archives

o Custom CD Retailer Musicmaker.com Shuts Down
o Barnes&Noble.com Launches Electronic Publishing Unit
o Primedia and Stephen Brill Create Joint Venture
o E.Digital and Toshiba Partner On Removable Storage Portable Music Player
o MP3.com Releases System That Links Retailers, Devices, Digital Lockers
> Digital Media Wire Networking Event: Future of Music Policy Summit
o Briefly Noted: Visteon Corporation - PhatNoise - Ford, Microsoft Xbox,
"Herringtown," WamNet - BBC, Musicblitz, Inside.com: "Napsterization of
television"
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> Job Postings: Technology Manager, SW & FPGA Engineers, Sales Rep., PR Professionals

> Events: Master the Technology, Potomac Tech Wire Seminar Series, iHollywood Forum

Full Job/Event descriptions listed below "Briefly Noted" section or at
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/postings.html

To Post a Job: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html
To Post an Event: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html
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o Custom CD Retailer Musicmaker.com Shuts Down

Reston, Va. -- Musicmaker.com, a custom CD and downloadable music
retailer, has announced that its board of directors voted Wednesday to
shut down the company and liquidate its assets. The company had been
struggling lately -- major label EMI sold its stake in the company in
December, and two of its directors associated with the label resigned. The
only indication of EMI's involvement with the company was a promotion in
November to sell a custom CD of Christian music. Virginia-based
Musicmaker.com cited uncertainty in the music and e-commerce industries,
poor market conditions and its inability to find a buyer as reasons for
the decision. The company said that at this point selling its assets would
bring the greatest return to its shareholders.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010103/va_musicma.html
http://www.musicmaker.com
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o Barnes&Noble.com Launches Electronic Publishing Unit

New York -- Barnes&Noble.com announced on Thursday the creation of Barnes
& Noble Digital, an e-book publishing unit. The publisher will offer
authors a 35 percent royalty rate on sales of their works sold through
bn.com or its affiliate network of websites, and 50 percent of the revenue
from sales by third parties. The e-books will support all formats and
devices, and cost between $5.95 and $7.95 -- but always less than their
print edition counterparts. New York-based Barnes&Noble.com said it will
focus on creating digital versions of books already in print. It will also
publish e-books of titles that are out-of-print or in the public domain
both in digital form and through its print-on-demand facility. The company
announced that the first original title it will publish is author Dean
Koontz's "The Book of Counted Sorrows."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010104/ny_barnes_.html
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o Primedia and Stephen Brill Create Joint Venture

New York -- Primedia announced on Thursday that it will combine its
media-related magazines and websites into one unit called "Media Central,"
of which publisher Stephen Brill's Brill Media Holding (BMH) will hold a
minority stake. Brill, publisher of Content magazine, will also become the
Primedia subsidiary's chairman and CEO. Brill and his partners exchanged
49 percent of BMH in exchange for a smaller stake in Media Central. 172
magazines and websites -- including the newly acquired Kagan World Media
-- will become part of Media Central, which will publish the work of 160
journalists in all. "At a time when the media business is expanding and
the old boundaries that separated these industries are rapidly
disappearing, it makes sense to put all of these products under one roof
and one proven leader," said Primedia CEO Tom Rogers. "Steve Brill is that
leader."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010104/ny_primedi.html
http://www.primedia.com
http://brillscontent.com 
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o E.Digital and Toshiba Partner On Removable Storage Portable Music Player

San Diego -- e.Digital, a developer of digital consumer electronics,
announced on Thursday that it has partnered with Japanese electronics
manufacturer Toshiba to create a removable storage digital music player.
The companies will showcase the device at the Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas this week. San Diego-based e.Digital is providing the inner
workings of the player with Toshiba designing and manufacturing the outer
shell. The player will use quarter-sized storage discs designed by
Colorado-based DataPlay, capable of holding 500 MB of information, or
about eight hours of music. The device will be the first implementation of
DataPlay's optical storage technology, which can also hold video and
graphic content.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010104/ca_e_digit.html
http://www.dataplay.com
http://www.edig.com
http://www.toshiba.com
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o MP3.com Releases System That Links Retailers, Devices, Digital Lockers

San Diego -- MP3.com announced on Thursday a service designed to link
music retailers, device manufacturers and online digital locker services
-- such as its own My.MP3.com. The Music InterOperating System will pull
together into one transaction the process of buying a CD, playing it on a
stereo and then putting that music in an online locker. The new service
will also feature additions to MP3.com's developer site, which gives
programmers and device makers an opportunity to purchase tools necessary
to put music onto websites. The site currently lets developers implement
the ability for consumers to instantly add CDs bought from retailers to
their online lockers, and to upload music from their CD collections to
lockers. MP3.com plans to add a tool that lets users send music wirelessly
from their lockers to a portable digital music player.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010104/ca_mp3_unv.html
http://developer.mp3.com
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> Digital Media Wire Networking Event: Future of Music Policy Summit

Washington, D.C. -- Digital Media Wire will host its next networking event
on Wednesday, January 10, 2001 at the Future of Music Policy Summit in
Washington, D.C. The event will be for subscribers, conference attendees
and those interested in the convergence of entertainment, technology and
the Internet. Light hors d'oeuvres will be served and there will be a cash
bar.

Sponsors:
Morrison & Foerster, LLP
Coalition for the Future of Music

Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2001
Time: 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Location: Georgetown University Conference Center
3800 Reservoir Road, NW - Washington, D.C.

To register for the networking event:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/dc.htm

To register for the Future of Music Policy Summit:
http://www.futureofmusic.org/events/summit0101/
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o Briefly Noted:

(Las Vegas) Visteon Corporation, an automotive electronics developer,
announced on Thursday that it will provide car MP3 players in Ford and
Lincoln Mercury models by the third quarter of 2001. The player features a
20GB removable hard drive -- capable of holding roughly 4,000 songs in MP3
and Windows Media formats -- and integrates into a car's existing stereo
system. Los Angeles-based PhatNoise developed technology for the Visteon
MACH MP3 Jukebox. PhatNoise said that it will begin selling the device
from its website in February for $549.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010104/nv_visteon.html
http://www.evisteon.com
http://www.phatnoise.com

(San Francisco) Pictures of Microsoft's Xbox gaming console have leaked
onto the Internet, ZDNet reported on Thursday. The pictures were scanned
from an upcoming issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly (EGM) magazine, and
then posted on a number of websites. Microsoft responded to inquiries by
saying that they are not official pictures, but has asked some of the
sites, including Planetgeforce.com, to take them down. Microsoft chairman
Bill Gates plans to unveil the console at the Consumer Electronics Show in
Las Vegas on Saturday.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/511245.asp
http://www.planetgeforce.com
http://www.xboxweb.com/news/0101/004.html

(San Francisco) RedHerring.com launched an online searchable database of
privately-held companies on Thursday, called "Herringtown." The database
includes fact sheets on 700 companies, including angel and seed-funded
companies, and the company said it expects to feature 2000 total by the
third quarter of 2001. Companies can register online to be listed on the
database, provided they have received some sort of funding or are a
legitimate bootstrapped business.
http://www.redherring.com/herringtown

(Eagan, Minn.) WamNet, a provider of hosting services for digital content
distributors, announced on Thursday that the BBC's Worldwide Americas
Library Sales Division will use its services. Minnesota-based WamNet says
that it will provide over 350,000 hours of archived BBC video footage to
overseas clients such as "60 Minutes" and "Behind the Music." The
company's offices in the U.S. can receive the footage through a secure
network and deliver it so clients in under 12 hours.
http://www.wamnet.com/news/read_news.phtml?newsid=563
http://www.bbc.co.uk

(Los Angeles) Musicblitz, a provider of digital distribution and studio
recording for musical acts, announced on Thursday that an album produced
by the company for the band Wailing Souls has earned a Grammy nomination
for Best Reggae Album. The album was one of the first full-length albums
recorded by Los Angeles-based Musicblitz. The company secured a spot for
the song "No Joyride" from the album on the TV show "ER" as part of its
marketing efforts.
http://www.musicblitz.com

(New York) Inside.com ran an article on Thursday on the television
industry's efforts to prevent the "Napsterization" of television. The
Federal Communications Commission has approved a plan that could implement
technology from Colorado-based CableLabs, that could essentially prevent
any off-limits content from being stored by viewers. The technology could
also prevent recording practices that consumers use every day with their
VCRs.
http://www.inside.com/jcs/Story?article_id=19517&pod_id=11
http://www.cablelabs.com

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Job Postings:
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To Post Jobs: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html

> Washingtonpost.com, Technology Manager

Washingtonpost.com, the region's most popular destination for everything
Washington, is seeking a Technology Manager. Join our hot team of
professionals and enjoy advanced classes in the latest technologies,
networking at industry events, working for a solid world-class
organization with a future, and making your mark on our award-winning
website. Send resumes to jobstech@wpni.com or visit
http://www.washingtonpost.com and click on Join Us.
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> Convergent Companies, Inc., SW & FPGA Engineers - Greenbelt, MD

We are developing break-through video compression technologies for the
Internet and are looking for FPGA and Software engineers with 1-8 yrs
experience. BSEE/CS familiarity with C++, image processing, object
programming. FPGA position, exp FPGA programming, DSP architectures esp
w/Xilinx. Check out Employment section of our website for details.
Send resumes to jobs@convergentcompanies.com
http://www.convergentcompanies.com
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> Intervise, Sales Representative - DC Metro

Responsible for selling IT Consulting Services to Fortune 1000 companies
and Internet startups. Sales Professional must have 3+ years experience in
selling IT Professional Services. Package includes base salary and
commissions, 401K and Health and Dental insurance.
Send resumes to cgriesbach@intervise.com
http://www.intervise.com
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> KG Communications, Public Relations Professionals - McLean, VA

KG Communications specializes in launching start-ups in the telecom field.
Opportunities exist for candidates with strong writing and communications
skills, knowledge of high-tech trade & business media, analysts and
events. A minimum 3 years' experience in high-tech PR-telecom a plus.
Highly competitive compensation, benefits and perks.
Send resumes to kay.handrahan@kgcom.com

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Event Postings:
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To Post Events: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html

> Master the Technology that is Changing the World - GW Virginia Campus

The George Washington University School of Engineering and Applied Science
will hold an informational session at the Virginia Campus in Ashburn from
6-8 p.m. on January 11th . This is a great opportunity to find out about
cutting edge graduate engineering degree programs including: Computer
Security and Information Assurance; Multimedia, Animation, Graphics and
User Interfaces; Software Engineering and Systems; Computer Architecture,
Networks, Parallel and Distributed Computing; Wireless and Mobile
Networks; Telecommunications and Computers. Contact: scason@va.gwu.edu
http://www.seasva.gwu.edu
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> Potomac Tech Wire Seminar Series: Doing Business with Israel

Sponsor: Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue. On Thursday, Jan. 11, Potomac Tech
Wire and Jones Day will host a panel discussion on DC technology firms
doing business with Israel. Panelists include: Daniel Epstein, Executive
Director of US-Israeli Business Exchange; Emanuel Friedman, Chairman and
Co-CEO of Friedman, Billings & Ramsey; Philip Garfunkle, Former President
of Yazam; Stephan Mallenbaum, Partner, Jones Day (Moderator); Additional
Panelists To Be Determined. When: 7:30-8:00 a.m. - Registration and
Breakfast; 8:00-9:30 a.m. - Panel Discussion and Q&A; Where: McLean
Hilton.
To Register for this Event: http://www.potomactechwire.com/Israel.htm
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> iHollywood Forum: How Adult Entertainment Profits From the Internet

Whatever one's attitude toward adult entertainment, one fact is
undeniable: it's the only segment of the entertainment industry that
consistently makes money on the Internet. Panelists include: Larry Flynt,
Publisher of Hustler Magazine; Gail Harris, CEO and President of Falcon
Foto; David Schlesinger, Vice President of Internet Marketing at Vivid
Video; Fred Lane, Author of "Obscene Profits: The Entrepreneurs of
Pornography in the Cyber Age" (Routledge 2000); Mike Rick, Co-founder of
Cybersynergism (Webmaster Superstore for Online Adult Entertainment) and
kSEXRadio.com. When: Wednesday January 17, 6:00 pm-10pm; Where: Santa
Monica Doubletree.
To Register: http://www.ihollywoodforum.com/new/events/jan17_2001.htm
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