archives

o Digital Rights Management Firm InterTrust Cuts 45% of Staff
o British Doctors Call for Warning on Vibrating Video Game Controllers
o Web Blackout Imposed on 2002 World Cup Soccer Finals
o Audio/Video Player Chipmaker ESS Technology Selling 4.8 Million Shares
o Roxio Completes Acquisition of Photo, Video Editing Software Firm MGI
o Briefly Noted: Princeton Video Image - Super Bowl, DirecTV Latin America
- NDS, Philips - The Contents Company, FTC - DOJ - antitrust merger
reviews, "Who's Winning the Console Fight?"
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o Digital Rights Management Firm InterTrust Cuts 45% of Staff

Santa Clara, Calif. -- InterTrust, a developer of digital rights
management technologies, announced that it will lay off 45 percent of its
staff as part of a restructuring effort aimed at cutting costs. The
company also said it has retained Allen & Company, a financial advisory
firm, to advise the company on strategic alternatives to most effectively
capitalize on its assets. "Our cost reduction initiatives have gone well,"
said Greg Wood, chief financial officer for InterTrust. "With the
restructuring we announced today, our new objective is to reduce our cash
burn to $7.5 million per quarter once the restructuring is complete."
Santa Clara-based InterTrust is currently embroiled in patent litigation
with Microsoft over the company's technology that protects against the
copying of digital audio and video. InterTrust has levied a number of
claims against Microsoft that allege the company is infringing with its
Windows Media Digital Rights Management and more recently, its "trusted
computing" technologies.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020131/sfth068_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020129/290129_1.html
http://www.intertrust.com
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2001/nov01/11-05trustedcomputing.asp
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o British Doctors Call for Warning on Vibrating Video Game Controllers

London -- A group of doctors in England has called for warning labels to
be placed on new video game controllers that vibrate in sync with game
action, Reuters reported on Friday. The doctors sent a letter to the
British Medical Journal on account of a 15-year-old boy who developed
symptoms similar to hand-arm vibration syndrome, a malady that usually
results from using industrial tools for long periods of time. The boy
reportedly developed pain and swelling in his hands after playing games
with the controller an average of seven hours a day. "We believe that with
increasing numbers of children playing these devices, there should be
consideration for statutory health warnings to advise users and parents,"
Gavin Cleary, of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, told Reuters.
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-827666.html?tag=cd_mh
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o Web Blackout Imposed on 2002 World Cup Soccer Finals

London -- KirchMedia, a German media group with rights to broadcast the
2002 World Cup, has followed the lead of the International Olympics
Committee and imposed a Web blackout to prohibit live streaming of the
soccer championship's final round, The Guardian reported. Kirch paid $641
million for the exclusive rights to broadcast the tournament, which will
be held in Korea and Japan beginning in May.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,641744,00.html
http://www.fifaworldcup.com/
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o Audio/Video Player Chipmaker ESS Technology Selling 4.8 Million Shares

Fremont, Calif. -- ESS Technology, a developer of digital system processor
chips for digital video and audio players, announced on Friday that it has
commenced a public offering of 4,800,000 shares of its common stock at a
price of $19.38 per share. The company is selling 2,500,000 shares, while
2,300,000 shares are being sold by selling shareholders. Fremont,
Calif.-based ESS makes chips that are used in DVD players, video CD
players, MP3 players and other devices such as modems.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020201/sff025_1.html
http://www.esstech.com
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o Roxio Completes Acquisition of Photo, Video Editing Software Firm MGI

Milpitas, Calif. -- Roxio, a provider of CD burning software, announced on
Friday that it has completed its acquisition of Canada-based MGI Software
Corporation, a provider of photo and video editing software.
Milpitas-based Roxio offered MGI shareholders a total of 2,203,451 shares
in a transaction valued at $35.4 million. "This acquisition broadens our
footprint within the digital media software space and is key to Roxio's
long-term strategy of providing a world-class suite of integrated digital
media products that is unmatched in the industry," said Roxio CEO Chris
Gorog.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020201/sff010_1.html
http://www.mgisoft.com
http://www.roxio.com
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Executive Management for Media Processor Startup

SkyMoon Ventures just seeded a company that is pioneering technology for
the emerging HDTV delivery and display industries. We are looking for
Executives who have been involved in the development of compression tools,
DSP, or video editing and DVD post-production software and have excellent
business relationships in the Hollywood studios.

Contact: kbretz@skymoonventures.com
URL: http://www.skymoonventures.com

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o Briefly Noted:

(Lawrenceville, N.J.) Princeton Video Image, a provider of virtual
advertising and effects, said on Friday that it will provide a "virtual
1st down line" in 200 countries broadcasting Sunday's NFL Super Bowl.
Additionally, New Jersey-based Princeton Video Image said it will provide
virtual ads that appear on screen for companies including General Motors,
Volkswagen, ING Insurance and Corona in Mexico, while Harvey's, Pizza
Pizza, Canadian Tire, Discount Car Rental and CarStar have purchased
virtual ads for the Canadian broadcast.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020201/12056_1.html
http://www.pvi-inc.com/

(Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) DirecTV Latin America said on Friday that it will
for the first time provide an interactive broadcast of the Super Bowl to
viewers in Mexico. Using their remote controls, DirecTV viewers there will
be able to choose different camera angles, view their own instant replays
on demand, get updated statistics and vote on a Viewer's MVP. Fort
Lauderdale-based DirecTV Latin America utilized technology from U.K.-based
NDS, a provider of interactive applications for digital television, for
the interactive broadcast.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020131/lath071_1.html
http://www.nds.com
http://www.directvla.com/

(Eindhoven, Netherlands) Consumer electronics firm Philips said on Friday
that it will provide digital rights management technology to The Contents
Company, an interactive TV service provider in Korea. Netherlands-based
Philips will provide technology that lets TCC provide conditional access
to its Internet-based video-on-demand, subscription video-on-demand,
Internet access and other features. TCC is aiming to serve 20,000 of
Korea's 7.5 million broadband subscribers by the end of the year.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/220322183&ticker=phg
http://www.thecoco.co.kr
http://www.digitalnetworks.philips.com

(San Francisco) Wired News on Friday reported on the ongoing controversy
of the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. Justice Dept.'s ill-fated plans
to change roles with regard to antitrust reviews of mergers between
entertainment and media companies. The two regulatory departments were set
to announce changes but abruptly cancelled their press conference after an
objection from Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), who alluded to the fact that
affected committees in the Senate were not consulted about the proposed
changes. A hearing on the matter last week failed to bring about a
resolution.
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50145,00.html

(Redmond, Wash.) MSNBC.com ran a story on Friday ("Who's Winning the
Console Fight?") that details the ongoing battle for market share between
Sony's PlayStation 2, Microsoft's Xbox and Nintendo's GameCube.
Representatives from electronics retailers, game designers, gaming
magazines and the console makers themselves are asked in the article which
company they believe is currently on top in video games.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/697375.asp?0dm=C12PT
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