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DMW Daily, April 9, 2007

Top Stories
o Vonage Shares Fall to New Low on Latest Ruling
o Analyst’s Box Office Outlook Sparks 3% Spike in Regal
o Microsoft Adds Instant Messaging To Xbox
o Digital Music Sales Growth Slows Down
o Rogers Media Plans Purchase of Seven TV Stations
o Yahoo to Service Sandisk’s New Player with Music
o Fake MySpace Profile Leads School Principal to Sue Students
Briefly Noted
o Chipmaker AMD Expects Sharply Lower Revenue
o Citizendium challanges Wikipedia’s Dominance Online
o Salma Hayek Teams with MGM on Latin Production Initiative
o Apple Says 100 Millionth iPod Sold
 Top Stories
o Vonage Shares Fall to New Low on Latest Ruling 

New York – After a judge said today that Vonage Holdings Corp., the internet phone company, could not add new customers because of its copyright infringement on Verizon Communications Inc., shares fell 11% to $2.88, a new low.  The price marks an 83% decline since the IPO less than a year ago.

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o Analyst’s Box Office Outlook Sparks 3% Spike in Regal 

Los Angeles – Soleil Research Associates upgraded shares of Regal Entertainment Group, a movie theater chain, to “buy” from “hold” on a strong box office outlook for 2007 today, causing shares of the company to rise 3%.  Analyst Marla Backer cited a strong summer slate as a large part of her optimism. 

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o Microsoft Adds Instant Messaging To Xbox 
Redmond, WA - Microsoft will be integrating Live Messenger into the Xbox platform on May 7, linking 260 million Live Messenger PC and Smartphone users with 6 million Xbox Live users. Xbox Live users will be able to chat with up to six contacts simultaneously by plugging a USB keyboard into the Xbox [more..]
o Digital Music Sales Growth Slows Down 
New York - Digital music sales growth is slowing from last year, according to first quarter numbers from Nielsen Soundscan. At the end of first-quarter 2007, digital track sales were up 51.9% compared to up 87% for the same period 2006. [more..]
o Rogers Media Plans Purchase of Seven TV Stations 

Alberta, Canada – Rogers Media, a unit of Rogers Communications, says it will spend $119.6 million to purchase seven local television stations and three specialty channels from CTVglobemedia Inc, Reuters reported.  The sale comes as CTVglobemedia tries to win regulatory approval for the $1.47 billion acquisition of CHUM Ltd. announced earlier in the year.

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o Yahoo to Service Sandisk’s New Player with Music 

New York – Sandisk Corp. announced Monday that Yahoo Inc. will provide the music service for the Sansa Connect digital audio player, Reuters reported.  The player, which features a Wi-Fi wireless communication connection, allows users to download Yahoo music without using a PC.

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o Fake MySpace Profile Leads School Principal to Sue Students 

Hermitage, PA – Eric W. Trosch, a high school principal here, sued four former students last Friday for a fake MySpace page they had created about him in December 2005, Breitbart reports.  Among his many alleged vices, the profile said Trosch “smoked pot, kept beer at school and liked having sex with students.”

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 Briefly Noted
o Chipmaker AMD Expects Sharply Lower Revenue 
NEW YORK - Chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) issued a profit warning on Monday, saying it expects to report first-quarter revenue of about $1.23 billion. That is well below Wall Street forecasts.


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o Citizendium challanges Wikipedia’s Dominance Online 
Citizendium is a new online encyclopedia being launched this month which abolishes posting on wikis anonymously and brings in experts to edit submissions, and enforces strict reviewing procedures. [more..]
o Salma Hayek Teams with MGM on Latin Production Initiative 

Los Angeles – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. has announced a partnership with Academy Award nominated actress and producer Salma Hayek to form Ventanazul, which will create and acquire filmed content that touches on Latin themes or features Latin talent.  Hayek will serve as President and CEO of Ventanazul.  The company said in a press release that it hopes to bring 2 to 4 films to the market each year, and MGM will handle worldwide marketing and distribution.

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o Apple Says 100 Millionth iPod Sold 

Cupertino, CA – Apple Inc. announced Monday that it has sold the 100 millionth iPod.  The iPod line, which has seen ten models launched since the first in November 2001, has also seen over 4,000 accessories created for the device, CNET reports. 

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