archives

o Napster, Labels Meet With Court-Appointed Expert in Closed Discussions
o Game Developer Interplay Entertainment Raises $12.7 Million
o Bug in Microsoft's UltimateTV Shrinks Device's Hard Drive
o Complaints Prompt Yahoo to Remove Adult-Themed Products and Ads
> Digital Media Wire: Panelists Added to LA, D.C. Online Copyright Debates
o Briefly Noted: House of Blues, Gracenote - AIM - Rainbow Partners, Inc.,
"New technologies promise streaming rebirth," Imagine Media, iNEXTV,
America Online
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> Job Postings: Ad Sales Exec., Development Associate, Media Planner

> Events/Services: "GW Technology and Business Expo"

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 Napster, Labels Meet With Court-Appointed Expert in Closed Discussions

Redwood City, Calif. -- Napster and the major record labels suing the
company for copyright infringement met with a court-appointed expert on
Friday to examine Napster's compliance with a preliminary injunction to
remove unauthorized copyrighted songs from its service. The judge in the
ongoing litigation has sealed the records from the teleconference,
Webnoize reported. The two sides met with the appointed "technical expert"
for the case, Dr. E.J. "Nick" Nichols -- who also served as an independent
technical expert in litigation between Sun Microsystems and Microsoft.
While Napster has claimed it is doing all it can to filter the requested
songs from its service, it maintains that the RIAA-represented labels have
not complied with the terms of the injunction when providing filename
data. The RIAA says that Napster is not doing its job, a perspective
echoed in the judge's description of Napster's song-filtering efforts as
"disgraceful" at a hearing last week.
http://news.webnoize.com/item.rs?ID=12618
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o Game Developer Interplay Entertainment Raises $12.7 Million

Irvine, Calif. -- Interplay Entertainment, a developer and publisher of
interactive entertainment software, announced on Monday that it has
secured $12.7 million in a private placement, led by Fidelity Management
and Research Company. The company also announced a new $15 million line of
credit to replace its previous credit line, due to expire this month.
Irvine-based Interplay said the proceeds from the private placement have
been used to reduce debt and for future operations. Interplay creates and
distributes games for both the PC and the major game consoles.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/micro_stories.pl?ACCT=000952&TICK=IPLY&STORY
=/www/story/04-16-2001/0001469404&EDATE=Apr+16,+2001 
http://www.interplay.com
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o Bug in Microsoft's UltimateTV Shrinks Device's Hard Drive

San Francisco -- A bug in the software included with Microsoft's
recently-launched UltimateTV digital TV recording device is shrinking the
size of the hard drive and the number of hours that can be used to record
programs, according to report from ZDNet. One user reported the amount of
TV he could tape having decreased from the standard 28 hours to 10 hours
for no apparent reason. Microsoft acknowledged the software glitch last
week, and says it has created a patch that it believes will fix the
problem. That software is now available for download from its website.
"This is a big ol' black eye for [Microsoft]," Gartner analyst Mark
Snowden told ZDNet. "We're in the development stage of this market, and
this sort of thing makes it that much more difficult for it to catch on.
The real pain will come from the broader public opinion of it and not
necessarily in the number of customers that have it now."
http://www.usatoday.com/life/cyber/zd/zd9.htm
http://www.ultimatetv.com
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o Complaints Prompt Yahoo to Remove Adult-Themed Products and Ads

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Several days after confirming that it would sell
pornographic videos and other adult-related entertainment products, Yahoo
said that it will remove all of the new products and banner ads from its
portal, citing customer complaints. "Many of our users voiced concerns
this week about some of the products sold by merchants on Yahoo Shopping,"
said Yahoo president Jeff Mallett. "We heard them and swiftly responded.
We consistently strive to act responsibly and constantly evaluate our
policies based on what our users tell us." The company said it has sold
adult-themed products through age-verified pages in its Shopping section
for over two years.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010413/0020_2.html
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> Digital Media Wire: Panelists Added to LA, D.C. Online Copyright Debates

"The Future of Digital Entertainment: What's Next After Napster?"

Los Angeles | Sponsored by Jones Day Reavis & Pogue

MODERATOR:
- Jim Griffin, CEO of Cherry Lane Digital, Founder of Evolab,
Co-founder of the 'pho' list

PANELISTS:
- Scott Dinsdale, EVP of Digital Strategy,
Motion Picture Association (MPA)
- Russell Frackman, Attorney, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP,
Lead counsel for the RIAA in their litigation vs. Napster
- Robin Gross, Attorney, Fair Use & Intellectual Property,
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
- Jonathan Potter, Executive Director, Digital Media Association (DiMA)
- (added) Noah Stone, Executive Director, Artists Against Piracy
*Additional panelists TBA.

Date: Wednesday, April 25th, 2001
CLE credit has been applied for with the California State Bar.
CLE credit may be available in other states as well.

For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/LAcopyright.html
Sponsorships >> Michael Hoinski at michael@digitalmediawire.com

- - - - -
Washington, D.C.

SPEAKERS:- Fritz Attaway, EVP & Washington General Counsel,
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)
- Russell Frackman, Attorney, Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP,
Lead counsel for the RIAA in their litigation vs. Napster
- Declan McCullagh, Washington Bureau Chief, Wired News
- Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights, U.S. Copyright Office
- Jonathan Potter, Executive Director, Digital Media Association (DiMA)
- (added) Jenny Toomey, Executive Director, Coalition for the Future of
Music
*Additonal panelists TBA.

Date: Wednesday, May 9th, 2001
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/DCcopyright.html
Sponsorships >> Michael Hoinski at michael@digitalmediawire.com
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o Briefly Noted:

(Hollywood, Calif.) Live concert venue House of Blues announced on Monday
the launch of a website dedicated to dance and electronica music. The
company has partnered with URB -- an electronica music-related print
magazine -- to provide editorial content and promotion for the site;
SonicNet will provide Web radio channels and editorial content. It will
also take over hosting services for electronica-related website
Dublab.com. Hollywood-based House of Blues said it will actively seek to
book more DJs and electronica acts at its venues, which have traditionally
showcased rock and blues acts.
http://www.hobpm.com/vitus/index.asp
http://www.dublab.com

(Berkeley, Calif.) Gracenote, a provider of music information database
technology, said that it has partnered with Japan-based AIM to create
Japanese versions of its database using several of the language's
character sets. The company also announced a partnership with Rainbow
Partners, Inc., to serve as the reseller of Gracenote services for the
Japanese market. Berkeley-based Gracenote's service allows users to play a
CD or MP3 in a music player or consumer electronics device and receive
information about what is being played, such as song names and lyrics.
http://www.gracenote.com/press/2001041200.html
http://www.gracenote.com/press/2001041201.html

(San Francisco) A CNET article on Monday examined the state of the
streaming media industry, and what is being done by several companies in
efforts to cut the sometimes-heavy costs associated with the technology.
Mentioned in the article were Digital Fountain, which announced on Monday
support from Cisco Systems and Sony for its technology, as well as DivX
Networks and Generic Media.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5630041.html?tag=tp_pr
http://www.digitalfountain.com
http://www.divxnetworks.com
http://www.genericmedia.com

(Brisbane, Calif.) Technology publisher Imagine Media on Monday announced
that Jonathan Simpson-Bint has been named president of the company's U.S.
operations. Previously, Simpson-Bint was president of Imagine’s
entertainment division. California-based Imagine publishes Maximum PC and
Mac Addict, and will soon launch Official Xbox Magazine, to coincide with
the release of the Xbox game console from Microsoft.
http://www.imaginemedia.com/press/press-apr-12-2001.htm

(New York) iNEXTV, a producer and syndicator for video on the Internet,
announced on Monday a new entertainment program that will chronicle a
psychotherapist's sessions with several of her patients. Short video
episodes from therapy sessions with New York City psychotherapist Dr.
Veronica Eden will be offered daily on CouchConfessions.com.
http://www.couchconfessions.com
http://www.inextv.com

(Dulles, Va.) America Online said on Monday that worldwide membership for
its subscription-based consumer Internet service has surpassed 29 million.
The company is due to report its quarterly earnings this week.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010416/2050.html

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

> emap usa, Advertising Sales Executive - New York City

Publishers of specialist & general interest lifestyle magazines is
currently seeking candidate with relentless drive and enthusiasm for
FHMus.com, the online version of men's magazine FHM. Focusing on
optimizing advertising and sponsorship revenue, you will create strategic
promotional programs and implement web initiatives. Require advertising /
sales exp. in dot-com environment.
Send resume and cover letter to digitalresume@emapusa.com
http://www.emapusa.com
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> iNetNow, Development Associate - Los Angeles

Developer needed to enhance both internal and external web-based
applications, data synchronization and CRM products. Will perform in-depth
programming in a Microsoft development environment. Architectural and
design experience with relational database systems and experience with
NT/Win2k networks required. Must be able to work under minimal
supervision. Send resume to employment@inetnow.com
http://www.inetnow.com
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> Circle.com, Media Planner - New York City

Leading Internet solutions provider to Fortune 1000 companies and emerging
Internet businesses seeks a Media Planner to assist in development of
online media plans and review online advertising reports by placement, by
creative, by site - to provide analysis and optimization recommendations.
Online advertising experience is required.
Send resume to nyjobs@circle.com
http://www.circle.com

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

> Fast Forward 01 - GW Technology and Business Expo

The George Washington University will host "Fast Forward 01," the GW
Technology and Business Expo at the GW Virginia Campus in Ashburn, on
April 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The one-day conference features 14
panel presentations by academic and industry experts on a wide range of
technology and management issues of interest to the Northern Virginia
technology community, including such topics as Wireless Web, Collaborative
CRM, Internet Privacy, Information Security and Ubiquitous Internet, and
High Tech Philanthropy. To register: http://www.gwvirginia.gwu.edu/expoFF
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