News written by Andre Yoskowitz (July, 2007)
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 Jul 2007 4:19
Ken Graffeo, an executive VP for Universal Studios has recently made comments responding to the recent reports that Sony had purchased end caps for Blu-ray at Target stores but then called it "exclusive."
Graffeo said that "standalone HD DVD players are still much more affordable than Blu-ray players," and that more importantly, HD DVD provided a better experience for buyers and even went on to welcomed consumers to do a direct comparison for the movie 300 which is available in both formats.
Although the format war is still completely a toss-up, the Blu-ray camp would have you believe that they are running away with a victory. That is not the case now, nor will it be for awhile despite certain retailers moving to Blu-ray "exclusivity".
If Graffeo's comments do nothing else, it will at least add fuel to the format war fire that is still burning and end any speculation that Universal is moving towards Blu-ray anytime soon.
Source:
Yahoo!
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 Jul 2007 3:57
The large Chinese exporter Chinavasion has begun marketing a unique media player that is so far unnamed.
Underwater MP3 players or MP3 player accessories are nothing new but the device will be the first underwater media player to play video and it can do so up to a depth of 10 feet.
It can play ASF, MPEG and WMV but disappointingly can only hold 1 GB of content and the videos will only be shown on a 1.8 inch screen. Even more disappointingly, the battery life is bad, with only 6 hours for music and 3 hours for video.
There is no release date known or price, but we will keep you updated.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 Jul 2007 3:08
In a rare move, Microsoft's Xbox 360 title Viva Pinata will be heading to the Nintendo DS.
The game will be based off the current 360 title and Microsoft-owned developer Rare will be in charge of development.
Rare calls the new game “a full-size Viva Piñata game in your pocket, featuring not only the entire range of paper beasts from the Xbox 360 title but also a few new ones thrown in to spice things up for those familiar with the established cast.”
“One of the biggest changes is obviously the control method, with stylus input transforming the way in which you interact with your menagerie. Design, nurture, instruct, protect and care for your garden and animals through direct touch,” detailed Rare. “The DS Wi-Fi service also lets you send prime Piñata specimens to your friends, making the act of parading your Doenut around in a humiliating pirate outfit easier than ever.”
Rare was originally a Nintendo-exclusive developer making such hits as Donkey Kong Country for the SNES. However, in 2002 Microsoft paid $377 million for full ownership of Rare as an exclusive Microsoft developer.
Source:
Dailytech
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 31 Jul 2007 2:50
Although Microsoft has yet to make an official word on the matter, leaked ads from a few prominent retail stores have revealed that by mid-August there will in fact be a $50 USD price drop on the Xbox 360.
The Premium pack will now sell for $349.99 and include a copy of "Table Tennis." The Elite unit will only see a $30 USD drop to $449.99 while the Core unit will see a $20 USD drop to $279.99.
There have been rumors however, that Microsoft will be completely dropping the Core unit from production after it sells itself out.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Jul 2007 7:58
Disney has announced that they will be debuting a collection of Pixar short films exclusively to Blu-ray before Christmas.
The "Pixar Short Films Collection" will hit stores on November 6th and features 13 of Pixar's most popular "shorts" including 'Geri's Game,' 'For the Birds' and 'One Man Band", all of which were nominated for Oscars.
Although these shorts have appeared on the special features of standard DVD releases of Pixar movies, the collection as a whole will make its debut on Blu-ray a practice that is becoming more commonplace.
There are no specs on the release yet but we will keep you updated.
Source:
HD Digest
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Jul 2007 4:41
LG.Philips LCD has patented a flexible OLED screen technology that would use oil and water to produce images. This should help to produce OLED displays at a much lower cost.
One of the current problems with OLED flexible technology is the fact that it must be produced first on glass due to the fact that it is made at a higher temperature than the melting point of its plastic substrate. The extra glass step increases production costs as well as time spent.
LG. Philips LCD says the "new displays are designed by placing oil and water contained in tiny plastic cells connected to plastic electrodes."
The patent itself says the display uses reflective electrodes formed on the first substrate alongside a transparent insulation layer. The second substrate consists of an electrode and in between two is an electrode layer formed by water and a non electrolytic layer formed by oil.
According to Dailytech, "the oil, which is opaque, sits on the water and covers the colored surface beneath. By applying an electric field, the oil is forced away from the water, making the colored surface visible and changing the pixel color."
As usual, there are no details on manufacturing date or release date and it has so far only patented the technology.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Jul 2007 4:13
Sony third party relations cheif Michael Shorrock has said that the company has purchased exclusive rights for the next game franchise by Rockstar Games, makers of the popular Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt series among many others.
According to Shorrock, a "completely new" franchise will be launched exclusive to the PlayStation 3 which should help Sony regain some credibility after losing out on a deal that placed exclusive GTA: IV content on the rival Xbox 360.
"Everyone knows to have success in this business you need to look ahead, identifying the talent and titles that are going to give consumers new kinds of gaming experiences that help set the bar for the rest of the industry," Shorrock said. "Rockstar has a heritage for doing just that."
Sony also said the game would make "heavy use of the PlayStation 3's Cell and Blu-ray technologies" but could not disclose more due to a non-disclosure agreement made with Rockstar.
JupiterResearch senior analyst Michael Gartenberg did mention that there may be more to the deal then what is known now.
"There's one interesting part of this," he said. "No one does exclusives without a really good reason and given the fact that Sony is not dominating this console cycle, I would think Sony must have paid quite a bit to get the exclusivity."
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Jul 2007 3:19
Once again proving that Sony are experts at spinning news in their favor, Major Nelson, Engadget and the HD DVD camp have all confirmed that gigantic retailer Target is not going Blu-ray exclusive and they will continue to sell HD DVD movie titles.
Turns out, the only news that really happened was Sony purchased end aisle placement for Blu-ray products and decided to call it "exclusive."
Official comments from Target are expected by the end of the week to settle the mess.
Source:
Major Nelson
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 30 Jul 2007 3:04
According to a new report by Entertainment Media Research, unauthorized music downloading is at an all-time high and the piracy is set to continue rising despite the legal efforts of the RIAA.
The report also stated that the group of consumers that are unconcerned with being sued for unauthorized downloads is growing.
The report, which was a poll of 1700 people, claims that 43% of the people now download unauthorized tracks, up 7% from 2006. Those scared of being sued due to their downloading dropped to 33% from 42% in 2006.
Stating what many have seen to be truth for a long time, the report noted that price was the key factor for the increased unauthorized downloading. As CD prices have fallen, the old perceived cost advantage of legal downloads has eroded. 84% of those polled agreed that differential pricing would help to increase sales. Older songs should be cheaper while newer, hotter singles can remain at a higher price.
John Enser, head of music at law firm Olswang, said: "As illegal downloading hits an all-time high and consumers' fear of prosecution falls, the music industry must look for more ways to encourage the public to download music legally."
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Jul 2007 7:57
The CW Network, previously the UPN and the WB networks, has announced that all of its upcoming 2007-2008 programming season will be broadcast in HD.
Every drama and comedy, and WWE Smackdown, will be produced in HD with surround sound so that they are broadcasted in full HD glory.
This is good news especially for wrestling fans who felt they were left out when Smackdown was originally left off the HD bandwagon. The show should move to HD in January.
Source:
Engadget
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Jul 2007 5:41
Last year, BitTorrent Inc. purchased the very popular torrent client uTorrent scaring users that felt the client would soon become obsolete or even worse, embedded with tracking devices by the MPAA and other groups. Some private torrent trackers have even banned later versions of uTorrent since the acquisition.
Yesterday, BT Inc. released BitTorrent 6.0, which is a rebranded uTorrent. However, uTorrent will continue to remain a standalone client and its community will not be replaced either, ever.
BT 6.0 looks just like uTorrent from the outside but now comes with BitTorrent DNA. There is also no longer a built-in search, but that can be added manually.
When asked about the future of uTorrent, CEO Ashwin Navin said this, “utorrent.com and uTorrent community will exist indefinitely. It’s vibrant and growing, and we value the feedback provided in the forums a lot. It is not our plan to fold utorrent.com into bittorrent.com, but foster growth for both independently.”
There is so far no evidence to prove that new uTorrent builds are being built with tracking code or that they are sending data packets to the MPAA, but rest assured I will be sticking with uTorrent 1.6.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Jul 2007 3:09
In celebration of the release of "The Simpsons Movie", the infamous torrent tracker The Pirate Bay has created a temporary new logo as well as t-shirt design. As a slap in Hollywood's face, the homepage logo of TPB links you to a search string that shows many hits for pirated camcorded versions od the Simpsons Movie.
As one of the admins, Brokep writes, “The beloved movie we’ve all been waiting for is out. So to celebrate we did a new logo and t-shirt in honor of this great show.. I guess you all know what show I’m talking about!”
TPB has even temporarily renamed itself "Evergreen Bay", based off the Simpson's home address on Evergreen Terrace. In the past, TPB has been well known for rebranding their site, most recently when the leak of the latest Harry Potter book hit its site.
For those who miss it, here is the picture, with the admins drawn as if they were Simpsons characters.
Source:
TorrentFreak
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Jul 2007 2:50
In the past couple of months, both HD DVD and Blu-ray have begun offering promotions in an effort to sell more players for their respective camps. These promotions, either price drops or "five discs free" movie offers have helped to bolster sales and gain more attention for the next gen discs.
Today, LG, makers of dual-format "hybrid" HD players have finally decided to offer a free movie promotion of their own, in conjunction with Best Buy.
Any customer who purchases LG's hybrid player at Best Buy can select 10 free discs from Best Buy's complete collection of Blu-ray and HD DVD movies (excluding box sets). This is double the amount of discs of the other promotions and with hardly any limitations on the titles you can choose.
Although the LG player is an expensive $1200, the promotion should help sales, not to mention bring attention to hybrid players.
Source:
HD Digest
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 29 Jul 2007 2:03
Inteset, the producer of advanced home entertainment computer hardware, has announced they will become the first company to offer hybrid HD players in their media centers.
To be specific, customers will be able to choose an as-of-now unidentified Blu-ray/HD DVD combo player as an option in its "Maximus" and "Denzel Media" servers. Each server allows users to store and play up to 6TB of media content.
The servers also include dual HDTV and SDTV tuners as well as Dolby TrueHD support. The systems also come with PowerDVD Ultra to play HD movies.
Prices are only available by contacting the company directly.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Jul 2007 7:58
In stepping up their efforts to prevent piracy, Spanish police have shut down two torrent tracker sites as well as arrest the administrators.
The sites, todotorrente.com and trackertdt.com were both taken offline and their administrators were charged with "facilitating copyright infringement".
todotorrente.com had over 30,000 active users and was one of the largest tracker sites in all of Spain. Users trying to access the site are now greeted with this message (translated from Spanish by TorrentFreak):
“CLOSED BY JUDICIAL ORDER”
According to the Police, todotorrente.com was responsible for more than 500,000 € in losses to copyright holders, while the site itself made more than 30,000 € in profits. Numbers that can’t be backed up by any evidence of course, but we’re used to that.
Todotorrente.com was not the only site affected by the raids. In addition, the police took down trackertdt.com, a sister site of todotorrente.com. Gamesfive.net, another sister site, now redirects to blackdivx.org.
This is not the first time that Spanish authorities take action against BitTorrent sites. Last year, 15 administrators of BitTorrent and eDonkey sites were arrested, in the largest P2P raid in Spanish history. Most of the sites that were shut down last year (17 in total) remain unavailable up until today, however, pctorrent.com now redirects to newpct.com, one of the largest BitTorrent sites in Spain.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Jul 2007 6:41
According to the US Patent Office, Sony has filed an application for a device interface that apparently connects a wireless PlayStation 3 Sixaxis controller to the bottom of a PSP.
Although Sony representatives were not available for comment the filing is certainly interesting. It is not completely clear what the device is capable of, but it could be intended to allow games that require dual analog controllers to by played on the PSP.
The recent announcement of a smaller PSP unit that features digital output should also be noted when thinking of the possibility of PS3 to PSP connectivity.
More updates when they surface.
Source:
GI.biz
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Jul 2007 9:19
Sony Europe and Sky have announced a joint venture that will deliver video-on-demand content to owners of the Sony handheld PSP.
The new venture promises "a wealth of video and film content" for the over 2 million PSP owners in Ireland and the UK. If the venture is successful, than a broader European offering will be discussed, said the company.
The company also added that more details would be announced in Leizpig on August 22nd at the annual Games Convention.
We will keep you updated after the Games Convention.
Source:
GI.biz
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Jul 2007 8:58
Although Apple has confirmed that the much hyped iPhone will be coming to Europe by the end of 2007, they have now revealed that not all of Europe will be getting the phone.
"We plan to go into a few major countries in Europe next quarter, to move across other countries in Europe in 2008 and enter Asia in 2008 as well", said Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook.
The news will surely disappoint millions of European would-be consumers hoping to get the phone in time for the holidays.
The company also said it hoped to sell 1 million phones by the end of September with the final goal being 10 million sold by the end of 2008.
Many industry analysts believe that the European countries to receive the phone first will be the UK, France and Germany.
Source:
Pocket-Lint
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Jul 2007 7:55
According to Sony's latest financial figures, the company is now profitable. For the quarter, Sony had revenue of over $16 billion USD with a reported profit of $808 million USD.
However, the PlayStation division of Sony, otherwise known as Sony Computer Entertainment, reported a heavy loss of $237 million USD although revenue was up 60 percent.
For the period, Sony shipped 2.7 million PS2s, 2.14 million PSPs and 710,000 PlayStation 3s. In total, for all three systems, Sony shipped 46 million games, with the majority being for the PS2.
According to the New York Times, Sony was helped greatly by the large box office sales of Spiderman 3 as well as other hits during the quarter as well as continued growing sales of LCDTVs and HDTVs
For the rest of the year, Sony hopes to ship 10 million PS2 consoles as well as 11 million PS3 units. Sony also hopes to ship 9 million PSPs, which was Sony's highest selling system for the month of June and which is being remade soon as a "lighter" version.
Source:
Dailytech
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Jul 2007 7:56
In April, DisplayPort became the new approved standard for PC displays but so far there has been little attention placed on the standard.
Recently however, several prominent manufacturers have announced they will be bringing DisplayPort monitors to the market in the next year including Dell and Samsung.
However, to be able to enjoy a DisplayPort monitor, you will also need a video card equipped with DisplayPort. AMD , the processor and video card maker, has announced that they will be equipping the R700 FireGL line of video cards with DisplayPort video outputs. The cards will be readily available in 2008, says the company.
The video cards should be out almost simultaneously with Samsung's announced 30 inch DisplayPort monitor as well as with Dell's yet unannounced displays.
More updates as they become available.
Source:
DailyTech
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Jul 2007 8:42
CinemaNow has announced they have now added music videos from EMI, Sony BMG and Sanctuary Records to the main CinemaNow site. Included in the licensing agreements are concert performances.
Beginning in August, CinemaNow will offer video downloads, including music videos and concert performances of hit stars such as Coldplay, Lily Allen, David Bowie and the Gorillaz. Besides being available on the CinemaNow site, the downloads will be offered on the company's WatchMusicHere site as well.
From the CinemaNow press release:
With these agreements, CinemaNow and WatchMusicHere.com will offer more than 6,000 videos from SONY BMG, EMI Music, Sanctuary Records and Warner Music Group, making the site one of the largest distributors of downloadable music videos from major recording labels. The selection will also include uncut European versions of select music videos as well as concert performances from around the world. Music videos will be available for purchase on a download-to-own basis for $1.99. Select live performances and long-form videos will be available for purchase on a download-to-own basis from $9.95 - $14.95 and on rental basis from $2.99 -$3.99, all in the WMV format. ...
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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Jul 2007 8:08
In what seems to be a popular trend, the popular UK retailer Woolworths has decided to move to Blu-ray exclusivity in time for the Christmas rush. The move mirrors that of Blockbuster, Target and BJ's.
According to Playthree.net, a store manager at a local Woolworths confirmed the move when confronted about a new, large Blu-ray display standing prominently in the store.
The store manager mentioned that although sales of both formats were very slow, since the European launch of the PlayStation 3, Blu-ray sales had slowly and gradually kept increasing and that the company now hoped to have Blu-ray displays in all of its best selling retail stores. The expense of moving towards Blu-ray? Woolworths will be dropping its HD DVD line completely before Christmas.
Source:
Play3
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 27 Jul 2007 7:49
Following the moves of both Target and Blockbuster, the large chain BJ’s Wholesale Club has said it will drop HD DVD titles from its shelves and become an exclusive Blu-ray disc vendor starting in the fourth quarter of this year.
Sources familiar with the company's decision said the chain will carry only Blu-ray titles in each of its 170 stores but it may continue to sell both formats on its website.
Recently, Target made a similar move, one that would "increase the presence and support" of Blu-ray titles in its many stores, but it will continue to carry HD DVD, to a small extent.
Source:
VB
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jul 2007 4:28
Electronics giant Samsung has announced that they will begin to embed ShoZu into future cellphones.
ShoZu is a service that allows users to upload and download photos, music and videos without the need for a mobile browser.
According to Samsung, the first phone to have the service embedded will be the SCH-L760. The company also says the service allows for uploading to and downloading from YouTube, Dada, Facebook, Flickr and others. Users can also upload to FTP sites and email addresses.
More phones with the service will be announced soon, says the company.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jul 2007 4:11
Denon Electronics has announced that they will indeed be releasing an advanced Blu-ray player putting end to weeks of rumors.
The high end DVD-3800BDCI will include some of the most powerful, advanced features seen on a Blu-ray player to date. It will be the first player to use a Realta HQV video processor which "allows for advanced video clean-up of even the best high-def signals."
The player will also obviously include 1080p output as well as decoding for all current HD audio formats such as Dolby TrueHD, DTS HD Lossless Master Audio and uncompressed PCM, which can output to 7.1 systems.
Another first the player brings to the table is support for BD-ROM Version 1.1, which will allow for support of picture-in-picture content on upcoming Blu ray titles.
Although there is no exact release date known yet, the price tag will be a handsome $2000 USD for the DVD-3800BDCI.
Source:
HD Digest
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jul 2007 3:48
On Tuesday, Limewire chairman Mark Groton had to appear in front of the Committee for Oversight and Government Reform to talk about the dangers of P2P and leaks of classified information through file sharing networks.
According to CNet however, he was "was assailed for allegedly harming national security" by Rep. Jim Cooper of Tennessee who went on to call him "naive" before saying Limewire could be used deliberately by enemies of the country. For his part, Groton promised to help redesign Limewire in an effort to avoid sharing sensitive information.
His prepared statement however, is what truly is news. Groton told the Committee that ISPs should better enforce copyright and take a stronger stance on sharing of unauthorized content. Be reminded this is coming from the chairman of a program, that at its peak, had over 30 million users illegally sharing unauthorized content.
"Internet Service Providers, ISP’s, are a unique point of control for every computer on the Internet. Universities frequently function as their own ISP’s, and a handful of universities have implemented notice based warning systems that result in the disconnection of users engaged in illegal behavior who ignore multiple warnings. These universities have sharply reduced child pornography and copyright infringement on their campus networks. Similar policies could be mandated for all ISP’s in the United States."
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jul 2007 3:35
ABC.com has now begun beta testing a video player that will allow the network to stream its television shows in high definition.
The player, created by Move Networks, does not require, but strongly recommends a 2Mbps broadband connection, 1 GB of RAM, a video card with 128MB RAM and a monitor that can handle 1300x770 pixel resolution.
So far, only four shows are being beta tested, with one episode appearing from each. "Desperate Housewives," "Grey's Anatomy," "Lost," and "Ugly Betty" are currently available but ABC says more shows will be added soon.
Each of the episodes air with "limited commercial interruptions," but users cannot fast forward or skip the commercials that are in place.
You can beta test for yourself here: ABC HD video streaming
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jul 2007 3:28
Although the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360 dominate most current headlines, the Sony PlayStation 2 continues to be the most played system in the US as well as one of the best selling.
According to Nielsen GamePlay Metrics, the PS2 accounts for just over 42 percent of current game use in the US. The Xbox (original) holds the distinction of second place, at a distant 17 percent. The Xbox 360 is at 8 percent while the Nintendo Gamecube held at just under 6 percent.
The Wii, although enjoying incredible sales since its launch in November 2006, is played in only 4 percent of households while the PS3 stood at 1.5 percent placing ahead of the Nintendo 64 and PSOne.
Nielsen said it used 33,000 individuals from 12,000 households to get its data for the month of June.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 26 Jul 2007 3:17
EMI has announced they have signed a deal with the Chicago based digital agency VerveLife that will allow the company to use its massive client list for DRM-free music promotions.
The new deal will be immediately used by fast food giant Burger King which will be offering codes included with its meals that will allow consumers to download a pre-paid DRM-free EMI track from a promotional website run by Burger King.
EMI has said since moving to DRM-free, sales have risen and the label has been continually trying to get a leg up on the competition by making promotional deals and signing promotional use of its catalogue to agencies such as VerveLife.
Source:
NMA
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Jul 2007 7:48
Sony America has announced that they have once again updated the firmware for their PlayStation 3 console, notably improving the console's Blu-ray 1080p playback over HDMI.
The latest update, version 1.90, will allow for 24Hz output for 1080p content over HDMI. The new update allows for "forced 24Hz" playback when currently some displays would automatically play at 60Hz with no options for the user.
Other small features added were 44.1/88.2/176.4kHz output for CDs, the ability to eject discs from the main menu, and the ability to change video output setting during gameplay.
Source:
HD Digest
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Jul 2007 7:39
In the ever escalating HD format war, Blu-ray has made the next move, with Disney offering their Blu-ray titles at 45 percent off suggested retail price.
The catalogue consists of 27 titles including the hits "Chicago", "Finding Neverland" and "Pearl Harbor".
There is no official word on how long the promotion will last, but many believe it will be for a limited time only. Currently, Amazon, Buy.com and DVDempire have the sale, so those looking for Blu-ray titles at DVD prices, may want to check it out.
Source:
HD Digest
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Jul 2007 7:37
AT&T and eMusic are planning on launching a mobile download service, one that should be significant for its industry.
Beginning at the end of this month, the service will allow customers to download five tracks per month at a set price of $7.49. What makes the new service special is that the tracks will most likely be DRM-free. Most current mobile services have DRM that makes it almost impossible to copy the files to other devices, even your PC. A DRM-free service would most likely attract customers tired of the restrictions of the competition.
There is however, like always, a catch. The only compatible phones at the moment are the Samsung A707, A717, A727 and the Nokia N75.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Jul 2007 6:47
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a price cut for the Xbox 360 could come as soon as August 8th.
The price drop would be a reasonable $50 USD but it is unknown whether the price dip would be for all 360 models or only certain ones such as the $479 USD Elite.
It is also unknown why the announcement was passed up at this year's E3 but analysts believe the price drop will be in unison with the release of the latest Madden, always a top seller.
Microsoft has so far declined to comment on the rumors or the sources but said they had nothing to announce at this time.
The move would certainly help Microsoft to counter Sony's recent price drop for its PlayStation 3 console and it would be the first pricing change since the system launched in late 2005 but we will keep you notified of more updates as they become available.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Jul 2007 5:34
According to data figures by NPD Group, since its price drop over a week ago, sales of the Sony PlayStation 3 have skyrocketed 135 percent.
Sony says the numbers are a combination of sales from the company's five largest retailers. As an added bonus, total hardware sales were up 161 percent, software was up 15 percent, and peripherals were up 60 percent.
The price of the 60 GB model of the console dropped to $499, a hundred dollar price dip.
"The new price on the 60 GB PS3, coupled with our very strong software showing from E3, is certainly paying dividends in terms of impressive sales across the board at retail," said Jack Tretton, president and CEO of Sony America.
Tretton continued, "This jump in sales bodes very well for us heading into the fall as we launch an impressive arsenal of hardware and software, leading off with the new 80 GB PS3 in August along with the unveiling of highly anticipated games such as Lair and Warhawk. That will be followed by Heavenly Sword in September and six more exclusive first-party PS3 games in October, including Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction."
For the month of June, PS3 sales jumped 21 percent from May's sales with just under 100,000 sold.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Jul 2007 4:09
The FBI and China's Public Security Bureau have led an investigation that has led to the discovery and disbandment of a $2 billion global software piracy ring in southern China. The syndicate is considered one of the largest in the world.
Microsoft, for its part, assisted in providing the FBI with information that led to arrests and confiscations of pirated software.
Software counterfeited by the ring was found on five continents and 26 individual countries. 13 separate products were produced by the syndicate, the most notable being Windows Vista Premium and Office 2007, both from Microsoft.
So far, authorities have traced 55,000 copies back to the ring but investigators believe the total output of the group is about 5 million discs.
"This case should serve as a wake-up call to counterfeiters," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said. "Customers around the world are turning you in, governments and law enforcement have had enough, and private companies will act decisively to protect intellectual property."
Microsoft went as far as to say that countries around the world should see a "significant decrease" in the amount of available pirated software thanks to the latest busts.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Jul 2007 3:49
Nokia, the mobile phone giant, has purchased the media sharing site Twango in an effort to create a mobile-oriented site such as that at Lifeblog.
The acquisition will make it much easier for Nokia owners to potentially upload their photos, videos and other documents.
For those unfamiliar, Twango is very similar to Flickr but instead supports more multimedia components as well as using "channel" terminology instead of the usual photo "sets".
Nokia also expressed hope that N-Series users will use the site as a social network as well as a media sharing site. The name Twango however, may be on the way out. "As we grow Twango into a global service we may decide on a name that is more suitable," says the company.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Jul 2007 3:09
MusicNet has announced that they will be making over 1 million DRM-free tracks available on Yahoo! Music Unlimited as well as on URGE. MusicNet currently powers the libraries of both legal download services.
Along with the catalogue of EMI, the DRM-free tracks will be from independent labels such as Righteous Babe, Nettwerk, Madacy, Nitro, and many others.
The company said the tracks would be in MP3 format but did not give the bitrate at which they can be downloaded. Although the exact date was not set for the launch the company confirmed it would be by the end of this quarter.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 24 Jul 2007 2:45
Authorities in Russia are seeking jail time for the owner of AllofMP3.com, Denis Kvasov and he can be facing up to three years. Along with the time, he could face a 15 million ruble fine ($600,000 USD) as well as made to pay restitution to EMI, Warner, and Universal. His site, AllofMP3, was closed last month after mounting pressure from US authorities forced Russian officials to act.
Mediaservices, the company behind AllofMP3 has launched a new site however, MP3Sparks, which is identical to its fallen sister site. Russia also has alot to lose considering the site was specifically mentioned in a list of milestones they must hit before they are allowed into the World Trade Organization. The other milestones include more crackdowns on piracy.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Jul 2007 2:09
Hitachi has introduced the world's first camcorder that can record directly to 1080p Blu-ray disc.
The camcorder will record to small, three inch BD-R/RE discs that are capable of storing up to 7GB of data. Although that number is far smaller than what regular sized Blu-ray discs can handle, 25-50GB, it is still much higher than a three inch DVD.
The device has a 5.3-megapixel CMOS sensor that can capture images in full blown 1080p and so the camcorder should take full advantage of Blu-ray. The device will also use AVC/H.264 MPEG-4 encoding for better compression but it is also equipped with MPEG-2 as a standard definition fallback.
No word yet on the release date or price, but insiders believe it will be out before the holiday rush.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Jul 2007 5:07
According to a recent FCC filing, Toshiba is testing the first Gigabeat player with Wi-Fi and if they like the results, the player will be a direct rival to the Microsoft Zune when it is released.
The player will include a wireless transmitter, at least for local networking. The player will also include a new OS, a modern version of Windows Embedded. The filing also suggests video capability.
New other news is available as of now, but the filing shows a probable early 2008 release.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Jul 2007 3:55
When the Zune was launched in mid-Novemeber 2006, Microsoft set a hopeful target of one million sold before June 2007. According to the company's recent quarterly financial reports, Zune sales surpassed that target and surely Microsoft is very excited by the sales.
For the period ending June 30th, over 1.2 million of the players have been sold, which is equal to about 170,000 units per month. If the units continue to sell at that pace the Zune should reach 2 million sold before the player's one-year anniversary.
Although Apple, SanDisk and Creative continue to heavily outsell the Zune, Microsoft must be proud of the market penetration the Zune has produced over the last few months. The company even proclaimed that the Zune had 11 percent market share for players with hard disks during May.
A second-gen Zune is expected to hit retail stores later this year.
Source:
MacNN
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 21 Jul 2007 1:56
LG will be releasing the second generation versions of their hybrid HD optical disc drives for PCs. The new GGW-H20LI will retail for $500 USD and can read both Blu-ray and HD DVD formats as well as write dual layer BD-R/RE at 6x. The $400 USD GGC-H20LI can read both formats as well but cannot write to Blu-ray. Both drives can write DVD+-RW as well as CD-+RW.
LG also announced that they would be offering a promotion alongside their $1200 USD Super Blu BH100 where any purchaser would get their choice of 10 free movies in any format. The company also said a second generation version of that player was in the works, with no further details provided.
Source:
Engadget
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 20 Jul 2007 7:27
CinemaNow, the legal movie and TV show download service, has upgraded their Media Manager software for the playback of CinemaNow content. The latest upgrade adds the ability for video downloads to be directly accessed by Xbox 360 owners .
The latest version can detect any Xbox 360 on your home network and the user can then download their video of choice to their PC and play it back on a TV using the 360 as a connective device.
Also enabled in the update is the ability for Windows Vista users to burn their videos to DVD, a service previously only available to customers with Windows XP.
"CinemaNow is on a mission to enable simple and fast integration into our customers' lives," said Curt Marvis, CEO of CinemaNow. "This upgrade alone makes our entire library of more than 7,000 videos available to the millions of Xbox users who are downloading movies online and watching them on their TVs."
Source:
DailyTech
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Jul 2007 7:03
In the wake of SunRocket's sudden cease of operations, former VoIP rivals have begun fighting over SunRocket's 200,000 displaced customers.
Vonage has started offering two months of free service to former SR customers and 8x8 and Unified Communications were selected as "preferred" providers for SR's users.
Those that move to 8x8 will not have to pay the traditional $100 activation free and those moving to Unified will be given a discounted $12.95 monthly rate. By being given the title "preferred" service provider, both companies will have to pay a fee to SR's creditors for each customer that switches.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Jul 2007 4:07
David Reeves, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, has suggested that there may be an upcoming new model of the PlayStation 3 for European customers, a model with a 120GB hard drive.
Reeves made the comments during an interview with Dagbladet, a Norwegian website. He admitted that an 80GB version for Europe would not be significant enough to pursue, but that a 120GB model would do the trick. "The difference between 60 and 80GB is very small, we just feel that going up 20GB is not worth it," said Reeves, adding, "If you go to double it, it's worth it...so maybe you'll see something a little bit later."
Reeves also talked about the upcoming "Starter Pack" instead of a price cut like North American consumers saw. “We believe added value works in the PAL territories. We don't think it's necessary to reduce the price. We think that consumers want added value in Europe. We think it's the right decision."
Source:
PSU
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Jul 2007 3:47
Phone hackers have found a way to unlock the popular Apple iPhone, less than a month after the phone hit retail stores. Currently, the iPhone is unusable without a new 2 year contract with AT&T which costs consumers a minimum of $1400 USD by the time it is over.
A group by the name of iPhone Dev Wiki has found a way to unlock the device so it can be used with any AT&T/Cingular SIM card without the need for a new contract.
“Using iASign, you'll be able to activate existing AT&T and Cingular Sims without signing a new contract,” wrote the hackers on the Wiki page.
“As a side note, we'd like to clarify that we are not even close on giving up the full unlocking, as reported on some websites. We're still up and running, but we won't comment on a possible time line. If the unlocking is possible we'll eventually find it, so stay tuned,” the Wiki page update concluded.
You can view the details on HackTheiPhone.com.
Source:
Dailytech
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Jul 2007 3:29
Scholastic Books, the publisher behind the giant Harry Potter series has gone to court in efforts to stop the leaks over the latest book of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The book is scheduled to hit retail stores Friday at midnight.
The publisher has filed a lawsuit against DeepDiscount.com as well as a few file sharing sites including The Pirate Bay. DeepDiscount is accused of mailing out 1200 copies of the book early.
Pirated versions of the book have been on torrents and P2P all over the internet for days now but J.K. Rowling, the author of the series is begging people to keep the secrets of the book to themselves. "In a very short time, you will know EVERYTHING!" a note on her Web site read.
Note:
If anyone decides to post spoilers or links to a pirated copy in the comments, commenting will be disabled and the user will be banned.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 19 Jul 2007 3:06
Today, Ooma finally launched its much anticipated VoIP service. Although the VoIP market is currently crowded, Ooma hopes to make its name known by offering free domestic calls for life.
The only payment you ever have to pay is the $399 USD to join the service. After paying the fee, customers receive the Ooma hardware which requires a broadband connection and will plug into a standard phone.
Ooma is the first service to use peer-to-peer technology for VoIP and uses the telephone lines of other users whenever it is possible. That feature enables Ooma to keep the service offered for free.
However good in theory the idea is, Ooma first needs to get a substantial amount of customers or their P2P type service will simply not work. In light of that fact, Ooma is starting an invitation program that lets users invite up to three friends before the hardware officially goes on sale.
The more serious problem for the company however is whether consumers will pay the $400 starting fee for a company that may not last. In recent news, SunRocket, a company that offered annual VoIP service for $200 USD, ceased operations leaving customers without service or their hard earned money.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Jul 2007 4:05
In response to the popular Blu-ray "five discs free" promotion, Toshiba has decided to extend their "Perfect Offer" promotion until September 30th.
The promotion, which gives customers five free HD DVD movies with the purchase of any Toshiba standalone HD DVD player, was set to finish at the end of the month.
Recently, Toshiba permanently dropped the price of their HD-A2 player to $300 USD and even more recently, Sony dropped the price of their 60GB PlayStation 3 to $500 USD making it the cheapest Blu-ray player available.
The Blu-ray camp had hoped to take a real lead in the format war with the price drop and movie promotion, but it seems the HD DVD camp is not going down without a fight. HD DVD players continue to sell at a much higher rate than standalone Blu-ray players (PS3 not included), but Blu-ray disc movie sales continue to outsell their rival.
Only time will tell where the market will go, but for now, the war continues to heat up.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 18 Jul 2007 2:05
A month after it hit one million sold in Europe and Australia, the PlayStation 3 has finally reached the same milestone in Japan.
According to Enterbrain, it took Sony just about 8 months to reach the milestone, over double the time it took Nintendo to reach the mark with its Wii console.
As of last week, 1.01 million units had been sold compared to just under 3 million Wiis. The Xbox 360 continued to die in Japan, selling only 420,000 since 2005.
The numbers are somewhat surprising as Sony has traditionally done well in Japan and around Asia, handily beating its rivals.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Jul 2007 5:41
After almost 3 years of service, and with little warning to customers, the VoIP startup SunRocket has ceased operations leaving over 200,000 customers without phone service.
Calls to the customer support service of the company were welcomed with the following message, "We are no longer taking customer service or sales calls. Goodbye."
The VoIP company was the fourth largest provider of internet telephone services, behind Vonage, AT&T and Verizon.
Although there was little warning, the signs of trouble were there. In the last month, the CTO, CIO and CFO of the company were either fired or resigned. There was also a significant firing off employees, with over 30 laid off in the last month, a number equal to roughly a quarter of the full staff.
Reports are indicating that if customers act quickly, then can port their service to another carrier as well as keep their phonenumber, but that offer may die quickly.
As the story hit more news outlets today, an employee of the company let his feelings be known about the way the company was run, "Congratulations to the ex-AOL management (you know who you are!) that took over for a new record in running a company into the ground, and congrats to the board of directors for yet another successfully mismanaged venture," he wrote in his blog.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 17 Jul 2007 3:39
On Monday, Sony finally confirmed what many assumed and announced that they were ceasing production on the $500 60GB model of the PlayStation 3 in favor of the new $600 80GB model.
Dave Karraker said they will continue to sell the lower priced 60GB model until "supplies of that unit are depleted" and that "We have ample inventory to meet the immediate needs of consumers [in the US] for several months to come."
Although its not clear whether Sony will once again drop the price of the console when the 60GB model stock is depleted but for now, the company is remaining quiet on future pricing strategies.
"We won't be making any further announcements regarding our PS3 model hardware strategy in North America until the 60GB model is exhausted and market conditions are evaluated," said Karraker.
Source:
HD Digest
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Jul 2007 5:20
Members of the Blu-ray camp are disputing claims that HD DVD is really as dominant force in Europe as the HD DVD camp would have you believe.
Reports have been published suggesting that in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, HD DVD players are selling at a 3:1 rate compared to standalone Blu-ray players, not including the PlayStation 3.
The Blu-ray camp feels the reports should include PC optical drives and the PlayStation 3 which they argue would put Blu ray as the dominant HD format in Europe, somewhere at 90 percent of the market.
Will update when HD DVD responds.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 16 Jul 2007 2:56
On Friday, hackers cracked the latest DRM protection created by Microsoft for use on its Windows Media Files.
In August 2006, a hacker by the name of "viodentia" released a program called FairUse4WM which could strip the DRM from Windows Media Files (both audio and video) allowing the downloader to play the file wherever they choose. The files could also then be converted to the format of their choice.
Microsoft then had a problem because in theory, users could sign up for one month of Napster, download one million tracks, and then strip the DRM from the downloaded tracks, leaving them with endless amounts of music for the cheap price of a one month subscription.
Microsoft then issued a patch for Windows Media and filed a lawsuit against the hackers. In the lawsuit, Microsoft claimed the hackers stole Microsoft source code to help in creating the program, but viodentia denied the allegations.
"FairUse4WM has been my own creation, and has never involved Microsoft source code. I link with Microsoft's static libraries provided with the compiler and various platform SDK files," the individual said.
The lawsuit was dropped in April because Microsoft could not discover the identity of viodentia or the others but no other cracks or programs had been released since then. With the latest update, Microsoft must once again issue a new patch.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Jul 2007 7:58
In June, the MPAA sued both YouTVpc.com and Peekvid.com even though neither site actually hosts any of the copyrighted material on its servers. Yesterday, the MPAA announced they had filed a similar lawsuit, this time against ShowStash.com, and for the same reasons.
The site indexes copyrighted material into categories such as Movies, TV shows, Anime and Cartoons. The latest releases are readily available at ShowStash just as they were at Peekvid and YouTvpc.
“ShowStash is a one-stop-shop for copyright infringement and the operators’ sole purpose is to disseminate content that has been illegally reproduced and distributed,” said John Malcolm, Executive Vice President and Director of Worldwide Anti-Piracy Operations for the MPAA. “Sites like ShowStash are breaking the law and our goal is to put these movie theft ‘entrepreneurs’ out of business for good.”
Source:
Slyck
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Jul 2007 7:48
Wal-Mart has announced that it will be giving away two free Blu-ray disc movies to any customer who purchases the Sony BDP-S300 at the lowest price ever for a Blu-ray player, $488 USD.
The two movies, "Gridiron Gang" and "Open Season", are stacked on the "Five Discs Free" promo so customers will get 7 free movies just for buying the player at Wal-Mart.
The deal is available online and in stores everywhere, and should help to add fuel to HD DVD v. Blu ray war which has been heating up this month.
Source:
HD Digest
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 15 Jul 2007 7:14
Some new details have been revealed about the lighter, slimmer PSP including added RAM as well as better battery life.
The Slim PSP will have a new UMD caching that loads game data into the on-board added RAM, which should drastically improve loading times.
The new system was showed off at E3 using firmware version 3.60.
Another new addition is a USB charging feature which will allow gamers to charge their PSPs via their computers.
Finally, Sony spokespeople said the battery life was now increased to 10 hours using the new hardware, which is double the current battery life.
Source:
DailyTech
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 14 Jul 2007 10:31
Sony has announced that they will not be dropping the price of the 60GB model for European customers nor will they be releasing the 80GB model in Europe. Instead, the company will offer the console bundled with two games and an extra Sixaxis controller for the price of EUR 600.
Although the recent price cut for North American models has helped boost sales, Sony Europe decided it would be better to bundle than adjust the price. The combined MSRP of the titles and the extra controller is over EUR 100.
The new "Starter Pack" will go on sale in the UK on July 18th and in the rest of Europe on August 1st. Besides the extra controller, customers can choose two titles from a list of five that include Resistance: Fall of Man, Motorstorm, Genji: Days of the Blade, Formula One Championship Edition and Ridge Racer 7.
"With sell through of over 1.2 million units in the SCEE territories to date, PlayStation 3 has proved to be an instant and huge success," said David Reeves, president of SCEE.
Source:
GI.biz
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Jul 2007 7:33
It seems BREIN has won their battle against Demonoid although the victory is very limited. Today, BREIN announced that Leaseweb has agreed to reveal the identity of the owner of Demonoid as well as take the site offline, this time for good.
BREIN also revealed that had Leaseweb not complied with their demand, they would have faced a 50,000 Euro fine per day.
"Hosting provider Leaseweb today complied with the demands of Dutch anti-piracy organization BREIN regarding the illegal website Demonoid.com," BREIN's press statement reads. "BREIN had summoned Leaseweb in a legal procedure demanding that Demonoid.com would be made inaccessible and the identity details of the owner would be provided to BREIN. The hearing was to take place in the District Court of Amsterdam tomorrow."
"Leaseweb signed a cease-and-desist undertaking which stipulates that it will keep Demonoid offline under penalty of 50.000 Euro per day. In addition Leaseweb supplied the name, address and bank details of their client to BREIN. These actions comply with the demands of BREIN which therefor does not continue with the hearing."
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Jul 2007 6:53
The Warner Music Group announced today that they had dropped their pending lawsuit against the video sharing site imeem and instead agreed on a revenue sharing deal.
The lawsuit was filed in May accusing the site of allowing its users to share copyrighted content from the label. The suit asked for an injunction as well as monetary damages.
The revenue sharing deal forces imeem to to share a portion of all its advertising revenue in exchange for Warner's entire catalogue of music as well as videos.
Warner is the first major label to sign a revenue sharing deal with imeem, although many independent labels had already done so.
"Our strategic partnership with Warner Music Group represents a very significant milestone for imeem - we are now able to offer our users an impressive level of free, interactive, and ad-supported access to an amazing catalog of both audio and video from a major record label," imeem founder and CEO Dalton Caldwell said.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Jul 2007 3:59
Yesterday at the E3 event, Microsoft announced that the Xbox 360 Elite will be coming to Europe with an anticipated launch date of August 24th. The price of the system however, was not announced.
European customers will be able to use all Xbox Live offerings including the new HD Disney movie downloads.
The Xbox Elite is still cheaper than the new 80GB PlayStation 3 but notably lacks a built in HD optical drive.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 11 Jul 2007 3:28
The MPAA and the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) announced that over the July 4th weekend, five would-be cammers were arrested after they tried to illegally record the blockbuster hit Transformers.
“These arrests serve as a reminder to potential movie thieves that whether you use a camcorder or a cell phone, stealing movies off the silver screen is a crime and you will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Dan Glickman, Chairman of the MPAA.
“Once again, theatre employees and theatre patrons have worked together to protect the art form they love, by intercepting movie thieves in the act of their crime. Thieves beware -- if you attempt to steal movies off the screen, we will find you and we will have you arrested.” said John Fithian, President and CEO of NATO.
The first arrest was made in New York City and the suspect is the first to be charged under new laws that were passed in May by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He faces up to six months in jail and a $5000 USD fine.
The second defendant was arrested in El Centro, California when the projectionist saw her trying to record using a Nokia video phone. She faces up to one year in jail and $2500 USD in fines.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 10 Jul 2007 7:23
Last week it was reported that Swedish police were trying to get the infamous torrent tracker The Pirate Bay reclassified as a "child pornography" site so that it would be filtered by Swedish ISPs.
The latest TPB blog however, seems to show that the police have laid off their threat, at least for the time being. There is a quote from an unnamed source that says "The child porn filter list distributed this week will NOT contain the pirate bay." It is not completely known whether the quote is direct from Swedish police or other sources.
The blog also questioned the motivation behind the police's actions.
"They claim that their work has been successful when trying to rid the Internet of child porn. I want to point out that still to this day, the police has not given us one single hint on what content on the site has been containing child porn - and the things we have filtered out has been proven not to be child porn either. So wtf? What is this content their talking about?"
TPB also added that they are contemplating filing a lawsuit for slander and other charges over the police's actions.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 10 Jul 2007 5:21
Yesterday, an unhappy Xbox 360 user filed a class action lawsuit against Microsoft over damage done to his discs by the console. What does the gamer want out of the lawsuit? All his games replaced or "equal monetary compensation" for them.
The gamer claims that the laser in the Xbox 360 caused permanent damage to his retail bought games and that the attached documentation that comes with the system does not mention anything or advise against moving the console while it is turned on.
The lawsuit also states that damage can occur while the console is stationery.
The lawsuit comes on the heels of Microsoft's $1 billion USD move to give customers warranty extensions and free repairs if there system experiences general hardware failure.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2007 4:36
According to Sony America, the new upcoming 80 GB model PlayStation 3 will eliminate the the "PS2 emotion engine" chip.
"The current 60 GB model utilizes a hardware and solution for backwards compatibility, namely the Emotion Engine chip," said SCEA's Kimberly Otzman. "The new 80 GB PS3 will use a software solution for backwards compatibility, similar to that currently found in the PAL model."
US PS3 owners currently do not need to download software updates to play most of their PSone and PS2 games but buyers of the upcoming 80 GB model will have to if they want to guarantee backwards compatibility.
Source:
GI.biz
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2007 4:11
Dean Takahashi, the man who first confirmed the Xbox 360 IPTV as well as the Xbox 360 Elite has now confirmed that starting in the fall, 360's will come equipped with 65nm microprocessors and GPUs codenamed "Falcon."
Apparently, Microsoft is still getting the new Falcon chips and a redesigned motherboard qualified but the new 360s will be available by fall.
The new chips are smaller, run cooler and are almost 50 percent cheaper to produce than the current 90nm chips. With reports flooding the internet that 30 percent of 360s have failed and experienced the three red rings of death, the new cooler chips should help to lower that rate in the future.
Recently, Microsoft began a $1 billion USD initiative to give extended warranties and free repairs to gamers who have experience the rings of death.
Source:
Dailytech
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2007 3:40
Today, iRiver announced that they would be producing a new model for their Clix media players that will be compatible with Rhapsody by RealNetworks.
The first generation of Clix players are Windows Media based but the new second generation devices will support Rhapsody and Rhapsody DNA, Real's DRM solution.
The new device will of course support WMA as well but the main focus of the players is Rhapsody integration. Reigncom, the manufacturer of all iRiver devices also announced that those that bought second generation Clix players before today will be able to add the Rhapsody functionality through a firmware update.
The new devices feature 2.2 inch OLED screens, "direct click" navigation, FM radio and SRS WOW technology. 4GB models retail for $190 USD.
"We are excited to be launching the new clix Rhapsody," said Sean Kim, CEO of Reigncom. "With Rhapsody DNA technologies, we are able to introduce a number of new features to enhance the consumer's digital music experience by providing intuitive ways to discover and enjoy new music directly on the device."
According to Real, Rhapsody has almost 2.7 million subscribers and is the largest unlimited music service.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2007 2:49
Just months after Yahoo! added searchable lyrics to their Yahoo! Music service, RealNetworks has done the same for their Rhapsody Online music service. Rhapsody Online is the web-based version of the company's subscription service and it has been decently popular since its launch. Users will now be able to view and search for legal lyrics from their favorite songs.
The new lyrics comes courtesy of a deal with LyricFind which has deals with the major music labels to license the lyrics.
According to Real, the new lyrics database is indexed in such a way that search engines can pick it up and drive more traffic to Rhapsody. Lyric searches are very popular on search engines and Real hopes the addition of the lyrics will bring some extra customers to the service.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 09 Jul 2007 2:35
This morning, Microsoft announced that it will be sponsoring a series of free concerts over the course of July and August in an effort to promote its Zune media player.
The events, collectively called "Zune Live at the BBQ" will include several popular hip-hop acts and the tour will begin in Los Angeles in 3 days. There is a Chicago tour date set for July 22nd and a New York City tour date planned for August 4th.
A few of the confirmed artists are Common, E-40, Bilal, Collie Budz and Mos Def. Microsoft noted that there were more acts still being confirmed and that fans should be in for a few surprise acts.
"It's a way to show our appreciation to the hip-hop community for its support of the Zune brand and to bring the music to life for fans," Zune marketing chief Chris Stephenson said.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 08 Jul 2007 7:19
A few days ago, we reported that the fake torrent site MiiVi was down after it was discovered it was a front for the MPAA to catch would-be pirates.
The agency behind the site, Media Defender however, is denying that the site was set up as an entrapment scheme like many are calling it. MediaDefender went on to say that the story was being blown out of proportion by pro-torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay and TorrentFreak as a way to remove credibility from the company and its software.
The site Zeropaid, working on a tip from TPB, originally found out and released the information that Media Defender was behind the site, citing a "whois" record that clearly showed the organization as being owners of the site.
After the article hit, the whois record changed and now shows anonymous Domains by Proxy information.
Media Defender's Randy Saaf responded to the claims. "MediaDefender was working on an internal project that involved video and didn't realize that people would be trying to go to it and so we didn't password-protect the site," Saaf said. "It was just an oversight from that perspective. This was not an entrapment site, and we were not working with the MPAA on it. In fact, the MPAA didn't even know about it."
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 08 Jul 2007 6:44
According to two new lawsuits filed against Apple this week, the company "knowingly infringed on copyrights", including the copyright of an artistic photographer and a song written in 1979.
Apple TV's most popular advertisement is a so-called "video wall", which consists of alot of small videos playing simultaneously while an Apple TV unit is in the middle. Louis Psihoyos, the artistic photographer, believes the video wall is too similar to one of his photographs to be coincidence and therefore the lawsuit was filed.
Apparently, Apple and Psihoyos had been in negotiations to use the concept but the agreement was never made. The lawsuit goes on to say that Apple then stole the concept instead of developing a new one. Psihoyos also argues that he never made one cent from any of Apple's profits from the Apple TV.
The second suit, a civil complaint, accuses iTunes as being "an acting catalyst for music infringement." According to the suit, Avril Lavigne's 2007 hit "Girlfriend" is based almost completely on the 1979 song "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" by James Gangwer and Tommy Dunbar. The artists believe that any company that publishes or sells the new song is infringing on the original song.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 07 Jul 2007 8:16
Although movie studio support seems to be waning, Sony's senior marketing manager for PSP John Koller has said that the company has no plans to kill off UMD and will remain committed to the format.
"We'll never walk away from our base. Whether it's movies or game content, third parties have an incredible opportunity to utilize it," he added.
"UMD possesses many strengths, from size to form factor to portability. Duplication of UMDs is much easier, cheaper than cartridges. We've really optimized time and cost by going with a disc-based format," Koller noted.
Koller made his comments after news spread that the latest PSP firmware update includes an ISO loader, allowing gamers to play games that have been stored on their Memory Sticks. Many saw the move as a way for Sony to move away from UMD and towards downloadable content.
UMD does have its downside however, Koller admitted. "There's no question the biggest weakness is related to porting games from other platforms. Publishers are concerned about the size of UMD because they can't cram a DVD game on to it," he said.
Legendary Castlevania creator Koji Igarashi added that there were more disadvantages to the format. "The slowness of the seeking speed of UMD is a weakness," he stated, "loading speed becomes a big problem for UMD".
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 07 Jul 2007 8:04
Although they already apologized to the Church of England over their recreation of Manchester Cathedral in their hit game Resistance: Fall of Man, Sony took out a full page ad in the local paper yesterday to apologize to the people of Manchester in an effort to smooth things over.
The ad, which was in the Mnachester Evening News, apologized for any offences the PS3 game may have caused and also showed that Sony was humbled.
"It is clear to us that the connection between the congregation and the cathedral is a deeply personal and spiritual one," offered David Reeves, president of SCEE.
"As a result, it is also clear that we have offended some of the congregation by using the cathedral in our science fiction game. It was never our intention to offend anyone in the making of this game, and we would like to apologize unreservedly to them for causing that offence, and to all parts of the community who might also have been offended."
Source:
GI.biz
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jul 2007 6:21
For the 4 day period of July 10th to July 13th, Microsoft will be making E3 related videos available in HD on Xbox Live.
The new revamped E3 event will be much less accesible than in past years and so Xbox 360 owners should be happy with the move.
Along with the announcement, Microsoft released a list of the downloadable HD content that would be available directly from the event. The list, as presented at Dailytech,
* Microsoft’s E3 2007 press conference — beginning at 8:30 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, July 10 — will be available on Xbox LIVE Marketplace in high definition later in the week
* Video updates direct from the show
* A selection of game trailers, themes, gamer pictures and demos will be available from the hottest E3 titles such as these:
* “Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation” (NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc.)
* “Assassin’s Creed” (Ubisoft)
* “BioShock” (2K)
* “Blue Dragon” (Microsoft Game Studios)
* “Burnout Paradise” (Electronic Arts Inc.)
* “CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE”(Activision)
* “FIFA Soccer 08” (Electronic Arts)
* “Guitar Hero III” (Activision/RedOctane)
* “Lost Odyssey” (Microsoft Game Studios)
* “Madden NFL 08” (Electronic Arts)
* “NCAA Football 08” (Electronic Arts)
* “Need for Speed: ProStreet” (Electronic Arts)
* “Project Gotham Racing 4” (Microsoft Game Studios)
* “The Simpsons Game” (Electronic Arts)
* “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08” (Electronic Arts)
* “WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008” (THQ)
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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jul 2007 3:39
According to a press release from the Swedish Pirate Party, apparently the Swedish police have taken thier disdain of the infamous torrent tracker The Pirate Bay to a new level.
The police are reportedly "attempting to block access" to the site by reclassifying it as a child pornography site. The police then hopes Swedish ISPs will voluntarily block the "child porn" site.
The Pirate Bay has been the center of controversy for years, and it has so far thwarted numerous attempts to get it shut down. It seems though, that Swedish authorities are now desperate.
"This is a devastatingly ignorant abuse of the trust relationship between the Internet world and the Police that was created in order to stop child pornography", says Rick Falkvinge, leader of the Pirate Party. "Once given the means to shut down unwanted sites, the Police uses the filter to shut down the Pirate Bay after the failed attempt last year. And just like last year, through abuse of procedure."
TPB's latest blog includes quotes from a Swedish police press release about whether or not to reclassify the site.
"It’s not decided that we’ll put The Pirate Bay in the list - if the content is still there next week we’ll put them there," a police spokesperson is quoted in the blog.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jul 2007 3:09
Today, Sharp announced that it will be releasing its first Blu-ray player in time for the holidays.
The player, the BD-HP205, which should hit by late fall had its preliminary specifications released along with Sharp's announcement. There will be 1080p output along with Dolby TrueHD decoding and 24fps and 60fps output capability.
The player will also support HDMI v1.3 and include analog 5.1 outputs as well.
A new addition Sharp is bringing to the table is a "Quick Start" feature which will load the Blu-ray disc seconds after it is inserted into the drive tray. Most current Blu ray player owners will agree that loading times can be horrendous.
There is no set retail price but we will keep you updated.
Source:
HD Digest
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jul 2007 2:52
MiiVi, a video download site that linked to many movies has been taken offline after being discovered as a front for the MPAA to catch pirates.
The site, besides linking to movies, also linked to a MiiVi accelerator application, which apparently is a Trojan horse.
Zeropaid discovered the site was a front after doing a Whois search on the site that revealed it was owned by MediaDefender, a company the MPAA uses due to its specialty in anti-piracy "solutions."
The application is really a Trojan horse that scans your hard drive looking for pirated content and then reports back to MediaDefender which gives the information to the MPAA.
"It's always nice to know that sometimes good things do happen, and more importantly, that MiiVi won't be trapping any more unsuspecting users," 'soulxtc' wrote from Zeropaid.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 06 Jul 2007 2:37
According to Kotaku and DVD Talk, it seems the PlayStation 3 will be getting a much talked about but not anticipated price drop.
Members of DVD Talk acquired a flyer from the large retailer Circuit City which showed that beginning July 12th, the PS3 would be listed at $499.99 USD after a $100 "price break."
Although it is not completely known whether the sale price is specific to Circuit City, a merchandising manager for Sony supposedly confirmed that the price drop was coming on July 12th, with promotion beginning on July 15th.
Many now believe that Sony will officially announce the price drop at their E3 press conference on July 11th.
The price drop has been rumored for a few months now, with heads of Sony fueling the rumors. Last month Sony president Ryoji Chubachi told the Financial Times “We are re-examining our [PS3] budgeting process in terms of pricing and volume. Sales assumptions change and the market is competitive. We are in the midst of revisiting our strategy for the PS3.”
Sony CEO Howard Stringer also said this month that the company was looking to "refine" the price.
We will wait and see and keep you updated on any developments.
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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jul 2007 4:32
Toshiba has announced they will be bringing true 24p output to their popular HD-XA2 and HD-A20 HD DVD players.
The new capability will be added through a firmware upgrade due in September. The firmware upgrade will introduce "playback of film-based content" at 1080p/24fps, otherwise known as 24p.
Although movies are captured at 24p for theatrical exhibition, they are usually transferred at 30fps for home video formats. Both HD DVD and Blu ray are capable of encoding at 24p but so far no HD DVD players have facilitated playback at anything but 30p.
Source:
HD Digest
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jul 2007 3:24
According to the Times Online, O2 has signed an exclusive deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to the United Kingdom.
Although Vodafone was the early favorite for the contract, it seems O2 has come away with the deal. It is also believed O2 will revenue share with Apple from revenue generated from each new iPhone customer.
T-Mobile is expected to make a similar deal for exclusive rights in Germany and Orange is close to making the same deal for France.
In the US so far, the iPhone has been a great success despite its hefty price tag.
Source:
Dailytech
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jul 2007 3:10
According to new data from Nielsen SoundScan, physical CD sales continue their plunge while digital sales continue to surge.
For the six month period of January 1st to July 1st, only 230 million physical albums were sold, a heavy 15 percent drop from the same period in 2006. Digital music sales increased by about 50 percent, to 417 million during the period. Combining the figures, album sales dropped about 9.2 percent.
According to the data, the biggest selling album of the year was Chris Daughtry's "Daughtry," which has sold 1.7 million discs. For digital distribution, Gwen Stefani's "Sweet Escape" was tops with 1.8 million tracks sold so far.
Analysts stated the obvious when trying to explain the surge of digital sales compared to physical CDs. They attributed the numbers to the popularity of MP3 players especially the iPod and to the new focus of the music industry on hit singles. Consumers are much more likely to buy a track they know and like then buy the whole CD.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jul 2007 2:53
Although Apple denied the rumors, Universal confirmed that they were indeed looking to end its long term contract with iTunes and instead were looking for an "at will" contract.
Although "at will" contracts are usually reserved for minor distributors, industry insiders say Universal's move is an attempt to get the upper hand on Apple in setting terms and prices.
Universal has been very aggressive over the last few years in regard to its digital distribution strategy, even going as far as to sign a deal with Microsoft to get a cut of all sales of the Zune.
"Universal Music Group has decided not to renew its long-term agreement for Apple's iTunes service. Universal Music Group will now market its music to iTunes in an 'at will' capacity, as it does with its other retail partners," said a prepared Universal statement.
If worse comes to worse in this situation, Universal's music could be completely pulled from iTunes or all new music could be withheld. That would not come without a price however. 15 percent of all the music sold on iTunes is Universal's and so pulling the music would be a large revenue disruption for both companies.
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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 05 Jul 2007 2:30
This week, Microsoft admitted that the large failure rates for Xbox 360 consoles was indeed an issue and then said they would extend the warranty period for any and all consumers that have experienced hardware failure with their console.
Recent reports showed that as many as 30% of 360 consoles experienced the infamous "three red lights of death" and Microsoft is now taking full responsibility for the issues.
Those that have experienced the red lights will have their warranty extended to three years from the date of purchase and if you have ever paid for out-of-warranty repairs, then you will be reimbursed, including shipping charges.
According to analysts, the move will set Microsoft back over $1 billion dollars USD for the second quarter of their fiscal year.
"This problem has caused frustration for some of our customers and for that, we sincerely apologize," Microsoft's entertainment chief Robbie Bach said. "We value our community tremendously and look at this as an investment in our customer base."
So far, the move has been applauded and I agree that is a very good step in the right direction.
"That's a good move for them and it's an important step to take. It's nice to see a company owning up to issues and taking responsibility for them although at this cost it's certainly painful, even for Microsoft," JupiterResearch analyst Michael Gartenberg said.
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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 Jul 2007 3:10
After months of false starts, DVD burning and legal movie downloading got a huge boost this week when the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD-CCA) approved a final amendment that will allow movie downloading services and DVD kiosk companies to offer on-demand disc burning using CSS-encrypted copy protection.
The amendment should be finalized by the end of the week at which point the changes will become effective. Then, movie download service will be able to offer movies that can be downloaded and burnt to physical DVDs as well as played on standalone players. The move should be a huge boost for movie download services due to the added appeal of being able to own the DVD after you download it.
"CSS is that line in the sand," TitleMatch chief technology officer Aaron Knoll said last week during the Entertainment Supply Chain Academy conference in Los Angeles. "Once there is the ability to legally replicate CSS [on such discs], we expect the coffers to open up."
The first hurdle in the process was getting Panasonic, which is one of a few companies that controls the master license to CSS, to agree with the move. Panasonic declined to accept the amendment when it was first tried in April.
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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 Jul 2007 10:54
Sources close to newswireless have reported that the worldwide mobile phone carrier Vodafone is close to announcing a European deal for the Apple iPhone.
The reports say that Apple is simply waiting for the one million sold milestone at which point they will announce Vodafone, T-Mobile and Carphone Warehouse as distribution channels.
With the iPhone selling over 700,000 phones already, the announcement could be made as soon as this weekend, although there may be some legal issues. The reports also note that a contract was drafted in Germany but did "not meet the approval of Vodafone's English lawyers".
Adding fuel to the rumors is statments made by Vodafone's German chief, Friedrich Joussen, as well as the newspaper the Rheinische Post identifying T-Mobile Germany as a candidate for iPhone distriibution. The paper also suggested a November 1st launch for European iPhones.
Source:
MaccNN
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 Jul 2007 10:16
In an update to our report here, Apple is denying the published reports and says instead that Universal has not informed them of such a decision. "We are still negotiating with Universal," says Apple representative Tom Neumayr, speaking in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. "Their music is still on iTunes and their not re-signing is just not true." Universal however, has not responded with any statements of their own.
Tony Berkman, an analyst at Majestic Research, says Universal holding out on a new contract could be partially blamed on widespread complaints within the industry. "The music industry has been frustrated with Apple for some time because they feel (Apple) has a veritable monopoly on downloading music," says Berkman. "For a while, Apple had all the leverage and could dictate the terms to the publishers." Currently, iTunes has a 70 percent market share of the online digital distribution business, swiftly beating out all competition.
Allan Klepfisz, CEO of Qtrax says that Apple and the music industry are for now, linked. "As much power as they might be perceived to have, Apple needs the record labels and the record labels need Apple. But it's a mistake for anybody to think the record labels need Apple more than Apple needs the record labels."
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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 Jul 2007 9:35
In an update to our previous article, it seems even more iPhones have been sold than was previously reported. Apple has said that over 3 days, 700,000 phones were sold, shattering AT&T's record for most phones sold in a month. Previously, the RAZR was the top selling phone for AT&T, with over 500,000 sold in its first month.
According to Apple, 95 of 164 Apple stores were sold out by Monday night while AT&T sold out almost every phone in its 1800 locations. Apple stores located in Hawaii, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah, and Washington state were completely sold out, according to Bloomberg.
After the device was introduced at Macworld 07, AT&T's CEO predicted "the largest commercial product launch in the history of electronics." It seems that he was right in his prediction.
Source:
MacNN
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 Jul 2007 9:12
Jon Lech Johansen, known to many as DVD Jon for his part in breaking the CSS encryption of standard DVDs, has announced today that he has successfully "broken the activation code for AT&T in iTunes," which could possibly unlock the phone for services besides AT&T.
More importantly, DVD Jon discovered that by editing key hexadecimal numbers in Apple's software and by also redirecting an Internet server request, he was able to successfully trick the phone into switching into its activated/normal mode. Although you will not be able to make phone calls, the iPod and Wi-Fi services will function as if the phone was activated.
Jon also said the modifications can either be made manually or using a custom Phone Activation Server that will automatically modify all necessary software. As of today, these modifications can only be made on Windows systems.
Apple and AT&T have yet to respond to Jon's announcement.
Source:
MacNN
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 04 Jul 2007 8:56
At a media expo today, Samsung released more info on its upcoming Blu ray/HD DVD combo player, the BDP-UP5000.
The player will support all the features of both rival formats including web-only extras available through an Ethernet connection.
The player will have no problems playing movies ar full 1080p and can also output movies at native 24 fps or up to 60 fps for faster videos. The company boasts the player will eliminate stilted motion effects "caused by pulldown conversion" as well.
Although the final cost and release date were not finalized, Samsung said it should be ready for shipment in October with a price tag above $1000 USD.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Jul 2007 7:54
In September 2006, LG released its 4x BD-R writer, the GBW-H10N. While the burner was the fastest on the market for single layer BD-R writing, Panasonic is set to release a 4x burner that can burn to dual layers, making use of all 50GB of a Blu ray recordable disc, and making it the most efficient BD-R burner on the market.
The new burner will also be able to burn to CD-R / RW, DVD±R / RW, DVD±R DL, and DVD-RAM, making it a good overall burner as well.
No word on price or release date yet, but we will keep you notified.
Source:
Engadget
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Jul 2007 7:38
BBC Video, riding the immense success of "Planet Earth", has officially announced they will be bringing the stunning documentary "Galapagos" to both Blu ray and HD DVD on October 2nd.
The film was shot entirely in HD and has spectacular footage and never before seen satellite imagery of the Galapagos Islands in South America.
Earlier this year, "Planet Earth" beat expectations by becoming the top revenue generating HD title so far as well as becoming the best selling HD box set title.
The company did not release any technical specs or details on special features. The list price for both formats will be $28.99 said BBC.
Source:
HD Digest
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Jul 2007 4:41
One of the more talked about features of the iPhone was the phone's exclusive hold on YouTube. It turns out however, that that hold will be very short lived.
LG announced today that they had also made an agreement with the video site to bring videos to its upcoming line of phones later this year.
Unlike the iPhone however, LG will offer the option to allow users to shoot videos and instantly upload them from their phones.
Although YouTube already has a version of the site formatted for mobile devices, the agreements with Apple and now LG tie the site much more closely with the phones.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Jul 2007 4:09
The digital touch technology company Immersion announced yesterday that they had licensed the technology to mobile phone giant Nokia for future devices.
Although neither company mentioned the Apple iPhone when talking about the move, it can be seen as a direct response to the phone's launch. The iPhone makes heavy use of the touchscreen technology and many see the phone as a "game changing" device.
The licensed technology is Immersion's VibeTonz tactile feedback system which allows for devices to provide "unmistakable tactile cues in response to touch screen presses".
"With VibeTonz technology, Nokia can very purposefully access the sense of touch and add value throughout the mobile device," Immersion CEO Victor Vegas added.
Thanks to the deal, Nokia will be able to implement the technology into all their devices worldwide and it will also give developers of Nokia software the proper tools to incorporate the technology into their applications.
Financial terms were kept confidential for the time being, and the company also noted that an SDK will be uploaded for the Nokia developer community.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 03 Jul 2007 2:54
RCA has launched its new line of Pearl digital audio players which also serve the function of a USB drive by having the port built in.
The new line of Pearls support MP3, WMA/WMDRM-9 files, as well as Audible. They have backlit LCD displays and come in several different colors as well as many languages.
There is an inline microphone so users can directly record audio. A feature of interest is a MicroSD expansion slot which will mean many users will be able to share music with their mobile phones by quickly moving the memory card.
The MP3 players only need one AAA battery to run, and the players boast 15 hour battery life.
Currently on sale are 1 GB and 2 GB models with respective $39 and $48 USD pricetags.
Source:
Electronista
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 Jul 2007 6:41
According to the latest figures by Enterbrain, the Nintendo Wii is now outselling the PlayStation 3 at a ratio of 6-to-1 in Japan.
During June, 270,974 Wii units were sold while Sony only moved 41,628 consoles. Microsoft continued to lag even farther behind with only 17,616 units sold.
The Wii to PS3 ratio has been getting larger and larger since April when the ratio was 4-to-1. It moved to 5-to-1 last month and the momentum just keeps on rolling.
Source:
GI.biz
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 Jul 2007 5:25
This morning, the Business Software Alliance (BSA) announced that you can be in for a hefty reward if you were to report a business or individual that is pirating or using pirated software for internal use.
The new ceiling, a special promotion until October, will be a cool $1,000,000 USD. Yes, you read that right, one million dollars. The new ceiling is an $800,000 USD premium from the current rewards ceiling.
The BSA hopes that the new, huge reward will make even the most timid employee into a snitch. "Businesses often have a million excuses for having unlicensed software on office computers. BSA is now offering up to a million dollars for employees who turn them in," said Jenny Blank, Director of Enforcement for the BSA.
The rewards paid out by the BSA is determined by the size of "the settlement paid by the company pirating software, or the size of awarded damages in the instance of a dispute heading into court." For example, if you want to qualify for the million dollar settlement, you will need a settlement of $15 million or higher.
The BSA also revealed however, that $22 million total has been generated from settlements with businesses accused of using pirated software since 2005, when the rewards program began. That clearly means that huge rewards have not been given out so far, but the BSA is certainly hoping more people will step forward now.
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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 Jul 2007 3:53
Today, Microsoft announced that they had joined with Amazon to bring up to 1000 independent titles to HD DVD.
The companies will use an Amazon company, CustomFlix to spearhead the operation which will provide the filmakers free authoring and setup services to make their movies available to be distributed in HD DVD.
The setup and authoring for HD DVD discs usually costs $499 USD but Microsoft is covering that charge by accepting the filmmakers into the program. Microsoft did say however, that there would be additional fees for required artwork that filmmakers are required to pay.
Currently, HD DVD suffers from a lack of defined studio support so this latest move is an almost effortless way to increase their catalogue.
The Sundance Channel said it would be using the program to offer its "Big Ideas for a Small Planet eco-series."
"Programs like this one from Amazon lower barriers to entry for independent artists and provide audiences with increased access to high-quality, high-definition content," Sundance Channel programming head Christian Vesper said.
Independent filmmakers can feel free to submit their work to the CustomFlix web site from which Microsoft and Amazon will select the 1000 best works for distribution. Afterwards, the discs will be sold on Amazon.com.
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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 02 Jul 2007 3:20
Although they declined to give a specific number, AT&T announced that over the weekend they had sold half of their complete stock of iPhones while Apple Stores sold just as well.
Reports from analysts around the country have put the 3-day sales at 520,000 with the highest concentration of sales coming from stores in the western US. Major cities such as San Francisco, Las Vegas and Miami completely depleted their stocks.
Many reports also indicated that Apple Stores had much larger stock than AT&T stores but that AT&T was offering "direct fulfillment" ordering options to those that waited on line but could not get one. Those orders would take precedent over replenishing stores' diminished stock.
Source:
BetaNews
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2007 12:15
EMI has announced that they have made a deal with SNOCAP to sell DRM-Free music.
This latest deal will allow artists to sell their music from blogs, off their own websites, and from social networking sites such as MySpace. The songs will also be encoded at 320kbps.
Beginning next week, EMI will begin to sell its catalogue through SNOCAP's Mystores. According to SNOCAP, a few of the artists piloting the move are 30 Seconds To Mars, The Almost, The Bird and The Bee, KORN, Dean Martin, MIMs, Relient K, Saosin, Sick Puppies, and Yellowcard.
SNOCAP uses a feature it calls "spread the word" which works exactly like YouTube's video embedding feature. Artists can embed a retail point anywhere on the internet to sell their music from.
“SNOCAP’s MyStore technology is an exciting new proposition and another step forward for consumers, artists and the digital music market overall,” said Eric Nicoli, CEO of EMI Group. “Giving consumers the capability of buying music directly from their favorite artists’ websites and social networking areas is a great way to connect artists directly with fans. We’re delighted that our DRM-free, higher-quality offering will be available this way, so that fans can play the music they buy on a range of devices.”
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Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2007 11:49
In an effort to move the media's focus off Manhunt 2, Rockstar Games announced some of the details of their highly anticipated upcoming game Grand Theft Auto: IV
The developer said they will be taking pre-orders of the special edition of the game, which will run at $90 USD for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions. They will also be taking pre-orders of the regular edition, which will cost you $60. The orders are already being taken at rockstargames.com/warehouse
Rockstar also gave some details about what was in the special edition packages.
• The game in a custom metal safety deposit box with keys on a Rockstar keychain.
• A limited edition Rockstar duffel bag.
• The Grand Theft Auto IV Art Book with exclusive production images.
• A GTA IV soundtrack CD.
According to Rockstar, "All of the items have been created with the utmost attention to detail to create a unique Grand Theft Auto IV experience for any fan of the series".
Source:
Yahoo!
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2007 10:36
One of the innovations of the new iPhone was that users could activate their phones and service from home, using iTunes.
It seems, for a good amount of users however, "including early customers who tried to activate their account or transfer numbers from another carrier", this strategy has failed. After downloading iTunes 7.3 and connecting the phone to their computer, activation failed.
Customer service representatives all agreed that the failure was caused by a "high number of simultaneous activations".
Many annoyed customers received the message "your activation requires additional time to complete" when trying to activate and were told they would receive an email from AT&T when they could complete the activation.
New customers cannot use any of the iPhone's functions before activating so many were left with a $600 paperweight. According to posts on Apple's support forums, some users have been waiting 15 or more hours without any resolution from Apple or AT&T.
There have also been complaints about automatically transferring an old number while others have had success moving from individual accounts to a Family Plan.
Source:
MacNN
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2007 10:07
In a move that has drawn criticism from music retailers around the world, the hit artist Prince has decided to launch his upcoming new CD for free, including it in the newspaper, The Mail on Sunday.
The Mail on Sunday announced that the 10-track "Planet Earth" CD will be available for free today in the paper, over three weeks earlier than its retail release date on July 24th.
"It's all about giving music for the masses and he believes in spreading the music he produces to as many people as possible," said Mail on Sunday managing director Stephen Miron. "This is the biggest innovation in newspaper promotions in recent times."
The paper, which sells over 2 million copies per week, said they will be ramping up production, anticipation a large sales spike for the week.
Music store executives have scoffed at the offer, with some going as far as to calling it "madness", while others called it a huge insult to the industry. In an effort to appease music stores, Prince's label cut its ties to the album in the UK.
The ERA (Entertainment Retailers Association), had this to say. "It would be an insult to all those record stores who have supported Prince throughout his career," ERA co-chairman Paul Quirk told a music conference. "It would be yet another example of the damaging covermount culture which is destroying any perception of value around recorded music.
Read more...
Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 01 Jul 2007 9:36
Today, the large music retailer HMV has announced that it will begin selling DRM-free legal digital downloads starting in September.
HMV also said they would move all their digital downloads into the hmv.co.uk store, rather than the current hmvdigital.co.uk store. This change will allow UK customers to buy physical CDs and digital CDs from the same site, a move never before seen by such a large retailer.
Among the over one million DRM-free tracks included at launch will be EMI's full catalogue and music from independent music labels. HMV already has 3 million tracks online.
The tracks will be in MP3 format with 328kbps bitrate. The prices start at 79p, which is cheaper than Apple offers for the same music.
Source:
Pocket-lint
