archives

o Napster Laying Off About 15% of Staff
o Liquid Audio Considering Investor Buyout Bid
o Technology Firms Voice Opposition to Anti-Piracy Technology Bill
o Musicmusicmusic Licenses Universal Songs for On-Demand Streaming
o AT&T Removes Four From Excite@Home Board
o Briefly Noted: Sony EverQuest - DC Comics, Static 2358 - Cablevision,
YourMobile - NuvoStudios, Linux - PlayStation 2, "The Proud Family,"
Bandwidth shapers
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> Job Postings: Web Research Assistant, Web Designer,
Vice President of Sales

> Events/Services: "FREE Digital Asset Management Seminar," "CTAM
Broadband Opportunity Conference," "Office Space - L.A.,"
"SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival, OCTOBER DATES," "Digital Media
Revolution in the Americas"

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 Napster Laying Off About 15% of Staff

Redwood City, Calif. -- Napster will lay off about 15 percent of its staff
-- or 16 out of 104 employees -- to cut costs as it continues to develop
its secure membership service, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The layoffs
will come primarily in the company's customer service, business
development, and administration departments. "Napster took the step of
streamlining staff in selected areas in order to strengthen resources in
other areas crucial to preparing of our new membership base service,"
Napster CEO Konrad Hilbers told Reuters. File trading has been offline at
Napster since early July, when the company voluntarily suspended service
to fix what it termed technical problems with its filtering software.
Despite a court ruling allowing trading to resume, Napster has instead
focused on developing its new service. Yesterday, Bertelsmann eCommerce
Group (BeCG) licensed technology associated with Napster's service, save
for the file-sharing technology itself.
http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=internetnews&StoryID=316981
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o Liquid Audio Considering Investor Buyout Bid

Redwood City, Calif. -- Liquid Audio, a provider of digital music
distribution technology, said on Wednesday that it will consider a $67.8
million bid for the company offered yesterday by investor Steel Partners
II, at its next regularly scheduled board meeting. Steel Partners
previously told the company in a letter that its business plan was
"doomed," and yesterday submitted the $3.00 per share bid. Redwood
City-based Liquid Audio also denied a request from investor MusicMaker.com
to hold an emergency stockholder meeting, saying that under its bylaws
stockholders are not permitted to call special meetings. Liquid Audio
sells secure downloads in a proprietary format through a network of
retailers that includes Amazon.com, Yahoo and BestBuy.com
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011024/sfw088_1.html
http://www.liquidaudio.com
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o Technology Firms Voice Opposition to Anti-Piracy Technology Bill

Washington, D.C. -- Technology firms including Compaq, Dell, HP and Intel
have banded together under the umbrella of the Computer Systems Policy
Project (CSPP) to voice their opposition to proposed legislation that
would put government-approved security technology in all consumer
electronic devices, CNET reported. The bill, drafted by Sen. Ernest
Hollings, has the support of copyright holders including Disney, News
Corp. and the Motion Picture Association of America. "This legislation
would be an unwarranted intrusion by the government into the commercial
marketplace," said CSSP executive director Ken Kay. Other groups opposing
the bill -- known as the "Security Systems Standards and Certification
Act" (SSSCA) -- include digital civil liberties group Electronic Frontier
Foundation. A Senate committee hearing on the proposed legislation
scheduled for Thursday was postponed due to the anthrax cleanup in
government offices.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7617315.html?tag=mn_hd
http://216.110.42.179/docs/hollings.090701.html
http://www.cspp.org/
http://www.eff.org/alerts/20010921_eff_sssca_alert.html
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o Musicmusicmusic Licenses Universal Songs for On-Demand Streaming

New York -- Musicmusicmusic, a music entertainment site, announced on
Wednesday that it has licensed a select portion of Universal Music Group's
catalogue for its subscription-based, on-demand music streaming service.
Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The company will be
given access to part of the catalogues from UMG's country, metal, pop
classics, R&B and jazz offerings on labels including Interscope, Verve and
Motown. New York-based Musicmusicmusic has also licensed tracks from Koch
Entertainment and some live concerts recorded at the BBC. The paid service
-- RadioMOI.com -- is scheduled to launch on Jan. 15 of next year and will
allow users to choose tracks from a jukebox-like list, create their own
playlists, and listen to them on-demand. The company has not yet announced
a pricing structure for the service.
http://search.prnmedia.com/servlet/pressroomsrv?pressid=219752&detail=story
http://www.radiomoi.com
http://www.musicmusicmusic.com
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o AT&T Removes Four From Excite@Home Board

Redwood City, Calif. -- AT&T has relinquished four of its seats on the
board of directors of Excite@Home, the bankrupt broadband access provider.
Two representatives from AT&T remain on the company's board. AT&T has bid
$307 million for Excite@Home's assets, a sum that has been contested by
two groups of investors as being too low. An AT&T spokesperson told CNET
that the company removed the board members to avoid a conflict of interest
in the asset sale. CNET also reported the action will enable AT&T to
remove Excite@Home's financial woes from its own report of quarterly
earnings.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011024/sfw083_1.html
http://www.home.net
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o Briefly Noted:

(San Diego) Sony Online Entertainment announced on Wednesday that DC
Comics will create a title based on its EverQuest online roleplaying game.
The comic book will be co-written by members of the EverQuest development
team and the staff of DC Comics imprint Wildstorm Productions. Sony said
that during peak periods over 98,000 simultaneous users have logged on to
play EverQuest.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/212970400&ticker=
http://everquest.station.sony.com/

(London) Static 2358, a subsidiary of interactive TV developer OpenTV,
announced on Wednesday that it has licensed its PlayJam set of interactive
TV games to New York-based cable TV operator Cablevision. The agreement
will give customers of Cablevision's Interactive Optimum digital service
access to arcade-style action games, trivia, word puzzles, and
sports-based games of skill. U.K.-based Static 2358 has also licensed
PlayJam games to European digital TV operators BSkyB, NTL, Telewest, TPS
and Canalsatellite.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011024/242007_1.html
http://www.static2358.com
http://www.playjam.com
http://www.cablevision.com

(Santa Monica, Calif.) Wireless entertainment provider YourMobile, a
division of Premium Wireless Services, announced on Wednesday that it has
partnered with wireless game developer NuvoStudios to launch a cell phone
games network. Under the agreement, San Francisco-based NuvoStudios will
make its games available on YourMobile.com and to Santa Monica-based
Premium Wireless Services' other corporate clients. In return, YourMobile
will make its library of ringtones, cell phone graphics and messaging
services available to NuvoStudios' customers. YourMobile also recently
announced that content syndicator InfoSpace will resell YourMobile
services to its customers, which include AT&T Wireless, Cingular and
Verizon.
http://www.yourmobile.com
http://www.nuvostudios.com
http://infospace.com

(Tokyo) Sony Computer Entertainment announced that it will release a Linux
operating system-enabled version of its PlayStation 2 video game console
worldwide, following a Japanese launch this summer, CNET reported on
Wednesday. A software kit will let users familiar with Linux, a system
whose source code is freely available and can be altered by anyone, run
Linux-based software programs on the console.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1006-200-7627633.html?tag=cd_mh

(San Francisco) Wired News featured an article on Friday on a recent
cartoon shown on the Disney Channel in which a young girl experiments with
a free file-sharing network called "Free Jackster." The character
ultimately decides that "downloading is stealing" after a visit from the
police. The article goes on to interview the creator of the cartoon, who
denied that the episode of "The Proud Family" was aimed at instilling
Disney's views on protecting copyrights in its young viewers.
http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,47806,00.html
http://disney.go.com/disneychannel/zoogdisney/shows/proudfamily/index_main.html

(Baltimore) The Chronicle of Higher Education on Wednesday reported on the
use of "bandwidth shapers" at universities to help control the amount of
bandwidth that students use to access file-sharing services. The device
can monitor the types of files being transmitted and allocate more of the
school's bandwidth to email or other functions while slowing download
speeds for file-traders. Companies such as Packeteer and Allot
Communications are the main manufacturers of such devices.
http://chronicle.com/free/2001/10/2001102402t.htm
http://www.packeteer.com/products/packetshaper/index.cfm

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

> Katrillion, Web Research Assistant - Fort Lee, New Jersey

CityConnect, the first national city event guide for teens available on
all web and wireless platforms, is looking for an events-locating
super-sleuth to find content for posting on the web. The ideal candidate
must be -- able to find current information that may not be readily
available, a recent college grad, and possess a passion for pop culture
and teen trends. Internet savvy plus strong writing skills are essential.
Send resume and salary requirements to: ccstaff@katrillion.com
http://www.katrillion.com/cityconnect.com
______________________

> Bookspan, Web Designer - Long Island, New York

BOOKSPAN is seeking a Web Designer with preferably 1-2 years experience
for a freelance position (possible temp-to-hire). Work with a Sr. Designer
on the design of all-new web sites from top to bottom. PhotoShop,
Illustrator, hand-code HTML, and aptitude to learn proprietary
content-management software are an absolute must. Send resume in plain
text with URLs of your work, and list the three best-looking content or
e-commerce based sites you can find to: jgiannetti@booksonline.com
http://www.booksonline.com
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> Vice President of Sales - United States

We are a six-year-old E-Learning company expanding our sales presence in
the US. We are looking for a proven sales leader. Our streaming technology
is proprietary, our client base is outstanding, our track record is
extremely strong. We are in search of kindred spirits who believe that,
great technology companies are built by great people not hype. If your
knowledge of technology is strong and you have a demonstrable history
(10+years) of significant sales success -- we would like to speak with
you. This position can be located anywhere in the US. Send resumes to
njwlmw@aol.com

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

> FREE Seminar - A Foolproof Business and an Invincible Brand

A Digital Asset Management seminar introducing proven strategies for
strengthening global brands, improving productivity, enhancing
communication and increasing revenues. Artesia's experience with global
brands such as GM, AOL Time Warner and others has given us unprecedented
insight into how organizations can improve brand-building activities. For
more information: insidesales@artesia.com
http://www.artesia.com/seminar/
______________________

> CTAM Broadband Opportunity Conference, Nov. 6-8 -- Tysons Corner, VA

Get the FYI on HSI and iTV at CTAM's Broadband Opportunity Conference Nov
6-8, Sheraton Premiere Tysons Corner. Keynote speakers: Maggie Bellville,
Incanta; Christopher P. Bogart, Time Warner Cable Ventures; Charles F.
Dolan, Cablevision Systems Corporation & Steve Wadsworth, The Walt Disney
Internet Group. Call CTAM at 703.549.4200. For more information contact:
tania@ctam.com
http://www.ctambroadband.com
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> Office Space For Rent - Los Angeles

Prime Sunset Boulevard location. Approx. 588 sq ft. Second floor, spacious
two + offices with private bathroom. Convenient parking. Recently
renovated. Quiet, nice work environment. Other tenants in building are
primarily entertainment and new media companies. DSL-ready. Rent is $1,175
per month. For more information, please call 323-363-3620.
______________________

> SHORTSPAN Film & Video Festival, OCTOBER DATES

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 ultra-short documentaries like
"Peekaboo Sunday," a story about raising miniature horses or "Exotic
World," an inside look at the lives of some of America's first burlesque
performers-- and 57 more shorts! The tour will travel to 30 North American
cities.

CHICAGO, IL: Columbia College - Oct. 10 - 7PM
BOSTON, MA: Boston University - Oct. 10 - 7PM
KYONGIU CITY, SOUTH KOREA: Film & Video Dept - Oct 10
BROOKLINE, MA: Coolidge Corner Theatre - Oct. 12-18
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Lucky Bar - Oct. 23 - 8PM
SALT LAKE CITY, UT: Univ. of Utah Union Theatre - Oct. 24 - 8PM

HOLLYWOOD, CA: The American Cinematheque - Oct. 17 - 7:30PM
SAN DIEGO, CA: San Diego Museum of Art - Oct. 18 - 7:30PM
BERKELEY, CA: Fine Arts Cinema - Oct. 23-24 - 9:30PM

For more info: http://www.dreamspan.com/shortspan
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> Digital Media Revolution in the Americas, 11/29-12/01 -- Pasadena, CA

Presented by the Institute of the Americas and Annenberg School for
Communication, this 2 1/2 day forum will include Sr. Exec. Networking w/ a
special focus on Latin Americas & U.S. Hispanic markets, copyright, rights
mgmt., dist., infrastructure, digital film, iTV, streaming, device trends,
content financing. Early-bird 40% off till 9/30. Keynote Steven Bandel,
Pres. - The Cisneros Group. Sponsors: JP Morgan, Motorola, Global
Crossing, Walt Disney Company, Digital Media Wire, Cahners International
TV, iHollywood, Motion Picture Assoc., National Assoc. of TV Prog. Exec.,
National Assoc. of Theatre owners. For more information:
martin@iamericas.org
Register at: http://www.iamericas.org/events
______________________

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