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Could a loophole in Spanish law guarantee a Napster-like web site protection? New launch Puretunes.com will test that theory. The site claims that because of a Spanish copyright law, it does not need record company permission to peddle songs. Instead it will go through several music trade groups. Puretunes plans to charge visitors a per-song or per-month fee and pay several Spanish trade associations representing the groups or singers a small royalty, thus circumventing big labels such as Sony, Warner and Universal. As if to further tick the big guys off, Puretunes has partnered with recent copyright lawsuit target Grokster for a marketing campaign. A U.S. court recently found that Grokster and fellow American peer file swapping site Morpheus do not violate copyright laws. Downloads on Puretunes will cost significantly less than those available on industry-approved Pressplay or Musicnet, running $3.99 for eight hours or $24.99 per month.
Less sophisticated internet returns to Baghdad
Iraq is slowly getting rewired. The first post-war internet café has sprouted in Baghdad, though it’s not exactly the type of cappuccino, Sunday Times and high-speed access joint that Americans enjoy. The Al-Thakira has five computers and a creaky dial-up connection that, because of electricity shortages, doesn’t always work. But since the war ended, there aren’t many places to send or receive email, or even snail mail, for that matter. Two electrical engineers and a former Ministry of Industry employee dreamed up the café, which is located on the fourth floor of an office building. Al-Thakira is the only place known in Baghdad with email capabilities right now. The Ministry of Information had the city’s central server, and it was bombed out during the war. Baghdad internet cafés numbered more than 30 before the war, even though the first one opened only in 2000. Most actually were operated and censored by the government, meaning strict bans on chat rooms, instant messaging, pornography and anti-Saddam material. Al-Thakira charges the equivalent of $5 per hour for service, plus $1.25 each for Outlook Express emails sent and 75 cents for those received.
Disney devises digitally destructing DVDs
Walt Disney Company has gotten sick of going through the middlemen – the video store or pay-per-view movie presenters – to distribute its popular movies. Its new MovieBeam service being tested in Salt Lake City will do exactly what it sounds like, beaming movies to a TV box that can be rented at electronics stores. MovieBeam will cost about the same as vide rentals. The films can be watched an unlimited number of times in 24 hours. That’s the same idea as the self-destructing DVDs that the company plans to debut this August. A chemical in the disk makes it unplayable 48 hours after the packaging is first opened, controlling the number of viewings. Disney is betting that lazy consumers will love this innovation. It means no return trips to the video rental store after viewing a movie.
New: Swap frequent flyer miles for eBay buys
Maybe it doesn’t only seem like eBay rules the world. The online auction site has partnered with three companies to encourage even more buying of worthless junk. Now customers enrolled in frequent flier or hotel loyalty programs can use their points for eBay purchases. Sprint Corp., Hilton Hotels and American Airlines will begin awarding customers Anything Points, which convert to a certain amount of cents on eBay. The programs aren’t interchangeable. Ten dollars on eBay equals 10,000 Hilton HHonors points, for example. And Sprint will only give points for new customers.
May 21, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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