Main Stories
o Microsoft Warns EU Would Get Substandard Windows if Demands Met
o Kazaa's Sharman Networks to Get $2.3 Million from EUniverse
o IBM Supercomputer Uses Same Chip As Next Sony, Nintendo Game Consoles
o Yahoo U.K., Ireland Offer Free Space to Boost Internet as Ad Vehicle
o Broadband Video Services Provider Myrio Raises $9 Million

o Briefly Noted: World broadband market, Ubisoft - "Myst" sequel, TDK Mediactive - "TONKA Rescue Patrol," Activision - "Cabela's Dangerous Hunts," Nirotek - single speaker surround-sound, USC - undergrad video game minor, MyTunes

Brussels -- Responding to European antitrust allegations, Microsoft warned regulators that it may be forced to sell a "substandard version" of Windows in Europe if asked rewrite its operating system to remove its media player software. At the conclusion of a three-day, closed-door hearing, Microsoft's comments came in response to EU allegations the software giant has abused the power Windows has over the European PC market. Many industry experts are expecting the European Commission to impose a considerable fine on Microsoft and to force the company to remove its Media Player software from Windows. Despite Microsoft's warning, the company did strike a conciliatory concluding note: General Counsel Brad Smith said that Microsoft had "come to Brussels not only to discuss the issues, but to work things out."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z1A922B86 
http://news.com.com/2100-1016_3-5107673.html 
http://europa.eu.int
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o Kazaa's Sharman Networks to Get $2.3 Million from EUniverse

Los Angeles -- EUniverse, a provider of entertainment-related websites and newsletters, announced on Friday a new strategic relationship with Sharman Networks, distributor of the popular Kazaa file-sharing software, which includes a provision to provide over $2.3 million in cash advances to Sharman. The non-refundable advances will be recoupable against a sharing of revenues between the two companies; Sharman will also receive 500,000 shares of EUniverse stock. As part of the agreement, EUniverse will begin distributing its own "revenue generating application" along with downloads of the Kazaa Media Desktop. Additionally, Los Angeles-based EUniverse will develop and maintain multiple advertising-supported entertainment and e-commerce sites to be included as channels that can be browsed through by Kazaa users.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/031114/laf034_1.html 
http://www.kazaa.com 
http://www.euniverse.com
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o IBM Supercomputer Uses Same Chip As Next Sony, Nintendo Game Consoles

Yorktown Heights, N.Y. -- Computing giant IBM announced that a new computer it designed that is roughly the size of a 30-inch television has been named the world's 73rd most powerful supercomputer, capable of performing 2 trillion mathematical operations per second. The small-scale prototype of IBM's planned Blue Gene/L supercomputer is powered by the company's PowerPC chip, which will also be used in the next generation of video game consoles from both Sony and Nintendo. IBM's vice president of technology and strategy, Irving Wladawsky-Berger, told Reuters that mass producing PowerPC chips for the game consoles will help to offset the costs of building supercomputers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031114/135925_1.html
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/031114/tech_ibm_supercomputer_1.html
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o Yahoo U.K., Ireland Offer Free Space to Boost Internet as Ad Vehicle

London -- In a move to entice advertising agencies into spending more money on online adverts, Yahoo UK & Ireland is offering 30,000 pounds worth of free advertising space. The move builds on efforts by the Internet Advertising Bureau to drive further growth in the sector. Last week, the IAB launched an advertising campaign in the U.K. to attract marketers not yet involved with the online world.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?W2AB15A86
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o Broadband Video Services Provider Myrio Raises $9 Million

Kirkland, Wash. -- Myrio, a provider of software, content management and integration services for delivering video over broadband networks, announced that it has raised $9 million in its fourth round of venture capital financing. New investor Siemens Venture Capital led the round, which also included new investments from individual industry executives. Prior Myrio investors Ridgewood Capital, NeoCarta Ventures and Alexander Hutton Venture Partners also participated in the round. Kirkland, Wash.-based Myrio said its software and service have been deployed with 18 network service providers worldwide. The company will use the funds to expand sales and marketing, and for further product development.
http://www.myrio.com/media/release/money131103.html

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(London) According to a new study conducted by Arthur D. Little, the broadband Internet market worldwide is poised to double in size over the next five years, from about $30 billion now to more than $80 billion by 2008. Europe is expected to post the highest growth in the world, with a 30% compound annual growth rate, Arthur D. Little said.
http://www.adl.com/default.asp

(San Francisco) Game developer Ubisoft announced on Friday that it has released its "Uru: Ages Beyond Myst" PC game. Developed by Mead, Wash.-based Cyan Worlds, the title features music composed by Peter Gabriel. In addition to the single-player offline game, Ubisoft plans to launch "Uru Live," a multiplayer online gaming environment for the title, at a later date.
http://www.ubi.com/US/Articles/news_2003-11-14_Uru.htm
http://www.urulive.com

(Westlake Village, Calif.) TDK Mediactive, a publisher of video games, on Friday shipped its "TONKA Rescue Patrol" title for Nintendo GameCube to retailers. The game was developed by Santa Monica, Calif.-based Lucky Chicken Games; the Hasbro TONKA toy truck brand was sub-licensed to TDK Mediactive by fellow publisher Atari. Westlake Village, Calif.-based TDK Mediactive said the PC version of the TONKA game has sold over 5.5 million units.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031114/145085_1.html 
http://www.tdk-mediactive.com 
http://www.luckychicken.com 
http://www.tonka.com

(Minneapolis) Activision Publishing, a Minneapolis-based unit of the Santa Monica, Calif.-based video game developer, announced on Friday the release of its "Cabela's Dangerous Hunts" title for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/031114/145188_1.html 
http://www.activision.com

(London) NewScientist.com reported on Friday on a DVD player that creates surround sound from a single speaker, by using computer algorithms to manipulate the sound emanating from a single speaker case that contains five individual speakers stacked horizontally. Consumer electronics firm Nirotek's $799 NIRO 1.1 PRO DVD system's on-board computer "mimic[s] the effects used by the brain to identify the direction a sound is coming from," in a process that requires it to perform 600 million calculations per second.
http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994373
http://207.21.250.156/nirotek

(San Francisco) Wired News recently reported on a new undergraduate minor degree in video game design being launched by the University of Southern California (USC), believed to be the first such program to be offered by a major research university. Launching in the fall of 2004, the minor will offer three areas of focus: art and animation, design and management, or programming, with many courses to be taught by current gaming industry professionals. "Students will come away with the hands-on animation and modeling skills necessary to get a job in the industry," Scott Easley, a lead animator at Electronic Arts and art and animation instructor at USC, told Wired News. "We teach exactly what you need to learn."
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,61162,00.html

(San Francisco) CNET News.com on Friday reported on MyTunes, an application written for Apple's iTunes for Windows music jukebox software that allows PCs on a shared network to download iTunes tracks from one another's computers. The MyTunes feature is an add-on to an already-existing feature within Apple's iTunes that allows users on the same network to stream iTunes songs from one another's computers, but not to download them permanently. "And remember, copyright infringement is illegal," MyTunes creator Bill Zeller writes on his website, from which the software is distributed. "If you have any question whether what you're doing constitutes an infringement, visit the RIAA's great antipiracy Web site."
http://news.com.com/2100-1027_3-5107196.html 
http://mytunes.linu.cx

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