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WSJ: Time Warner, Microsoft Resume Talks on Possible Internet Deal

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 8:51am.
Mountain View, Calif. - Time Warner, the New York-based media giant, has resumed talks with Microsoft about possibly forging some sort of Internet alliance between its America Online unit and Microsoft's MSN, sources familiar with the talks told The Wall Street Journal. Talks between the two sides reportedly broke down over the summer, but have now restarted with a focus of combining AOL's Internet content with MSN's search capabilities. The deal would supplant AOL's current relationship with Mountain View-based Google, which sells search engine ads for the company. It is not yet clear whether a merger between AOL and MSN -- which combined have more than 23 million dial-up customers -- is on the table, the Journal reported. People close to the situation say that the talks are being led by Olaf Olafsson, an executive vice president for Time Warner, and Henry Vigil, a senior vice president for Microsoft. The two sides are hoping to reach a deal by the end of the year.
tags: Deals | Microsoft | WSJ | Time Warner | Internet Deal |

Senate Committee Proposes 2009 Digital TV Transition Deadline

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 8:49am.
Washington - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee said publicly this week that he wants to complete the U.S. transition to digital TV broadcasting in 2009. "With a 2009 hard date, there would be three Christmas buying seasons during which Americans will buy digital television sets," Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said in remarks to the Association of Maximum Service Television conference, Reuters reported. Current U.S. law mandates that 85% of a given market must own digital TV sets before broadcasters are required to abandon their analog spectrum and switch to digital broadcasts. However, the high cost of digital TVs has impeded the transition. Lawmakers and technology and consumer groups have argued over how to compensate lower-income households unable to purchase new digital sets; proposals include subsidizing low-cost antennas or converter boxes. Lawmakers want to free the spectrum space for use by emergency communications services, and to potentially generate billions by re-selling the spectrum to wireless carriers at auction. Stevens said the Senate Commerce Committee will debate a bill that would set a 2009 date for the digital TV transition on Oct. 19; a similar proposal is currently making its way through the House.
tags: Law | TV | Senate Committee | Digital TV | Transition Deadline |

China to Develop Its Own Next-Generation DVD Standard

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 7:43am.
Beijing - China has announced plans to develop its own next-generation DVD format, in an effort to sidestep costly licensing fees its national manufacturers would otherwise have to pay for Toshiba's HD DVD or Sony's Blu-ray technologies, the country's official Xinhua News Agency reported. "With such format and related standards, we could have our own voice in the DVD industry," Lu Da, deputy director of the government-affiliated National Disc Engineering Center, told Xinhua. China produces between 70 and 80% of the world's DVD players; Lu said that licensing fees paid to developers of the underlying technologies account for 40% of the rough cost of each player. China also developed its own first-generation DVD standard, EVD, which failed to attract market interest. The new Chinese standard will be based on, but incompatible with, Toshiba's HD DVD, and is not slated to come to market until 2008.
tags: China | Next-Generation DVD Standard |

DirecTV to Offer Own Digital Video Recorder This Month

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 7:41am.
New York - Following several years of a successful partnership with TiVo, satellite TV operator DirecTV plans to introduce its own rival digital video recorder next week, The New York Times reported. Currently, 2.3 million of DirecTV's 14.7 million subscribers have TiVo; DirecTV pays $1.13 per month per subscriber to TiVo for the service. The DirecTV DVR, powered by software from News Corp's NDS, will offer 100 hours of recording capacity when it becomes available later this month, compared with the 60-hour DirecTV with TiVo set-top. DirecTV plans a $30 million marketing campaign for its new device during the fourth quarter. The company will also continue to offer TiVo's DVR service alongside its own; both will cost an extra $5.99 per month. However, DirecTV could end up paying TiVo licensing fees on its own DVR set-tops, should TiVo emerge victorious in a patent infringement claim against DirecTV rival EchoStar Communications. If EchoStar's DISH Network digital video recorders are found to infringe on TiVo patents, TiVo may move on to target DirecTV. "If we believed the NDS product violated TiVo's intellectual property, one course of action we would have would be to sue NDS and possibly DirecTV," Edward Lichty, vice president for corporate development at TiVo, told The Times.
tags: Video | CE | TiVo | DirecTV | DVR | Set-tops | Cable | NDS | News Corp. TV |

Blockbuster to Miss Subscriber Target for Online DVD Rental Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 7:39am.
Dallas - Video rental giant Blockbuster announced this week that it will miss its projected goal of having 2 million subscribers to its online DVD rental service by the first quarter of 2006. The company now expects Blockbuster Online to reach that mark later in 2006. Rival Netflix, which created the market for online DVD rentals, said last week that it now counts 3.6 million subscribers. Outside of online rentals, Blockbuster said revenue fell 1% during the third quarter of 2005, bettering an overall decrease of 11.7% in the video rental market during the quarter, according to market research firm Rentrak.
tags: Internet | Subscriber | Blockbuster | Online DVD Rental Service |

Sony PSP Targeted by Trojan Horse Malware

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 7:37am.
Cupertino, Calif. - Antivirus firm Symantec announced this week that it discovered a "Trojan horse" program that can infect Sony's PSP handheld game system and render the device inoperable. The malicious software was discovered on several game websites, being offered as a free download that could enable the device to play pirated games. If a PSP owner unwittingly downloads the patch, "The device basically becomes a brick," said Richard Archdeacon, director of technical services at Symantec. "You might as well use it to build a house."
tags: Sony PSP | Trojan Horse Malware |

BridgeCo, Rolf Spuler Develop First "FireWire Guitar"

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 7:35am.
New York - BridgeCo, a developer of digital entertainment networking technologies, on Friday introduced what it says is the world's first FireWire Guitar, which utilizes the IEEE 1394 interface to directly connect the instrument to a computer for recording, editing and mixing. The technology enables, among other things, each guitar string to be recorded as a separate track. New York-based BridgeCo partnered with Swiss designer Rolf Spuler, who has crafted instruments for Al DiMeola and Bela Fleck, on the design of the FireWire Guitar.
tags: BridgeCo | Rolf Spuler | FireWire Guitar |

IODA to Promote Indie Artists on GoFish Multimedia Search Engine

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 7:34am.
San Francisco - GoFish Technologies, a provider of multimedia search engine technology, announced that it has partnered with the Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), a digital distributor of independent label music, to make IODA promotional content available on GoFish. Under the deal, IODA will distribute thousands of pre-cleared, legal music tracks, videos, artwork and other promotional assets on GoFish, from artists on the 750 independent labels in the IODA network. San Francisco-based GoFish said its multimedia search engine currently indexes over 70 million audio and video files.
tags: IODA | Search Engine | Indie Artists | GoFish Multimedia |

Majesco Enlists Roadrunner Records for "Infected" Game Soundtrack

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 7:27am.
Edison, N.J. - Video game publisher Majesco Entertainment announced that it has partnered with Roadrunner Records to produce the soundtrack for its "Infected" title for Sony PSP. Roadrunner artists appearing on the in-game soundtrack will include Slipknot, Fear Factory, Chimaira and The Agony Scene. In addition to the Roadrunner tracks, Majesco has also licensed music from artists including Junkie XL and Pimp X for "Infected." Developed by Planet Moon Studios, the game is slated for release in November.
tags: Games | Music | Majesco | Infected | Roadrunner Records |

Radica Games President, COO Resigns

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 7:24am.
Hong Kong - Radica Games, a developer and manufacturer of electronic games and video game accessories, announced on Friday that company president and chief operating officer Ted Eischeid is stepping down. The company added that it plans to eliminate the position of chief operating officer.
tags: President | Radica Games | COO Resigns |

N.Y. Times: File-Sharing Thrives on Invitation-Only "Darknet" Groups

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 7, 2005 - 7:21am.
New York - The New York Times reported on Friday on "darknets," or exclusive peer-to-peer networks where users are more concerned with privacy for their actions, and membership is by invitation only. Over 100,000 darknets have been created by users of Grouper, one company offering users the ability to create the private file-sharing groups; to address copyright concerns, the company limits music sharing to FM-quality MP3 streaming, and also limits group sizes to 50 members. However, some users have found ways to get around limitations on some darknets, and share everything from music to movies to games and software. "If I were an investor, I'd think strongly about whether to invest in a company that could facilitate this sharing," Stanford law professor Lawrence Lessig told The Times.
tags: File-Sharing | N.Y. Times | Darknet | Groups |