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Main Stories
o New York Court Orders Vivendi to Pay Former CEO Messier $23.1 Million
o Microsoft to Sell Xbox Bundled with Online Service, Two Free Games
o French Telecoms Watchdog Accuses Vivendi of Irregularities
o Sharp to Release Notebook PC with Glasses-Free 3D Screen
o U.K. Online DVD Rental Firm Video Island Raises $3.4 Million

o Briefly Noted: CinemaNow - Disney, MediaGuide, Vodafone - UEFA Champions League, "Microsoft Insider," Comcast - New England Sports Network - HDTV, NCube - Comcast, Atari - Microsoft Game Studios, Acclaim - Bootsy Collins - "NBA Jam," Electronic Arts - EA Sports Nation, THQ - "WWE Raw 2," Capcom - "Mega Man Anniversary Collection," Smithsonian Institution, Nokia N-Gage review, Kazaa founders - Skype VoIP, Movie P2P piracy - "insider" leaks

New York -- A New York state court has ordered French media giant Vivendi Universal to pay its former CEO Jean-Marie Messier a disputed $23.1 million severance payment. Vivendi, which has steadfastly refused to make the payment to Messier, said in a statement late Monday that it will use "all legal options" to oppose the payment, including an appeal and a request to stay enforcement of the judgment pending the appeal. During the time he ran Vivendi, Messier went on a frenzied acquisition spree and transformed the company from a water utility into a media giant. But the company's shares lost more than 80 percent of their value as his empire ran up billions of dollars in debt. He was forced out last year. http://makeashorterlink.com/?L12D368E5
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o Microsoft to Sell Xbox Bundled with Online Service, Two Free Games

 Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft on Monday unveiled a holiday promotion for its Xbox video game console that includes two free games and two months' access to its Xbox Live online gaming service, for $179. The games offered will be LucasArts' "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" and THQ's "Tetris Worlds Live" -- which features online play through the Xbox Live service. The promotion also includes a free two-month trial subscription to Xbox Live, Microsoft's online game service that normally costs $50 per year or $9.95 per month. The promotional bundle will begin selling separately on Sept. 17 and will be packaged together and sold in a single box beginning Oct. 15. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030915/sfm098a_1.html
http://www.xbox.com
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o French Telecoms Watchdog Accuses Vivendi of Irregularities

Paris -- The French stock market on Monday ruled that media conglomerate Vivendi Universal committed irregularities in financial reports filed during the tenure of former CEO Jean-Marie Messier. In a statement, Vivendi said that it had received "notice of grievance from France's Commission des Operations de Bourse (COB)." The notice, which requests that the company respond within three months, is "being examined by Vivendi Universal and its advisors." Vivendi said that it would cooperate fully with the investigation into the company's dealings from 2000 to 2002. Once the COB finishes, it will pass its findings on to the public prosecutor's office in Paris. http://www.vivendiuniversal.com/vu/en/home/index.cfm
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o Sharp to Release Notebook PC with Glasses-Free 3D Screen

Tokyo -- Japanese electronics firm Sharp has announced that next month it will ship a notebook PC capable of displaying real 3D images without the need of special glasses. Responding to demand from 3D content creators for a device that will showcase their designs, the PC-RD3D will combine dual LCD screens separated by a "parallax barrier" that may be switched on and off so images may be rendered in either 2D or 3D. Sharp has demoed a prototype of the device running the PC game title, "Quake," and sees it also being used in medical and educational environments. The PC-RD3D will be marketed in the U.S. after its release in Japan on Oct. 27.
http://sharp-world.com/corporate/news/030911.html  http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/OEG20030911S0060  http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/32791.html
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o U.K. Online DVD Rental Firm Video Island Raises $3.4 Million

London -- Video Island, a U.K.-based online DVD rental service, announced on Monday that it has raised $3.4 million in its second round of venture capital financing. Benchmark Capital and Index Ventures co-led the investment round; other participants included Redbus' Simon Franks and Retail Variations chairman Robert Klein. Video Island's service, which closely mirrors that of U.S.-based Netflix, allows members who pay around $20 per month to rent DVDs from a library of 12,000 titles, which are sent from and returned to the company through the mail. Video Island will use the new funds for sales and marketing, business development and further investment in logistics and its DVD library. http://cws.huginonline.com/I/120128/PR/200309/917278_5_2.html  http://www.videoisland.com

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(Marina del Rey, Calif.) CinemaNow, a provider of online video-on-demand programming that is majority-owned by movie studio Lion's Gate Entertainment, announced on Monday an agreement that will bring Disney films to its service. The deal with Buena Vista Pay Television means movies from Walt Disney Pictures, Miramax Films, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Dimension Films, including "Gangs of New York" and "Chicago," will be added to CinemaNow.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030915/155055_1.html
http://www.cinemanow.com

(Philadelphia, Penn.) MediaGuide, a radio monitoring service that can identify any content broadcast using "audio fingerprinting" technology for reporting purposes, on Monday announced the official launch of its services. Backed by performing rights organization ASCAP and Internet radio provider YES Networks, the service is targeted at the advertising, music, film, and television industries. MediaGuide monitors over 2,500 U.S. radio stations, and automatically compares broadcasts to its database so that, for instance, advertisers may instantly know when and where their spots run on radio stations.
http://www.mediaguide.com
http://www.yes.net
http://www.ascap.com

(London) U.K. wireless carrier Vodafone announced that it has signed a three-year deal with the UEFA Champions league, to provide its customers with video clips and match information from football games across Europe, as well as clips from recent and historic matches, screen savers, ringtones and downloadable icons. The deal will cover a dozen countries: Vodafone enjoys exclusive rights in Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Malta and Spain, and has secured non-exclusive agreements in France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland and Britain.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?D4F6327E5

(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft announced on Monday plans to produce a television series that will feature its products and services. The company will make "Microsoft Insider" available both for streaming on its website and for syndicated national broadcast on cable networks including Tech TV, Sci-Fi Channel and TLC. The series is set to debut on Sept. 20. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030915/sfm090_1.html  http://www.microsoft.com/insider/live

(Philadelphia) Cable TV operator Comcast said on Monday that it has reached an agreement with the New England Sports Network (NESN), to provide high-definition (HDTV) broadcasts of the remaining Boston Red Sox baseball season home games and all Boston Bruins hockey home games for the 2003-2004 season.
http://www.comcast-ne.com

(Portland, Ore.) NCube, a provider of video-on-demand delivery and digital ad insertion technologies, announced on Monday that cable TV operator Comcast will use its digital ad insertion system in Miami and surrounding areas, where the company claims over one million subscribers. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030915/sfm021_1.html
http://www.comcast.com
http://www.ncube.com

(New York) Video game publisher Atari announced on Monday a distribution agreement with Microsoft Game Studios, to become the exclusive U.S. distributor for select Microsoft Game Studios PC game titles. As part of the agreement, which runs through June 2006, Atari will re-publish PC titles including "Age of Empires: Gold Edition," "Microsoft Flight Simulator '98," "Links LS 2000," "Combat Flight Simulator: WWII Europe Series," "Pandora's Box," "Bicycle Casino," "Bicycle Card Games," "Bicycle Board Games," "Crimson Skies," "Starlancer" and "Pinball Arcade."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030915/155121_1.html  http://www.microsoft.com/games
http://www.atari.com

(Glen Cove, N.Y.) Video game developer and publisher Acclaim Entertainment said on Monday that its "NBA Jam" title for PlayStation 2 has "gone gold" and will be released on Sept. 23, while an Xbox version will follow on Sept. 30. New York-based Acclaim said that it recruited recording artist Bootsy Collins, who played in George Clinton's legendary funk band Parliament Funkadelic, to create the game's musical score. The soundtrack will feature three original Collins songs, as well as tracks from James Brown, Kool & The Gang, Bel Biv Devoe and Tag Team. http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030915/nym156_1.html  http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030915/nym018_1.html  http://www.bootsycollins.com
http://www.nbajam.com

(Redwood City, Calif.) Games developer Electronic Arts on Monday announced the launch of EA Sports Nation, a website featuring tournaments, ladders, leaderboards, downloadable rosters, rankings, team updates, instant messaging and voice chat -- available only to those who enter the site through their Sony PlayStation 2 video game consoles. Redwood City, Calif.-based EA said that since August, more than 250,000 players have registered to play games such as "Madden NFL 2004" and "NCAA Football 2004" online. Last year, the company said 500,000 players registered to be matched for EA Sports online titles. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030915/155900_1.html
http://www.ea.com

(Calabasas Hills, Calif.) THQ, a developer and publisher of console and wireless video games, on Monday shipped its "WWE Raw 2" title for Microsoft Xbox to retailers. Created by Japanese developer Anchor Inc., the game was created through a license of World Wrestling Entertainment characters. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/030915/155235_1.html
http://www.thq.com
http://www.wwe.com
http://www.anchorinc.co.jp

(Sunnyvale, Calif.) Capcom Entertainment, the U.S. arm of the Japanese game developer, has announced plans to release "Mega Man Anniversary Collection," an anthology for PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube that contains the first eight "Mega Man" titles, originally released on platforms including Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Super Nintendo, Game Boy and Playstation. The anthology, due for release in February 2004, will also feature two arcade titles never before released in the U.S. market. http://www.capcom.com/news/news.xpml?prid=450094

(Washington) The Smithsonian Institution said on Monday that it has launched a new website featuring content from 16 Smithsonian museums, the National Zoo and its research centers. The site is designed to bring the Smithsonian's many educational resources to millions of classrooms and homes across the nation. "We created the new site to be authoritative, inspiring, and relevant," said Stephanie Norby, the director of Smithsonian Education. http://www.smithsonianeducation.org

(London) U.K. gaming news site GamesIndustry.biz recently provided a lengthy product review of Nokia's N-Gage, an hybrid cell phone/handheld gaming device. The N-Gage received a score of 5 out of 10, resulting from shortcomings in the device's design, such as the cumbersome process for changing games, and the odd position owners must hold the device when using it as a cell phone. http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?section_name=new&aid=2233
http://www.n-gage.com

(San Francisco) CNET News.com recently interviewed Janus Friis, co-founder of the original firm that created the Kazaa file-sharing application, about his new venture Skype -- which allows users to make VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol) phone calls to one another using a peer-to-peer network. "After Niklas Zennstrom and I did Kazaa, we looked at other areas where we could use our experience and where P2P technology could have a major disruptive impact," Friis told News.com. "The telephony market is characterized both by what we think is rip-off pricing and a reliance on heavily centralized infrastructure. We just couldn't resist the opportunity to help shake this up a bit." http://news.com.com/2008-1082_3-5074558.html
http://www.skype.com

(New York) The New York Times on Monday reported on Internet film piracy, and quoted a new AT&T Labs study that found that 80 percent of the 300 movies found by researchers on file-sharing networks "appear to have been leaked by industry insiders," such as a version of Universal Pictures' "The Hulk" that was leaked by an ad agency given a rough cut of the film to help promote the movie. The "insiders" may also include those working in post-production or critics and other voters presented with "screener" copies of movies up for Academy Awards. "Our conclusion is that the distributors really need to take a hard look at their own internal processes and look at how they can stop the insider leaks of their movies," AT&T Labs researcher Lorrie Cranor told The Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/15/technology/15MOVI.html

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