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Eclipse unit just featured on CNBC from CES. Anyone know FOR SURE if this was and edig model?
What the Falk?
I don't know if this has been posted yet, but why the falk are eDig MP3 players not for sale on their website? I see all kinds of accessories, but where are the actual devices?
bostonredsox
Intel Launches $200M Fund for 'Digital Home'
washingtonpost.com
By Ben Berkowitz and Daniel Sorid
Reuters
Wednesday, January 7, 2004; 9:48 AM
LAS VEGAS/SAN FRANCISCO -- Intel Corp., the world's largest microchip maker and an eager entrant into the consumer electronics business, is backing up its vision of a PC-centric digital home with a new $200 million investment fund.
The fund, to be operated by Intel's venture capital arm, will focus on technologies that allow content such as movies and music to travel wirelessly between electronic devices around the home, Intel said on Tuesday.
Intel stands to profit handsomely should PC technology, which is heavily reliant on Intel chips and Microsoft Corp. software -- spread into televisions, DVD players and stereos.
Major PC makers and computer chip companies, unsatisfied with thin margins and slowing sales in traditional computer businesses, are pushing actively into consumer electronics.
"We want to sell Intel architecture and Intel semiconductor technologies into the consumer electronics industry, and we looked at what's required to make that happen," said John Miner, president of Intel Capital.
A stake fund of $200 million, he said in an interview, "is certainly enough to help get the ball rolling in that direction."
The fund's formation is timed to coincide with the start of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the annual convention that serves as a showcase for the latest in personal technology.
At the convention, Intel is expected to announce plans to supply chips for use in digital televisions, an area that is the focus of the growing battle between consumer electronics heavyweights such as Sony Corp. and PC suppliers like Hewlett-Packard Co., Dell Inc. and Gateway Inc.
Intel has formed an investment fund, called the Digital Home Fund, to hold its $200 million investment. The money is expected to be funneled into dozens of companies around the world.
In the past, Intel has established niche funds to back major initiatives, like 64-bit processors and networking and communications.
PUSHING INTO THE LIVING ROOM
Intel's $200 million investment is likely to focus on technologies that can physically connect electronics devices to the PC, and translate video and audio into formats that computers, televisions and stereos can understand, said Bob O'Donnell, director of personal technology for research firm IDC.
"How do I get videos that I created on my PC and maybe edit on my PC to play back on my big screen TV," O'Donnell said. "There's really very few things that can do that right now."
Intel, however, faces tremendous opposition from established consumer electronics companies, who see their devices -- not the PC -- as the true centerpiece of home entertainment.
Indeed, PC companies have stumbled in their past efforts to push out of the PC room and into the TV room. Intel recently killed a line of Intel-branded consumer electronics, and had to retreat after backing a home wireless networking technology , called HomeRF, that went nowhere.
These days, however, Intel executives see the stars aligning in their favor. For one, a high-speed wireless networking technology called Wi-Fi has become a big hit for home users, making it easy to share broadband Internet connections between computers.
Internet services for legally downloading music and movies are catching on, and handheld devices to play such media are becoming more powerful and less expensive. Additionally, the rise of digital television is turning TV content into a format that can easily be sent over computer networks.
"We're not predicting the death of consumer electronics companies. We're just stating that their industry is in transition," said Scott Darling, an Intel Capital vice president. "We think we have an opportunity to participate."
© 2004 Reuters
e.Digital Releases Summary of Annual Shareholders Meeting
Replay of the Webcast Available at e.Digital.com
(San Diego, CA – December 5, 2003) – e.Digital Corporation (OTC:
EDIG) held its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders yesterday
at its corporate offices in San Diego, California. This alert
summarizes the company’s presentation to shareholders.
The Company’s formal business consisted of two proposals:
Proposal #1 to re-elect Alex Diaz, Alfred H. Falk, Robert
Putnam, Allen Cocumelli and Victor Ramsauer to the Board of
Directors; and Proposal #2 to ratify the appointment of Singer,
Lewak, Greenbaum & Goldstein LLP as independent auditors of the
Company for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2004; both proposals
were approved by the shareholders.
Fred Falk, e.Digital’s president and chief executive officer,
highlighted the Company’s core values and innovations which
form the foundation for e.Digital’s technologies and approach to
customers. Falk emphasized that the ability to innovate and
integrate new and emerging technologies into the Company’s
platforms are the framework for the Company’s current and future
achievement.
MicroOS™
A brief description of e.Digital’s MicroOS patented technology
was included in the presentation. Of note were the technology’s
ability to incorporate voice recording, AM and FM reception,
audio/video storage and playback, and wireless utilities. As
the foundation for e.Digital’s major platforms, MicroOS also
manages the volume and equalizer functions, the LCD drivers and
interfaces, a wide variety of audio and video codecs, digital
rights management schemes as well as today’s most popular media
storage formats. The compact size and the dynamic capability of
MicroOS is e.Digital’s key asset in servicing the needs of OEM
clients faster and better than competitors.
The presentation included information on the Company’s revenue
sources and its method for selecting new projects. According to
Falk, each new business proposition must have “home run”
potential, opportunities for next generation products creating
multiple revenue streams to be considered by the Company.
On-going revenue streams and diversification were noted as key
components in the Company’s endeavor to ensure continued revenue
growth.
Falk noted that the Company is expanding opportunities with
existing customers and developing projects with new clients as
well. Each of these growth segments relate strongly to the
Company’s stated policy for new business.
“We are confident that the quality of our technology and designs
position e.Digital at the forefront in fulfilling the future
needs of today’s clients,” commented Falk.
Falk stated that MicroOS is the foundation upon which the
Company has developed its leading platforms and is the key to
emerging business opportunities for e.Digital. With the bulk of
the technology development complete, each new product will have
reduced development costs and increased revenue potential.
MP3-Based Wireless Headset Platform
Falk highlighted many of the Company’s recent projects including
the wireless communications project for Softeq and
Hewlett-Packard. The Ears to the World wireless MP3-based
headset was delivered this summer for use within The Magic
Kingdom, Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
The headsets utilize e.Digital’s patented MicroOS as well as its
hardware and firmware.
“We expect additional orders to be placed to accommodate a
greater number of guests and language selections within the
Florida parks and for use at other Disney properties around the
world,” said Falk.
Additional information regarding other uses for the translation
headsets coupled with the wireless system was provided.
Scenarios ranging from use at museums and national parks to
worldwide tourism were highlighted. Each scenario related the
value of the system, providing location-based information
pertaining to specific areas of interest. It was also noted
that location based wireless technology has vast potential for
generating advertising revenue.
In-Car Infotainment Platform
The current embodiment of the Eclipse by Fujitsu Ten In-Car
Infotainment device, which Falk announced is now in production,
includes multi-codec support, integration into the car’s head
unit, huge capacity, real-time MP3 encoding, 5 minute FM write
back and a high-speed connection to the PC. Falk addressed the
In-Car Infotainment platform and its potential enhancements for
future generations. Ultimately, the device is intended to
service multiple In-Car Infotainment needs ranging from wireless
communications to music, video and games and could include
virtually any other digital audio/video need desired by car
manufacturers and after-market OEMs, all in a single system.
e.Digital is targeting automobile manufacturers for the adoption
and integration of its In-Car Infotainment platform in its
current configuration. The Company is also working to penetrate
after-market audio manufacturers. According to Falk, “By
working with these outlets early on in the integration of our
In-Car Infotainment system, we are well positioned to proffer
2nd, 3rd and 4th generations of our products.”
Falk also cited the Company’s commitment to wireless
technology. In addition for plans to integrate 802.11
technologies into future devices, the Company’s engineers
closely monitor developments with other emerging wireless
technologies including ultra-wide band.
Odyssey 1000 Personal Digital Audio Platform
Immediately following Falk’s update on the In-Car Infotainment
product, he addressed the Odyssey 1000 Portable Digital Audio
Platform. The Odyssey 1000 has served as a model to OEM partners
demonstrating the full range of features that can be integrated
using MicroOS. The stylish casing, unique scroll wheel,
intuitive user interface are characteristic of the Odyssey 1000
and are easily recognizable in the first OEM branded, 1.8”
version of the platform announced last month.
“With the introduction of the 1.8” version of the Odyssey
platform for an OEM client with the branding power to move
volume and further opportunities in this area, we have decided
to discontinue retail sales of the e.Digital branded Odyssey
1000 as well as all other e.Digital branded devices,” remarked
Falk. “We will continue to support sales of the player through
December 4, 2003 and honor all outstanding warranties. The
mission of the e.Digital branded Odyssey 1000 to serve as a
model for the strength and flexibility of our MicroOS core has
been realized through this latest release of the OEM branded
1.8” version. We are working with and continue to seek new OEM
customers for this platform, providing comprehensive, customized
digital music solutions to brands not yet in the market or
brands looking to enhance their existing products.”
Personal Video Platform
The final product platform Falk discussed was e.Digital’s
Personal Video Platform. He stated e.Digital’s first commercial
release of a video-on-demand, personal video platform has
enjoyed tremendous initial success through APS’s digEplayer
branding and distribution to Alaska Airlines. The first units
shipped this fall and were in the hands of select Alaska
Airlines passengers in October. The units are loaded with
content from partners such as 20th Century Fox and DMX. The
large screen delivers better than DVD quality video – a key
barrier of entry to others evaluating opportunities in the
market.
APS continues to aggressively market the digEplayer and is in
active negotiations with many of the world’s leading and
emerging airlines and other companies within the travel
industry.
While e.Digital anticipates the commercial success of the
digEplayer, the Company remains active in its pursuit of other
OEMs seeking personal video platforms for their own branding
purposes. There are many opportunities for new and next
generation applications of this device as well as highly
lucrative revenue opportunities.
Included in future OEM opportunities are adaptations of
e.Digital’s Personal Video Platform to service field repair
technicians, professional services (doctors, dentists, hospitals
and emergency personnel) and many other niche markets.
Falk also discussed a potential direct to consumer application
for the device. The model for this market could include
digitized content from multiple distributors, such as 20th
Century Fox and Paramount, that could be accessed by consumers
through kiosks at locations such as Hollywood Video,
Blockbuster, Wal-Mart or others.
“According to Video Business Magazine,” commented Falk,
“Consumers spent $10.2 billion to rent and buy videos during the
first half of this year, a 16% gain compared to the first half
of 2002. Of that $10.2 billion, over $7 billion was spent on
the purchase or rental of DVDs indicating the readiness of
consumers to adopt advanced digital technologies over the VHS
format.
“e.Digital is well positioned to provide a wide range of digital
video solutions for OEM partners,” added Falk. “Because the
foundation work is complete, the costs of development will
continue to shrink.”
Summary
Falk summarized “Because of the flexibility of MicroOS and the
insatiable consumer demand for portable devices, e.Digital is
well positioned to expand relationships with existing OEMs and
to enter into partnerships with new OEMs to create devices to
address multiple needs and to service the audio/video demands
for the home, the car, the office, commercial transportation –
virtually every aspect of the portable digital entertainment and
infotainment domain.
“The Company is presently in advanced negotiations with two
major OEMs on separate projects of enormous potential, each of
which seek to combine two or more of e.Digital’s existing
platforms to advance the convergence of these devices. These
pending opportunities necessitated the Company securing
additional funding to strengthen its financial position.”
Falk continued “While all of e.Digital’s platforms and
derivative products have ‘home run’ potential, each product
will require different time frames to evaluate their expected
success, some results will be evident within weeks, others may
take longer.
“e.Digital has enhanced MicroOS from a digital voice technology
into a multi-faceted digital audio, video and wireless tool
capable of servicing many needs, in many industries for many
customers.
Falk concluded by quoting former president Ronald Reagan;
‘“There are no such things as limits to growth because there are
no limits on the capacity for intelligence and imagination.’ and
I would like to postulate that there are also no limits on
technology.”
A replay of the meeting is available through website at
www.edigital.com for the next 30 days.
###
About e.Digital Corporation e.Digital Corporation specializes
in technology innovation and applications integration through
engineering partnerships with leading original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) designing, licensing, branding, and
manufacturing digital audio, video and wireless products and
technology platforms. The Company also sells its Odyssey 1000™
digital jukebox through selected e-tail and retail outlets.
Applications for e.Digital's technology include delivery and
management of open and secure digital media with a focus on
music, voice, wireless and video players/recorders, automotive
infotainment and telematics systems, portable digital music
players and voice recorders; desktop, laptop, and handheld
computers; PC peripherals; cellular phone peripherals; e-books;
video games; digital cameras; and digital video recorders.
Engineering services range from the licensing of e.Digital's
patented MicroOS™ file management system to custom software and
hardware development, industrial design, and manufacturing
services. For more information about e.digital and its products,
please visit the company website at www.edigital.com.
Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform of 1995: All statements made in this document, other than
statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on the then-current
expectations, beliefs, assumptions, estimates and forecasts
about the businesses of the Company and the industries and
markets in which the company operates. Those statements are not
guarantees of future performance and involve risks,
uncertainties and assumptions that will be difficult to predict.
Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially
from what is expressed or implied by those forward-looking
statements. More information about potential factors that could
affect the Company can be found in its most recent Form 10-K,
Form 10-Q and other reports and statements filed by e.Digital
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). e.Digital
disclaims any intent or obligation to update those
forward-looking statements, except as otherwise specifically
stated by it.
CONTACT:
e.Digital Corporation: Robert Putnam, (858) 679-1504,
rputnam@edigital.com
ORITRON, On media & O-1K
ORITRON's Product Gallery (http://www.oritron.com/oritron/productgallery.jsp) links to Networked DVD Media Products (http://www.oritron.com/oritron/product.jsp?catIdSelect=26) which has a link to a HDD Music Jukebox under the picture of the ORITRON-O1K. Follow that link to another picture of the ORITRON-O1K followed by For more details visit us at www.OnmediaDVD.com which takes you to ORITRON Network Media. (I can't find any reference to eDig/O-1K but the system does support multiple formats and DivX is mentioned under FAQ. Why else would the link for more info lead here?)
Press Releases links to the following PR:
Zoran’s Vaddis Runs Orient Power’s New Wireless Home Network Enabled, On media DVD Player
Collaboration Delivers On media DVD Server Technology For Home Theater Connectivity to PCs
Santa Clara, Calif. - June 24, 2003 - Zoran Corporation (Nasdaq: ZRAN) and Orient Power Home Network Ltd announced that their technology collaboration with Digital 5 has enabled On media Oritron NPD3117, a new wireless DVD Home Network product.
Zoran's advanced Vaddis DVD multimedia processor IC powers the new On media Oritron NPD3117 networked DVD player. Digital 5's Netplay DVD client technology is the Vaddis-compatible software that allows consumers to stream digital pictures, music and video clips stored on a personal computer to be played on a television or home theater system for a superior viewing and listening experience.
"Zoran's Vaddis processor is an innovative and cost effective solution that runs with Digital 5's software to provide an affordable wireless networking system for our new DVD home network product," said John Rowe, director of new products, Orient Power Home Network Limited. "Our joint collaboration has produced an easy-to-use DVD product that consumers will enjoy using from the comfort of their living room. This is the first of many exciting new On media products that will come to market over the next year."
"Our strategic collaboration with Digital 5 has enabled us to play an important role in helping Orient Power produce their On media DVD product that we expect will be popular with consumers," said Dr. Jinxiang (Gene Liu), vice president and general manager Digital Entertainment business unit at Zoran Corporation.
The Vaddis enables Dolby Digital and DTS outputs for high-quality surround sound applications and provides 10-bit video digital to analog conversion plus advanced digital filtering for the best quality video output.
Digital 5's Netplay technology for DVD players is an "end to end" solution that combines DVD client software with a UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) powered PC server application for organizing and streaming digital audio, picture, and video content.
About Orient Power Home Network Ltd.
Orient Power Home Network Ltd, based in Hong Kong, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Orient Power Group, a premier supplier of consumer electronics entertainment hardware products worldwide. The Home Network division represents Orient Power's commitment to this new space between the converging computer and home entertainment markets. It will leverage the group's China manufacturing and USA distribution facilities. Orient Power is a premier supplier of DVD players to OEM and retail channels worldwide, following the group's successful 1999 launch of the Oritron DVD200, which became the first China manufactured DVD player to hit the USA market. With headquarters in Hong Kong and operations in China and the USA, Orient Power can be contacted on the World Wide Web at www.orientpower.com, www.onmediadvd.com; www.oritronusa.com, or by email to homenetwork@oritron.com.hk.
About Zoran Corporation
Zoran Corporation, based in Santa Clara, California, is a leading provider of digital solutions-on-a-chip for applications in the growing consumer electronics markets. With two decades of expertise developing and delivering digital signal processing technologies, Zoran has pioneered high-performance digital audio, video, and imaging applications. Zoran's proficiency in integration delivers major benefits for OEM customers, including greater capabilities within each product generation, reduced system costs, and shorter time to market. Zoran-based DVD products and digital cameras have received recognition for excellence and are now in millions of homes worldwide. With headquarters in the U.S. and operations in Canada, China, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, Zoran may be contacted on the World Wide Web at www.zoran.com or at 408-919-4111.
Zoran and Vaddis are trademarks of Zoran Corporation.
On media DVD and Oritron are trademarks of the Orient Power Group.
Digital 5 and Netplay are trademarks of Digital 5, Inc.
Finally, see Products Powered by Zoran: http://www.zoran.com/products/powered_by_zoran/index.html
what do you mean by that???
EDIG Dell DJ:
For the benefit of a long-time long who has not been able to follow the daily posts on this board, can anyone please post a reply with the consensus on whether the Dell DJ is actually the O1K in drag?
I also missed the start. Anyone know if there was any mention of the Dell DJ?
Is the Dell DJ digital music player a branded Odyssey?
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/dj?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&orde...
Not English - but how about binary language?
100101010000101111100111010111101110000101010100001001010101010010100010001000101000011110101110111011010101110101101010101111010111010101100011110101101101010101011111010101010101010101111101111010101010111111010100011110011111000110101010101111111010010111000101111111000111100011111010101010101010101010111010101011110110010111101010110101010101101010001111111100101010101000011001000111011001010101000010101010101010101010101101010101010100001010110101011111101010101111101001010100001011111001110101111011100001010101000010010101010100101000100010001010000111101011101110110101011101011010101011110101110101011000111101011011010101010111110101010101010101011111011110101010101111110101000111100111110001101010101011111110100101110001011111110001111000111110101010101010101010101110101010111101100101111010101101010101011010100011111111001010101010000110010001110110010101010000101010101010101010101011010101010101000010101101010111111010101011111011000111110101010101010101010101110101010111101100101111010101101010101011010100011111111001010101010000110010001110110010101010000101010101010101101010101111010111010101100011110101101101010101011111010101010101010101111101111010101010111111010100011110011111000110101010101111111010010111000101111111000111100011111010101010101010101010111010101011110110010111101010110101010101101010001111111100101010101000011001000111011001010101000010101010101010101010101101010101010100001010110101011111101010101111101100011111010101010101010101010111010101011110110010111101010110101010101101010001111111100101010101000011001000111011001010101000010101010101010101010101101010101010100001010110101011111101010101111101001010100001011111001110101111011100001010101000010010101010100101000100010001010000111101011101110110101011101011010101011110101110100101010101011010101010101000010101101010111111010101011111010010101000010111110011101011110111000010101010000100101010101001010001000100010100001111010111011101101010111010110101010111101011101010110001111010110110101010101111101010101010101010111110111101010101011111101010001111001111100011010101010111111101 EOM
cheers,
bostonredsox
The pic of the Odyssey 800/1000 looks new, too. EOM
edig.com updated EOM
Silhouette for sale at eDigital Store
http://www.edigital-store.com/silhouette.html
MTV to make movie about Napster
Wednesday October 2, 7:51 PM EDT
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The story of Napster, the failed online song-swapping service, always promised the kind of larger-than-life elements Hollywood thrives on -- corporate intrigue, a nail-biting court battle and a young hero.
Now comes Napster, the movie.
Cable network MTV on Wednesday said it has reached a deal for the exclusive rights to the life story of Shawn Fanning, who created the controversial and wildly popular file-sharing program in 1999 while he was a 19-year-old student at Northeastern University in Boston.
The movie, tentatively scheduled to air in 2003-2004, may even star Fanning, now 21, as himself.
"Anything is possible and the fact that he may star as himself hasn't been ruled out," said a spokeswoman for MTV, which is owned by Viacom Inc. (VIAb)
Fanning dropped out of college to launch the business around the program he dubbed Napster -- based on his own nickname -- and which sparked a revolution by enabling millions of fans to swap songs on the Internet.
Napster was a hit with users, attracting some 60 million at its peak, but the service was loathed by the powerful recording industry, which launched a massive legal battle against the company, calling it a haven for copyright infringement.
Napster ultimately collapsed this year under the weight of its legal battles and is currently being sold in bankruptcy court.
Fanning himself enjoyed a bit of pop icon status, gracing the cover of various magazines and epitomizing to many the pioneering and untamed spirit of the Internet during the boom years of the late 1990s.
An MTV spokeswoman said it hired filmmaker Alex Winter to write and direct the film. Fanning is set to collaborate on the screenplay, which will feature Fanning's childhood and his life before and after Napster.
Fanning is also planning to executive produce the soundtrack, according to MTV.
Winter, a writer and a director, is also known for acting in "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure" and "The Lost Boys."
Fanning's attorney declined comment.
Earlier this week, restructuring expert Hobey Truesdell, who oversaw the the liquidation of junk bond investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert, was named the trustee in the Napster bankruptcy.
The song-swapping service recently fetched an estimated $11 million bid from an undisclosed bidder.
©2002 Reuters Limited.
Surfers flock "in droves" to digital music giveaway
Thursday October 3, 11:58 AM EDT
By Trevor Datson
LONDON, Oct 3 (Reuters) - British and Irish music fans scrambled for a piece of the action on Thursday as some of the music business's heavyweights opened up their archives for free downloads in a bid to combat Internet piracy -- and boost sales.
But "Digital Download Day" -- part counter-strike, part marketing ploy -- proved almost too successful as the host Internet site slowed to a near-standstill under the sheer weight of surfers trying to claim their five pound download "voucher".
Devised by OD2, a technology company specialising in music distribution and co-founded by recording artist Peter Gabriel, the "Day" is in fact a week-long venture offering access to 100,000 tracks from 6,000 artists including ColdPlay, Dido and Elvis Presley.
"It's really caught the public imagination, people are coming to us in droves" OD2 sales and marketing director Ed Averdieck told Reuters. "People just didn't realise there are legal sites out there, it seems."
But success has its price. Groaning under the weight of 15,000 visits per hour, the DDD site plaintively asked punters in the UK and Ireland -- all other surfers are barred -- to come back later.
The DigitalDownloadDay.com site is in fact a waystation to five portals offering the downloads: msn.co.uk, freeserve.co.uk, tiscali.co.uk, hmv.co.uk and ministryofsound.com.
On these, music fans are being offered 500 free download "credits" -- five pounds' worth -- for streaming, downloading or burning to CD with no strings attached.
That's the theory at least. On Thursday morning, the hmv.co.uk site was making the free downloads conditional on taking out a subscription for further monthly packages of downloads, but OD2 described this as a "mistake".
PIRATES OR REBELS?
The idea is not entirely new. Backed by record labels and music retailers, a host of subscription download services have been hatched over the past year to tap into the consumer craze for downloading music.
But the pay-for services are still no match for free download services such as Kazaa and Morpheus MusicCity, which claim tens of millions of users. The major labels blame the availability of free music downloads for a drop in CD sales.
The free download, or peer-to-peer services, brand themselves as "file sharing" websites and do not actively condone downloading copyrighted files such as music or video.
However, since the services have no immediate control over the types of files swapped, copyrighted music and video files are readily available -- although the music publishers say downloaded files are often corrupted or carry viruses.
The music industry brands the file-swapping sites as pirates, and has launched a number of high-profile lawsuits to stop them, recently claiming the scalp of now-defunct peer-to-peer pioneer Napster.
These efforts have done little to quell the activity. Various industry research reports have shown that the number of songs downloaded each month has matched, or even surpassed, the number of songs purchased.
So, Digital Download Day represents a change in strategy. Industry bosses now believe the tough-talking approach is not nearly as effective as giving consumers the option to try the services for free.
OD2 has enlisted three of the big five labels -- EMI Group (EMI), Bertelsmann's (BERT) BMG and AOL TimeWarner's (AOL) Warner -- plus its retail and Internet partners.
Averdieck said he was "confident" the other two majors -- Sony (6758) and Universal (EAUG) -- would come on board at a later date.
©2002 Reuters Limited.
Bankruptcy trustee named in Napster proceeding
Tuesday October 1, 4:51 PM EDT
By Sue Zeidler
LOS ANGELES, Oct 1 (Reuters) - A well-known restructuring expert who oversaw the the liquidation of Drexel Burnham Lambert was named the trustee in the Napster bankruptcy on Tuesday.
The song-swapping service, which commanded an audience of some 60 million at its peak, last week fetched an estimated $11 million bid from an undisclosed bidder, people close to the company's bankruptcy proceeding said.
Hobey Truesdell, named as trustee in Napster's Chapter 11 proceedings, told Reuters on Tuesday he would take the next few days to become familiar with the bankruptcy case.
Meanwhile, a group of unsecured creditors and music publishers on Friday filed a proceeding against Napster investor Bertelsmann AG(BTGGga) to prevent the German media giant from being first in line to claim money from any sale of the service.
The proceeding alleges Bertelsmann misrepresented its estimated $100 million in investments in the service as mere loans. Because the loans in question to Napster were secured, the company is first in line in the bankruptcy proceeding and is expected to seek much of the proceeds from the sale of Napster's assets to the highest bidder, lawyers for the creditors said.
"An adversary proceeding was filed against Bertelsmann seeking to recharacterize Bertelsmann's loan ... and also asks for equitable subordination of Bertelsmann's claim in the Napster bankruptcy case," said Carey Ramos, an attorney fo the music publishing group which filed the proceeding.
Ramos said the music publishers also filed a proof of claim on behalf of the publishers in excess of $13 billion.
Under the bankruptcy proceedings, Napster will next file a motion seeking approval of the sale and another motion seeking court approval of a debtor-in-possession loan, which will be supplied by the prospective purchaser, said Rick Chance, managing director for Trenwith Securities LLC, an investment bank marketing Napster's assets on behalf of its unsecured creditors.
The former file-sharing service, which closed its operations in September, avoided a Chapter 7 liquidation last week by reaching a deal with the U.S. Trustee's office for the appointment of a Chapter 11 trustee to manage its estate.
Napster's operations have dwindled to about one employee after the rest of its staff and its former chief executive Konrad Hilbers left last month following a failed attempt to sell the company to Bertelsmann.
Under Chapter 7, a trustee would have been appointed to liquidate the assets, whereas creditors preferred Chapter 11 because they believed they would get more money through a sale with Napster remaining under Chapter 11.
The prospective purchaser made a bid at an auction held earlier this month by Trenwith Securities LLC, where the opening bid was $6 million, according to Chance.
©2002 Reuters Limited.
gernb1, berge - WeDigMusic works great for me, too. I'm listening to the MP3.com college radio show now and just succesfully streamed a couple of the WeDigRadio stations with RealOne Player (I have the free version 6.0)
The site does say that it recommends Windows Media, so it should work well with that too.
Hope this helps.
MP3.com, EDIG, WeDigMusic, Vivendi Universal, et.al
MP3.com's parent company to undergo reorganization
Tue Sep 24, 9:05 PM ET
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/020925/31/2beqh.html
You don't hear much about San Diego-based MP3.com Inc. since it was enveloped by French media conglomerate Vivendi Universal in a $372 million cash and stock acquisition finalized a year ago this month.
The once high-profile digital music Web site has become a component of a larger Vivendi Universal machine -- a machine that looks to get a major overhaul, plans for which are to be announced from Paris on Wednesday. Jean-Rene Fourtou, chairman and chief executive of Vivendi Universal, has promised creditors he will sell 5 billion euros in assets before the start of next year, and another 10 billion euros in the next two years.
There has been plenty of speculation as to what assets might be marked for sale. Most suspect all or part of publishing arm Vivendi Universal Publishing, utility group Vivendi Environnement and satellite TV operator Echostar Communications will be sold. Staff could also be trimmed at Vivendi Universal's Paris headquarters.
Vivendi Universal won't confirm or deny the speculation. Posted on its homepage, the company says: "Following the many rumors about possible asset disposals, Vivendi Universal would like to again emphasize that no statement or comments will be made on disposals before their completion."
MP3.com is many layers into the Vivendi Universal fold. The Web site is part of the music and media group Vivendi Universal Net USA Group Inc., which is the United States arm of VUNet, which is Vivendi Universal's Internet and technology unit.
Steve Curry, spokesman for Vivendi Universal Net USA, says Vivendi Universal has in the last year bought up several online music companies, and combined their operations in San Diego.
MP3.com now shares its Eastgate Mall office space with RollingStone.com, EMusic.com, GetMusic.com, and sister Web site MP4.com. A Vivendi Universal technology group also co-inhabits the University Towne Centre complex, bringing the total staff there to about 250 people, according to Curry. MP3.com alone employed 300 people at the time of its acquisition by Vivendi Universal.
The effects of the Vivendi Universal reorganization on MP3.com aren't known by local officials yet, and may still not be clear after Fourtou's announcement.
"They're going to lay out the large, corporate, overall strategy," said Curry. "I would expect it would be a large corporate picture."
When Vivendi Universal acquired MP3.com, it said the deal would further its goal of becoming the industry's top music service provider>/b>. Vivendi Universal was previously among the five major record labels that sued MP3.com, alleging copyright infringement for the MyMP3.com music-sharing service. MP3.com eventually agreed to pay Universal Music Group $53.4 million.
MP3.com is still making deals locally. San Diego-based e.Digital Corp. (OTC: EDIG) said Tuesday it has entered into a joint marketing partnership with MP3.com to offer a condensed version of MP3.com's two-hour college radio program "The Download."
E.Digital is launching its own music site, to be called WeDigMusic.com, in the next week or two, according to company spokeswoman Lisa Stevens.
Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed.
Bryan Jones, vice president of broadband entertainment for e.Digital, previously served as vice president of strategic programming at MP3.com.
Oh Man! I running out of forks over here!!!
My portfolio already has more forks in it that a picnic basket..
OT: Enron "E" sells at auction for $44,000
Still, we wait to see what the e.Digital "e" is worth.
WeDigRadio
Welcome to the WeDigRadio section!
[MP3.com College Radio Show logo]
Just click on the name of a genre to tune in to a continuously looping random playlist
Alternative
Blues
Classical
Country
Electronic
Jazz
Latin
Pop
Rock
Urban
World/Folk/Reggae
Tinroad raises the bar on "killer apps" EOM
BlackDog: If I recall correctly, when JC showed the Odyssey 1000 for the first time, the host (who was a real dork, imo) said, "Wow!" and that is when JC backed off and said that he did not want to disclose too much.
JC continued to talk about plans for releasing a portable Video Odyssey which can store up to 100 full length movies on the portable or connect to a big screen and play up to 40 movies.
For the initiated, please listen to the archived interview and confirm or deny.
cheers,
bostonredsox
moxa1 - although I admit that I was significanly distracted by the Patriots game on Sunday, I am of the opinion that Collier confirmed your belief.
cheers,
bostonredsox
Odyssey
The screen on that Odyssey looks much bigger than in other pictures. Wonder if that may be a model of the Odyssey Video player.
BTW- one of the reps at ThunderDorm told me that e.Digital would be coming out with color screens soon...
No!
Posted by: Tinroad
In reply to: Sentinel who wrote msg# 15762 Date:9/21/2002 11:49:55 PM
Post #15763 of 15778
Collier's 576,000 shares "Includes options exercisable within 60 days to purchase 575,000 shares. Excludes unvested options to purchase 475,000 shares." per note 3 of the DEF 14A filing.
I hope not.
Next week: RP on Howard Stern EOM
JC says EDIG to follow Nokia subscription model
Buy a player and get X no. of downloads eom
Odyssey Video Player
20GB w/ DivX MPEG4 coming early next year
carries up to 100 full length movies playable on Odyssey screen or 40 movies playable to big screen
MTV buys college TV network, refueling competition
Friday September 20, 4:14 PM EDT
By Jeffrey Goldfarb
NEW YORK, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The battle is on again for the glassy eyes of couch-potato college kids watching TV in their dorm rooms.
MTV Networks said it bought financially strapped College Television Network on Friday, setting the stage for a three-way fight with National Lampoon, which recently acquired CTN's defunct rival Burly Bear Networks, and with Zilo Networks Inc., all three of which pipe original shows onto university campus televisions.
MTV paid $15 million cash and the deal is expected to close by the end of the year, CTN said.
MTV, a unit of Viacom Inc.(VIAb), has thrived over the past 21 years luring young viewers with its revolutionary brand of programming, while National Lampoon, owned by J2 Communications(JTWO), has tickled teenagers for more than three decades with a satiric magazine and slapstick films.
Privately held Zilo Networks, meanwhile, uses a multimedia approach to reach the college set with TV programming, online offerings and live, on-campus events.
Over the past decade, the three companies -- Burly Bear, CTN and Zilo -- have used different ways to set up distribution deals with U.S. universities, looking to make money by luring advertisers to a desired target audience. Burly Bear and CTN struggled, eventually seeking buyers, while Zilo says it is doing well.
MTV said it plans to use its music-video programming muscle, as well as some original content, to revitalize CTN, which MTV says reaches some 8.2 million college students a week, including direct dormitory room access at 150 universities.
CTN also operates a satellite broadcast that provides feeds to public spaces at hundreds more college campuses.
CTN's parent company, CTN Media, was delisted by the Nasdaq earlier this month for failing to comply with the minimum net tangible assets and minimum stockholders' equity requirements. CTN Media said it would use $11.5 million of the proceeds to pay off a secured loan with LaSalle Bank and Holdings and the rest to pay unsecured creditors.
"This is a great deal for everyone involved," said Van Toffler, president of MTV and MTV2. "College students get a compelling blend of music, entertainment, news and information created just for them; advertisers get a more robust vehicle for reaching a difficult-to-reach audience; schools get an enhanced content offering that includes two great brands under one roof; and MTV gets a significant new distribution channel to connect with its audiences."
National Lampoon, the comedic brains behind the 1978 film "Animal House," acquired Burly Bear in early September, hoping to use its own programming know-how to revive that network, which has licensing deals with about 420 colleges.
Zilo, whose TV shows reach about 5.2 million students on 230 campuses, said because of its original programming and affiliate deals with colleges, it is not concerned about the new heftier competition from MTV and National Lampoon.
"I think it's a more of a signal to the marketplace that this is a real market, a real place where ad and sponsor dollars should be targeted," said David Isaacs, Zilo's co-founder and chief executive. "From that standpoint, it's very positive."
©2002 Reuters Limited.
talons-3 differences between e.Digital and NYYankees:
1: unlike EDIG, the Yankees and Steinbrenner have very deep pockets;
2: The Yankees operate under a microscope in the media capital of the world while EDIG hides behind NDAs on the laid-back west coast
3: I hate the Yankees, and for better or for worse, until bankruptcy do us part, I love e.Digital
FUQ EDIG 2.0
Q: Robert, when you refer to "double digit OEMs" do you consider double-zeros to be double digits?
A: Absolutely!!!
Q: What can we look forward to in the way of new products in the pipeline?
A: Let me be the first to announce that a high school intern has been working ten hours a week after school to design a state-of-the-art convergence device called the "Puck"?...uhhh, no wait that was 1999, I mean MP2000? No...Silhouette? Odyssey 19.95?
Well anyway, we look forward to announcing more soon!"
Q: Robert, don't you think that maybe you should break the Prozac in half?
A: Due to NDAs, I cannot answer that question.
FUQ EDIG
Frequently Unanswered Questions (FUQ) about e.Digital:
When you were working with "double-digit OEMs" you claimed NDAs prohibited you from communicating with shareholders. Then the Company decides to brand its own product line, yet you still don't seem to have anything to say besides "we look forward to more announcements soon. Does EDIG have NDAs with EDIG?
Why is it always next quarter, next year, next summer, next back-to-school shopping season, next holiday season?
Is the Company's stated goal of 20+% margins on all products considered to be in the bag if you never sell anything EVER?
Who are Apriori Investments? Who is Immanuel Kant International? To whom do you turn for cash when NREs are insufficient to keep the lights on?
Why can you never seem to meet a deadline, even when it is months away?
Has Robert Putnam been learning how to answer difficult questions from Alan Greenspan, by saying a lot without really saying anything at all?
e.Digital-branded product line(s)
I've been thinking about the e.Digital-branded product line and the possibilities for new products down the road.
Do we know:
1. If the Silhouette is part of the Odyssey line, or the first in a line of Silhouette products, or just a stand-alone?
2. If the Odyssey 1000 is the 3rd version of the Treo? (Recall that we were informed during a CC that with the Treo 10 out, the next version would be a minor update (Treo 15) but the version after that would be a major redesign).
Please advise.
cheers,
bostonredsox
Now that you mention it, maybe they could listen to the radio interview in the kitchen while they make us sandwiches. LOL
wedigporn.com? wedigporno.net? EOM
Franklin-Covey:
Do you guys think it is interesting that Franklin-Covey is also being interviewed? Granted, it may just be a coincidence, but I could see a deal between EDIG and FC for voice recorders, or something like that for the anal-retentive crowd out there.