archives

o Video Delivery Firm PacketSwitch Charged with Fraud by SEC
o Wall Street Journal Lays Off 16, Cuts Small Business Coverage Unit
o MusicMatch Lays Off 25% of Staff
o Loudeye Acquires Custom Radio Technology from theDial
o Streaming Talk Radio Site eYada.com Shuts Down
o Video Kiosk Firm ObjectSoft Cancels Merger with Golden Screens
o Preview Systems Sells Digital Music Distribution Service to Matsushita
o Kiosk Software Firm DegaSoft Raises $3 Million in First Round
o Briefly Noted: Japanese 'Net usage, Douglas Rushkoff's "Exit Strategy,"
Wink Communications - Time Inc., DotClick Corporation - Artemis Records,
XM Satellite Radio, Napsterizing cable TV
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> Job Postings: Content Database Specialist, Acct. Executive,
Web Developer/Programmer, Sales Associate, Senior Director

> Events/Services: "Web Hosting Expo," "Diversity Expo"

Full Job/Event/Services descriptions listed below "Briefly Noted" section
or at http://www.digitalmediawire.com/postings.html

To Post a Job: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html
To Post an Event/Service: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html
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o Video Delivery Firm PacketSwitch Charged with Fraud by SEC

San Jose, Calif. -- The Securities and Exchange Commission filed suit
against PacketSwitch.com, alleging the company's broadband video
technology never existed and that the company fraudulently took $3.7
million from over 700 investors, the Associated Press reported Tuesday.
The suit alleges that demonstrations of the company's technology to
investors were staged, and that PacketSwitch.com founder Steven A. Ristau
used $550,000 of the money raised towards the purchase of a $1.8 million
home. The charges facing Ristau and PacketSwitch.com are reminiscent of
David Stanley, aka Michael Adam Fenne and his 'Net video company Pixelon.
Stanley -- a fugitive ex-con -- was found to have tricked investors and
the media alike into thinking Pixelon's video compression technology could
deliver TV-quality pictures over a dial-up connection. Stanley threw an
historic $16.2 million launch party for the company at which The Who
played, and was eventually convicted of 50 charges ranging from
embezzlement to securities fraud to obtaining money under false pretenses.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6527709.html?tag=cd_mh
http://www.packetswitch.com
http://www.thestandard.com/article/0,1902,16368,00.html
http://www.disobey.com/ghostsites/ss/pixelon.shtml
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o Wall Street Journal Lays Off 16, Cuts Small Business Coverage Unit

New York -- The Wall Street Journal said Tuesday that it has laid off 16
employees in its news division -- including three editors and 12 reporters
-- as a result of the declining advertising market. The cuts account for
about 2.5 percent of the publication's entire staff. The newspaper also
said that it will eliminate its Enterprise section, which covered small
business and entrepreneurs. The New York Times reported that the amount of
ads appearing in the Wall Street Journal this year is down 34 percent from
the first five months of 2000.
http://www.wsj.com
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o MusicMatch Lays Off 25% of Staff

San Diego -- MusicMatch, a provider of digital music jukebox software, has
laid off 40 employees, or about 25 percent of its staff, Webnoize reported
on Tuesday. The company said the layoffs were made in "non-essential"
positions, and no further cuts are expected. San Diego-based MusicMatch --
which recorded the biggest number of new users among all music player
software during the first half of 2001, according to Jupiter Media Metrix
-- said the layoffs were aimed at helping the company become profitable by
the end of the year.
http://news.webnoize.com
http://www.musicmatch.com
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o Loudeye Acquires Custom Radio Technology from theDial

Seattle -- Loudeye Technologies, a provider of encoding and streaming
media samples to businesses, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired
certain assets of theDial, a provider of Web radio programming. Terms of
the transaction were not disclosed. Loudeye will acquire from theDial
proprietary programming capabilities, production facilities and the
company's on-air personalities, which it will integrate into its own Web
radio infrastructure offering. The company will employ ten of theDial's
sales, technology and on-air talent staff. Seattle-based Loudeye also
recently acquired streaming ad-insertion firm Addition Systems and
technology assets from streaming audio firm OnAir Streaming Networks. The
company will debut its Loudeye Radio product later this summer.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010710/sftu076.html
http://www.loudeye.com
http://www.thedial.com
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o Streaming Talk Radio Site eYada.com Shuts Down

New York -- eYada.com, a provider of talk radio streaming stations, has
ceased all operations and will shut down, according to published reports.
The company laid off some of its staff and eliminated 15 of its programs
over the past year, but said that difficulty in finding advertisers and
potential investors forced the closure. New York-based eYada offered talk
radio on subjects like sports and entertainment that featured celebrity
interviews. The company had raised $15 million in March of this year.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6534463.html?tag=cdshrt
http://www.eyada.com
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o Video Kiosk Firm ObjectSoft Cancels Merger with Golden Screens

Hackensack, N.J. -- ObjectSoft, a provider of video entertainment kiosks,
announced on Tuesday that it has terminated plans for a proposed merger
with Golden Screens Interactive Technologies, also an interactive kiosk
provider. The deal was terminated after "certain investors who had
indicated an interest in contributing capital to ObjectSoft
declined to participate in further financing," said ObjectSoft CEO Michael
Rudolph. As a result, New Jersey-based ObjectSoft is exploring other
alternatives including raising new funding and filing for bankruptcy. The
company also said it has terminated an undisclosed number of employees and
has taken other measures to conserve cash. ObjectSoft's kiosks let users
search movie titles, view streaming previews and purchase goods and
services.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010709/nym142.html
http://www.objectsoftcorp.com
http://www.gsit.com/
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o Preview Systems Sells Digital Music Distribution Service to Matsushita

Mountain View, Calif. -- Preview Systems, a provider of digital
distribution services, announced on Tuesday that it has sold its digital
music distribution technology to Matsushita Electric Inc. for about $1
million in cash. Mountain View-based Preview Systems is currently winding
down its operations, and also recently sold its software distribution
business to Aladdin Knowledge Systems for $5 million. Under the terms of
the current deal, Matsushita receives a non-exclusive license to the
source code for Preview Systems' music software, along with the company's
active customer base -- which includes NTT Communications' Arcstar and
Sony's LabelGate digital music distribution services -- located in Japan.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010710/nytu019.html
http://www.previewsystems.com
http://www.panasonic.co.jp/global/top.html
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o Kiosk Software Firm DegaSoft Raises $3 Million in First Round

London -- DegaSoft, a developer of software used to run interactive
kiosks, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $3 million in its first
round of venture capital financing from Norwegian firm The Venturos Group.
London-based DegaSoft's Kudos software is currently being used in kiosks
operated by Virgin Entertainment Group that let consumers perform
functions like downloading music to portable MP3 players inside retail
outlets. The company will use the funds for product support, sales,
marketing and channel building.
http://www.degasoft.com/news/view_single.asp?Id=104
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o Briefly Noted:

(Tokyo) The Japanese government released data on Tuesday showing that 37
percent of the country's population was connected to the Internet at the
end of 2000, an increase of 74 percent over the previous year, Reuters
reported. The popularity and availability of cell phones as a means of
connecting to the Internet was cited, as 8.16 of the 47.08 million using
the Internet connected exclusively via a cell phone.
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1004-200-6535259.html?tag=cdshrt

(New York) Author Douglas Rushkoff recently released a new novel, "Exit
Strategy," billing it as an "open source" novel, as he asks users to
contribute original footnotes that will be added to the work. Published
serially on Yahoo Internet Life's website, the novel is based on a
manuscript "found" in the 23rd century by anthropologists. The
anthropologists try to explain the 21st century in which the manuscript
was created by adding extensive footnotes to the text. The footnotes--
written in the "voice of the 23rd century" -- are the interactive element
being added by visitors to novel's website.
http://www.yil.com/rushkoff/

(Alameda, Calif.) Interactive TV developer Wink Communications said
Tuesday that Time Inc. will use its technology to let TV viewers with
Wink-enabled set-top boxes order subscriptions to magazines like Sports
Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly using their remote controls.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010710/sftu008.html
http://www.wink.com

(Boston) Music marketing firm DotClick Corporation announced on Tuesday
that Artemis Records will use its technology to promote roster artists
including Spacehog, Kurupt and Kittie. Boston-based DotClick's technology
is a plug-in for music players that creates a network for an artist's
fans, allowing them to instant message one another and receive information
on upcoming shows, buy CDs and get music recommendations.
http://www.dotclick.com
http://www.artemisrecords.com

(Washington, D.C.) XM Satellite Radio began a nationwide test of its
satellite-delivered digital radio service this week, deploying teams to
test the service in 20 U.S markets. D.C.-based XM said the tests are in
preparation for the commercial launch of its service later this summer.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010710/dctu028.html
http://www.xmradio.com

(New York) An article in the most recent issue of Cablevision magazine
examines the possibility of Napster-like distribution of television
programs on the Internet. The writer goes to great lengths in trying to
download an episode of HBO's The Sopranos to no avail, and goes on to
point out the differences between music files and much larger files needed
to share video content.
http://www.tvinsite.com/cablevision/index.asp?layout=print_page&doc_id=34947&articleID=CA91244

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Job Postings:
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To Post Jobs: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/jobs.html

> The Sharper Image, Content Database Specialist - San Francisco

Manage The Sharper Image websites. Development & maintain ongoing
production schedules, updates, content & art placement. Produce style
guides for site continuity. Manage 3-person team involved in site content
management, updates and brand presentation. 3+ yrs. experience managing
people in a production or development setting required. Send resumes to:
tsi@rpc.webhire.com
http://www.sharperimage.com
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> Digital Vision, Ltd., Account Executive - New York City

Achieve sales according to agreed targets & build the Digital Vision brand
within the U.S. Responsibilities include: development of accounts via
telephone and in person; answering of all incoming calls (requests);
raising of invoices; and telemarketing. Primary role is to maintain a high
level of outbound sales activity. Salary + bonus scheme. Send resume and
salary details to: sarah@digitalvisiononline.com
http://www.digitalvisiononline.com
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> TaskStream, Web Developer/Programmer - New York City

This person’s principal responsibility will be to participate in the
design, Implementation & testing of web application systems. Must be
motivated, self-driven and able to work with others in development groups.
Room for growth, as we are working on a suite of highly dynamic tools that
stretch the limits of web-based data driven applications. Requirements:
Visual Basic/Script/ASP, SQL (MS SQL Server), HTML & JavaScript.
Send resumes to: webster@taskstream.com
http://www.taskstream.com
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> Walt Disney Internet Group, Sales Associate - Los Angeles

Join the ABCNEWS.com/ABC.com sales team. Responsibilities: creating
Powerpoint proposals; prospecting for leads; managing active programs;
providing tracking for existing ad campaigns; quantitive & qualitative
research; & handling clients while all sales reps are out of the office. 1
year experience at an interactive agency. Media background preferred. Send
resumes to: hr.recruiting@dig.com
http://www.dig.com
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> Dittus Communications, Senior Director - Washington, D.C.

Working with the Vice President, this individual will be responsible for
developing and implementing communications programs for our high-tech
clients. Creative writing, strong media pitching, management experience,
solid marketing background as well as 5 to 8 years agency experience
required. Send resumes to karine.elsen@dittus.com
http://www.dittus.com

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Events/Services Postings:
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To Post Events/Services: http://www.digitalmediawire.com/events.html

> Web Hosting Expo, August 20-22 - Washington, D.C.

Web Hosting Expo is the conference and exhibit dedicated to business &
technology of Internet infrastructure. It brings together web hosts,
ASPs/MSPs, colo/data center players for 3 days of deal making, idea
exchanges and marathon networking. Learn from 70 industry leading
exhibitors and 50+ conference sessions and panels delivered by industry
experts. Send inquiries to techwire@infotonic.com
http://www.whexpo.com
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> Diversity Expo, July 18 - New York City

NYC’s premier hiring event for Equal Opportunity Employers to recruit
Business & Information Technology Professionals: Sales, Management,
Marketing, Retail, Administrative, Programming, New Media, Telecom,
Engineering Professionals meet directly with hiring managers for immediate
interviews. This annual event draws approximately 70 companies and 3,000
candidates! For more information contact: jpicone@techexpousa.com
http://techexpo.com
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