Archive - Jun 16, 2006 | Digital Media Wire

N.Y. Post: Microsoft Planning to Launch Digital Music Player, Song Store

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2006 - 1:01pm.

New York - Microsoft is preparing to launch its own portable digital music player and accompanying service in a bid to compete with Apple's iPod and iTunes, The New York Post reported on Friday, citing "multiple sources close to the major record labels."

Senate Republican Bill Would Increase Regulations, Penalties on Explicit Sites

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2006 - 12:56pm.

Washington - A new bill introduced by Senate Republicans this week would increase regulations and penalties for websites that post sexually explicit content, CNET News.com reported.

Game Developers Who Undermine Ratings to Suffer $1 Million Fine

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2006 - 12:51pm.

Washington - At a Congressional hearing this week on the video game industry, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), an industry self-regulatory group that determines game ratings, announced a new $1 million fine on game publishers whose games turn out to be inaccurately rated as a result of their submitting incomplete descriptions.

Game Industry Files Suit to Overturn Louisiana Video Game Law

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2006 - 12:47pm.

Washington - A day after Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco signed into law a bill that restricts the sale of violent video games to minors, the game industry's Entertainment Software Association (ESA) trade group filed a federal lawsuit in the state to have the law overturned.

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File-Sharing Site The Pirate Bay Back Up in Sweden Following Crackdown

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2006 - 12:44pm.

London - The Pirate Bay, a Sweden-based site that provides links to free movie and music files on the BitTorrent file-sharing network, has returned its servers to its home country following a police crackdown that temporarily forced relocation to the Netherlands, TheRegister reported.

Verizon Inks Deal to Carry PBS Stations on FiOS Internet TV Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2006 - 12:41pm.

Washington - Verizon announced on Friday an agreement with the Association of Public Television Stations and PBS that will bring multiple digital public TV stations to subscribers of Verizon's FiOS TV Internet-based TV service.

Industrious Kid Launches Imbee Social Networking Site for Kids 8-14

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2006 - 12:38pm.

Emeryville, Calif. - Industrious Kid this week announced the launch of its Imbee social networking site, which is targeted at kids between 8 and 14-years-old.

Senior Software Engineer - SyncCast - Anaheim, CA

Authored by dmw on June 16, 2006 - 12:36pm.

SyncCast is seeking experienced Developers in .net, C#, C++ and SQL Server 2000 implementations. Qualified candidates should have a strong background with multi-threading, windows architecture and web services.

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MSN, LivePlanet Team on Minor League Baseball Interactive Reality Series

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2006 - 12:35pm.

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft's MSN announced on Friday that it has partnered with LivePlanet, the production company behind HBO's "Project Greenlight," on the first offering for the company's MSN Originals initiative.

Nintendo Sells 136,500 DS Lite Handhelds in 2 Days in U.S.

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2006 - 12:32pm.

Redmond, Wash. - Nintendo of America announced this week that its new $129 DS Lite handheld game device sold 136,500 units during its first two days of availability at U.S. retailers.

IDG Launches Online Reality Series Featuring Online Game Developer

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on June 16, 2006 - 12:28pm.

Oakland, Calif. - IDG Entertainment, a publisher of magazines such as GamePro and Code Vault, on Friday announced the launch of an unscripted online reality series that will follow a group of volunteer game developers working to create a massively multiplayer online game more popular than Blizzard's "World of Warcraft."