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Past Editions

===================================================
DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE -- October 25, 2001
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To Subscribe For Free: http://www.digitalmediawire.com

o Judge Says Shareholder Dissent May Stop Excite@Home Sale to AT&T
o Primedia to Close Unprofitable Web and Print Titles
o New Media Production Firm Zoom Culture Raises $4.5 Million
o Game Developer Activision Announces Stock Split
o Watermarking Developer Digimarc Acquires Technology from Cognicity
o Briefly Noted: Windows XP - digital media, Mixed Signals Technologies -
Game Show Network, DVD "Easter Eggs" - Blockbuster.com, AOL Time Warner - EarthLink - Northern Ohio, WorldGate - TV Cable S.A., MSN.com, Mforma -
Cingular, Final Scratch - MP3 DJs
_____________________________________________

> 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.,"
"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 Judge Says Shareholder Dissent May Stop Excite@Home Sale to AT&T

San Francisco -- The judge presiding over broadband Internet access
provider Excite@Home's bankruptcy proceedings said in court yesterday that
strong dissent from several groups of investors could prevent him from
approving AT&T's bid for the company's assets, CNET reported. "Unless
creditors are convinced that the AT&T purchase is beneficial...it's going
to be very hard to approve the [sale] process," said Judge Thomas Carlson.
Bondholders in Excite@Home hold over $750 million in debt, and say AT&T's
$307 million bid undervalues the company. Excite@Home takes orders for
cable modem-based Internet access for cable TV operators including Comcast
and AT&T Broadband.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-7645533.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.home.net
_____________________________________________

o Primedia to Close Unprofitable Web and Print Titles

New York -- Primedia, a publisher of magazines and operator of
informational online network About.com, announced on Thursday that it will
shut down or sell some of its titles to combat the current "recession" and
advertising sales falloff. "Traditional and new media products that cannot
be turned profitable in the next few months will be shut down or sold to
immediately eliminate the cash drain," the company stated in its quarterly
earnings report. Primedia owns magazines including New York and Seventeen,
and acquired About.com for $426 million in March. "We have multiple
interested buyers for various properties, are moving ahead with the asset
sale process and will announce transactions over the next few months,"
said Primedia CEO Tom Rogers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011025/252145_1.html
http://www.primedia.com
_____________________________________________

o New Media Production Firm Zoom Culture Raises $4.5 Million

Chapel Hill, N.C. -- Zoom Culture, a new media production firm, announced
that it has raised $4.5 million in its latest round of venture capital
financing. Investors participating in the round included Intersouth
Partners, Cordova Ventures, the Atlantis Group, Tristate Investment Group,
Charlotte Angel Partners and TruePilot. North Carolina-based Zoom Culture
produces digital video content for the Internet, broadcast, cable and
satellite television. It also provides corporate digital video production
services. The company also collects embership fees from a network of
amateur videographers to learn production and gain access to potential
work. Zoom Culture also announced distribution agreements with NBC, Fox
and Mandalay-Direct. The company will use the funds to accelerate its
three business areas with the goal of reaching profitability within the
next 12-18 months.
http://www.zc.tv
_____________________________________________

o Game Developer Activision Announces Stock Split

Santa Monica, Calif. -- Activision, a developer and publisher of console
video games that yesterday withdrew a 6 million share public offering,
announced on Thursday that it will effect a three-for-two stock split of
its shares. The split will be accomplished by providing shareholders with
one additional share of common stock for every two shares they hold. Once
completed, Santa Monica-based Activision will have about 51 million shares
outstanding. "Activision recently reported record results for the first
six months of our fiscal year, and our outlook on the product front has
never been stronger," said executive vice president and CFO William
Chardavoyne. "This stock split will increase the number of shares
outstanding, thereby enhancing our liquidity.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011025/lath064_1.html
http://www.activision.com
_____________________________________________

o Watermarking Developer Digimarc Acquires Technology from Cognicity

Tualatin, Ore. -- Digimarc, a developer of digital watermarking
technology, announced that it will acquire intellectual property assets
and software of audio watermarking firm Cognicity. Financial terms of the
deal were not disclosed. The acquisition includes core watermarking
software, transactional watermarking software, promotional CD marking
software and secure music delivery software. Also included are four of
Cognicity's pending patents in addition to exclusive licenses to five
patents owned by the University of Minnesota, where Cognicity was
conceived. Oregon-based Digimarc laid off 20 percent of its staff last
week, and earlier this week added an additional claim to its ongoing
patent infringement lawsuit against rival watermarking developer Verance.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011024/240751_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011023/232719_1.html
http://www.digimarc.com
http://www.cognicity.com
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(San Francisco) CNET reported Thursday on how Microsoft's new Windows XP
operating system, released today, may help its Windows Media Player gain a
larger share of the market for audio and video players for computers. The
company made deals with 150 companies that will cater specifically to
Windows XP, including Compaq, Pressplay and Sonicblue.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7647727.html?tag=cd_pr

(Culver City, Calif.) Mixed Signals Technologies, a provider of
interactive TV programming software, said on Thursday that Game Show
Network will use its technology to transmit all of its interactive
programming data. Game Show Network, a joint venture between Sony Pictures
Entertainment and Liberty Digital, reruns old game shows and adds
interactive TV elements so viewers can join in. Culver City-based Mixed
Signals also provides iTV services to CBS, Pearson, E! and HBO.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/212980230&ticker=
http://www.mixedsignals.com
http://www.spe.sony.com/gsn

(Dallas) Home entertainment rental chain Blockbuster launched a website on
Thursday that will offer consumers clues on how to access "Easter Eggs"
hidden on some DVD releases. Easter Eggs have long been used by video game
developers, and are special features -- such as extra footage or the
trailer for a different movie -- which are not a part of the disk's menu
and must be found by following clues on the disk. "If it is just a hidden
trailer for another movie, that doesn't really interest me," said Keith
Leopard, director, online merchandising for Blockbuster.com. "But some are
very original, like in "Castaway" you can find out what was in the
unopened FedEx box by following the clues."
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011024/daw033_1.html
http://www.blockbuster.com

(Dulles, Va.) AOL Time Warner announced on Thursday the launch of
high-speed cable modem Internet access services on Time Warner Cable lines
in Northeast Ohio, which services Cleveland, Akron, Canton and surrounding
areas. Rival provider EarthLink simultaneously announced service launch in
the same areas. As part of the government's approval of AOL's merger with
Time Warner, the company must launch a rival provider's service on its
lines within 90 of launching its own services.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011025/252207_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011025/250226_1.html

(Trevose, Penn.) Interactive TV services provider WorldGate announced on
Thursday that it will deploy iTV services to TV Cable S.A. -- Bogota,
Colombia's largest cable TV operator. Basic service will include email,
chat, games and local interactive content supplied by TV Cable; higher
tiers that enable Web browsing and searching will also be marketed.
Pennsylvania-based WorldGate will use Motorola's SURFview analog set-top
box platform for the service in Colombia.
http://www.wgate.com/news/news2.html
http://www.tvcable.com

(San Francisco) Microsoft's MSN.com portal is giving preferential
treatment to users of its Internet Explorer and MSN Explorer browser
software, and in some cases blocking others such as Netscape and Opera,
CNET reported on Thursday. Visitors to the site using a non-Microsoft
browser reported dialogue boxes indicating that MSN wouldn't be "rendered
correctly" in their browser. The pop-up windows also offered links to
download Microsoft browser software.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-7655334.html?tag=mn_hd
http://www.msn.com

(Seattle) Mforma, a developer of wireless entertainment delivery servers,
said on Thursday that Cingular Wireless will use its technology to deliver
wireless games to its cell phone users. Seattle-based Mforma's technology
will be the hub for Cingular's third-party game distribution.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/212982146&ticker=
http://www.mforma.com

(New York) The New York Times ran a feature article on Thursday on
software that allows DJs to encode their records in MP3 form and carry a
laptop instead of numerous crates of records to performances. Special
records are spun on traditional turntables connected to the laptop. Moving
the needle on the record in any direction tells the computer what part of
the song to play, how fast, and whether to play it forward or backwards.
The software -- Final Scratch -- was developed by Netherlands-based N2IT
Development, and runs exclusively on the BeOS operating system, which can
be dually loaded with Windows.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/25/technology/circuits/25JOCK.html
http://www.n2it.net

===================================================
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
______________________

> 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

===================================================
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
______________________

> 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.
______________________

> 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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Copyright 2001 Digital Media Wire