Amazon MP3 Music Store Opens Today
Amazon.com launched the public beta of its digital music store Tuesday, offering over 2 million DRM-free tracks.
The new music store could be seen as a strong competitor to iTunes, as it features many of the same artists without copy protection on the files. This means that not only can the tracks purchased from Amazon MP3 be copied, burned, and stored on multiple computers, but they are also compatible with most portable devices, including the iPod. All songs are encoded at 256 kilobits per second.
EchoStar Acquires Sling Media for $380 Million
Echostar said Tuesday that it will acquire Sling Media in a $380 million cash and stock deal that closes later this year.
Echostar is the parent company of Dish Network, while Sling Media is the manufacturer of the Slingbox 'place-shifting' device. Sling will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of the satellite television company, although it will not change any of the services or products it provides.
EC: Certain US Companies Can't Merge Without EU Approval
An official spokesperson for the European Commission, in response to our questions regarding procedures for reviewing the proposed merger between Google and DoubleClick, told BetaNews this morning that under EU law, any two companies anywhere in the world whose projected post-merger annual revenue from European customers would exceed 250 million euros is subject to regulatory approval there.
While declining specific comment on these two companies, EC press officer for competition policy Linda Cain wrote to BetaNews, "In general terms, under the EU Merger Regulation, proposed mergers must be notified to the European Commission if the annual turnover of the combined businesses exceeds specified thresholds in terms of global and European sales (5 billion euros annual global combined turnover, each party having at least 250 million euros annual turnover in Europe). All proposed mergers notified to the Commission are examined to see if they would significantly impede effective competition in the EU."
Apple Warns of Dangers of iPhone Unlocking
Late yesterday afternoon, Apple Computer issued a single-paragraph statement reminding its iPhone users that their warranties would not be able to cover damages to their phones caused by the use of unlocking utilities. The company used a carrot and stick approach, reminding users that an iTunes Music Store update was on the way, but that attempting to install it on a cracked phone could render it useless.
Here is the Apple statement in its entirety:
Dell to Expand Retail Presence in China
Since January of this year, Dell Computer has been tailoring its sales model to fit changing market dynamics. Its very successful direct sales (or build-to-order) approach is simply not the best way to get through to certain markets. China is a shining example of this, and Dell announced today that it will distribute PCs through Gome, China's largest consumer electronics retailer.
Gome has about 700 outlets in 210 Chinese cities. Dell's plan is to immediately assign in-store employees in 50 of those stores, with more planned early next year. Dell says it plans for Gome to feature its XPS M1330 and Inspiron 1420 notebooks, and Dimension 9200 and Inspiron 530 desktops. The latter model is expected to retail for around $300 USD, and be aimed at the rural customer.
Windows Vista SP1 Beta Released to Private Testers
Multiple Microsoft sources have confirmed that the first beta test editions of Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista were distributed to a select group of about 12,000 testers today. BetaNews learned these are indeed exclusive invitees, not merely a subset of the company's MSDN or TechNet subscriber base.
An account of the SP1 experience published today by Microsoft team blogger Brandon LeBlanc confirms what BetaNews reported three weeks ago: Rather than add new features, SP1 concentrates on making the existing ones work better - at least, those which remain after a slight feature cut.
Windows Server 2008 RC0, Viridian CTP Released Tomorrow
Despite denials from members of its own server development team on blogs last week, Microsoft announced today that it is indeed making Release Candidate 0 of Windows Server 2008 available for download tomorrow, if not sooner, as a community technology preview.
With it, multiple sources are confirming that the first preview code for Viridian, Microsoft's highly anticipated built-in hypervisor platform for what will be called Windows Server Virtualization, will be included as part of RC0.
WSJ: Microsoft, Google Considering Facebook Stake
Microsoft is apparently looking to purchase a five percent stake in social networking site Facebook, the Wall Street Journal reports.
The move is valued at some $300 to $500 million, which would place a value on the company of anywhere between $6 and $10 billion. The Redmond company is not the only one eyeing the site: Google is also said to be interested as well.
Commercial Price of '$100 Laptop' Rises, But For a Good Cause
The One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization has announced a two-week sale from November 12 to November 26, with the objective of catalyzing greater support from philanthropists and generous consumers, as well as emerging nations whose citizens could stand to benefit.
With each new announcement, the price of the originally-dubbed "$100 Laptop" has, in fact, been rising, and that orders from emerging nations are not coming as swiftly as anticipated. As it stands now, the first mass-produced, commercially available XO laptops will be sold at just under $200 USD each, and only in quantities of two. For each sale, one laptop will go to the buyer, and the other will be a tax-deductible donation to a developing country.
Dueling Think Tanks Debate Fate of Windows on European PCs
Last week's ruling by the European Court of First Instance (CFI) upholding the European Commission's 2004 finding against Microsoft and its subsequent Statement of Objections, may open the door for the EC to take unprecedented action. Commissioner for Competition Neelie Kroes stated she's open to suggestion, and today one response came from the respected Brussels-based Globalisation Institute think tank: Force manufacturers by law to sell PCs without operating systems pre-installed or bundled.
"We decided that the best way to approach competition was simply to insist that operating systems are purchased separately from desktop and laptop computers," reads a white paper published by the GI this morning (PDF available here). "This, we believe, would have a significant effect on the market share of Windows, providing the competitive marketplace that Ms. Kroes has called for. Price conscious consumers, including many students, would opt for cheaper operating systems."
Eager Fans Await Halo 3 Release
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Halo 3, undoubtedly the most anticipated title for the Xbox 360 -- and perhaps of all time -- will be finally available tonight. More than 10,000 stores will be opening their doors at midnight to sell the game, which is expected to break all sales records and become the biggest interactive entertainment launch in history.
Starbucks to Give Away 50 Million iTunes Tracks
Starbucks said Monday that it plans to give away about 50 million songs from iTunes as part of a promotion to drum up interest in its wireless music service that will debut soon.
The popular coffee shop is about to launch the feature in its Seattle and New York locations on October 2, and in San Francisco during the month of November. When browsing the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store near a Starbucks, users will be able to view -- and download -- the currently playing song as well as the last ten played.
Virgin Ends Digital Music Venture
Virgin is calling it quits in the digital music business. The company has stopped selling tracks and accepting new customers as of Friday, and will shut down for good on October 19. New sales of music will end September 29, according to a message on the UK portion of the site. Those customers who have a payment due before the shut off date will lose access the day their next payment is due, according to the note.
The US side will also be ceasing, although it will handle the closure somewhat differently. Whereas UK users lose their unused credits, US users will be able to transfer them for use in Napster's online store. In either case, subscription customers will lose access to their music completely upon the 19th. The closing of Virgin Digital follows that of MTV's Urge, which shut its doors due to ineffectiveness in competing with Apple's iTunes.
Could Google's and DoubleClick's Merger Plans End in Europe?
Over five months after the two companies announced their intention to merge, search engine leader Google and display advertising leader DoubleClick petitioned the European Commission on Friday for clearance of their merger terms. This morning, according to the Associated Press, the EC responded by warning that a full investigation of their petition could consume as much as four months.
Since the US Federal Trade Commission announced it would investigate the merger terms, Google has tread very carefully in its proceedings with Europe, where antitrust laws in recent months have been somewhat more strict.
FBI: Unisys Covered Up Gov't Computer Break-in
IT company Unisys is under investigation by the federal government following the revelation that it may have failed to detect a break-in by Chinese hackers to Homeland Security computers. Making matters worse, the FBI says the company tried to cover up the lapse, a charge Unisys denies. About 150 computers were compromised between June and October 2006.
Unisys has had a contract with the US government since 2002 to provide and manage IT services, totaling $1 billion. An additional $750 million follow-up deal was reached in 2005. The FBI is taking the lapse and cover-up seriously, and is apparently considering fraud charges, according to the Washington Post. In a statement, Unisys said "facts and documentation" would prove the charges false and that it "acted in good faith to meet the [government's] security requirements."
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