archives

o PlayStation 2 Winning Video Game Console Race
o Pressplay Digital Music Subscription Service Launches
o Judge Orders Adobe Product Taken Off Shelves
o Digital TV, Broadband Provider USA Broadband Raises $5.1 Million
o Consumer Electronics Firm Iomega Lays Off 10% of North American Staff
o Briefly Noted: YourMobile - MuchMusic - Fido, Sonic Foundry - Madonna,
Sonicblue, Software piracy raids, Digital rights management - subscription
services, "Music Industry in the Pits!"
_____________________________________________

o PlayStation 2 Winning Video Game Console Race

Foster City, Calif. -- Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that
it has sold 1.5 million PlayStation 2 video game consoles since the week
of Thanksgiving, bringing the total number of consoles sold since its
October 2000 launch to 6.5 million. Figures released by research firm NPD
indicate that Sony's console is beating out competitors made by both
Microsoft, which sold 934,000 Xboxes in the fourth quarter through Dec. 8,
and Nintendo, which sold 615,000 GameCubes during the period. The NPD
report also shows that PlayStation and PlayStation 2 software sales
accounted for more than two thirds of all video game software sales during
November. Sony accounted for the figures by referencing the strong
performance of titles such as "Metal Gear Solid 2" and "Grand Theft Auto
3."
http://search.prnmedia.com/servlet/pressroomsrv?pressid=249659&detail=story
http://www.scea.com
_____________________________________________

o Pressplay Digital Music Subscription Service Launches

New York -- Pressplay, a subscription service joint venture between
Universal Music Group and Sony Music, was launched on Wednesday. The
initial service will be available "to the first several thousand
consumers" through Pressplay distribution partners MSN Music, Yahoo and
Roxio. Pressplay will become available through MP3.com and elsewhere after
the New Year. The service, which features songs from artists on major
record labels Sony, Universal, EMI and independents including Matador,
Madacy and Navarre, allows users to stream, download and burn select songs
onto CD. A free two-week trial is being offered, after which time the
following monthly pricing alternatives are available:
- $9.95: 300 streams, 30 downloads
- $14.95: 500 streams, 50 downloads, 10 burns
- $19.95: 750 streams, 75 downloads, 15 burns
- $24.95: 1000 streams, 100 downloads, 20 burns
Pressplay's agreement with record labels allows only two tracks from each
artist to be burned onto CD per month, meaning users cannot burn an entire
album from any artist. The Pressplay service launch comes shortly after
the launch of rival service MusicNet, a joint venture between AOL,
RealNetworks, and record labels BMG, EMI and Warner Music.
http://search.prnmedia.com/servlet/pressroomsrv?pressid=249542&detail=story
http://www.pressplay.com
_____________________________________________

o Judge Orders Adobe Product Taken Off Shelves

Los Angeles -- A federal district court judge has issued a preliminary
injunction against the sale of software developer Adobe Systems' InDesign
1.5, stating that it is likely it will be proven to be infringing on
software developed by Trio Systems. InDesign is one of San Jose-based
Adobe's desktop publishing tools, and allegedly allows third party
software developers to use Trio's copyrighted database engine without a
license. Adobe's other offerings include the Photoshop image manipulation
software and its PDF file format and accompanying Acrobat Reader. The
court's order prohibits the sale of InDesign 1.5; Adobe is scheduled to
release an update to the program next month that reportedly does not
contain the Trio software in question.
http://search.prnmedia.com/servlet/pressroomsrv?pressid=249672&detail=story
http://www.adobe.com
http://www.triosystems.com
_____________________________________________

o Digital TV, Broadband Provider USA Broadband Raises $5.1 Million

Petaluma, Calif. -- USA Broadband, a national provider of digital TV and
high-speed Internet services, has raised $5.1 million through a private
placement of its stock. The company offers its services primarily to to
subscribers residing in multi-tenant and planned community developments in
selected geographic markets. Petaluma-based USA Broadband said it will
primarily use the funds to acquire and expand its Cable Concepts
subsidiary. It will also use the funds for business development, to repay
debt and for general working capital.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011218/sftu078_1.html
_____________________________________________

o Consumer Electronics Firm Iomega Lays Off 10% of North American Staff

Roy, Utah -- Iomega, a manufacturer of portable storage devices such as
the Zip drive and HipZip digital audio player, announced that it will lay
off 10 percent of its North American workforce, or 80 employees. The
layoffs come as part of the company's earlier announced reorganization
plan, aimed at improving Iomega's operational efficiency by eliminating a
total of 35 percent of its staff. Employees at the company offices in
Utah, Texas and Toronto will be affected by the current layoffs; Iomega
also operates manufacturing facilities in Asia.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/011218/latu065_1.html
http://www.iomega.com
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Santa Monica) Wireless entertainment provider YourMobile Networks, a
division of Premium Wireless Services, announced on Wednesday a
three-month agreement wherein it will offer ringtones through a
partnership with cable music TV networks MuchMusic and MusiquePlus to
Canadian wireless operator Microcell's subscribers. Microcell's Fido
service claims 1.1 million customers, who will be able to purchase and
download new ringtones each month during the promotion.
http://www.yourmobile.com
http://www.fido.ca
http://www.muchmusic.com

(Madison, Wisc.) Sonic Foundry, a provider of audio and video editing
software, announced on Wednesday a partnership with Warner Bros. Records
to hold a Madonna Remix contest on its website. Vocal tracks and select
instrumentals from "Ray of Light," "Deeper and Deeper," and "Music" from
Madonna's "Greatest Hits Volume 2" album will be available to download and
remix using a customized version of Wisconsin-based Sonic Foundry's ACID
software. Remix contest participants also will have access to samples of
the company's loop library collection to edit into the tracks. Winners
will receive an array of Madonna-related merchandise.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011219/190016_1.html
http://www.acidplanet.com

(Santa Clara, Calif.) Consumer electronics maker Sonicblue said on
Wednesday that it plans to release two new products shortly after this
year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. One will be a 20GB hard
drive-based Rio portable digital audio player, and the other a home
theater system. Santa Clara-based Sonicblue was recently sued by a number
of television networks for alleged copyright infringement enabled by its
ReplayTV 4000 digital video recorder.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/011219/190051_1.html
http://www.sonicblue.com

(New York) The New York Times reported on Wednesday on the expansion of
the investigation of a software piracy ring that was busted in raids
conducted last week by the U.S. Customs Service. A number of those
questioned in the investigation, who include students at MIT, UCLA and
other schools in addition to software industry executives, have given
investigators information on other members of the ring and additional
raids are being planned and executed, the article said. CNET reported on
the probability of whether the raids are succeeding in warding off
software piracy, or if pirated software traders are simply using more
advanced methods to avoid detection.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/19/technology/19PIRA.html
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-8233279.html?tag=tp_pr

(San Francisco) Online magazine Salon.com featured two music-industry
related stories on Wednesday -- one that questions the major record
labels' use of digital rights management technologies in subscription
services created to try to woo consumers away from free file-sharing
services. The other ("Music Industry in the Pits!") tries to offer an
explanation for the slumping album sales, concert ticket sales and radio
advertising sales currently plaguing the music industry.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/12/18/dont_steal_music/index.html
http://www.salon.com/ent/music/feature/2001/12/19/music_industry/index.html
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