quick start THE BEGINNING OF THE MAGAZINE, WHERE ARTICLES ARE SMALL
A Key Convenience
SanDisk announces a USB flash drive that automatically backs up its
contents to the webSanDisk announces a USB flash drive that automatically backs up its
contents to the webDRM Done In
Warner and Sony join the MP3 bandwagonF
ollowing in the footsteps of EMI and
Universal, both Warner Music Group
and Sony announced in January their
plans to remove digital rights management
from the music they sell online, thus mak-
ing it possible for consumers to listen to
the songs they purchase on any device.
This marks a radical shift for the Big Four
music labels, which had staunchly insisted
that DRM was critical to the survival of the
music business. No doubt the change of heart
was due in part to consumers’ outrage at pay-
ing for music hobbled by copy protection, but
the labels also now stand united against the
Apple iTunes
monolith. All
four are offer-
ing their open-
format MP3s
via Amazon’s
digital music
store.Netflix
Streams
to TV
After writing the book on
movie-rental convenience,
Netflix is about to add a
new chapter that’s sure to
please consumers’ grow-
ing appetite for immediacy.
The online rental giant first
began expanding its servic-
es when it gave subscribers
the ability to stream select
titles to their PCs. Now
Netflix is taking the concept
a step further with a plan
that will have users stream-
ing content directly to their
TVs, thanks to a set-top box
the company is developing
with LG Electronics (part-
nerships with other con-
sumer electronics makers
could also be in the works).
Expected in the second half
of 2008, the box will allow
Netflix to function much like
the Amazon Unbox service
available to TiVo subscrib-
ers. Pricing for the box has
not been announced; the
service will likely be includ-
ed as part of a standard
Netflix subscription.Sony artist
Justin
Timberlake is
bringing sexy
back—and now
it comes
sans DRM!The Cruzer Titanium Plus 4GB drive
will be available in March for $60 and
come with six months of free online
storage service; following that, the
service will cost $30 per year.WARNER BACKS BLU-RAY
Warner Bros., which had recently been the only
major movie studio to support both the HD DVD
and Blu-ray formats is now
aligning itself with just one
camp. The company’s
decision to release all
future high-def releas-
es on only Blu-ray
media is a big blow to
HD DVD, which now has
the support of just two of
the eight major movie studios:
Paramount and Universal. According to Warner,
the move is meant to alleviate consumer con-
fusion and spur the HD adoption rate.SEARS CAUGHT SPYING
Visitors to the Sears and Kmart websites (both
owned by Sears) who opted to participate
in the sites’ online community likely had no
idea that tracking software was installed on
their machines to analyze all of their online
activities. This was the conclusion of security
researcher Benjamin Googins, who exposed
both the presence of the comScore software
and Sears’s improper notification practices.VONAGE SETTLES SUITS
It’s been a tough year for Vonage. The popu-
lar VoIP provider has been sued by Verizon,
Sprint, AT&T, and Nortel Networks over vari-
ous patent infringements, but as of January
the company has finally settled all suits,
and though it has lost several million dol-
lars in the process, it looks like Vonage will
survive—at least for now.MORE DELAYS FOR PHENOM
AMD will delay the already late Phenom 9700
and 9900 parts to concentrate on low power
consumption chips. Both CPUs were initially
expected by the end of this winter but AMD
has shifted attention to a new “green” 1.8GHz
Phenom 9100E CPU. AMD denies rumors that
the delay is due to continued issues with the
TLB bug, saying that issue has been fixed.FUNSIZENEWS
12 MAXIMUMPC | MAR 08 (^) | http://www.maximumpc.com