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Apple Adds Podcast Support, Updates iPods With Color Screens

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 28, 2005 - 7:38am.
Cupertino, Calif. -- Apple on Tuesday introduced a new version of its iTunes music player software, which for the first time incorporates podcasting, an audio format whose name was coined for its ability to be automatically downloaded to Apple's iPod portable player. Apple's iTunes 4.9 lets users subscribe to over 3,000 free podcasts, from providers including ABC, Adam Curry, the BBC, Clear Channel, Disney and NPR. The release also includes a software update for iPods, which will now include a "Podcast" menu, as well as the ability to bookmark podcasts and display color podcast artwork. The company also announced that all future iPods will come with a color screen, and shrank its iPod offering to a 20GB ($299) and 60GB ($399) model, while also lowering the price of its 1GB iPod Shuffle to $129. Apple said that it has sold over 15 million iPods, as of March 31, while its iTunes Music Stores have now sold a combined 430 million songs worldwide.
tags: Apple | iPods | Podcast | Color Screens |

Sharman Networks: Grokster Ruling Will "Vindicate" the Company

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 28, 2005 - 7:37am.
Sydney -- Following yesterday's Supreme Court ruling that found file-sharing software providers like Grokster and StreamCast Networks can be sued for copyright infringement, fellow file-sharing company Sharman Networks released a statement saying the decision will ultimately vindicate the company from copyright infringement charges. "While the Supreme Court apparently found 'substantial evidence... on all elements of inducement' by other P2P providers Grokster and Morpheus, Sharman has never encouraged or assisted users of Kazaa software to share copyrighted material in violation of copyright law," said Sharman Networks executive vice president Alan Morris, who also pointed to the Kazaa end user license agreement -- which directs users to respect national copyright laws -- and its alliance with licensed peer-to-peer distributor Altnet. "We believe that further legal review of this case will also show that Sharman was diligent and aggressive in its lawful efforts to distribute copyrighted music and movies through peer-to-peer distribution, and was thwarted in its efforts to do so by the music and motion picture industries," said Morris. Sharman is currently awaiting a verdict in the copyright infringement and other actions brought against the company in Australia by the recording industry.
tags: Grokster | Sharman Networks | Vindicate |

Disney, Dolby Labs to Equip 100 Theaters With Digital Projectors

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 28, 2005 - 7:34am.
Burbank, Calif. -- The Walt Disney Studios announced that it has partnered with Dolby Laboratories, to install Dolby digital cinema projection systems in 100 theaters in 25 top U.S. markets. The installations will be done in part to promote Disney Digital 3D -- a new 3D format developed by effects firm Industrial Light & Magic -- that Disney is using for the release of its "Chicken Little" animated feature, due in theaters on Nov. 4. "We are pleased that Chicken Little is the first animated movie to use our new process using Disney's actual 3D models, animation, and camera data," said ILM president Chrissie England. "This process allows us to provide a richer, more nuanced viewing experience for moviegoers than any existing postproduction techniques."
tags: Disney | Theaters | Dolby | Digital Projectors |

Google Launches Video Search Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 28, 2005 - 7:32am.
Mountain View, Calif. -- Google has launched a new video search service, which lets users search closed-captioned texts and view indexed video on a Google-branded video viewer. The service includes video provided by CNN, PBS, Unicef, Greenpeace and CNET Networks, among others. For now, the service is free to use and does not display advertisements, although Google aims to eventually offer hosting of independently produced video and allow producers to charge viewers, taking a cut for itself.
tags: Video | Google | Search Service |

U.K. Telco BT to Trial Microsoft's IPTV Software

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 28, 2005 - 7:28am.
Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft announced on Tuesday that U.K. telecommunications giant BT will use its Microsoft TV IPTV software to deliver TV over broadband to its subscribers. BT will trial Microsoft's IPTV software in early 2006, with plans to launch a commercial service next summer for its 20 million consumer and business customers. The announcement comes a week after Australia's largest telecommunications provider, Telstra, decided not to advance its lab trials with Microsoft IPTV software into its customers' homes. Microsoft is also testing its IPTV software in the U.S. with providers including SBC, which recently signed a ten-year, $400 million deal to use the software.
tags: Microsoft | U.K | Telco BT | IPTV Software |

Fox Developing Film Version of "Max Payne" Video Game

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 28, 2005 - 7:25am.
Los Angeles -- Film studio Twentieth Century Fox is working on a film version of developer Remedy and publisher Take-Two Interactive's "Max Payne" video game franchise, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Collision Entertainment's Scott Faye will co-produce the film, along with Julie Yorn and Firm Films, who so far have not attached a director or any actors to the project. "I think this is a real actor's part because although the story will have action and intrigue, at its core it's a story about a man who loses everything in life that's dear to him," Faye told THR.
tags: Fox | Video Game | Max Payne |

Bob Dylan to Release Album Exclusively Through Starbucks

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 28, 2005 - 7:23am.
Seattle -- Legendary folk singer Bob Dylan will exclusively distribute a new live album in Starbucks cafes, label Sony BMG announced on Tuesday. "Bob Dylan: Live at the Gaslight 1962" will for 18 months only be available for purchase at Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada, as well as on the Starbucks website. The album goes on sale on August 30, alongside a two-CD soundtrack album for director Martin Scorsese's new feature-length film biography, "No Direction Home: Bob Dylan." The Starbucks deal with Dylan and Sony BMG follows the successful Starbucks-exclusive release of a Ray Charles album that went on to win a Grammy.
tags: Bob Dylan | Album | Starbucks |