Main Stories
o Sony to Test CD Copy-Protection Technology on German Release
o NBC Taps Overture, SLI Systems for New Search Engine Technologies
o MusicNow, Best Buy Team to Offer Downloads Direct to Portable Players
o RealNetworks Partners with Comcast, Intel for Rhapsody Music Service

o Briefly Noted: Nam Tai Electronics - Sony EyeToy, iBetX.com, Thomson - ESPN, BTringtones.com, Microsoft Windows Media Player 9 - Mac OS X, Boost Mobile, Acclaim - inXile Entertainment, THQ - "The Fairly OddParents: Breakin' Da Rules," Midway Games - "Justice League: Chronicles," Scholastic - "I Spy Fantasy," Berklee College of Music - free online courses

New York -- Major record label Sony Music, which last week announced its intention to merge with fellow major Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG), said it will begin testing CD copy-protection technology on releases in Germany, Reuters reported. Sony's "ConnecteD" technology consists of a "second session" of data on the disc that includes versions of songs that will play on a PC and portable players but won't upload to the Internet. At the outset, only Sony portable players will be supported, but the company said it is working with other firms to develop plug-ins to support other models. "We believe we can deliver more value by delivering more immediate content, an interactive experience, a better experience," Sony Music chief technology officer Phil Wiser told Reuters. "Even if you could go to a [file-sharing] site and download a single song, you won't get the kind of content that we can deliver." The first Sony disc to feature the copy-protection will be the German release of an album from the group Naturally Seven. Sony told Reuters it will gauge reactions from the release there before contemplating copy-protection on discs in other regions.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?U2DF32F76 
http://www.sonymusic.com
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o NBC Taps Overture, SLI Systems for New Search Engine Technologies

Burbank, Calif. -- TV network NBC announced on Monday that it has signed an agreement with Yahoo's Overture Services, to provide paid search listings on its network of sites for two years. The company also said that it will use technology from SLI Systems that "automatically learns from user behavior to improve the relevance of results" to power the search engines on sites including NBC.com and BravoTV.com. NBC owns a 20% stake in San Francisco-based SLI. "This new NBC-branded search initiative literally will get smarter every time a user uses it. It will connect users with world renowned NBC entertainment content and extensive Overture commercial search listings that match their every interest, delivered through the world's most intelligent search technology," said SLI CEO Shaun Ryan.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031110/105272_1.html 
http://www.overture.com 
http://www.sli-systems.com
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o MusicNow, Best Buy Team to Offer Downloads Direct to Portable Players

Chicago -- MusicNow, a developer of legitimate online music stores and services (formerly FullAudio), announced on Monday the launch of its MusicNow Download Store along with partner and music and electronics retailer Best Buy. The service will allow users to purchase $0.99 tracks and download them directly to their portable music players both from kiosks within Best Buy locations, as well as over the Internet. Supported players include 40 models from Creative, Rio, iRiver, Phillips/Nike and Digitalway. The MusicNow library offers 400,000 songs in Microsoft's Windows Media Audio 9 format, and does not support Apple's iPod digital music player. In addition to paid downloads, Chicago-based MusicNow's service also offers streaming music channels for a subscription fee.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031110/cgm019_1.html
http://www.bestbuy.com/digitalmusic 
http://www.musicnow.com
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o RealNetworks Partners with Comcast, Intel for Rhapsody Music Service

Seattle -- RealNetworks, a provider of media delivery technology and content subscription services, announced on Monday that cable TV operator Comcast will distribute RealNetworks' Rhapsody digital music service to its five million high-speed Internet customers. The company has similar agreements with other broadband providers, including Verizon, Cablevision, Charter and Time Warner Cable. Seattle-based RealNetworks also said on Monday that it has partnered with chipmaker Intel to make Rhapsody compatible with Intel's home networking products. RealNetworks will support Intel's Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) technology within Rhapsody, enabling home stereos and other products that use the Intel technology to more easily access Rhapsody digital music tracks stored on a PC over a home network. RealNetworks reports that Rhapsody users streamed over 28 million songs in October, a 33% increase over the number delivered during September.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031110/sfm097_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031110/sfm099_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031110/sfm098_1.html
http://www.realnetworks.com

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(Vancouver, B.C.) Consumer electronics firm Nam Tai Electronics said on Monday that due to demand, it is increasing its production capacity for Sony's EyeToy accessory for PlayStation 2 by 14 times, from 50,000 units per month to 750,000 units per month. The USB camera accessory enables gamers to physically interact with game titles that project an image of themselves onto the TV and respond to their physical movements. Sony said the device, which began selling in the U.S. last week, has sold over one million units in Europe since launching there in July.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031110/nym054_1.html 
http://www.namtai.com 
http://www.eyetoy.com/english/index.html

(Romford, U.K.) U.K.-based iBetX.com, an online person-to-person betting exchange, announced on Monday its expansion into the U.S. market. The service acts as a broker, facilitating a private wager between two users of its website; since launching in the U.K. in March, the company has processed over 180 million wagers. Despite current U.S. law that largely prohibits any form of Internet-based gambling, iBetX.com will offer U.S. users bets on horse races, golf, football, hockey and other sporting events. The company takes a cut of between 1% and 3% of the winner's winnings but does not charge fees to place a bet.
http://www.iBetX.com

(Paris) Thomson, the French provider of high-definition broadcast products, on Monday announced that it has won a contract worth more than 13.1 million euro ($15 million) from ESPN. The network will use Thomson's Grass Valley brand broadcast equipment in its new 120,000 square-foot Digital Center in Bristol, Conn. The new facility will supply programming for the ESPN's all-HD channel, which is available to direct broadcast satellite and cable TV systems in the U.S.
http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/031110/183/edi3q.html

(London) British Telecom (BT) has launched a new online service that will sell mobile phone ringtones from the company's 1,400 public Internet kiosks across Great Britain. Powered by Ringtones Online, the BTringtones.com site will offer polyphonic tones, as well as MMS backgrounds, logos, picture messages and Java games for mobile phone handsets.
http://www.btringtones.com

(Redmond, Wash.) Microsoft has released a version of its Windows Media Player 9 for Mac OS X. Apple's QuickTime video program supports Microsoft's Windows, and the company recently released a version of its iTunes music software for Windows.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A38D22FE4

(Irvine, Calif.) Wireless carrier Boost Mobile on Monday announced that it has added 55 wireless games to its downloadable content offering at BoostLive.com. The new titles -- available for between $1.49 and $6.00 -- were developed by firms including Thumbworks, Sorrent, Gameloft, Airborne Entertainment and THQ.
http://www.boostmobile.com 
http://www.boostlive.com

(Glen Cove, N.Y.) Game developer Acclaim Entertainment said on Monday that it has signed a European distribution agreement with Newport Beach, Calif.-based developer inXile Entertainment. Under the terms, New York-based Acclaim will publish inXile's "The Bard's Tale" title for consoles and the PC in Europe next year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031110/nym057_1.html 
http://www.acclaim.com 
http://www.inxile-entertainment.com

(Calabasas Hills, Calif.) Video game publisher THQ on Monday released "The Fairly OddParents: Breakin' Da Rules" for PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube and Game Boy Advance. Created by U.K. developer Blitz Games Limited, the game is based on the popular animated children's series on Nickelodeon.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031110/105175_1.html 
http://www.thq.com 
http://www.blitzgames.com

(Chicago) Game developer Midway Games said on Monday that it has shipped its "Justice League: Chronicles" title for Nintendo Game Boy Advance. The game is based on the DC Comics title and Cartoon Network series, which feature a roster of superheroes including Batman, Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031110/105100_1.html 
http://www.midway.com

(New York) Educational publisher Scholastic on Monday released its "I Spy Fantasy" CD-ROM game, based on the children's book and television series of the same name. Scholastic says its "I Spy" PC game franchise has sold 1.9 million units to date.
http://www.scholastic.com

(Boston) Boston's Berklee College of Music announced on Monday the launch of Berklee Shares, a program that will offer instructional lesson videos for free online. The lessons have been developed by Berklee faculty and students and encompass formats including QuickTime, MP3 and PDF. In addition to instrument instruction, the courses include topics such as "The Future of Music" and "Music Business." The school is publishing the lessons using a Creative Commons license, which allows free re-distribution, and is also distributing its Berklee Shares programming on file-sharing services including Kazaa and LimeWire.
http://www.creativecommons.org 
http://www.berkleeshares.com

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