Filed under: Products and services, Launches, Consumer experience, Competitive strategy, Apple Inc (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN), Marketing and advertising
British-based Play.com, a privately-based retailer, has launched a new download store in direct competition with Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iTunes Store in the United Kingdom. PlayDigitial will offer tracks without digital rights management (DRM) technology from privately-held EMI Group and independent labels, in a move that looks similar to iTunes current offering of DRM-free tracks at lower prices. The store will still offer DRM tracks at higher prices than the DRM-free tracks and is in talks with other labels to bring more DRM-free tracks into the store.
Play.com’s new store comes in advance of Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) sister store in the UK, Amazon.co.uk, opening a similar store with DRM-free tracks. The U.S. store recently opened its own MP3 store in full with DRM-free tracks from all the major labels, not simply limited to one major and independents. According to Billboard, the UK version of iTunes controls 70% of the market there and the store is also being forced to bring prices down to common prices with other European nations. PlayDigital and the eventual Amazon download store in the UK will work against that control and price drops.
It seems odd that the “fight” against digital rights management continues, taking into account that it has essentially been over in the United Says since last month when Amazon’s MP3 store gained access to tracks from all the major labels without the technology. Obviously different laws exist for agreements with companies in different countries, but until DRM is dropped totally, moves like this are going to continue to occur. Unfortunately for Apple and the iTunes Store, the drive against DRM technology that was started about a year ago is no longer under the company’s control, with stores like Play.com and Amazon.com taking the lead and gaining superior deals with the music labels.
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KingArthur10 writes “It will be the last lunar eclipse until December 2010, and it should be spectacular. Shades of turquoise and red will pour over the moon’s surface as the it moves into the Earth’s shadow around 8:43pm EST. As NASA reports: ‘Transiting the shadow’s core takes about an hour. The first hints of red appear around 10 pm EST (7 pm PST), heralding a profusion of coppery hues that roll across the Moon’s surface enveloping each crater, mountain and moon rock, only to fade away again after 11 pm EST (8 pm PST). No special filter or telescope is required to see this spectacular event. It is a bright and leisurely display visible from cities and countryside alike. While you’re watching, be alert for another color: turquoise. Observers of several recent lunar eclipses have reported a flash of turquoise bracketing the red of totality … The source of the turquoise is ozone.’ So, all of your amateur astronomers need to get out there and take pictures. It might be worthwhile sharing them on sites like SpaceWeather or Flickr so that our Asian, European, African, and Australian brethren can witness the sight as well.”
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Andrew Feinberg writes “A California State Senator is seeking to mandate climate change as part of the standard science curriculum. Other members of the legislative body seek to instruct an opposing view. ‘Simitian noted that his bill wouldn’t dictate what to instruct or in what grades, but rather would require the say Board of Education and state Department of Education to decide both. Even though global warming is mentioned in high school classes about weather, it is currently not required to be covered in all textbooks, said the head of the California Science Teachers Association … instructors would have plenty to discuss: rising levels of carbon dioxide, how temperatures are measured globally, and what is known and not known about global warming.’”
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ethericalzen writes “An article this week at Cnet revealed that the White Home doesn’t necessarily hate everything about P2P. The Bush Administration apparently has called into question a law, known as the Federal Bureau Data Protection Act, that would force all federal agencies to have plans guarding against the risks of P2P file sharing. In a Congressional hearing on IT security threats, the LimeWire founder was questioned about how his service warned users about the files and folders they are sharing. Karen Evans, the chief information officer for the federal government, said that she was against singling out a particular technology when issuing personal security requirements. As it is the government already has a law which requires federal agencies to report on information security plans and risk assessments known as FISMA.”
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Posted by: admin in Today News
Dallas Housing Authority tenant steamed over high fire bill … - Dallas Morning News
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BotnetZombie writes “Wired has up an article/gallery with very impressive images from the nanoworlds around us, and tiny stories for each picture. Besides giving an inspiring insight into the world of very little things, images of this kind can help scientists in many fields get a better handle on their subjects.”
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Riding with Robots writes “The never-say-die robotic geologist Opportunity continues its extended explorations in Victoria Crater on Mars. The latest findings from the mission suggest that while plenty of water did exist in this location, it was so salty that life would have a very hard time gaining a foothold. ‘Not all water is fit to drink,’ stated Andrew Knoll, a member of the rover science team. ‘At first, we focused on acidity, because the environment would have been very acidic. Now, we also appreciate the high salinity of the water when it left behind the minerals Opportunity found. This tightens the noose on the possibility of life.’”
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