Digital-Lifestyles

Content

Content in its shift to become digital

  • Napster Pre-Paid Cards and Media Room Edition

    Napster pre-paid cardNapster, the online music store, has made a couple of key announcements regarding its future business plans. The UK arm of the store has just launched a pre-paid music card scheme, aimed at under 18s and other music buyers who don’t have credit cards.

    The scheme is a first for the UK, and will be sold through the Dixons Group of stores. The cards will initially be available in two values – UK£14.95 (€21.65) and UK£56.95 (€83), which works out at UK£0.99 (€1.44) and UK£0.95 (€1.38) per track respectively.

    Aside from being good for business, Napster sees a key advantage in making it easier for teenagers to buy music: they’ll be less likely to download it illegally. More music, more stores and more ways to pay mean that people will be less attracted to P2P networks when trying to acquire music that they enjoy.

    Napster vice-president and UK general manager Leanne Sharman said in a statement: “The launch of pre-paid cards in the UK is a major development in the evolution of the online music market. Our partnership with Dixons Group broke the mould and gave online music a high street presence for the first time; now the introduction of pre-paid cards takes this one step further and increases accessibility to Napster.”

    Napster have also announced a new Media Room Edition of their client software, featured in Windows XP Media Centre 2005. The new version of their software has been designed for easy viewing on a television, allowing users to access their music collection from their sofa, or even buy music that way. Dangerous, given some of the urges to buy music that I get and can’t be bothered getting off the sofa and onto my PC to action them.

    Additionally, Napster MRE features an expanded music video collection and enhanced artist photos and album art. The forthcoming Napster to Go portable subscription service will also be included when it débuts this year.

    “The Napster Media Room Edition is for the growing number of music fans that want to take digital music beyond the PC and integrate it into their home entertainment experience,” said Chris Gorog, Napster’s chairman and CEO. “Napster’s expansion from a PC-based experience into the living room and into the home began over a year ago as a feature of Microsoft’s ground-breaking Media Centre PC so we are pleased to continue our legacy of innovation with the most comprehensive and easy to use music experience available.”

    Napster

  • Sony’s DVDirect – Transfer Home Movies Without a PC

    What are you doing with all those digital tapes you’ve shot on your video camera? With many camera owners, chances are they’ll be in a drawer somewhere, unwatched an decaying – usually because attaching the camera to the television or hunting through a linear tape for the bit that you’re interested in is just too much effort – as is making copies of a tape to share.

    Sony have recognised that home video archives really need the convenience of DVD, yet attaching cameras to PCs, capturing content and then editing it down to a disk is a far from simple job.

    Enter the DVDirect – a US$300 (€243) external drive that can record DVDs straight from a digital or analogue source. Sony claim that the appliance is a world first and hopes that it will extend home DVD recording to a much wider range of consumers.

    Available in November, DVDirect can burn up to 12 hours of high-quality MPEG-2 video onto a double-layer DVD+R – or up to six hours on single layer DVD+R/DVD+RW discs. It does this through a combination of built-in real-time video capturing and hardware MPEG-2 encoding. DVDirect sports a USB2.0 interface, and supports 16x burning – writing a full disk in around six minutes.

    To simplify playback, the device can automatically insert chapter points at timed intervals – though extra features such as special effects or music require it to be connected to a PC. For this, a copy of Nero is provided.

    “Preserving precious moments onto DVD has never been easier than with the DVDirect burner,” said Robert DeMoulin, marketing manager for branded storage products in Sony Electronics’ IT Products Division. “Users can simply connect their camcorder to the recorder, hit the record button, and out comes a DVD disc that they can pop into their home DVD player. Meanwhile, computer-savvy users can attach the DVDirect device to a PC to perform all of the common tasks characteristic of computer-attached burners.”

    Sony talk DVDirect

  • Apple Still Doing Nicely Out of iPod

    Apple Computer have just released their fourth quarter earnings — and they’ve more than doubled. Q4 2003 was good with the company bringing in a profit of US$44 million (€35.59 million), but Q4 2004 is a different story Apple reporting a profit of US$106 million (€85.74 million) – a leap of 240%. It’s a sign of how the iPod has changed Apple that music products and services now account for 27% of the company’s revenue.

    Steve Jobs announced why the company had done so well: “We are thrilled to report our highest fourth quarter revenue in nine years. We shipped over 2 million iPods, our Retail store revenue grew 95% year-over-year, and the new iMac G5 has received phenomenal reviews and is off to a great start.”

    The iPod certainly is still popular – last quarter Apple sold “only” 860,000, and Q4 2003 sales were 336,000. A annual sales hike of 500% this far after a product’s launch is remarkable and shows that Apple’s policy of regular revisions is working well. Indeed, the company is currently selling more than two iPods for every computer they ship.

    Apple’s Q4 results

  • RIAA Suffers Setback

    The Recording Industry Association of America has suffered a setback in its John Doe pursuit of illegal file sharers, as the Supreme Court has now denied their demand that Verizon and other ISPs identify customers whom the RIAA believe are sharing infringing music.

    Previously, the RIAA had been pursuing ISP Verizon with subpoenas demanding subscriber details without actually knowing who their targets where. Anonymous individuals were picked out by investigating traffic and file sharing on peer to peer networks, though identities are often hidden through aliases. Let’s face it, someone sharing files illegally would have to be pretty daft to give their real details as a user name and profile.

    Verizon refused the demands from the RIAA on the grounds that, due to P2P networks’ very nature, they themselves did not store infringing material – it’s all stored on individuals’ own PCs. They argue that they cannot remove files or police their customers for every single infringing action.

    The Supreme Court agrees with them, and the RIAA will now have to try a different strategy, instead of using the DMCA as a means to issue subpoenas to ISPs. “The Supreme Court’s refusal to take the case leaves the DC Circuit’s well-reasoned opinion as law: The DMCA doesn’t give the RIAA a blank fishing license to issue subpoenas and invade Internet users’ privacy,” said EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer.

    In recent weeks the RIAA has stepped up its activity against illegal file sharers by launching a further 762 cases, including suing individuals at 26 different schools. In the past, each case has netted an average of US$3000 (€2,473), none of which goes to the artists who are losing money.

    The EFF

    The RIAA

  • 3G Phones in Japan Get Even More Interesting

    Twenty four hours is a long time in the Japanese mobile phone market, vividly demonstrated by the three interesting developments I’m going to outline below.

    Firstly, KDDI, the second largest mobile operator in Japan will be distributing the new Casio W21CA handset with Opera as its default web browser – this makes Opera the first full web browser to be deployed on the 3G CDMA network in Japan.

    Toshio Maki, the vice president and general manager of KDDI’s Service and Product Planning Divisionsaid in a statement:”With a market eager to experience evolved mobile communications, a crucial part of that experience will be how impressively users can browse the Internet and how rich Web content will be. Opera is the ideal mobile Web application to browse the full Web because of its speed, usability, and unique SSR [Small-Screen Rendering] technology, Opera is the best browser to utilize the high-speed access capabilities of the 3G CDMA network.”

    Secondly, KDDI are about to launch a new music distribution service whilst introducing new phones that have enough memory to make them genuinely useful as music players. The new music store will launch with about 10,000 tracks, though we’ve not been able to confirm how much a download will cost.

    The service will launch at the end of November, and will coincide with new phones from Toshiba, Sanyo and Hitachi. With 40mb of memory, the new Sanyo W22SA will be able to store about 100 minutes of J-Pop with around nine hours of playback.

    Lastly, if you’re worried about your phone’s battery life now that it’s your video camera, music player, games console, TV and, errr, phone – then KDDI is hoping to introduce fuel-cell based batteries in the near future, with a prototype expected this year. Conventional batteries are just not up to the sort of energy drain required for all the new 3G services that network providers and phone manufacturers are hoping to seel to customers. The fuel cells are methanol-based and are charged by attaching methanol cartridges. Expect a sudden increase in tramps asking for 10p to make a phone call.

    Opera

    KDDI

  • Microsoft Announces Plans for Your Digital Living Room and 22 New Security Flaws in Windows Products

    Microsoft began the latest phase of its big push for consumers’ digital lives by unveiling Windows XP Media Centre Edition 2005 (MCE) and a host of products designed to work alongside it.

    Bill G and Queen Latifah demonstrated the most recent features in MCE at an event in Los Angeles, highlighting integration with Windows Media Player 10 and a compatibility with a range of new hardware devices.

    To coincide with the do, Microsoft’s main press release describes a hypothetical family and how they might use digital media across the day – from recording TV programmes via their web browser to broadcasting music around the home using a Media Centre Extender.

    The company also announced 22 new security holes in its Windows range whilst issuing an update to address them. One of the new flaws managed to affect Macintosh OSX users.

    By promoting MCE as a digital hub, the company hopes to show consumers that they can view, share and store their movies, music and pictures around the home and on the move. To reinforce their view of the future, the company also announced a number of devices from partners like HP, Dell and Creative Labs.

    Music is a very important part of MS’s plans, with Windows Media 10 and MSN Music receiving another PR boost. Amongst the devices promoted by MS were new Digital Audio Receivers from Dlink, Roku and MoniFi which are designed to play digital music from a central source in any room of the house. Creative, Gateway, iRiver and other also announced new digital media players for the Christmas season, with capabilities ranging from simple music to full video playback.

    Will Poole, senior vice president for the Windows Client division at Microsoft said in a statement: “For years, many in the consumer electronics industry have viewed digital entertainment as a field of dreams: if you provide consumers with a solution, they’ll build it into a larger experience – regardless of cost or complexity. Windows XP Media Centre PC and all of these other devices and services make it possible, for the first time, for the average consumer to enjoy digital entertainment anywhere, anytime and in any way.”

    Microsoft’s Media experience

  • France Says “Oui” to Mobile Phone Jammers

    As campaigns to encourage patrons to switch their phones to silent, or turn them off altogether have failed, French Industry Minister, Patrick Devedjian has approved a decision made by the country’s Telecommunications Regulation Authority to allow public performance spaces to use mobile phone jamming devices.

    The devices will be installed in cinemas, theatres and concert halls to prevent calls from reaching the audience. Understandably, there is a proviso that emergency calls will be allowed through without interference.

    The move is the result of years of disruption caused by people forgetting to switch their mobiles off in cinemas and theatres, or even just leaving them on and taking calls and was first suggested back in 2001. The Autorité de Régulation des Télécommunications has drawn up technical standards for the jammers’ safe deployment.

    Mobile jammers had previously been illegal in France, with culprits fancying a bit of quiet facing six months in prison or a €30,000 (UK£26,640) fine. Though mobile phone jammers are currently illegal in the UK, a small number of hotels in the UK have been accused of employing the devices to force residents to use the hotel’s (expensive) telephone services.

    The Telegraph reports the news

  • Orb Networks’ PC Content Sharing

    Next up in the media portal race is a service from Orb Networks. Their technology allows PC users to stream content off their home computer to any other compatible device that’s connected to the internet. This means that you can watch programmes you’ve recorded using your Windows Media Centre PC on a compatible mobile phone of PDA almost anywhere.

    To do this, Orbs’s technology takes music or video from the user’s PC and then determines the best format, codec and bit rate for the target device and then streams it from your home internet connection to the device you’ve requested it from.

    Orb intend to expand the product beyond PC users – they want PVRs to incorporate the technology also, which will prove trickier. Indeed, TiVo have just had a lucky scrape when they had a similar feature approved by the FCC earlier this year, after criticism from the MPAA over its security.

    Tim Bajarin president of Creative Strategies at Orb Networks explains why they’ve produced their media portal: “Many of today’s digital entertainment devices and services place limitations on the amount or type of content consumers can access. People may be able to watch live television remotely from a cell phone or notebook, but are restricted to watching only a handful of stations. Additionally, today’s digital music services often try to lock users into using one particular device and media player. Very simply put, Orb takes away these boundaries giving the consumer what they want – uninhibited, spontaneous remote access to all of their digital home media.”

    Content providers media companies don’t want their content going anywhere near the internet – even if you technically have a right to view it when ever you like. Expect Orb Networks to come under fire from the usual favourites when the service launches in mid-November. When available, it’ll cost subscribers US$9.99 (€8.11) a month, or US$80 (€65) a year.

    James Behrens, chief executive officer of Orb Networks said in a statement: “Orb Networks has developed a brand new way for people to be connected to their digital media all the time from anywhere in the world. We have found a way to bring consumers what they want – simple access at any time. Consumers can watch live TV on their laptop, schedule a DVR recording through their PDA, or even listen to their music on their cell phone while jogging, biking or shopping.”

    Orb Networks

  • Mattel’s Juice Box Media Player for Kids

    Mattel are launching their new Juice Box media player on 17th October. The cute little gadget is intended to introduce kids between the ages of 8 and 12 to the delights of digital media.

    Since the Juice Box will play MP3s, photos and video clips delivered through proprietary Juiceware media cards that store nearly three hours of content, you too can introduce your offspring to the frustration of proprietary formats and DRM schemes before they even get to secondary school. The cards will cost about US$10 (€8.11) for two episodes of an animated series, up to US$25 (€20) for a feature, and the format used is based on a technology developed by 4Kids Entertainment.

    Initially, Mattel will be offering content from BMG Music, Cartoon Network, WWE and the Learning Channel for the Juice Box. If you don’t want your audio and picture content to be locked into someone else’s DRM, kids can buy a separate “MP3 Starter Kit” which comes with a standard SD card so they can play MP3s and view pictures from their PCs. No video though – and the kit will cost and additional US$45 (€37).

    The 11.5 x 8.5 x 1.5 inch device has a 3 inch LCD and will run for six hours on three AA batteries (also not included), and features a built in speaker plus headphone connector. So that the US$70 (€57) Juice Box doesn’t get scratched to bits whilst tumbling around in the bottom of a rucksack, it comes with a flip cover to protect the display.

    €20 for a low resolution film on a card that you can’t watch anywhere else? And how well is Nintendo’s cartoon player for the GameBoy Advance doing anyway? And the Zvue? I think you can already see my point here.

    Mattel’s press release

    Buy them from Amazon US
    JUICE BOX Personal Media Player (Blue)
    JUICE BOX Personal Media Player (Red)

  • Yell Launch Yell.com Mobile

    Yell.com, the UK business information portal styled on the Yellow Pages, has just announced the launch of Yell.com Mobile. The service aims to give access to the company’s information on two million shops and services to mobile phone users through a Java application and even provides colour maps and directions from your location. Yell.com Mobile is compatible with a large range of handsets, and a list is available from their main website. The service, excluding the premium services detailed below, is free – excluding normal network charges.

    To use the service for the first time, the applet has top be downloaded by texting “mobile” to 80248. You’ll then receive a message that will prompt the applet download through your GPRS connection.

    Once installed, users can search Yell by business type, name, location or browse by categories like “Gifts and Shopping” or “Days and Nights Out”.

    Once a business is located, users are offered three premium services, each costing UK0.25 (€0.36): Map, Directions or Business Card. The map is presented at 1:25,000 scale with seven levels of zoom, and directions can be tailored to driving or walking and are based on the user’s current location. The business card function simply copies the full details of the company you’ve searched for to your phone’s address book.

    Eddie Cheng, eBusiness director, Yell, said: “Yell.com mobile is a unique service, the most advanced of its kind currently available in Europe. The revolutionary application gives mobile users full access to Yell.com’s business information whilst they’re on the move. Once downloaded, the application sits on the mobile handset with only requested data being transmitted over the air.”

    Yell.com Mobile