archives

o Korean File-Sharing Software Creators Indicted
o Vivendi Universal Lays Off 245 Employees at Games Firm Sierra On-Line
o Programmer Won't Publish Purported Hack of Intel Video Copy-Protection
o Yankee Group: ISPs Feeling Pressure to Offer Broadband
o CNET Networks Invests in Visual Bookmarking Firm Mediadome
> DMW Panel Discussion: Microsoft vs. AOL | August 30 | D.C.
> DMW Panel Discussion: iTV | Sept. 5 | New York
o Briefly Noted: Xbox glitch, CenterSpan, IBM Linux Digital Studio,
MP3.com - grocery stores, e-Media - Entriq, MusicMatch, Filter Media -
Crunch fitness centers, TV-style Web ads, "Taming the Web"
_____________________________________________

> Job Postings: Client Service Rep., Jr. Web Designer, Editor at Large

> Events/Services: "SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival: SF BAY AREA Tour,
August 17th-20th," "Free Web Demonstration"

Full Job/Event/Services 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/Service: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html
_____________________________________________

o Korean File-Sharing Software Creators Indicted

Seoul, South Korea -- Two Korean software programmers were indicted on
criminal copyright violations Sunday for having created Soribada, or "Sea
of Sound," a peer-to-peer network for sharing songs on the Internet, the
Associated Press reported. Brothers Yang Jung-hwan and Yang Il-hwan, who
created the software, argue that it is merely a medium for communication.
The Recording Industry Association of Korea estimates that it has lost
$154 million in album sales last year based on Soribada's 4.5 million
registered users. However, South Korean album sales totaled $315 million
in 2000, up from $292 million in 1999. The brothers face up to five years
in jail and up to $38,500 in fines.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6877139.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.korealink.co.kr/kt_tech/200108/t2001081316252745110.htm
http://www.soribada.com
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o Vivendi Universal Lays Off 245 Employees at Games Firm Sierra On-Line

Bellevue, Wash. -- Vivendi Universal Interactive Publishing (VUIP)
announced on Wednesday that it will lay off 245 employees at game
developer Sierra On-Line and shut down development studio Dynamix, citing
redundancies in its workforce. The company said that 148 staffers will be
let go at Washington-based Sierra On-Line, mostly marketing and other
non-development staff whose duties will now be performed by VUIP
employees. Additionally, Oregon-based Dynamix will be shut down and its 97
employees will be laid off. "While any reorganization involving staff
reductions is difficult, there is no doubt that this is the right thing to
do for the business," said Sierra On-Line president Michael Ryder.
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20010814/tc/tech_vivendi_layoffs_dc_1.html
http://www.sierra.com
http://www.dynamix.com
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o Programmer Won't Publish Purported Hack of Intel Video Copy-Protection

Amsterdam, Netherlands -- A Dutch programmer who claims to have found
weaknesses in Intel's security technology for digital entertainment
content says he will not publish his findings for fear of prosecution
under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Independent cryptography
consultant Niels Ferguson claims to have penetrated Intel's High-bandwidth
Digital Content Protection (HDCP), a specification that protects
copyrights by encrypting content sent in-between digital televisions and
devices such as DVD players and digital camcorders, so that it cannot be
copied. Ferguson said that neither Intel nor the U.S. Justice Department
have threatened any legal action or contacted him, but that he remains
wary because of the threats that Princeton researcher Edward Felten
received and programmer Dmitry Sklyarov arrest for publishing information
on circumventing copy-protection technologies. Ferguson's website,
provided at a link below, further explains his argument.
http://www.macfergus.com/niels/dmca/index.html
http://www.digital-cp.com/
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o Yankee Group: ISPs Feeling Pressure to Offer Broadband

Boston -- A new report by the Boston-based Yankee Group, a
telecommunications research firm, states that after introducing
residential Internet access in the 1990s, Internet service providers now
face increased pressure to offer subscribers broadband access, or lose
potential revenues and market share. The report says that pure-play ISPs
such as AOL, EarthLink, Prodigy and Juno, which originally helped make the
Internet a part of everyday life in the United States, now face uphill
battles against telcos and cable companies that have recently found value
in selling Internet services to consumers, and can bundle access with
existing telephony and television services. "ISPs must make a sink or swim
decision when it comes to offering broadband services," said Rob
Lancaster, author of the report. Lancaster said that price margins are
currently very low for ISPs not allied directly with broadband providers,
and are not expected to improve much in the near future.
http://www.NewsAlert.com/bin/story?StoryId=Co3IIqbKbytiWnJi&FQ=
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o CNET Networks Invests in Visual Bookmarking Firm Mediadome

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Mediadome, a provider of technology that allows
multiple Web pages to be viewed on screen, said it has received an
undisclosed investment from technology news and information firm CNET
Networks. Santa Clara-based Mediadome's technology allows multiple, fully
functioning Web pages to be opened on the same screen, while
simultaneously running programs like a media player. For example, while
listening to a song, an online store selling the corresponding album may
appear, or else artist information and song lyrics. The company previously
received an undisclosed amount of funding from Intel and Superscape, PLC.
http://www.mediadome.com
http://www.cnet.com
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> Digital Media Wire Presents a Panel Discussion:
"Microsoft vs. AOL: The Battle of the Internet Titans"

McLean, VA | Thursday, August 30th at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner

This panel of journalists, policymakers and others will discuss the
increasing rivalry between these two monolithic companies -- and how their
competition will affect the development of the Internet for years to come.
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/DCbattle.html

MODERATOR:
Paul Sherman - Editor | Potomac Tech Wire

SPEAKERS:
Declan McCullagh - Washington Bureau Chief | Wired News
Edmund Sanders - Staff Writer | Los Angeles Times
***Additional Panelists TBA***

MEDIA SPONSOR: Potomac Tech Wire

For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/DCbattle.html
_____________________________________________

> Digital Media Wire & iLounge Present a Panel Discussion:
"iTV: Defining the New Face of Television"

NYC | Wednesday, September 5th at the Verizon Headquarters

This panel of players ranging from content providers to middleware
developers will discuss the new face of television, which will include an
amalgam of services like email, IPGs (interactive program guides), PVRs
(personal video recorders), enhanced TV, etc., and what it means for
Hollywood, the tech industry and most importantly, the consumer.
For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/NYCitv.html

MODERATOR:
Lydia Loizides - Senior Analyst | Jupiter Media Metrix

SPEAKERS:
Sean Bratches - EVP, Affiliate Sales & Marketing | ESPN
Tim Larcombe - Regional President iTV, North America | AGENCY.com
David Nathanson - VP, Broadband Strategy & Channel Development | FOX
***Additional Panelists TBA***

SPONSOR: Verizon

For more information and to register:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com/NYCitv.html
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft on Wednesday denied claims from analysts that a
glitch in a piece of equipment designed by Intel has delayed the
production of its Xbox video game console, CNET reported. "There's
absolutely no problem with the design of Intel's motherboard," Microsoft
spokesman James Bernard said. "We're still on track for a Nov. 8 launch."
A report from investment banking firm Thomas Wiesel Partners claimed that
several sources across the Xbox manufacturing supply chain had confirmed a
problem with the Intel technology.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-6869737.html?tag=cd_pr

(Hillsboro, Ore.) CenterSpan Communications, the firm that acquired the
assets of bankrupt Scour.com and is launching a paid digital music
subscription service, said on Wednesday that it has developed a
"multi-sourced, peer-to-peer streaming music application." Oregon-based
CenterSpan said the technology saves money and increases the reliability
of streams by circumventing a central server in favor of streaming small
portions of the song or other media file from multiple users on a
peer-to-peer network. Before being streamed, each section is encrypted and
identified so that the entire file can be securely sent and reassembled in
the correct order on the receiver's PC.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/010815/150053.html
http://www.centerspan.com

(New York) IBM announced on Wednesday the release of its Linux Digital
Studio, designed to cater to the needs of film and TV production needs,
Reuters reported. The package includes workstations, server computers and
data storage machines running the Linux operating system that can be used
for such tasks as rendering huge 3-D graphics files used for special
effects in movies. "Over the next 12 to 18 months, this market segment is
going to move en masse to Linux," said IBM vice president for media and
entertainment Steve Canepa. Films including "Titanic" and "Shrek" were
created using Linux-based hardware.
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,46084,00.html

(San Diego) MP3.com announced that it will provide customized in-store
music delivery systems Affiliated Foods Midwest Cooperative (AFMC), a
cooperative for more than 800 independent grocery stores across the
Midwestern United States. The systems allow the stores to insert their own
branded and private-label audio ads into the programmed music. San
Diego-based MP3.com, which was recently acquired by Vivendi Universal,
said that the service will begin rolling out in all stores by the end of
the year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010814/latu063.html
http://www.mp3.com/bmscentral

(Stamford, Conn.) Streaming media services provider e-Media said on
Wednesday that it has partnered with digital rights management firm
Entriq. The two companies will combine their services into a single
offering for their clients. Connecticut-based e-Media said that the
partnership will let clients such as VideoSport -- which streams soccer
games and other events over the Internet -- to use Carlsbad, Calif.-based
Entriq's geographic targeting technology to exclude countries that have
conflicting television rights from access to their streaming content.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?bw.081501/212272264
http://www.e-media.com
http://www.entriq.com

(San Diego) Music jukebox software firm MusicMatch said on Wednesday that
its software experienced the greatest level of growth among all media
players during the first half of 2001, according to figures from analyst
firm Jupiter Media Metrix. The company gained 1.3 million new users during
the period, a growth rate of 41.2 percent -- outpacing the media player
category's overall average of 3.1 percent. Jupiter also reported that San
Diego-based MusicMatch's Jukebox had 4.56 million unique home users in
June, compared to RealNetworks' RealJukebox, which had 4.44 million unique
home users during the same period.
http://www.businesswire.com/photowire/pw.062601/211770186.shtml
http://www.musicmatch.com
http://www.jmm.com

(New York) Filter Media, an interactive TV consultancy, said on Wednesday
that it is developing an interactive TV strategy for Crunch fitness
centers. The gyms will be equipped with features like a variety of workout
routines and personal trainer videos on-demand.
http://www.filter.tv
http://www.crunch.com

(San Francisco) CNET reported on Wednesday on new TV-style ads that are
beginning to appear on sites like CBS' MarketWatch.com. The 30 or
60-second spots run without opening a new browser window or a separate
media player, and allow advertisers to use commercials already developed
for TV on the Web. "We're going to see more ads that are moving toward the
TV and broadcast mediums, and that will increase even more so as broadband
increases," said Gartner researcher Denise Garcia. The article also
describes how other new forms of online ads are being experimented with,
as agencies "[try] to figure out what the consumer will bear," said John
Keck, media director for the interactive division of ad agency Foote Cone
and Belding.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6871184.html?tag=tp_pr

(Cambridge, Mass.) The current issue of MIT's Technology Review features
an article ("Taming the Web") that questions the generally held notion
that decentralized peer-to-peer networks such as Gnutella can be
constructed so that they are "immune" to prosecution by the entertainment
industry, or even the U.S. government. The article tackles the idea that
"information wants to be free" by refuting arguments such as "the Internet
is too international to be controlled," "the 'Net is too interconnected to
control" and "the 'Net is too filled with hackers to control."
http://www.technologyreview.com/magazine/sep01/mannall.asp

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

> Verance, Client Service Rep. (Western Region) - Los Angeles

Responsible for the day-to-day servicing of the advertiser/agency client
base, which includes training clients in all aspects of utilizing the
various Media Information Group systems and product offerings, encoding
content, utilizing the website for registering content, producing and
understanding reports and utilizing these reports to further their
respective business. Minimum 3 years advertising industry-related
experience.
Send resumes to: jobs@verance.com
http://www.verance.com
______________________

> Maxim Online, Jr. Web Designer - New York City

Must have experience with Photoshop, Illustrator, HTML, Fireworks, and
understand multiple browser and platform issues. Responsibilities include:
designing marketing contests and advertorial projects; designing party
pages to promote magazine events; designing banners to promote marketing
and editorial projects; and maintaining subscription pages throughout the
Maxim website.
Send resumes & URLs to: maximonlinejobs@hotmail.com
http://www.maximonline.com
______________________

> CNET Networks, Editor at Large - San Francisco

This newsroom leader is expected to write an average of 1-3 stories per
day if needed, and on a more analytical & exclusive basis than the average
reporter's assignment. Other duties include proposing and writing Special
Reports, news analyses, features and investigative stories. This position
also plays a key role at budget meetings, performs editing functions as
needed and serves as a mentor for less experienced reporters.
Send resumes to: careers@cnet.com and seanl@cnet.com
http://www.cnet.com

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

> SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival, SF Bay Area Tour, August 17th- 20th

SHORT MOVIES! Dreamspan presents the 9TH Annual Short Attention Span Film
& Video Festival. Shortspan is a non-stop two-hour program of ALL NEW
two-minute-or-shorter films, including from Tokyo: a flying,
spinach-eating, ultra-modern woman in "Lady-GO!", the mixed up antics of a
cartoon character gone sinister in "Butchu-Kan" and 57 more shorts! The
tour will travel to 30 North American cities. SF Bay Area tour dates
include:

SAN FRANCISCO, CA: The Castro Theatre - August 17th -8PM & 10PM
SAN RAFAEL, CA: The Rafael Film Center -August 18th - 7PM and 9:15PM
OAKLAND, CA: The Parkway Theatre - August 19th - 9PM
BERKELEY, CA: The Jupiter Outdoor Cinema - August 20th - 9PM

More info: http://www.dreamspan.com/shortspan
______________________

> Free Web Demonstration: Learn How A Federal Agency Saved $36 Million

Leading organizations are saving millions by more effectively managing
their company's diversified operations and scarce resources. With Pacific
Edge Software's project portfolio management solution, you'll get a clear
snapshot of your business, enabling you to balance strategic and tactical
requirements, so you can make informed business decisions. For more
information on how you can better manage your business, please visit
http://www.pacificedge.com/campaigns/digitalmedia
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