Europeans
download 3M songs (legally) in '03
Europeans
played by the rules in 2003, giving hope to the waning music industry.
Black and blue from the beating it took from illegal internet
file-swapping services such as the original Napster and more recently
Kazaa, the music industry has looked to online music stores to
provide
a legal way to get music. In 2003, Europeans bought more than 3 million
songs online from the continent’s major internet music store, OD2. Of
course, this won’t undo damage from continued weak CD sales, but the
thriving download market is giving some record label execs hope. OD2 says
the number of downloads is expanding 25 percent month to month. And the
U.S. market is gaining even more momentum, with 30 million songs
downloaded in 2003 from online music stores, such as Apple’s iTunes.
Where
to get political poop? Online, of course.
A
new Gallup Poll Tuesday Briefing survey shows nearly half of Americans log
on to the internet to get political and candidate information, an increase
of 31 percent from 2000. The millennium brought the first presidential
election that really used the internet as a significant tool for
distributing political and campaign information. As the 2004 election
approaches, presidential candidate Howard Dean shows he is internet-savvy
too. He has used online techniques to rally a host of internet supporters.
Sensitive
Microsoft doesn't get Mike Rowe's joke
Microsoft is getting snippy with a teen over a “soft”
subject. Mike Rowe, a 17-year-old from Victoria, British Columbia, thought
it would be funny to add “soft” to the end of his name to create a
memorable title for a web site design company. Microsoft, however,
doesn’t think that’s so cute. The computer software giant’s
attorneys have demanded that Rowe surrender his domain name. Rowe
registered the name in August, and three months later received a letter
from Microsoft’s Canadian lawyers, Smart & Biggar
informing him he had
committed copyright infringement.
When
asked to give up the name, Rowe
requested
compensation for the
surrender. Thrifty Microsoft offered him $10 in U.S. funds, which he
dismissed for a request of the higher sum of $10,000. Microsoft responded
by accusing Rowe of coercing them into giving him a larger settlement.
Rowe is now seeking legal advice against Microsoft.
Next
generation of NASCAR: Nextel web treats
This sure ain’t your father’s tobacco-laden NASCAR.
Nextel, the new title sponsor of NASCAR’s top series, has started
showing what new technology it will bring to the sport. Some of the new
items: Motorola-made NASCAR-themed handsets, featuring 10 driver phones
that come complete with driver-specific wallpapers, ring tones and a
digital racing stopwatch; a newly remodeled NASCAR wireless web site,
which will feature a live leaderboard, driver backgrounds, a race schedule
and contest signups; audio services with Nextel online customers receiving
up-to-the-minute race broadcasts to their handsets and NASCAR alerts; and
NASCAR-branded accessories. Of course, no partnership would be complete
without advertising. The Nextel/NASCAR ads began this past weekend with
drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip. Other commercials will
follow later this year.
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