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Report: Xbox Next to Launch in Fall of 2005, Ahead of PlayStation 3

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2004 - 1:56am.
San Jose, Calif. -- Microsoft's next video game console will be launched in the fall of 2005, will not contain a hard disk drive, and may not support games for its original Xbox, according to Microsoft specifications published by The San Jose Mercury News. The next Xbox will feature three 64-bit microprocessors from IBM, in addition to a graphics chip supplied by ATI Technologies. The machine will also offer 256MB of RAM, up from the 64MB contained in the current Xbox. Microsoft's plan is to release its "Xbox Next" ahead of Sony's next PlayStation console, scheduled for launch sometime in 2006; the PlayStation 2 gained a large market share during the 20 months it was available before the Xbox was released. Microsoft has so far sold 13.7 million Xbox consoles, compared to Sony's PlayStation 2 worldwide sales of 70 million.
tags: Reports | Xbox | PlayStation 3 |

Report: AOL Considering Asking for Super Bowl Sponsorship Refund

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2004 - 1:55am.
Dulles, Va. -- Continuing the fallout from Sunday's Super Bowl incident involving Janet Jackson, America Online may seek at least a partial refund of the estimated $10 million that it paid to advertise its high-speed service and sponsor the halftime show, Reuters reported on Tuesday. "While AOL was the sponsor of the Super Bowl Halftime Show, we did not produce it," AOL said in a statement. "Like the NFL, we were surprised and disappointed with certain elements of the show." The Time Warner unit pulled the plug on plans to rebroadcast the halftime show to its 25 million subscribers and visitors. The controversy began when singer Janet Jackson revealed one of her breasts near the end of a duet with Justin Timberlake. Jackson now admits that the stunt was planned, and not an accident as Timberlake had first claimed.
tags: Reports | AOL | Sponsorship | Super Bowl |

BMG North America Consolidates U.S. Labels, Names Clive Davis CEO

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2004 - 1:54am.
New York -- Major record label BMG, a unit of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, announced that it has named Arista Records founder Clive Davis as chairman and CEO of BMG North America. Davis previously served as chairman and CEO of RCA Music Group, which was created when the other label Davis founded, J Records, merged with RCA Records in 2002. BMG North America will combine many of the company's label operations -- including those of Arista, J, RCA, and Jive -- allowing administrative operations and certain support functions at the record labels to be consolidated. BMG chairman and CEO Rolf Schmidt-Holtz said that the hiring of Davis and consolidation of operations "improves our ability to compete in today's marketplace and will help us address future challenges. BMG has achieved great artistic and commercial success, but the continuing difficulties in the worldwide music market requires us to be well prepared for the future. The new structure will efficiently strengthen our focus on our creative centers."
tags: North America | BMG | CEO | U.S | Clive Davis |

MPEG Video Patent Holders Sue DVD Maker Apex Digital for Royalties

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2004 - 1:53am.
Denver, Colo. -- MPEG LA, the licensing body made up of patent holders on DVD video technology, announced that they have sued DVD player manufacturer Apex Digital for breach of contract, alleging the company is not reporting accurate sales figures and therefore not paying adequate royalties for MPEG technology. In its suit, MPEG LA -- whose members include Philips, Sony, Scientific-Atlanta and Thomson -- says that the company's submitted sales figures are not consistent with public reports of the same data, and that Apex has failed to provide an auditor with documents needed to independently determine its compliance with the contract. "We are disappointed that this lawsuit has become necessary as a result of Apex Digital's continued refusal to meet its contractual obligations, but Apex Digital must be held accountable not only to the marketplace but also to the vast majority of its competitors and others throughout the world who are meeting theirs," said MPEG LA chief executive Baryn S. Futa.
tags: Video | DVD | MPEG | Royalties | Apex Digital |

DVD Software Firm Sonic Solutions Acquires InterActual for $8.8 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2004 - 1:53am.
Novato, Calif. -- Sonic Solutions, a developer of DVD creation software, announced that it has acquired InterActual Technologies, a provider of solutions for integrating DVD content with the Internet and additional on-disc bonus features, for $8.8 million in cash. San Jose, Calif.-based InterActual's technology is used by Hollywood DVD production firms to add features to their DVD movies, such as games and special websites accessible when a DVD movie is played on a computer's DVD drive. Sonic said it will also add InterActual's Web-enabled DVD playback capabilities into its consumer DVD software applications.
tags: DVD | Software | Sonic | InterActual |

7-11 to Sell AT&T Prepaid Cards Providing Access to Rhapsody Music Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2004 - 1:51am.
Morristown, N.J. -- AT&T announced on Tuesday that 7-11 convenience stores will carry a new prepaid card featuring its "Web Cents" technology that will give consumers access to RealNetworks' Rhapsody digital music service. The cards, priced at $14.95, will provide one month of access to Rhapsody's streaming music library and the ability to burn 15 songs to CD. AT&T said other partners using its Web Cents technology to sell prepaid online content cards include Disney Online, Shockwave.com and CBS Sportsline.com.
tags: AT&T | Rhapsody | Music Service | Prepaid Cards |

Google Rated "Global Brand of the Year" for Second Consecutive Year

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2004 - 1:50am.
New York -- Google was named "global brand of the year" for the second year in a row by New York-based Interbrand, which annually ranks the most high-impact brands of the world's goods and services. Google beat out No. 2 Apple Computer for the top spot; other technology firms in the top 10 North American brands category included Samsung, Nokia and Sony. Interbrand's rankings were determined by an online survey of 4,010 individuals from 85 countries.
tags: Google | Global Brand | Consecutive |