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Main Stories
o European Court Orders Microsoft to Comply with Sanctions
o Mobile Giants Join Forces to Develop "Super 3G" Technology
o Ford to Offer Sirius Satellite Radio as Factory-Installed Option
o Orb Networks Debuts PC Media Content Streaming Service for Mobile Devices
o Report: Loudeye Seeding File-Sharing Networks With Pop-Ups, Adware
o Electronic Arts Revises Proposal to Acquire Swedish Developer Digital Illusions
o Dutch PC Firm Tulip Sells Commodore Name to Media Firm Yeahronimo

o Briefly Noted: Motorola - Burton, Slingbox Personal Broadcaster, THX - video game consoles, Burst Media - blog advertising, Sony Online Entertainment - "Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade," Jakks Pacific - Electronic Arts, Radica Games - Sega, Global Gaming League - ClanBase.com, Digitally Imported Radio - aacPlus, Playboy.com - Apple iPod Photo, Satellite radio - recording devices
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Brussels -- Judge Bo Vesterdorf, president of the European Court of First Instance, has ruled that Microsoft, in spite of the company's ongoing appeal, must comply with penalties the European Commission imposed last year. "The evidence adduced by Microsoft is not sufficient to show that implementation of the remedies imposed … might cause serious and irreparable damage," the Commission said. Microsoft must now offer a version of its Windows operating system without Media Player, as well as share more technical information with competitors. Last March, the Commission ruled that Microsoft had abused its operating systems monopoly to manipulate the European media player market. But the penalties were temporarily suspended after the software giant claimed compliance would cause it "irreparable damage" and requested an emergency stay. Microsoft said it would comply with the ruling and that it was hopeful the issues highlighted by the Court would "create an opportunity for the parties to discuss settlement."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?J1522182A 
http://makeashorterlink.com/?S5624582A 
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o Mobile Giants Join Forces to Develop "Super 3G" Technology

London -- Some of the world's leading wireless carriers and telecommunications equipment makers, including Vodafone, NTT DoCoMo, Cingular, Siemens and Alcatel, have teamed up to develop so-called "super 3-G" technologies. Once completed, the new generation of high-speed networks will work about 10 times faster than current 3G networks, the group said. The group also said that, instead of building entirely new networks, it would be able to use existing 3G infrastructure to build the new "super 3G" standard, which, once completed, will be capable of sending high-resolution video almost instantaneously. The group said it plans to wrap up the first stage of development by 2007. No date has been given for commercial launch.
http://www.nttdocomo.com/presscenter/index.html 
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o Ford to Offer Sirius Satellite Radio as Factory-Installed Option

New York -- Sirius Satellite Radio announced on Tuesday that Ford Motor Company will offer its satellite radio receivers as a factory-installed option beginning this summer. Ford and Lincoln Mercury will offer Sirius as an option on up to 21 models, including the Ford F-150 and Explorer, Lincoln Mark LT and Mercury Mountaineer. Ford said it expects to generate up to one million Sirius subscribers over the 2006 and 2007 model year periods.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050104/nytu048_1.html 
http://www.siriusradio.com 
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o Orb Networks Debuts PC Media Content Streaming Service for Mobile Devices

Las Vegas -- Orb Networks on Tuesday introduced technology that allows consumers to access the video, music, photos and live TV available on their PCs from most any Internet-connected device, including cell phones, PDAs and laptop computers. Once the company's software is installed on a home PC, remote access to any multimedia file is available on mobile devices, with the software adapting for bandwidth and screen resolution differences on the fly. The company announced partnerships with Intel, Netgear, Pinnacle Systems and Creative to market and distribute its software and service, which Orb says supports current digital rights management standards. Union City, Calif.-based Orb Networks will charge $9.99 per month for the service, which is currently only available for Windows XP Media Center users but will soon expand to include Windows XP. Orb is also working on a version that can be installed directly on cable and satellite TV set-top boxes so that TV content may be streamed directly to mobile devices without the need of a PC.
http://tinyurl.com/6gkfo 
http://www.orb.com 
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o Report: Loudeye Seeding File-Sharing Networks With Pop-Ups, Adware

San Francisco -- PCWorld.com recently reported that Overpeer, an anti-piracy firm owned by Seattle-based Loudeye, has been seeding peer-to-peer file-sharing networks with spoof music and video files that launch pop-up ads, install adware and attempt to hijack a browser's home page. When a user downloads such a Windows Media Audio or Video file on a peer-to-peer network and then attempts to open it, the file launches the ads or adware instead of playing back the expected music or video. "Remember, the people who receive something like (the ad-laden media files), in some cases, were on P-to-P, and they were trying to get illicit files," Loudeye vice president Marc Morgenstern told PCWorld.com. Microsoft said it was looking into whether the spoof files violate the terms of its Windows Media licensing. "We wouldn't want to endorse anything that involved delivery of content that appears to be one thing, and then something else is delivered," Microsoft's David Moulton told PCWorld.com. When notified that ads for its company were being launched in this fashion, one company, Kanoodle, promptly had them removed. "Upon detecting or discovering any prohibited distribution activity, we eliminate it immediately," Kanoodle president Lance Podell told PCWorld.com.
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,119016,00.asp
http://www.overpeer.com 
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o Electronic Arts Revises Proposal to Acquire Swedish Developer Digital Illusions

Redwood City, Calif. -- Video game publisher Electronic Arts has modified its proposal to acquire Swedish developer Digital Illusions CE (DICE), following the rejection of a previous offer by 28% of DICE's shareholders, GamesIndustry.biz reported. The new deal lowers EA's condition that it come out of the deal with more than 90% of DICE, settling instead for more than 50% of the company, and extended the deadline for acceptance of the deal until Jan. 20. Electronic Arts currently owns 19% of DICE and has a 15-year publishing deal with the company, which develops EA's "Battlefield" game franchise.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=6023 
http://www.dice.se 
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o Dutch PC Firm Tulip Sells Commodore Name to Media Firm Yeahronimo

Amsterdam -- Tulip Computers NV, a PC maker based in the Netherlands, recently announced that it has agreed to sell its subsidiary Commodore International BV to Yeahronimo Media Ventures Inc., a California-based media firm. Under the terms of the agreement, Yeahronimo will pay the Dutch firm approximately $38.1 million in installments until the year 2010. Yeahronimo will gain full control over the Commodore brand name "in order to further develop a worldwide entertainment concept", the company said. Tulip acquired Commodore in September 1997, after offloading the Amiga name and platform to Gateway.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041229/law013_1.html 
http://www.tulip.com 
http://www.yeahronimo.com 

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(Chicago) Cell phone maker Motorola has created a joint venture with snowboard and apparel company Burton to create a line of snowboarding jackets that contain embedded cell phone and MP3 player technologies, Reuters reported. The jackets will feature a padded casing for the devices, and will utilize Bluetooth wireless connections to manage incoming and outgoing calls and music playback from an interface on the jacket's sleeve. Pricing information was not provided for the interactive jackets, which are due for release by the end of 2005.
http://tinyurl.com/6a5xs 
http://www.burton.com

(San Mateo, Calif.) Consumer electronics developer Sling Media on Tuesday introduced its Slingbox Personal Broadcaster, a set-top box that streams the TV signal from any cable box, satellite receiver or digital video recorder to most any Internet-connected device. At launch, the Slingbox will be able to shift a single live TV broadcast to a remote desktop or laptop PC; the company is also developing software to support PDAs and smartphones. San Mateo, Calif.-based Sling Media said it will demonstrate the $249 device, which is due to ship in the first half of the year, at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
http://www.slingmedia.com

(San Rafael, Calif.) THX, a provider of certification programs and quality assurance standards for movie theater projectors and other media, announced on Tuesday that it will demonstrate a new visual equalization (EQ) technology for video game consoles at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. "Most console users can't experience the full impact of a game's visuals because their home entertainment systems are not capable of putting out the correct video levels," said Mark Tuffy, games system director at THX. "The THX Games EQ technology is designed to help present every detail of a game's visual presentation, ensuring that subtle details, such as shadows and textures, can be experienced exactly like the game developers intended."
http://www.thx.com

(Burlington, Mass.) Burst Media, a provider of Internet advertising services, announced on Tuesday that it has begun to sell ads on more than 20 blogs in its network, which together generate nearly 9 million monthly page views. The targeted blogs include Gawker, BlueLemur, 2WallsWebzine and CelebCourthouse. The first advertiser on the blog network is Kyocera Wireless, which is posting leaderboards to promote an advergame that demonstrates the features of its new camera phone for consumers. "Blogs are attracting significant audiences that create unique and valuable opportunities for advertisers," said Burst president and CEO Jarvis Coffin. Massachusetts-based Burst said it delivers over 3.2 billion ad impressions for over 2,000 Web publishers monthly.
http://www.burst.com

(Las Vegas) Sony Online Entertainment announced on Tuesday that it will release "Untold Legends: Brotherhood of the Blade" as a launch title for the Sony PSP handheld game console, which will be previewed at this week's Consumer Electronics Show. The 3D roleplaying game utilizes the PSP's Wi-Fi feature to connect players for multiplayer gaming. The title was developed and published by San Diego-based Sony Online Entertainment.
http://www.untoldlegends.com

(Malibu, Calif.) Toymaker Jakks Pacific announced on Tuesday that it has released a version of its TV Games plug-and-play video game system that features game developer Electronic Arts' "Madden '95" and "NHL '95" titles. The device will be sold for $24.99 for a single controller or as a two-player unit for $34.99.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050104/45235_1.html 
http://www.ea.com 
http://www.jakkstvgames.com

(Hong Kong) Radica Games announced on Tuesday that it has once again partnered with Sega to manufacture and distribute an all-in-one plug-and-play video game, featuring developer Capcom's "Street Fighter II Special Champion Edition." The $34.99 device comes with two authentic Sega Genesis controllers, and also includes the game "Ghouls and Ghosts." Hong Kong-based Radica Games said the device will go on sale this month.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050104/latu060_1.html  
http://www.radicagames.com

(Santa Monica, Calif.) The Global Gaming League (GGL), a producer of video game tournaments, said on Tuesday that it has partnered with ClanBase.com to help produce the company's 11th annual EuroCup online gaming tournament. Santa Monica-based GGL said this year's EuroCup will feature 50,000 euros ($66,300) in prize money. The event will be broadcast over the Internet using in-game TV broadcasts and Internet radio with live play-by-play commentary.
http://www.ggl.com 
http://www.clanbase.com

(New York) Webcaster Digitally Imported Radio said on Tuesday that it has added streaming radio channels encoded in the aacPlus format to its offering. Stockholm-based Coding Technologies' aacPlus format delivers streaming and downloadable 5.1 multichannel audio at 128 Kbps and near CD-quality stereo at 32 Kbps.
http://www.codingtechnologies.com 
http://www.di.fm

(New York) Playboy.com on Tuesday launched an editorial feature called "iBod," an updated collection of adult images sized to fit the display screen of Apple's iPod Photo device.
http://www.cyber.playboy.com

(San Francisco) Wired News reported on Tuesday that several devices that let consumers record satellite radio broadcasts from XM and Sirius onto a PC or directly onto an iPod will be introduced at this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and surprisingly are not likely to draw the ire of the recording industry. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has petitioned the FCC to restrict devices that enable the recording of digital radio broadcasts, but recently clarified that its concern did not include satellite radio. Currently, manufacturers Delphi and Time Trax are offering devices that can record satellite radio transmissions, add artist and title information, and store them on a PC or portable player. "I am not immediately concerned about the RIAA challenging Time Trax," company CEO Elliot Frutkin told Wired News.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,66156,00.html
http://www.timetraxtech.com 
http://www.xmradio.com/xmpcr/pcr_faq.jsp 
 
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