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Latest by Geoff Duncan

Online Media to Earn $2 Billion by 2006

A new forecast from Research and Markets predicts streaming and downloadable media will pull in $1.38 billion in 2005 and $2 billion in 2006.

Consumers Indifferent to Telecom Providers?

A new survey from TNS Telecoms finds that consumers are largely indifferent to who provides their bundled telecommunications services, so long as the services work.

Dell’s New XPS Notebook: Cheap Luxury?

Dell's recently introduced XPS systems are supposed to be premium, stylish, luxury boxes with oodles of support: and now they've added a $999 notebook to the mix?

Canon’s Fuel Cell May Drive Portable Gear

Canon, Inc., has taken the wraps off prototype rechargeable hydrogen fuel cells, the likes of which may one day power digital cameras, media players, and printers.

RFID To Be In U.S. Passports in 2006

The U.S. State Department has mandated RFID chips be embedded in all U.S. passports by October 2006, with government employees getting the chips starting in December 2005.

Google Video Hosting American TV Interviews

Google Video is hosting the Emmy's Archive of American Television interviews, featuring famous TV actors, writers, producers, and directors.

Apple Finally Opens Australian iTunes Store

Nearly two and a half years after introducing the industry-changing iTunes Music Store, Apple finally lets Australian customers get their groove on.

ICANN and VeriSign to End Site Finder Suits

ICANN and Verisign have reached a tentative agreement to end their long-running legal dispute over how VeriSign resolves non-existent domain names.

Verizon Broadband Covers Greater SF Area

Verizon has expanded its wireless BroadbandAccess Internet service and V CAST multimedia service to nine San Francisco Bay-area counties.

IDC Says Screens Will Be Brighter and Wider

Wide-screen flat panel displays are getting more common, and IDC estimates widescreen displays will ship on the majority of notebook computers in 2006.

Warner Bros Latest to Do Blu-Ray and HD DVD

Sony's Blu-Ray DVD format gains another supporter as Warner Bros., an HD DVD backer, says it will also release material in Sony's Blu-Ray format.

Your Phone May Be Doomed!

If your cell phone annoys you, hey: at least you can use it to shoot things! Jamdat and id Software have launched the first-person shooter Doom RPG mobile game.

Cell Phones to Gain Face Recognition?

Worried about the numbers and info on your cell phone? Oki Electric is marketing an inexpensive technology which can add facial recognition capabilities for camera-equipped phones.

One Day VOIP Calls Will be Free, says eBay

eBay CEO (and new Skype acquiree) Meg Whitman let slip an unusual notion yesterday: eventually, voice communication over the Internet will be free.

Apple Woos Pro Photogs with Aperture

Not content with competing in the professional audio and video arenas, Apple Computer is now targeting pro photographers with a new application, Aperture.

Electronics Are Give-Aways, not Throw-Aways

The Consumer Electronics Association finds that most unwanted consumer electronics wind up with secondary users rather than being heaved into America's landfills.

Nokia Intros "L’Amour" Fashion Phones

Need a little bling for your ring? Nokia plans three style-conscious phones, fusing natural materials, cultural influences, and craft elements in its "L'Amour Collection."

McDonalds to Host Nintendo Wireless Gaming

Nintendo has inked a deal with McDonalds to support the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, offering free wireless gaming for Nintendo DS handheld games.

Suit Filed Against CA Violent Game Ban

Two industry groups are suing the state of California to overturn a new law banning the sale or rental of violent video games to minors.

Sony Ericsson Shows New 3G Walkman Phone

Sony Ericcson has announced the W900, a 3G mobile phone, camera, and Walkman-branded music player to be available (outside the U.S.) by the end of 2005.

Palm to Add BlackBerry Software to Treo 650

Palm and Research In Motion have announced plans to put RIM's BlackBerry Connect software on Palm's Treo 650 smartphones in early 2006.

Siemens Shows Working Paper-Thin Displays

German electronics firm Siemens is exhibiting paper-thin, flexible color screens which it promises will bring packaging, magazines, and advertising to life.

MTV Buys iFilm for $49 Million

MTV Networks has announced it is expanding its Internet presence by paying $49 million for iFilm, an online provider of short films, trailers, and clips.

Spielberg, Electronics Arts to Make 3 Games

Oscar-winning film director Steven Spielberg has signed an exclusive, multi-year agreement to develop three game titles for Electronic Arts.

Audio Players a $145 Bln Market by 2009?

A new IDC forecast speculates that flash-based music players will reach 16 GB by 2007, and the world market for compressed audio players will exceed $145 billion by 2009.

Samsung Pleads Guilty to RAM Price Fixing

Samsung has agreed to pay $300 million and plead guilty to Justice Department accusations it conspired to fix DRAM prices from 1999 to 2002.

iTunes 6 Sells Videos, TV eps for $1.99

Apple's revised its iTunes software and online store to sell music videos and ad-free downloadable version of current TV episodes for $1.99.

Apple Unveils Video iPod and Media iMac

In a special event today, Apple unveiled a video-capable iPod and a new iMac with a remote, an integrated iSight camera, and new Front Row media center software.

Palm Intros TX and Z22 Organizers

Palm has introduced two new organizers, the big-screen and Wi-Fi enabled Palm TX, aimed at mobile professionals, and the mass-market Z22, sporting a color screen and $99 price tag.

Microsoft Settles with Real for $761 Mln

Microsoft and RealNetworks bury the antitrust hatchet with Microsoft shelling out $761 million. (Oh, and they're going to work together, now.)

EchoStar Intros Portable PocketDISH Players

EchoStar's new portable PocketDISH "media companions" let users play music, display photos, and view recorded television programming anywhere on built-in LCD screens.

‘Nightmare Before Christmas’ Games Ship

Just in time for Halloween, Buena Vista Games has shipped two games based on Tim Burton's much-loved film "The Nightmare Before Christmas."

Report: Warner To Go Both Ways with Blu-Ray

Asahi Shimbun, a Japanese daily newspaper, is reporting HD DVD advocate Warner Bros. has decided it will also release content in Sony's forthcoming Blu-Ray DVD format.

DirecTV Rolling Out its Own DVR

Continuing to distance itself from partner and DVR pioneer TiVo, satellite provider DirecTV has launched a massive ad campaign promoting its own DVR system.

WowWee Licenses Segway Tech for…Robots!

Hong Kong's WowWee Ltd. has licensed Segway's Smart Motion technology for its next generation of Robonetics brand entertainment robots.

US Commerce Cmte Head Wants DTV by 2009

U.S. Senator Ted Stevens, head of the Senate's powerful Commerce Committee, says he wants television broadcasters to be all-digital by 2009.

Symantec Identifies Sony PSP Trojan

Symantec says it has found the first Trojan program on a gaming device, a program which purports to let users run their own programs on a PSP but nukes the machine.

Nintendo to Roll Out Wi-Fi Online Gaming

Game-maker Nintendo plans to launch its Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection on November 14, first for the Nintendo DS, then for the forthcoming Nintendo Revolution.