Main Stories
o U.S. Launches Initiatives to Advocate Against Piracy Worldwide
o Report: U.S. Broadband Penetration at 53%, But Adoption Rate Slowing
o File-Sharing Firms May Be Heeding Cease-and-Desist Letters
o Verizon Launches FiOS TV Broadband Digital TV Service
o IFPI, MPAA Launch Anti-Piracy Software
o Cingular Plans Mobile Music Download Service for Cell Phones Next Year
o Battery Life Tops Feature Wish List for Future Converged Device
o N.C. to Host First National "Pump It Up" Dance Video Game Competition
o U.S. Tech Sector Adds 190,000 Jobs in 18-Month Span

o Note to Readers: No Friday Edition

o Briefly Noted: GM - XM Satellite Radio, Arqiva - Nokia mobile TV, AG Interactive - Def Jam video service, VisiFone - Music Choice, Tunebite, PassAlong Networks - The Orchard, Warner Music Group - Donald Trump ringtones, FunMail - "Wallace & Gromit," AOL - Andy Dick's "AdCorp," SunnComm - Activated Content Corp., Rockstar Games - "Sunday Driver" UMD, Activision - "Ultimate Spider-Man," Electronic Arts - "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06," Bandai Games - "DICE," Playlogic - "Captain Blood," Google vs. Microsoft, Correction - PlayFirst
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Washington -- The Bush administration on Wednesday announced new initiatives to fight worldwide intellectual property theft, or piracy, as Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez met with technology industry executives in Silicon Valley and movie industry executives in Los Angeles this week. "The protection of intellectual property is vital to our economic growth and global competitiveness and it has major consequences in our ongoing effort to promote security and stability around the world," Gutierrez said. The government will appoint Intellectual Property Rights Experts, who will be stationed in countries the U.S. has labeled as piracy havens -- including Brazil, China, India and Russia -- and advocate there for improved IP protections. It will also create a Global Intellectual Property Academy, which will offer training on IP issues to judges, prosecutors and copyright officials from developing countries. In the U.S., a Small Business Outreach program will be hatched, offering two-day seminars across the country to educate small business owners on protecting and enforcing their intellectual property rights. The new initiatives follow the appointment of a senior-level Coordinator of Intellectual Property Enforcement by the Bush administration. The Commerce Dept. estimates that IP theft costs U.S. businesses $250 billion and 750,000 jobs each year.
http://tinyurl.com/8gz93 
http://tinyurl.com/dseo7
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o Report: U.S. Broadband Penetration at 53%, But Adoption Rate Slowing

Washington -- U.S. broadband penetration continues to grow but at an increasingly slower pace, according to a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Broadband penetration increased just 3% in the first six months of the year -- from 50% to 53% of home Internet users -- compared with an increase of 20% during the six-month period of November 2003 to May 2004. The report cites less "pent up demand" for broadband among Internet users, as now a majority of heavy Internet users already subscribe to a high-speed connection, while most newer users report using the Internet mainly for e-mail and Web browsing. About 60% of dial-up customers say they don't want broadband, while new Internet users accounted for just 4% of the online population in May 2005; currently, 32% of the U.S. adult population reports not using the Internet at all. To entice newer users, who are also more likely to be lower income households that current broadband subscribers, many DSL and high-speed cable Internet providers are engaged in competitive price-cutting. "The migration to broadband is happening more slowly for dial-up users in 2005 than 2002," said Pew Internet Project director of research John Horrigan. "Today's dial-up users are older, less educated, and with lower income than their counterparts in 2002, all factors associated with tepid internet use. With fewer new internet users coming online these days, the stock of potential broadband subscribers is not being replenished."
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/110/press_release.asp
http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/164/report_display.asp
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o File-Sharing Firms May Be Heeding Cease-and-Desist Letters

Los Angeles -- Reuters reported on Thursday that peer-to-peer file-sharing WinMX.com is now offline and the New York office of file-sharing firm eDonkey appeared to be closed, in the wake of receiving cease-and-desist letters from record labels accusing the services of copyright infringement. The letters were reportedly sent to seven firms including BearShare, LimeWire, eDonkey and WinMX, and follow a Supreme Court ruling that found fellow peer-to-peer software providers Grokster and Streamcast Networks (Morpheus) guilty of copyright infringement. Representatives from the companies behind WinMX, eDonkey and BearShare could either not be reached by Reuters, or did not respond to requests for comment.
http://tinyurl.com/e3joq
http://www.winmx.com
http://www.edonkey.com
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o Verizon Launches FiOS TV Broadband Digital TV Service

Keller, Texas -- Telecommunications firm Verizon on Thursday officially launched its broadband-based FiOS TV, offering the digital TV service first to residents of Keller, Texas. FiOS TV delivers television signals over Verizon's fiber optic broadband network; the company plans to bundle its 180 digital video and music channels with phone and high-speed Internet service. Verizon will expand FiOS TV service in Texas, and additionally launch in Florida, Virginia and California, where it has obtained video franchises from the government, with the goal of blanketing 3 million customers by the end of the year. The basic FiOS TV service will cost $12.95 per month and include 15-35 local broadcast, weather and community channels, and video-on-demand; a $39.95 per month "expanded basic" service adds 180 channels. A set-top box capable of receiving HD channels will cost $9.95 per month, while an HD set-top with digital video recorder will cost $12.95 per month; video-on-demand titles will cost $3.95 for new releases and $2.95 for library titles. "FiOS TV will connect with customers because it offers them choice, value and simplicity," said Verizon retail markets group president Bob Ingalls. "We have a great offer today, but it will get even better as we add programming and interactive services."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050922/nyth106.html?.v=24
http://www.verizon.com
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o IFPI, MPAA Launch Anti-Piracy Software

London -- The movie and music industries on Thursday released a software application that searches a user's computer for and removes or blocks file-sharing software and unauthorized copyrighted files. Developed by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) and Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), Digital File Check is intended for use mainly by parents and on corporate networks, and will be distributed both online and on CD in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the U.K. "We want to arm companies, parents and responsible computer-users with a simple resource to help them detect file swapping software and get lists of the movie and other files stored on their business and home computers," said MPAA president Dan Glickman. "Digital File Check is easy to use and can help people prevent their employees, children and others from illegally downloading and swapping movies."
http://www.ifpi.org/site-content/press/20050922.html
http://www.ifpi.org/site-content/antipiracy/digital-file-check.html
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o Cingular Plans Mobile Music Download Service for Cell Phones Next Year

New York -- Following its release earlier this month of a Motorola phone with Apple's iTunes music software for its subscribers, mobile network operator Cingular Wireless has announced plans to launch a mobile music download service for cell phones next year, Reuters reported. Cingular chief operating officer Ralph de la Vega told Reuters that the cost of downloadable songs on the service would likely be "slightly higher" than the industry standard 99 cents charged at Apple's iTunes Store, Napster and other services. Apple CEO Steve Jobs earlier this week said he would not heed record labels' desires to raise digital song prices, citing the need to maintain affordability in the face of piracy. Cingular's Vega added that his company hoped its mobile download service could be done in partnership with Apple.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050922/tc_nm/telecoms_cingular_dc
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o Battery Life Tops Feature Wish List for Future Converged Device

New York -- Over 75% of mobile phone and PDA users in the U.S. rate "two-days of battery life during active use" as the most important feature of an ideal converged device of the future, according to a new study by market research firm TNS. Only respondents from Sweden and The Netherlands -- in the 15-country survey -- rated battery life more important. The study looked at consumer views on a "converged device," which would replace multiple devices and incorporate a mobile phone and high-speed Internet. U.S. respondents said that their next most important feature would be a high resolution camera and video camera (50%), followed by the availability of full versions of Microsoft Office (42%) and at least 20 Gigabytes of memory (41%).
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050921/215063.html?.v=1
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o N.C. to Host First National "Pump It Up" Dance Video Game Competition

San Francisco -- The first U.S. National Pump It Up Competition, featuring the most talented players of the dance video game "Pump It Up," from Korean developer Andamiro, will be held in Concord, N.C. on Sept. 25. The title is known for allowing players to dance more naturally than other similar titles, like Konami's genre-defining "Dance Dance Revolution." The National Competition will consist of three divisions playing the arcade version of the game, and a fourth who will play the game console version of Pump It Up, developed by Mastiff Games. The tournament is sponsored by Andamiro, Mastiff and gaming entertainment venue Jillian's, with the winners going on to represent the U.S. in the World Pump Festival in Seoul, Korea in November -- which will feature over $30,000 in cash prizes.
http://www.andamiro.com
http://www.mastiff-games.com
http://www.jillians.com
http://www.pumpcs.com
http://www.piugame.com
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o U.S. Tech Sector Adds 190,000 Jobs in 18-Month Span

Washington -- The U.S. tech sector added nearly 190,000 jobs, a 3.4% increase between January 2004 and June 2005, according to a new study released by AeA, the nation's largest high-tech trade association. There are now 5.72 million tech workers in the U.S., with the sector generating a net increase in jobs over the past six, 12, and 18 month time spans, AeA said. "The data confirm our suspicion that the high-tech industry has recovered from the bursting of the tech bubble of 2000-2001," said William Archey AeA's president and CEO. "While industry growth is by no means explosive, the rise in high-tech jobs has been steady, and we find it encouraging that even tech manufacturing experienced a small increase." At the individual sector level, technology manufacturers added 21,800 net jobs in the U.S. during the period for a total of 1.36 million, and tech services providers added 167,000 net jobs for a total of 4.36 million.
http://www.aeanet.org/publications/idjj_midyear2005_overview.asp
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o Note to Readers

Digital Media Wire will not be published on Friday, Sept. 23. The next edition will arrive on Monday, Sept. 26.

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(Washington) General Motors said on Wednesday that it has now produced more than 3 million vehicles with factory-installed XM satellite radios. DC-based XM is the exclusive satellite radio partner of GM, which offers more than 50 models that featuring the company's satellite radios. In model-year 2006, nearly 90% of GM's U.S. retail models will offer factory-installed XM satellite radios as either an option or as standard equipment.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050921/dcw029.html?.v=31
http://www.xmradio.com 

(Oxford, England) Arqiva (formerly known as NTL Broadcast) and O2 announced that they have teamed up with Finland-based mobile giant Nokia to launch a full-scale trial with 400 people in Oxford to test both mobile TV technology and people's mobile TV viewing habits. "Increasingly, new forms of content are making their way onto mobile devices -- music, in particular, is already booming -- and the latest buzz is about television," said O2 Chief Technology Officer Dave Williams. "There will be many millions of mobile TV viewers worldwide by 2010." O2 said that 16 channels would be available, including BBC One and Two, ITV 1 and 2 and Channel 4.
http://www.3g.co.uk/PR/Sept2005/1941.htm 

(Los Angeles) Mobile entertainment publisher AG Interactive, a unit of American Greetings, on Thursday announced the launch of Def Connect, a joint venture with Def Jam Enterprises that will offer downloads of hip-hop video content to mobile phones. The service will offer comedy and spoken word poetry videos, in addition to programs like "Ride with Funkmaster Flex," "Entertainers Classic Rucker Park" and "Ralph McDaniel's Video Music Box," and biographies of famous African Americans. The Def Connect portal will initially launch for O2 subscribers in the U.K., expanding to U.S. and other carriers who will offer both subscription and pay-per-view content.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050921/clw042.html?.v=23
http://www.defjamenterprises.com
http://www.interactive.ag.com 

(Delray Beach, Fla.) ViseonMedia, a developer of digital videophone technology, said that it partnered with Music Choice, a provider of digital music channels for pay-TV operators, to provide music content for its forthcoming VisiFone Internet-based videophone service. Scheduled to launch in early 2006, the VisiFone will be able to display interactive video and digital audio without the need of a PC, in addition to functioning as a digital videophone. Music Choice will offer streaming radio channels, in addition to music news video broadcasts. The VisiFone service will also offer video content from providers including ABC, Fox News, The Weather Channel, Court TV and Discovery Networks.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050920/205285.html?.v=1
http://www.musicchoice.com
http://www.viseonmedia.com 

(Karlsruhe, Germany) German software firm RapidSolution has introduced a new version of its Tunebite application, which it says can legally record copy-protected music tracks while they are being played on a PC, for the purpose of making unprotected copies for private use. Tunebite supports the recording of protected files in WMA, AAC and M4P formats, such as songs purchased from iTunes, Napster and MSN Music. The company claims that although U.S. and European laws say copying copy-protected files is illegal, "subsequent decisions have also clarified that re-recording music tracks to create copies for private use is an exception to this ruling."
http://tinyurl.com/axp3g
http://www.tunebite.com 

(Franklin, Tenn.) PassAlong Networks, a developer of peer-to-peer and other music-related technologies, said on Thursday it has signed an agreement with The Orchard, a digital distributor of independent label music, to provide The Orchard's catalog to all digital music stores powered by its p2pRevolution software platform. Tennessee-based PassAlong has also signed similar agreements with the four major record labels. 
http://www.theorchard.com
http://www.passalong.com
http://pulse.ebay.com 

(New York) Warner Music Group announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with real estate developer Donald Trump, to offer official Trump Mobile content like ringtones, wallpaper and video ringtones. Warner's Rhino Entertainment will distribute the mobile content to customers through network operators Cingular Wireless, T-Mobile and Sprint Nextel, while a TrumpRingtones.com portal is slated to launch next month.
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=95583
http://www.trumpringtones.com 

(Pleasanton, Calif.) Mobile application publisher FunMail said on Thursday that it has signed a licensing agreement with Aardman Animations to create ringtones, wallpapers and other mobile content based on the upcoming feature film, "Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit." The movie, from the producers of "Chicken Run," is scheduled for release in October.
http://www.funmail.com
http://www.wallaceandgromit.com 

(Dulles, Va.) America Online said that "AdCorp," a new comedy short film starring Andy Dick, will debut on its Moviefone site. The film, a spoof of the creative process of advertising agencies, will be available for viewing Friday on the site.
http://www.moviefone.com/shorts 

(Phoenix, Ariz.) SunnComm International, a developer of CD copy-protection, announced that its MediaMax Technology unit has partnered with Activated Content Corp. (ACC), a provider of digital audio watermarking technology. Under the deal, SunnComm will offer ACC's watermarking as an addition form of content protection for record labels to use during the CD production process. SunnComm's CD copy-protection is used by labels including Sony BMG and KOCH Records.
http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/050921/86408.html
http://www.sunncomm.com
http://www.activatedcontent.com 

(New York) Rockstar Games, the unit of publisher Take-Two Interactive responsible for the "Grand Theft Auto" franchise, on Thursday announced it will release a documentary film on Southern California's low rider car community on the UMD format for Sony's PSP handheld game system. "Sunday Driver" will profile the Majestics, a low rider car club founded in 1973 with chapters in East and South Central Los Angeles. "Our goal was to create a film with the same cutting edge, uncompromising cinematic content that we strive for in our games. We are extremely proud of Sunday Driver as an evolution of the Rockstar brand into film," said Rockstar Games president Sam Houser.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=11701
http://www.rockstargames.com 

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Video game publisher Activision on Thursday announced the release of its "Ultimate Spider-Man" title for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, the PC, Nintendo DS and Game Boy Advance. Based on a license of the comic book character from Marvel Enterprises, the game was developed for consoles by Treyarch, for the PC by Beenox Studio, and for handhelds by Vicarious Visions.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050922/lath046.html?.v=26
http://www.treyarch.com 

(Redwood City, Calif.) Electronic Arts on Thursday released its "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06," the latest title in its best-selling golf game franchise. The title was developed at EA's Redwood Shores studio for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, PSP and the PC. Separately, EA announced the launch of the second FIFA Interactive World Cup, its global video game tournament for players of its "FIFA 06" game.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050922/225230.html?.v=1
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050922/225600.html?.v=1
http://www.tigerwoods06.com
http://www.xboxfiwc.com 

(Cypress, Calif.) Japanese developer Bandai Games on Thursday shipped its "DICE (DNA Integrated Cybernetic Enterprises)" title for PlayStation 2 to retailers. The game is based on the TV show of the same name that airs in the U.S. on Cartoon Network.
http://www.bandaigames.com 

(Amsterdam) Dutch video game publisher Playlogic said on Thursday that it has acquired "Captain Blood," a title for Xbox 360 developed by Russian studio Akella, which is based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini about the notorious pirate Captain Peter Blood. The game is being produced in cooperation with publisher 1C Company, and is slated for release in early 2006.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050922/nyth084.html?.v=26
http://www.akella.com
http://int.games.1c.ru
http://www.playlogic.nl 

(San Francisco) CNET News.com on Thursday reported on speculation as to the grand visions of search engine firm Google, and its potential to overtake Microsoft as the world's dominant technology company. "Google is this era's transformational computing platform and could be about to unseat Microsoft from its throne," writes author and technology industry veteran Stephen Arnold, in his new book, "The Google Legacy: How Google's Internet Search is Transforming Application Software." The article goes on to speculate about Google's intentions with large purchases of unused fiber optics ("dark fiber"), offering universal Internet access, and serving any application to any device with a Web browser.
http://tinyurl.com/7sj6q

> Correction

A story in Tuesday's Digital Media Wire stated that PlayFirst was a Dutch game developer. The company publishes downloadable PC games and is based in San Francisco. A different game publisher called Playlogic is based in Holland.
http://www.playfirst.com
http://www.playlogic.nl

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