DMW Daily, September 29, 2008

 Top Stories
Washington - The Nasdaq on Monday closed down 6.6%, after the House of Representatives rejected the $700 billion bailout of the nation's financial system. [more..]
Washington - The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the Webcaster Settlement Act on Saturday, which would allow webcasters and copyright holders to continue to negotiate royalty payments for streaming music online after Congress suspends its routine business after this week for the elections. [more..]
New York - Digital music service eMusic announced on Monday that president and CEO David Pakman is stepping down to become a partner at an unnamed "premier venture capital firm." [more..]
Los Angeles - Uber.com, a social network and blogging platform that had raised at least $7.6 million from investors including Universal Music Group and Discovery Communications, announced on Monday that it is shutting down, effective immediately. [more..]
Baltimore - Following months of preparation, wireless carrier Sprint on Monday officially launched its high-speed WiMax network, known as Xohm, in Baltimore. It marks the first network in the country to launch using the WiMax mobile broadband technology. [more..]
Oslo - Norway's consumer ombudsman on Monday announced plans to petition that country's Market Council to compel Apple to open its iTunes Store to competing digital music players aside from its own iPod, the Associated Press reported. [more..]
Karlsbad, Germany - German software developer Nero and TiVo on Monday introduced a new application that claims to duplicate the experience of using TiVo for the television on a PC. [more..]
San Francisco - After similar moves were made by Microsoft and Yahoo, Wal-Mart has announced plans to shut down servers that provide continued access for consumers to songs they purchased from its digital music store that were wrapped in digital rights management (DRM) security -- which the company has since abandoned in favor of MP3s. [more..]
San Francisco - PicApp, an online provider of stock photography for online publishers and bloggers, announced on Monday that it has raised $3.2 million in new funding, led by Carmel Ventures.
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Beijing - Baidu, China's leading search engine, announced on Monday that it will contribute assets related to the operation of its own Internet TV channel to Chinese IPTV provider UiTV, in exchange for $15 million and an 8.3% stake in the company. [more..]
 Briefly Noted
Mountain View, Calif. - In a statement that notes the company "[does] not generally take a position on issues outside of our field, especially not social issues," Google has taken an official stance opposing California's Proposition 8, which would eliminate the California Supreme Court-sanctioned right of same-sex couples to get married in the state. [more..]
Brussels - The European Union plans to institute a "piracy observatory" that would monitor counterfeiting and piracy across member countries and better unite law enforcement activities and public awareness campaigns, according to The Hollywood Reporter. [more..]
Tokyo - Nintendo plans to release a new version of its popular DS handheld game device that incorporates a digital camera, digital music player and improved Wi-Fi reception, GameDaily reported, citing articles in Japanese newspapers. [more..]
Los Angeles - Video game developer and publisher Electronic Arts announced on Monday that it has signed a three-game development deal with filmmaker Zack Snyder ("Dawn of the Dead," "300"). [more..]