything
ending up in the hands of the major companies again,"
Berman said.
NEW LAW PROPOSED
On Aug. 3, Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, and Rep. Rick
Boucher, D-Va., introduced a bill they claim will melt
some of that DMCA chill. Among other provisions, their
proposed Music Online Competition Act seeks to ensure
that smaller Internet music companies can license songs
for Web distribution on an equal footing with major record
companies.
The bill is designed to prevent the formation of possible
online music monopolies by the world's top five record
labels, who have introduced two online music
subscription ventures, MusicNet and Pressplay, and also
control more than 80 percent of recorded music catalogs.
Among the early supporters of the bill is San Francisco's
Listen.com, which plans to start a subscription music
service later this year.
"I have watched with dismay as companies, such as
Musicmaker.com (of New York) and Riffage.com (of Palo
Alto), which tried to distribute licensed music via the
Internet, have gone out of business, often because they
could not get content from the labels of the publishers,"
Cannon said in remarks introducing the bill.
The RIAA's Rosen, however, said the bill was an
"unnecessary mish-mash of special interests" and that
Congress should leave the business of online music to
the music industry.
"The last thing anyone in Congress should do is get back
in there and predict the shape of technological
developments," Rosen said.
And Mark Radcliffe, an Internet and intellectual property
law attorney with Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP of
Palo Alto, said the DMCA must be given a chance to
stand the tests of court cases such as those of Felten,
Sklyarov and 2600 magazine.
"A lot of people have complained about the DMCA, but I
think it's a little early in the game to determine whether
the DMCA is good or bad," Radcliffe. "I don't think we
know yet whether the DMCA is the horrible thing it's
supposed to be."
DMCA at a glance Enacted by Congress: 1998 What it
does: -- Prohibits manufacture, use, sale, distribution or
import of technology or services used to circumvent
copyright protection technologies, with limited exceptions
for reverse engineering, research and law enforcement. --
Sets penalties for criminal violations, ranging up to a
$500,000 fine and up to 5 years in prison for a first
offense and up to $1 million fine and up to 10 years in
prison for subsequent offenses. -- Provides "safe harbor"
exemptions for Internet service providers that only provide
access to infringing materials. -- Creates Vessel Hull
Design Protection Act, a new system to protect original
boat hull designs.
What's next:
High-profile lawsuits, such as those against online music
site Napster and Russian hacker Dmitry Sklyarov, have
brought the DMCA's relevance and longevity into
question. Some argue the law is already out of date.
Others say it's standing the proper test in our nation's
courts. . Source: Chronicle research
E-mail Benny Evangelista at
bevangelista@sfchronicle.com.
North American Telematics Market Projected to Surge to $7 Billion By 2007, Says Frost & Sullivan
SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The North American market for
automotive telematics is poised for tremendous growth with the integration of
wireless telecommunications and information technologies. By facilitating an
interactive exchange of data over wireless networks, telematics systems will
bring vehicles and drivers into the information age.
According to new analysis by Frost & Sullivan
(http://www.transportation.frost.com ), North American Automotive Telematics Market,
the total market rose from $60 million in 1999 to $380 million in 2000.
Double-digit growth could bring this market to $7 billion in 2007.
Automobile manufacturers are increasingly implementing telematics
technologies, from onboard navigation systems to remote vehicle diagnostics,
to differentiate their products from those of their competitors. To maximize
revenues, however, companies will need to meet growing consumer demands.
"So far, the telematics market has been characterized by the 'push' from
automakers rather than the 'pull' from vehicle buyers," says Frost & Sullivan
Industry Analyst Joerg Dittmer. "Telematics must extend its appeal beyond
technology lovers to mainstream car buyers."
Market participants must meet real, profound consumer needs so that
telematics will become a "must have" feature for the average vehicle owner.
To this end, manufacturers must research consumer preferences and develop
telematics systems that are easy to use to ensure widespread adoption.
"Fast implementation of new technologies will play a key role in
participants' success," says Frost & Sullivan Industry Analyst Meenakshi
Ganjoo. "To stay ahead in the ever-changing and evolving telematics business,
participants need to evaluate and quickly implement emerging technologies and
new products."
Standardization of telematics systems will help industry participants to
ward off obsolescence of technologies. Collaborative projects, such as the
Automotive Multimedia Interface Collaboration (AMI-C), could foster
development of open architecture specifications for information,
communications, and entertainment systems.
Frost & Sullivan presents the 2001 Marketing Engineering Awards to
companies that have worked diligently to make a positive contribution to the
automotive telematics industry. These market-specific awards are presented
to: Acunia NV, Motorola, Inc., OnStar, Webraska Mobile Technologies, and
Wingcast LLC.
Frost & Sullivan is a global leader in international strategic market
consulting and training. This ongoing research is part of the ITS/Emerging
Technologies Subscription, which also includes market analyses on the European
Telematics Market and North American Remote Vehicle Diagnostics Market. Frost
& Sullivan also offers custom consulting to a variety of national and
international companies.
Executive summaries and interviews are available to the press.
North American Automotive Telematics Market
7830-18
Contact:
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M-Systems' Latest Devices To Be Supported By ''Talisker'', Next Version of Microsoft Windows CE 3.0 Operating System
Business Editors & High-Tech Writers
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 13, 2001--
DiskOnChip(R) Products Meet Local Storage Needs of Windows CE-based
Devices, Save Designers Parts, Integration Time and Board Space
M-Systems (Nasdaq:FLSH), a leader in flash disk data storage products, today announced that the next version of Microsoft Corp.'s (Nasdaq:MSFT) Windows CE 3.0 operating system (OS), code-named "Talisker," will include native support for the DiskOnKey(TM) and DiskOnChip product lines, including the recently introduced 32MB DiskOnChip Millennium Plus and 16MB DiskOnChip 2000 TSOP.
"Talisker," which is currently in the second beta of its development cycle, is the robust real-time embedded operating system for rapidly building smart devices, such as PDAs, smart phones, set-top boxes (STB) and Internet appliances. A non-volatile alternative to mechanical disk drives, M-Systems' DiskOnChip and DiskOnKey product lines provide Windows CE-based devices with a reliable persistent storage solution in a small form factor without the space constraints, power requirements and data loss issues of hard drives.
By including the M-Systems' TrueFFS 5.0 driver in "Talisker", OEMs are able to utilize DiskOnChip as a complete persistent storage solution in their design, allowing them to store the operating system image, registry entries, user data, drivers and applications onto the flash disk with 100 percent hard disk emulation, saving parts, integration time and board space.
Furthermore, with M-Systems' DiskOnChip Millennium boot capability through its internal SRAM, Windows CE developers further save board space and cost by running the system boot code directly from the flash disk, avoiding the need to have an additional external BootROM in the system.
M-Systems' flash disk products work in conjunction with "Talisker's" target to enhance embedded developers' time-to-market. The DiskOnChip line provides an easy-to-integrate, bootable local storage solution for a range of embedded systems and Internet appliance requirements. DiskOnChip2000 provides "Talisker"-based devices with a modular flash disk available in a standard 32-pin DIP or 48-pin TSOP-I package along with the expertise from being the industry standard for Internet appliances and single board computers.
DiskOnChip Millennium Plus offers the next generation of smart wireless and connected devices the added benefit of the industry's first 32MB single die chip and data protection to keep data and code from accidentally modified, damaged or read by unauthorized users. A power sleep mode in the Millennium Plus also achieves lower power consumption for portable applications, another feature request from embedded developers.
"Talisker" will include support for the USB mass storage class driver, which allows next version Windows CE-based devices to use DiskOnKey. The DiskOnKey device is smaller than the size of a typical pen and offers an onboard CPU for driverless operation connecting to a computer's universal serial bus (USB) port.
DiskOnKey is a compact, self-contained portable solution for reliable and personal read/write data. Ideal as a floppy disk replacement, the DiskOnKey is available in 8, 16 and 32MB capacities and is an ideal solution for compact peripherals using Windows CE applications.
"As OEMs continue to build devices on smaller and smaller form factors, storage management is becoming a critical consideration," said Keith White, senior director of the embedded and appliance platforms group at Microsoft Corp. "By including the TrueFFS 5.0 driver in 'Talisker', OEMs will be able to easily include M-Systems' innovative data storage technology in their 'Talisker'-based smart devices, thus minimizing any space constraints or power management concerns."
"Working with Microsoft has strengthened the growing support for DiskOnChip in Windows CE-based applications," said Chuck Schouw, president and CEO of M-Systems Inc. "The DiskOnChip product line has traditionally worked with Windows applications. We are excited to see the new operating system features and its USB connectivity for portable storage devices including our DiskOnKey. We will continue to develop our flash data storage technology for this increasingly sophisticated embedded market."
"Together, Microsoft and M-Systems continue to target embedded developers and offer them the tools to bring to market quickly the next onslaught of smart connected mobile devices with reliable local data storage," said Yuval Sofer, director, M-Systems technical marketing and resident at the Microsoft Embedded Group.
Microsoft is targeting end-of-year for the final "Talisker" release.
About M-Systems
M-Systems is a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of innovative data storage products, known as flash disks. The company's flash disks provide the functionality of a mechanical hard drive on a solid-state silicon chip.
The company's products are based on its patented TrueFFS technology and include the DiskOnChip(R), DiskOnKey(TM), CompactFlash and Fast Flash Disk (FFD) product families. For more information, contact M-Systems at: http://www.m-sys.com.
The matters discussed in this news release include forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary significantly. These risks include market and competitive factors, and other risks described in the company's registration statement dated March 7, 2000 and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company assumes no obligation to update the information in this release. Reference to the company's Web site above does not constitute incorporation of any of the information thereon into this news release.
Note to Editors: High-resolution photo images of M-Systems' latest flash disk devices, including the newly released DiskOnChip Millennium Plus are available on the Internet at http://www.m-sys.com/content/news/photos.asp.
All company and product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are used for identification purposes only.
--30--flb/np* nk/np
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Seagate Disk Drive for Digital Jukebox
Disk drive supplier Seagate Technology has announced that its U Series disk drive has
been integrated into the PDHercules digital recordable jukebox from Perception Digital
Ltd.
A digital jukebox audio system - one of the first to employ a specialized digital signal
processing (DSP) chip - the PDHercules achieves MP3 compression without the use of
a computer. It can compress music from CD, cassette tape, vinyl record or other format
into MP3 files, and store them on the built-in Seagate hard disk drive. Music from 500
CDs is available for future playback.
Music is stored via Perception Digital's patent-pending Rapid Archive System, which
requires only a sixth of the playing time (a 60-minute CD takes less than 10 minutes to
be stored). The user interface is equipped with a search engine for finding music by
song title, artist or album name.
Perception Digital develops high-end digital audio applications, audio-visual consumer
products and voice-based Internet applications for multimedia. Founded by several
professors and graduates from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in January 1999, the
company has previously participated in the entrepreneurship program at HKUST.
(July 2001 Issue, Nikkei Electronics Asia)
It's Gonna Get Hotter
Executives from the major record companies should enjoy their
summer vacations, because their schedules will fill up with
Congressional hearings after Labor Day.
In addition to the recently introduced Music Online Competition
Act, Congress will consider what musicians including Courtney
Love and Don Henley call "unconscionable" recording contracts,
according to the Los Angeles Times. And the Justice Department is
investigating MusicNet and Pressplay, which could lead to Capitol
Hill hearings.
The rhetoric is already flying from the RIAA, NARM, DiMA, artists
and lawmakers. We look forward to substantive debate from all
sides. It's possible that free-market forces, rather than
legislation, could resolve the many issues at hand, but we won't
bet on it.
Hot Enough for You?
It's hot in Washington, D.C., but the music industry's in for a
scorching autumn and winter, too. Rep. Chris Cannon, who last
week introduced a bill calling for major record companies to
offer the same licensing terms to all online music services, has
publicly drawn a parallel between RIAA head Hilary Rosen and
Saddam Hussein.
Cannon posted a statement on his web site supporting the Justice
Department's investigation of MusicNet and Pressplay. His
statement also touts the Music Online Competition Act he
introduced last week, and said Rosen's call for deregulating the
music industry "has about as much credibility as Saddam Hussein
calling for America to be kicked off the UN Human Rights
Commission."
That kind of rhetoric doesn't help the debate, but shows how
frustrated Cannon and other legislators are with the music
industry.