archives

o U.S. House Subcommittee Approves Ban of Online Gambling
o Report: 20% of U.S. Households Will Have Interactive TV This Year
o EFF to Back Online Gaming ISP in Dispute With Vivendi Unit
o InterTrust Expands Patent Litigation Against Microsoft
o BMI Creates New Licensing Agreements for Ringtones, Wireless Music
o E-book Conversion Firm Texterity Raises $2.7 Million in First Round
o Online Ad Firm L90 Details Finance Investigation, Regains Nasdaq Listing
o Briefly Noted: Fonix - Microsoft Xbox, Gemstar-TV Guide - Broadband
Solutions, Inc., XM Satellite Radio - Isuzu, Music Choice, Net4Music, DOJ
- rave website crackdown, "Chained Melodies"
_____________________________________________

***TOMORROW*** DIGITAL MEDIA WIRE PANEL DISCUSSION:
"Interactive Games on the Internet: Recent Developments"

Register to join leading executives at tomorrow's breakfast panel in New
York City (Thursday, March 14).

New York City: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/NYCgames2.htm
_____________________________________________

o U.S. House Subcommittee Approves Ban of Online Gambling

Washington -- The U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime has passed a
bill that effectively bans online gambling in the U.S., expanding a 1961
law that prohibited interstate wagers to apply to the Internet. The bill
empowers law enforcement to shut down illegal gambling sites in the U.S.,
and allows credit card companies to block payment of debts by U.S.
gamblers who visit online casinos operated by overseas companies. Exempted
from the bill are Native American online casinos, fantasy sports leagues
and online horse and dog race betting. The bill will now come before the
full House Judiciary Committee.
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-858458.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.newsbytes.com/news/02/175158.html
_____________________________________________

o Report: 20% of U.S. Households Will Have Interactive TV This Year

New York -- The number of U.S. households with interactive television
services will increase by 74 percent from 12.7 million last year to 22.1
million in 2002, according to a report released Wednesday by market
research firm EMarketer. The number, which EMarketer deems "relatively
optimistic," represents 20 percent of all U.S. households. The group also
predicts that by 2005, 58.2 million or over 50 percent of U.S. households
will have interactive TV. "After being over-hyped for years, iTV is
finally reaching its potential," said EMarketer senior analyst Ben
Macklin. "Internet companies, broadcast networks, advertisers, retailers,
fast-food outlets, telecoms, content producers, game companies, device
manufacturers, software makers -- they all have a stake in the emerging
iTV market." Interactive TV ad spending is also predicted to increase
rapidly, from $95.3 million in 2001 to $2.6 billion in 2005.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/220722608&ticker=
http://www.emarketer.com/ereports/itv_reality/welcome.html
_____________________________________________

o EFF to Back Online Gaming ISP in Dispute With Vivendi Unit

San Francisco -- The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil
liberties group, said that it will provide legal support for an Internet
service provider that was threatened with legal action by Vivendi
Universal, for offering an online game service for games owned by Vivendi.
St. Louis-based Internet Gateway received a letter from Vivendi, asking
the company to stop downloads of software that lets users challenge one
another in online games -- such as "Diablo II" and "StarCraft" -- which
were developed by Vivendi-owned Blizzard Entertainment. A group of
developers created the software, which provides the same function as
Battle.net, an online game service operated by Blizzard. The developers
claim they created the software because of difficulties accessing the
Battle.net server, and to add additional functionality. Vivendi says in
its letter that the software violates the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
because it circumvents security on Blizzard's copyrighted software. The
EFF responded to Vivendi's letter by saying its claim is without merit and
that the software in question would be reposted online in 10 days.
http://www.eff.org/Censorship/SLAPP/Cease-and-desist_abuse/Blizzard_v_bnetd/20020312_eff_bnetd_pr.html
http://news.com.com/2100-1040-858414.html
_____________________________________________

o InterTrust Expands Patent Litigation Against Microsoft

Santa Clara, Calif. -- InterTrust Technologies, a provider of digital
rights management technology, on Wednesday expanded its patent litigation
against Microsoft to include the company's Windows File Protection
technology, used in Windows XP and Windows 2000 operating systems. Santa
Clara-based InterTrust now alleges that Microsoft has infringed on a total
of eight of its patents with products ranging from Windows Digital Rights
Management to its Windows XP product activation and "trusted operating
system" initiative. Microsoft, for its part, has filed a countersuit
claiming InterTrust is infringing on two Microsoft patents.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020313/sfw044_1.html
http://www.intertrust.com
_____________________________________________

o BMI Creates New Licensing Agreements for Ringtones, Wireless Music

New York -- Broadcast Music International (BMI), a performing rights
organization that collects royalties on behalf of songwriters and music
publishers, announced on Wednesday that it has established new licensing
agreements for the use of its members' works as cell phone ringtones and
streamed and downloaded music to wireless devices. The new agreements --
which come after similar agreements were announced last October by rival
ASCAP -- will allow BMI's 4.5 million registered works to be performed
over WAP, SMS and specialized Web pages. "Mobile entertainment, including
ringtones and streamed and downloaded music accessed through cellphones
and portable computing devices, promises to be one of the big growth areas
in the digital music space," said Richard Conlon, vice president of
marketing and business development for BMI.
http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/f_headline.cgi?day0/220722452&ticker=
http://www.bmi.com
_____________________________________________

o E-book Conversion Firm Texterity Raises $2.7 Million in First Round

Southborough, Mass. -- Gearing up to diversify into the financial
publishing and wireless information delivery markets, Texterity, a
provider of e-book conversion services for print publishers, has raised
$2.7 million in its first round of venture capital financing. Brook
Venture Fund and Venture Capital Fund of New England led the round. A new
service introduced by Massachusetts-based Texterity allows publishers to
distribute pre-production books to reviewers, bookstores, libraries, and
other customers and partners. The company was founded in 1991.
http://www.newsalert.com/bin/story?StoryId=Cpi2lubKbyti1mZy&FQ
http://www.texterity.com
_____________________________________________

o Online Ad Firm L90 Details Finance Investigation, Regains Nasdaq Listing

Los Angeles -- Online advertising firm L90 on Wednesday detailed an
internal investigation into its financial records, prompted by an SEC
investigation into the same matter. The records in question relate to two
transactions with online furnishings retailer Homestore.com, as well as
any barter transactions undertaken by L90 that could have resulted in
overstated or misstated revenues. Los Angeles-based L90 said the
investigation by an outside accountant will last another two to three
weeks; however, trading of its shares on the Nasdaq resumed Wednesday
after being halted last week when the company lost its CEO, removed its
CFO, and announced that its merger with EUniverse had fallen through.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020312/latu116_1.html
http://www.l90.com
_____________________________________________

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Adaptec has turned out an impressive array of connectivity products to
help users hook up with the newest technologies. USB 2.0 devices like MP3
players, CD-Rs and scanners move data, voice and video 40 times faster
than standard USB. And Adaptec has a full line of USB 2.0 cards and hubs
for desktops and notebooks to keep even the most gadget-hungry techies
fully satisfied. See the full family of Adaptec connectivity products:

http://www.digitalmediawire.com/adaptec.html

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

Los Angeles Venture Association (LAVA)
INVESTMENT CAPITAL CONFERENCE 2002
Sources of Capital for Growth Companies
Thu. April 4, 2002 * Westin Bonaventure, Los Angeles

IS FUNDING AVAILABLE IN THE CURRENT MARKET? -- YES!
Over 65 Speakers & 70 Sponsors
LEARN WHERE THE CAPITAL IS -- AND HOW TO GET IT!

http://www.lava.org

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

UCLA ANDERSON FORECAST CONFERENCE:
"Entertainment: LA's Most Important Industry"

This conference looks at the business of entertainment, the impact of the
industry on the Los Angeles economy, and the forces that are altering how
the business is organized. UCLA economists will also release their
quarterly forecasts for the nation, state, and Los Angeles region.
Speakers include Mayor Jim Hahn and Jeff Berg, Chairman/CEO of
International Creative Management as well as confirmed panels of industry
leaders.

Wednesday, March 27, 2002. 9:15am - 3:00pm at The Anderson School at UCLA.

Contact: forecast@anderson.ucla.edu or (310) 825-1623
http://www.uclaforecast.com

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

STREAMING MEDIA WEST 2002 - April 23-26, Los Angeles Convention Center

INTERACTIVE BROADCASTING FORUM: April 24. The Interactive Advertising Bureau will be hosting a series of compelling discussions on how
Interactive Broadcasting is rapidly emerging as the next generation
advertising platform.

MPEG-4 FORUM: April 25. In association with the M4IF, these sessions
dedicated to MPEG-4 will educate and inform attendees on the current
specifications of MPEG-4, guidelines for it's use, and it's significance
to business.

For your FREE Exhibition pass or to save $200 on your full Conference pass
visit http://www.streamingmedia.com/west
Or contact register@streamingmedia.com or 888 301-8890

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
_____________________________________________

o Briefly Noted:

(Salt Lake City) Fonix, a developer of natural-user interface and voice
technology for wireless devices, announced on Wednesday that Microsoft
will use Fonix products in its Xbox video game console. Microsoft has
licensed Salt Lake City-based Fonix's Automatic Speech Recognition engine
for Xbox developers, allowing them to create games that recognize the
user's voice, permitting the user to direct on-screen action, input
information, and otherwise interact verbally with the game environment.
Fonix will also develop speech recognition for U.K. English, French,
German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish-speaking Xbox owners during
2002.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020313/law032_1.html
http://www.fonix.com

(Pasadena, Calif.) Gemstar-TV Guide International, a provider of
interactive program guides for digital and interactive TV, announced on
Wednesday a ten-year licensing agreement with Korean digital cable TV firm
Broadband Solutions, Inc. (BSI). Under the agreement, which calls for BSI
to license Pasadena-based Gemstar's program listing technology and share
revenue, BSI will exclusively use TV Guide Interactive for the digital
service packages it offers to Korean cable TV providers.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020313/130274_1.html
http://www.gemstartvguide.com/

(Washington, D.C.) XM Satellite Radio, a provider of nationwide
satellite-delivered digital radio, said on Wednesday that Isuzu car
dealers will offer to install XM radios in Axiom and Rodeo models
beginning in April. The companies will also provide a kit that can
retrofit these cars for XM receivers for most of their model years.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020313/dcw016_1.html
http://www.xmradio.com

(Horsham, Penn.) Music Choice, a provider of digital music programming for
cable TV operators, announced on Wednesday that it has formed an ad sales
team to specifically target its interactive radio channels. Music Choice's
interactive channels offer DirecTV subscribers the ability to use their
remote control to purchase CDs of the song they are listening to, and in
some areas view album cover art and artist facts.
http://www.musicchoice.com

(Minneapolis) Net4Music, a provider of digital sheet music and other
music-related software, announced on Wednesday that it will change its
name to MakeMusic, Inc. Minneapolis-based MakeMusic said the name change
reflects a refocusing on its music notation software and interactive music
practice system.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/020313/132099_1.html
http://www.net4music.com

(San Francisco) Wired News on Wednesday reported on the Justice Dept.'s
efforts to crack down on the use of "club drugs" such as ecstasy and GHB
by targeting the websites used to promote rave parties where the drugs are
often sold and consumed. "Where a party is, information about the effects
of ecstasy, information on harm, and measures to protect yourself if you
are taken; that is all legal. It's just speech," ACLU lawyer Graham Boyd
told Wired News. "One thing that is fundamentally American is that we
don't attack the music, we attack the drugs."
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,50550,00.html

(San Francisco) Online magazine Salon.com on Wednesday featured an article
("Chained Melodies") on CD copy-protection that has been introduced in the
U.S. market, as well as other copy-protection technologies currently being
lobbied for in Congress by Hollywood and opposed by technology firms. The
article explores problems with copy-protection, including methods already
being used to circumvent the new technology on music CDs.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2002/03/13/copy_protection/index.html?x
______________________

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

USB connections with some get up and go.

With Adaptec's USB2Connect for Notebooks, you can take advantage of the
40x faster speeds of USB 2.0 peripherals anywhere your notebook computer
is -- home, office, or on the road.

http://www.digitalmediawire.com/adaptec.html

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
______________________

To subscribe, go to:
http://www.digitalmediawire.com

Questions or comments? Send email to:
mark@digitalmediawire.com

News tips, press releases. Send email to:
editorial@digitalmediawire.com

Copyright 2002 Digital Media Wire