Content

Content in its shift to become digital

AOL Gives Away Spammer’s Bounty
AOL is giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars of gold, cash and goods seized from a spammer as a warning to anyone thinking of “making a living sending spam to AOL members”.
In a story sure to win the hearts of anyone who faces a daily deluge of spam, AOL will be dishing out nearly US$100,000 (£56,000, €80,550) worth of gold bars and cash along with a fully loaded Hummer H2 – all the former property of an email marketer.
The US internet giants scooped the bounty as part of a settlement against a New Hampshire resident in a lawsuit filed under the Can-Spam Act.
AOL sued the (then) 20 year old spammer in March 2004 after several months of investigation, accusing the spammer of making a career of mass mailing millions of messages offering “ephedra, male enhancement pills and other dubious products”.
The company said it managed to close down the dastardly spammer’s 40-computer enterprise thanks to help from its members, who enthusiastically clicked a “report spam button” to register their complaints.
The controversial Can-Spam Act provides Internet service providers with enough legal resources to get medieval on the outboxes of unsolicited e-mailers.
Under the Act, courts have the power to seize any property that a convicted spammer has obtained using money made through the offence, as well as grabbing computer equipment, software and technology used for illicit purposes.
AOL members and non-members living in the mainland US can sign up online for a chance at winning the goods until the 19 August, with the lucky winner announced shortly after.
“But this isn’t just a ‘thank you’ to members,” the company said in a statement. “It also serves as a message to anyone thinking of making a living sending spam to AOL members: AOL will find you and sue you.”
Thanks to its aggressive mo’fo’ antispam filters, AOL has claimed that spam on their servers has fallen by more than 85 percent since its peak in late 2003.
AOL hasn’t finished with the New Hampshire mob yet though, with one of the spammer’s co-conspirators – believed to have a cool US$500,000 (£277,450, €404,750) stashed away – declared the “next stop on our spammer treasure map,” according to company spokesman, Nicholas Graham.
The US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria has also issued a US$13m (£7.21m, €10.46m) judgment against other members of the New Hampshire resident’s gang.
AOL plans to donate the “high-end” computer equipment seized from the New Hampshire spammer to public schools near its headquarters in Northern Virginia.
It’s been a bad time for spammers recently, with Microsoft reaching a US$7m (£3.88m, €5.64m) settlement with former “spam king” Scott Richter, with the US$1m (£0.55m, €0.80m) of the payout being earmarked for community centres in New York and US$5m (£2.77m, €4.03m) being invested in efforts to fight Internet crime.
AOL Spam FAQ
AOL Spam Decisions and Litigation
11 August, 2005
Opera Releases Opera Mini Browser For Phones
Norwegian browser brewers, Opera Software, have announced Opera Mini, a J2ME (Java 2 Mobile Edition) Web browser for “virtually all mobile phones”.
Their new Opera Mini enables Web access on more than 700 million low to mid-tier Java-capable phones around the world, with the company trumpeting that it will “finally bring mobile Internet into the mainstream”.
Opera Mini is being marketed as a fast and easy alternative to Opera’s Mobile browser, allowing users to access the Web on mobiles that would normally be unable to run a Web browser.
Weighing in at a slimline 60K the Mini is a mere slip of a thing compared to its big brother Mobile browser which hogs anything between 1MB and 4MB of precious phone memory.
The browser makes up for the feeble firepower of low end phones by using a remote server to pre-process Web pages before sending them to the phone, rather than trying to get the phone to process the pages.
The ‘mini-me’ pages will offer standard browsing capabilities like bookmarks and browsing history, but won’t provide full access to some complex Web pages with advanced security features and other such gizmos.
“Mobile Web surfing has until now been limited to more advanced phones that are capable of running a browser,” says Jon S. von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software.
“With Opera Mini, the phone only has to run a small Java-client and the rest is taken care of by the remotely located Opera Mini server. With Opera Mini you don’t have to have an advanced phone to surf the Web, which means that most people can use it with their existing phones.”
Installing Opera Mini seems simple enough, with users blasting off an SMS message or clicking on a link through their WAP browser to receive the application.
With the Opera Mini making the Web available to low to mid-tier phones, there’s huge potential for operators to scoop up revenue by offering compelling mobile Web services to entice subscribers.
With this in mind, the browser can be customised for operators, broadcasters, mobile content providers and the Internet industry.
Patriotically, Norway’s leading commercial television station, TV2, have already bundled Opera Mini with its mobile services in Norway to offer its viewers a complete mobile content package with a branded Web browser.
“Finally we see how we can generate revenue from real mobile browsing,” says Morten Holst, VP Strategy, TV2 Interactive. “By introducing TV2’s portal through Opera Mini (TM) we have combined the best of mobile services with mobile Web access.”
Opera Mini will be available to consumers through operators and companies who elect to include it in their offerings.
It’s currently part of a pilot project in Norway, with wider availability yet to be announced.
Opera Mini
11 August, 2005
Sony’s Japanese Artists Rebel Over iTunes
It used to be that artists rebelled against the system, the government, the breadheads and The Man, but artists signed to Sony in Japan are fighting their label’s decision not to make their songs available through the iTunes Music Store.
Bravely battling for his rights to, err, ensure maximum return on his product, Sony-signed rock musician Motoharu Sano has made a brave stance and made some of his songs available on Apple’s service, saying, “It is an individual’s freedom where that person chooses to listen to music. I want to deliver my music wherever my listeners are.”
Sony Music spokesman Yasushi Ide was unimpressed, saying that Sano is no longer considered “a Sony artist,” with future negotiations deciding whether his recordings under the Sony label will be offered at iTunes or not.
The outcome will depend on each contract, and talks are continuing, Sano added.
iTunes has proved an enormous hit in Japan, with customers clamoring to download over a million songs in just four days.
With several Japanese labels, notably Sony, failing to reach a deal with Apple, artists signed to those labels look set to miss out on the lucrative download market.
Talks between the two electronic giants Sony and Apple are believed to be continuing to resolve the problem.
Apple’s closed DRM system is believed to be a bone of contention, with Sony thought to have asked iTunes to provide downloads in its own ATRAC format, compatible with its Network Walkman range of portable players.
For the time being however, Sony’s failure to provide a credible alternative to the iTunes service looks set to continue to cause friction between their record company and artists.
Musicians Work to Join iTunes in Japan [AP]
10 August, 2005
20 Percent Of Music To Be Digitally Delivered By 2008
Sony BMG’s global digital business president Thomas Hesse was full of optimism about the emerging opportunities brought about by digital distribution channels such as iTunes and ringtones.
Speaking at the Music 2.0 conference, Hesse predicted that digital music was expected to grow to 19-20 percent of the market by 2008, adding that this was “a fundamental transformation.”
Although the single format no longer rules the pop world, Hesse enthused about lucrative new possibilities brought about by digital music technologies which could increase returns on songs.
These might include whetting the public’s appetite with extra bundled content such as exclusive digital sales, artist interviews, video footage and acoustic versions of songs.
The Sony bigwig suggested that the record industry could learn from the movie studios where carefully-timed “release windows” have helped maximise commercial opportunities for new films.
Historically, the record industry has usually shunted everything out at the same time, but Hesse advised that early releases to specific formats like ringtones and iTunes downloads could rake in extra dollars, with the “real” tracks arriving later in a host of other digital and physical formats.
Hesse also expressed his preference for new payment systems for artists, where they get paid a percentage by total revenue sales, rather than unit sales.
Sony BMG Exec Sees Brave New Digital World [Digital Music News]
10 August, 2005
Dixons: Digital Kills The 35mm Star
It’s farewell to film at Dixons, as the company announced that it would no longer stock 35mm film-based cameras.
Britain’s biggest electrical retailer blamed “weak demand” for the decision, pointing out that digital cameras are now expected to outsell 35mm cameras by 15 to one in its stores.
After reaching a peak in the UK of 2.9 million cameras sold in 1989, 35mm camera sales have been steadily falling, with the public being wooed by the convenience, improving quality and falling costs of consumer digital cameras.
“Last year, we pulled the plug on video recorders, but today’s announcement is in many ways a more sentimental event,” said Bryan Magrath, marketing director at Dixons in an interview with Reuters.
Although photo experts will argue that a cheap 35mm camera will still produce higher quality images than its digital equivalent, a quick survey of 100 Dixons customers found that 93 percent could not tell the difference between digital and 35mm prints.
“This tells us that there is no real difference in quality between digital and film,” said Magrath. ‘The digital camera…delivers huge benefits due to its memory, speed, image quality and transferability of images.’
“Time and technology move on … digital cameras are now the rule, rather than the exception. We have decided that the time is now right to take 35mm cameras out of the frame,” Magrath added.
The company said it would knock out its limited range of 35mm cameras until stocks ran out, with a few specialist 35mm cameras still being sold at the company’s tax-free airport stores.
Dixons
9 August, 2005
Yahoo Unveils Audio Search Facility
Yahoo is testing a new Audio search facility to let users find audio files on the Web.
The free service, available online at Yahoo Search, claims to have indexed more than 50 million audio files including music downloads, albums, spoken word newscasts, speeches, interviews and, notably, podcasts.
Additionally, the search engine has indexed other audio related information including music videos, album reviews, artist images and artists’ Websites.
Although other internet search engines have the capability to find audio files, Yahoo claims that theirs is the dog’s bollo’s because the company has received permission to index downloadable songs offered by almost all of the biggest mainstream and independent providers.
These include iTunes, Napster, eMusic, GarageBand.com, Napster and RealNetworks’ Rhapsody, letting users click to buy once they’ve found the tunes they’re looking for.
Although the service is still in beta we were impressed with its speedy and simple interface: typing in the name of one of my (sadly) obscure old punk songs immediately brought up the album details, a list of download locations and links to reviews and other released albums.
For many of the songs, you can preview tunes before buying, with a ‘Preferred Audio Service’ option letting users select their, err, preferred music service from a comprehensive list.
Impressive!
This latest offering from Yahoo reflects the growing trend by search engine companies to expand their services into multimedia as well as text-based searching.
With all of the major players already offering some kind of video search facility, the race is on to provide a true, one-stop search engine capable of indexing everything on the Web.
Yahoo Audio Search
5 August, 2005
EMI Partners With 3 To Supply Mobile Music
Mobile operator 3 has announced a partnership with EMI Music UK to supply full-length music tracks directly to the three million customers on their network.
Thanks to the deal, 3’s customers will be able slip on a pair of gold lycra pants and gyrate around the office to Kylie, Robbie Williams and the rest of EMI’s bulging back catalogue.
The agreement will also enable customers to access music from EMI’s other UK labels which include Parlophone, Relentless and Virgin with the “hottest and freshest” 100 EMI Music UK’s tracks made available for downloading in either WMA or AAC format (depending on the handset).
Last year, 3 became the first network to provide full-length music videos over mobiles, offering mainstream videos from Sony BMG and independent music offerings through VidZone.
In a flurry of synergetic deals, Robbie Williams launched his single “Misunderstood” on the 3 network before it had been heard on TV or radio and Natasha Bedingfield and Rooster have also streamed concerts live to 3’s customers.
Bob Fuller, Chief Executive of 3 UK, clamed that 3 was leading the way in developing the exciting opportunities of 3G mobile technology.
Dave Gould, Commercial Manager, Digital Media for EMI Music UK, added: “We’re delighted to bring EMI Music UK’s labels to 3. 3 is a leading network in bringing mobile music to their customers and we’re really excited about the possibilities of putting more great music into the hands of millions of mobile users.”
3
EMI group
4 August, 2005
Sony Ericsson’s All Sensing Smartypants Phone
Sony Ericsson’s boffins have come up with the cunning idea of creating phones which automatically change the way they behave, depending on the time, date and place.
The cunning plan was revealed after the New Scientist magazine spotted a patent application by Sony Ericsson for a ‘System method and computer program product for managing themes in a mobile phone’.
Here’s the application abstract:
“Themes provide the mobile phone with changeable characteristics pertaining to the appearance and sound presented by the mobile phone. A theme profile associated with the mobile phone contains data pertaining to which theme to apply to the mobile phone and when to transition to another theme as well as where theme content data is located.
The mobile phone then waits for a triggering event to occur. When such a triggering event occurs, it causes a transition from the currently active theme to another theme. A new theme based on an associated triggering event is applied to the mobile phone changing its look and feel.”
What this means (in slightly less wordy language) is that the phone’s wallpaper display could automatically change to reflect dates logged in the calendar application of a user’s phone.
For example, the wallpaper display on the phone might automatically display a picture of a lovely big cake on the user’s birthday or a sparkling Christmas tree on December 25th.
Travellers touching down in Glasgow airport may be ‘treated’ to a bagpipes ringtone courtesy of a GPS country location signal, or perhaps the phone might blast out some demonic black metal on arrival in the Norwegian hinterland.
A more productive use of the technology could be in restaurants where a list of the day’s menu specials could be delivered direct to the phone’s screen via Bluetooth.
Another use may be in cinemas and theatres where Bluetooth could be used to automatically silence bleeping, ringing and ‘amusing’ ringtones.
The New Scientist article suggests that the feature could be used to keep stockbrokers updated with the latest share prices every 10 minutes or give walkers continually updated weather forecasts with the information being displayed as the phone’s wallpaper.
Happily, priority coding will let users override some automated controls, thus eliminating the prospect of a tinny rendition of KC and the Sunshine Band’s “That’s the Way (I Like It)” blasting out during granddad’s funeral.
New Statesman
4 August, 2005
Zen Vision From Creative Squares Up To Apple’s iPod
With the slap of a leather gauntlet against iPod’s shiny white face, Creative has unveiled its new Zen Vision a portable media player.
Yep, it’s yet another contender for the title of ‘iPod Killer’, but this one’s got a killer punch: video playback, a feature that isn’t expected to be seen on iPods until 2006.
As well as supporting music playback, users can view movies and digital pictures on the unit’s impressively girthed 3.7″ (diagonal) 262k colour TFT LCD screen at a resolution of 640×480.
The Zen Vision supports a slew of video codecs, including AVI, DivX, XviD, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG4-SP and Microsoft’s WMV9.
Audio support is similarly comprehensive, with the unit playing MP3 (Up to 320 kbps), WMA (Up to 320 kbps), WMA with Digital Rights Management (DRM) 9 or later and Linear PCM WAV.
Although the Zen Vision can’t play tunes downloaded from Apple’s iPod music store, it does support other popular music stores including Napster, MSN Music and Yahoo! Music Unlimited, so there’ll be shortage of tunes available for the device.
There’s also an integrated FM radio on board, offering 32 station presets with the ability to record shows or your own voice.
Resplendent in its white or black finishes, the Zen is quite a looker, and is only slightly larger than the rival iPod.
There’s 30GB of storage on board, which Creative claims will support up to 120 hours of movies (based on 500Kbps MPEG4-SP), or 15,000 songs encoded at 64k WMA – this is something of a meaningless figure because it’s doubtful people will want to listen to their tunes at such a low quality setting..
We very much like the provision of a CompactFlash card slot, with a range of adaptors for popular memory card formats (SD, MMC, Memory Stick etc making it easy for photographers to transfer photos to the device for storage and viewing.
There’s also a personal organiser provided, capable of syncing daily tasks, contact lists and calendar data.
The pocket sized powerhouse comes with a rechargeable Li-ion battery offering up to 4.5 hours of video playback and 13 hours of audio, depending on the file’s format and energy settings.
Consumers in the US can pre-order the Zen Vision on Creative’s website for US$399 (~€323, £225~). Europeans will have to twiddle their thumbs and wait for now.
Creative Zen Vision
4 August, 2005
Three Quarters of US Homes Have A Computer
New US research claims that Americans are becoming increasingly “digital,” with over three quarters owning computers and many households verily humming with multiple digital electronics products, including cell phones to entertainment devices to cameras.
A recent survey conducted by Opinion Research Corporation’s CARAVAN poll involving 2,000 respondents discovered that three-in-four American adults (76%) own a computer, two-thirds (67%) own a mobile phone and nearly half (47%) are snapping away on digital cameras.
Other digital lifestyle products contributing to the Greenhouse Effect in US homes included digital cameras (47 per cent); video game consoles like XBox, PSP etc (38 per cent); TiVo/digital video recorders (27 per cent); home security systems (19 per cent), and iPods or other MP3 digital players (17 per cent).
The research was commissioned by hard drive manufacturer, Seagate, who were keen to remind users of their role in the digital revolution:
“Technology advances that enable smaller, higher capacity, more stable storage solutions are allowing consumer electronics manufacturers to develop products with greater functionality,” said Bill Watkins, CEO of Seagate Technology.
“The convenience, reliability and huge capacity of hard drive storage is enhancing applications as diverse as digital audio players, gaming devices, DVRs, HDTVs, automobiles, cell phones, PDAs, and a host of other products. Ground-breaking storage solutions are helping to drive the adoption of a digital lifestyle.”
3 August, 2005