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Javien Surpasses 1 Million Users for Micropayments Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 1, 2006 - 9:26am.
New York - Javien Digital Payment Solutions, which provides digital payment services for online services operated by Ruckus, FYE Download Zone, MusicNet and iMesh, announced on Wednesday that it has surpassed one million registered users on behalf of its customers. New York-based Javien's service is used to purchase music, games, streaming media, podcasts, articles, books and information.
tags: Javien | Users | Micropayments Service |

Yahoo Artist Mods Let Users Remix Music Videos Online

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 8, 2005 - 5:17am.
Santa Monica, Calif. - Yahoo Music said on Thursday that it partnered with graphics chipmaker Nvidia to launch Yahoo Artist Mods, a feature that lets users create their own animated music videos. Initially, users will be able to control backgrounds, lighting and camera angles when creating new versions of videos including "Just Stop" by Disturbed and "Good Times" by Tommy Lee, with additional videos from Sean Paul and Lil' Wayne to follow. The feature requires that users download ModMaker, a rendering engine developed by Big Bear Entertainment using Nvidia's Quadro graphics technology.
tags: Internet | Music | Users | Yahoo Artist Mods | Remix Music Videos Online |

Users Still Awaiting Software Fix for SonyBMG CD Copy-Protection

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on December 6, 2005 - 8:56am.
New York - Nearly three weeks after announcing it would provide software that would uninstall the malicious code it included on millions of copy-protected music CDs, major label SonyBMG has yet to release such software, USA Today reported. The software fix will patch a security risk that could invite viruses onto PCs if users play certain SonyBMG CDs on their computers. The label argued that "security is more important than speed," Thomas Hesse, president of Sony's Global Digital Business division, told USA Today. "I have the best security experts triple-checking it." The company also said on Nov. 14 that it would recall some 5 million of the CDs still on retailers' shelves, but last week attorneys general in New York and Massachusetts criticized the company for not having removed all discs containing the XCP software from stores in their states.
tags: Users | CD Copy-Protection | SonyBMG | Software Fix |

Amazon to Offer Online Gift Certificates to Coinstar Machine Users

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 13, 2005 - 4:02am.
Bellevue, Wash. -- Online retail giant Amazon.com announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with Coinstar, which operates automated money-changing machines, to allow Coinstar users to exchange coins and bills for Amazon.com gift certificates with no transaction fee. Coinstar estimates the average American household contains approximately $99 in loose change -- or $10.5 billion across the entire country. The Coin to Card program will allow those without credit cards, such as children, or anyone redeeming loose change or cash to receive Amazon gift certificates good for clothing, music, books, movies or anything else sold at Amazon.com.
tags: Internet | Amazon | Users | Online Gift Certificates | Coinstar Machine |

AOL Agrees To Pay $1.25 Million For Preventing Users From Canceling

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 24, 2005 - 7:17am.
Dulles, Va. -- America Online has agreed to pay $1.25 million in penalties to settle an investigation brought by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who has brought various high-profile cases against the securities industry in recent years. The complaint was brought by Spitzer's office after it received hundreds of complaints from former AOL users who said they had difficulty canceling their AOL service -- even when they talked to the company's representatives on the phone. Spitzer's office said that AOL rewarded employees who were able to retain subscribers who called to cancel their service. AOL had minimum retention rates that its customer service personnel were expected to meet. Under the agreement, AOL said it would no longer have "save" percentages for its employees, which Spitzer's office said encouraged certain employees from making it difficult to cancel. "This agreement helps ensure that AOL will strive to keep its customers through quality service, not stealth retention programs," Spitzer said in a statement.
tags: Deals | AOL | Users | Canceling |

Report: Number of Legal Music Download Service Users on Decline

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 12, 2004 - 3:40am.
Port Washington, N.Y. -- The number of consumers purchasing legal digital music downloads declined from a high of 1.3 million in April 2004 to around one million during the months of May, June and July, according to a report from New York-based market research firm NPD Group. The firm cited the end of free offers, discounts and other promotions offered by the various services selling digital music. NPD did not note a corresponding decline in the number of households using peer-to-peer file-sharing service to download free music, which totaled 5.1 million in August 2003 and 6.4 million in July 2004. Of the legitimate services, Apple's iTunes accounted for 70 of sales for the period of Dec. 2003 to July 2004, while Napster's share was 11% and Musicmatch, RealNetworks and Wal-Mart each sold 6% of total downloads.
tags: Reports | Decline | Users | Legal Music Download |

Report: File-Swappers on eDonkey Outnumbered Kazaa Users in September

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 12, 2004 - 3:23am.
Los Gatos, Calif. -- For the first time, users of the Kazaa file-sharing application were outnumbered in September by users of the rival eDonkey service, which can more easily handle larger files like video, according to a report from Los Gatos, Calif.-based BayTSP, a peer-to-peer tracking firm. During September, eDonkey averaged 2.54 million users per day, while Kazaa averaged 2.48 million users. Kazaa's position as the most popular file-sharing service has waned over the past year, since the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) first began suing its users in a very public anti-piracy campaign.
tags: Reports | eDonkey | Users | File-Swappers | Kazaa | Outnumbered |

Report: Mobile Phone Users to Surpass 1.75 Billion in 2007

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on September 30, 2003 - 9:27am.
London -- According to a new study conducted by research firm the Yankee Group, there will be more than 1.75 billion mobile-phone users worldwide in 2007. However, (average revenue per user) ARPU will decline sharply over the same time period, the group predicted in its report, entitled "Data ARPUs Save the Day for Wireless Operators." Global subscribers will grow by nearly 9% from 2002 to 2007, while revenue will grow by roughly the same percentage over the same time frame, the report predicted.
tags: Raise | Mobile Phones | Users | Surpass |