archives

o Senate Holds Second Hearing on Copy Controls In Consumer Electronics
o FCC Rules Cable ISPs Need Not Open Networks to Competitors
o Business Week: Vulcan Ventures In Talks to Buy Moxi Digital
o Aimster CEO Declares Personal Bankruptcy; Court Cases Stayed
o Briefly Noted: Streamjack, Ritek - DVD+RW, Beatnik Audio - Nokia, TiVo,
Simon and Schuster Interactive - Jim Henson Interactive - "Farscape," Sony
Online - EverQuest "pen-and-paper" game
_____________________________________________

o Senate Holds Second Hearing on Copy Controls In Consumer Electronics

Washington -- The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Thursday
entitled "Competition, Innovation and Public Policy in the Digital Age:
Is the Marketplace Working to Protect Digital Creative Works?", on digital
piracy and proposed legislation that would put copyright control
technology in most consumer electronics devices. Newsbytes reported on
emerging opposition to Sen. Fritz Holings' (D-S.C.) draft legislation, the
Security Systems Standards and Certification Act (SSSCA), from lawmakers
including Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
"Until the differences are resolved, certainly no legislation will pass
this year," Leahy said at the hearing. "The entertainment industry has not
fully made their case, but the high-tech industry hasn't either." Wired
News reported on Sen. Diane Feinstein's (D-Ca.) support for Hollywood and
government-mandated security standards, despite her Northern California,
Silicon Valley constituency. Those submitting testimony at the hearing
included Intel CEO Craig Barrett, AOL Time Warner's Richard Parsons, RIAA
CEO Hilary Rosen, Intertainer CEO Jonathan Taplin and Joe Krause, founder
of consumer advocacy group DigitalConsumer.org.
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175222.html
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,51072,00.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-860192.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.riaa.org/PR_story.cfm?id=498
_____________________________________________

o FCC Rules Cable ISPs Need Not Open Networks to Competitors

Washington -- The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has ruled that
cable modem high-speed Internet access is an "information service,"
meaning that companies owning large networks, such as AT&T Broadband, do
not have to open their networks to rival broadband providers. The ruling
is in contrast to regulations on DSL, which is considered a
"telecommunications service." Current rules regulate that phone companies
that offer DSL services, such as SBC Pacific Bell, are required to open
their networks to other providers including Covad and EarthLink. EarthLink
decried the new FCC ruling, although market negotiations have given it
access to AT&T Broadband's high-speed cable lines and government
stipulations on the AOL Time Warner merger gave it access to Time Warner
Cable's lines. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association
(NCTA), a cable industry trade group, praised the ruling. "The
classification of cable modem service as an 'information service,' and not
a telecommunications service, sends a strong signal that cable Internet
services will be able to continue to develop in a business environment
that favors competition over regulation, and encourages new investment,"
said NCTA CEO Robert Sachs.
http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Cable/News_Releases/2002/nrcb0201.html
http://www.ncta.com/press/press.cfm?PRid=241&showArticles=ok
http://news.com.com/2100-1033-860539.html
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175217.html 
_____________________________________________

o Business Week: Vulcan Ventures In Talks to Buy Moxi Digital

New York -- In its March 25, 2002 print edition, Business Week reports
that Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's Vulcan Ventures is in talks to
acquire Moxi Digital, developer of a home entertainment server and set-top
box device. Vulcan Ventures was an early investor in Moxi, participating
in the company's $67 million first round. Business Week also reported that
Palo Alto-based Moxi rejected a buyout offer of $100 million from AOL Time
Warner, another investor in the company. Moxi Digital was founded by WebTV
creator Steve Perlman, who recently stepped down as CEO of the company to
pursue his other entrepreneurial ventures.
http://www.businessweek.com
http://www.moxi.com
http://www.vulcan.com
_____________________________________________

o Aimster CEO Declares Personal Bankruptcy, Court Cases Stayed

Albany, N.Y. -- Johnny Deep, the CEO of beleaguered file-sharing service
Aimster, has declared personal bankruptcy, the Albany Business Journal
reported. The bankruptcy will apparently not affect operations of the site
and Aimster software, but will have the effect of staying copyright
infringement suits filed against the company by the entertainment
industry. Deep was due to appear in federal court in Chicago this month to
argue against a preliminary injunction to shut down the file-sharing
service. Deep was also recently compelled to change the name of the
company to Madster, after a trademark dispute that resulted in him having
to relinquish the Aimster name and Aimster.com domain to America Online.
http://www.bizjournals.com/account/sign_in?uri=/albany/stories/2002/03/11/daily17.html
http://www.madster.com
_____________________________________________

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

UCLA ANDERSON FORECAST CONFERENCE:
"Entertainment: LA's Most Important Industry"

This conference looks at the business of entertainment, the impact of the
industry on the Los Angeles economy, and the forces that are altering how
the business is organized. UCLA economists will also release their
quarterly forecasts for the nation, state, and Los Angeles region.
Speakers include Mayor Jim Hahn and Jeff Berg, Chairman/CEO of
International Creative Management as well as confirmed panels of industry
leaders.

Wednesday, March 27, 2002. 9:15am - 3:00pm at The Anderson School at UCLA.
Contact: forecast@anderson.ucla.edu or (310) 825-1623
http://www.uclaforecast.com

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(New York) Digital music software developer Streamjack has introduced a
service that will allow users to listen to their music collections from
anywhere over the Internet, or on their home network. For a $19.95 yearly
subscription, the Streamjack software automatically locates music on a PC
and creates a personal website for each user, from which music can then be
streamed over any Internet or home network connection.
http://www.streamjack.com

(Los Angeles) Taiwan-based Ritek Corp., the world's largest supplier of
optical media such as recordable CDs, announced its support for the DVD+RW
standard for recordable DVDs by saying it would begin manufacturing the
discs for the world market. DVD+RW is one of three competing standards for
recordable DVDs; the others are known as DVD-R and DVD-RAM. The DVD+RW standard is backed by companies including Dell, Philips, Thomson and
Hewlett-Packard. Ritek said it plans to provide HP with recordable media
for worldwide distribution as early as next month.
http://www.ritek.com
http://www.dvdrw.com

(Hanover, Germany) Digital audio developer Beatnik Audio announced this
week that it will provide technology enabling polyphonic ringtones to cell
phone maker Nokia, for use in the company's new Nokia 3510 handset. A
polyphonic ringtone, unlike a traditional cell phone ring, can sound
multiple tones at the same time. Nokia's 3510 can sound up to four tones
from a variety of 43 different percussive and melodious instruments at
once, due to its compatibility with MIDI (musical instrument digital
interface) standards. The 3510 will be available in the second quarter in
Europe, Africa and Asia Pacific. An online demonstration of polyphonic
ringtones is available through a link to Nokia.com below.
http://www.beatnik.com/press/releases/02_03_12_nokia.html
http://www.nokia.com/phones/3510/digiserv_ringing.html

(San Jose, Calif.) TiVo, a manufacturer of personal video recorder devices
that allow users to pause and record live television, will offer its
subscribers a 30-minute "Hollywood Awards Showcase" featuring an interview
with director Francis Ford Coppola and content produced by Academy Awards
telecaster ABC. The ABC content includes interviews with awards shot host
Whoopi Goldberg, producer Laura Ziskin, and director Louis J. Horvitz, as
well as a video tour of the Kodak Theatre, where the Oscars will be held.
San Jose-based TiVo estimated that about 80 percent of its 380,000
subscribers would be able to receive the program.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020314/sfth075b_2.html

(New York) Game publisher Simon and Schuster Interactive announced on
Friday that it has partnered with Jim Henson Interactive to release a PC
game based on the Sci-Fi Channel series "Farscape." Glasgow,
Scotland-based Red Lemon Studios is developing "Farscape: War and
Peacekeepers" for release in June.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/220742030&ticker=via|viab
http://www.ssinteractive.com
http://www.redlemon.com
http://www.farscape.com

(San Francisco) Wired News on Friday reported on Sony Online's plans to
create a "pen-and-paper" version of its popular massively multiplayer
online roleplaying game "EverQuest." The board game version of EverQuest,
developed by Whitewolf Studios, will have features and a rule set similar
to "Dungeons and Dragons," the offline roleplaying game that defined the
genre. "You'd be surprised at the fans of pen-and-paper gaming out there,"
Sony Online Entertainment VP Scott McDaniel told Wired News. Some
EverQuest enthusiasts are skeptical of the move. "EverQuest made a ton of
great innovations for online playing, but I don't expect they'll come up
with many new ideas for pen and paper," said one gamer.
http://www.wired.com/news/games/0,2101,51032,00.html
http://www.white-wolf.com/
______________________

To subscribe, go to:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com

Questions or comments? Send email to:
mark@digitalmediawire.com

News tips, press releases. Send email to:
editorial@digitalmediawire.com

Copyright 2002 Digital Media Wire