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-December 30, 1999 -CNET The year 1999 will go down as the year that high-tech went mainstream--totally. One poignant example: Time magazine naming Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos as the "person of the year," joining the ranks of Dwight D. Eisenhower and Indira Gandhi. -December 30, 1999 -CNET year in review Although 1999 saw major advances in portable technologies, most agree that next year is when the device market will really take off. Of course, everyone said that last year, too. -December 30, 1999 -Press Release PHISH, the superstar Warner Elektra recording artist, will offer selected tracks from the band's New Year's Eve concert for sale via the Internet after each set, spurred by the availability of the eLicense System, a new technology for securing, distributing and selling music online. -December 30, 1999 -Wired The artists' site is not happy at the way it's been pushed around by the toy giant. So it has dismissed a peace offering and is hitting back with its own firepower. -December 30, 1999 -Press Release InterTrust Technologies Corporation, the MetaTrust Utility(TM), today announced the acquisition of the Xaudio MP3 audio technology, the licensing of the MPEG-1 video software playback and streaming technology, and the hiring of a development resource from MpegTV LLC. -December 29, 1999 -MP3.com What a year in MP3 software. Sonique turned 1 year old, Winamp became freeware, jukeboxes became the sport utility vehicle of digital music, and just about everybody got bought by somebody else. Overall, competition kept innovation whirring at a blinding rate and anyone who rested found themselves swiftly buried. Here is a look back at some of the most interesting downloads of 1999. -December 29, 1999 -Wired Bowing to the pressure of public opinion, the online toy seller decides not to pursue its domain-name lawsuit against etoy, the Swiss art site. -December 29, 1999 -Press release MP3.com, Inc., a premier music service provider, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held seeUthere.com, the most comprehensive online event-planning web site, in an all-stock transaction. -December 28, 1999 -CNET update A U.S. District Court judge has granted a temporary injunction against Streambox in a lawsuit filed against the software maker by RealNetworks last week. -December 27, 1999 -Slashdot Posted by Hemos from the link-not-illegal dept. ©Slashdot.org mml writes "Earlier this year a 17 year old in Skövde, Sweden was charged with variousoffences relating to linking pirated MP3s. Yesterday (Monday 27. December 1999), the court in Göta, Sweden, decided that "it is legal to have links to pirated music on a homepage in Sweden if the links are to a server in a country where it isn't illegal to pirate music." (Metro 28. December 1999, p. 16) The article also says that the 17 year old was cleared mostly on the basis that the prosecution had not convinced the court that most of the links went to the US. Slashdot ran the original story and a followup in September. " -December 27, 1999 -MP3.com Even we got sick of hearing about MP3 this year! The hype machine was grinding overtime in '99, as the media, recording industry and digital music companies struggled to make heads or tails of the MP3 music phenomenon. -December 27, 1999 -CNET While other Internet businesses are ringing up billions of dollars in sales, Web music is still largely confined to the tech-savvy crowd--despite early predictions of a blockbuster holiday season. -December 27, 1999 -Wired Internet businesses fattened up over the holiday buying season except for one conspicuous exception: Online music sales were flat, with the industry dogged by its technical inferiority and other uncertainties. -December 27, 1999 -MP3.com The U.S. District Court in Seattle today issued a temporary restraining order against Streambox Inc. in response to an action filed by RealNetworks that accuses Streambox of violating the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Real alleges that the Streambox Ripper hacks through RealAudio's built-in security layer and converts audio files to MP3s and Windows Media Audio, thus violating the DMCA. -December 27, 1999 -Reuters It looks like the online music industry, grappling with concerns over digital formats, piracy and technical woes, will have to wait until next year for Santa to deliver a merry Christmas. While other Internet businesses, from selling books to booking tickets, are ringing up billions of dollars in sales, Web music is still largely confined to the tech-savvy crowd despite early predictions of a blockbuster holiday season. -December 27, 1999 -Wired Digital books are rewriting the rules of publishing. And a new electronic publishing standard puts everybody on the same page. -December 26, 1999 -TheStandard MP3 has spurred artists, labels and retailers to face the music industry's Internet potential. -December 24, 1999 -Wired More digital filmmakers screen at Sundance this year, and more theaters offer digital projection. But don't hold your breath for the death of celluloid. -December 20, 1999 -CNN.com / Time What will stick in the collective memory is the best and worst of our own fin de siècle, and 1999 had a bumper crop of winners and some memorable bummers as well. MP3 being #3..what a coincidence..hmm -December 23, 1999 -AsiaBizTech.com LG Electronics Inc. said Dec. 21 that it has developed a digital refrigerator that can retrieve information through the Internet and play MP3 digital music. LG Electronics Inc. is a leading consumer electronics firm in Korea. -December 22, 1999 -TheStandard.com With a market capitalization of $2.2 billion and an audience of 60 million people in 1998, SFX Entertainment is the biggest producer of live entertainment in the world. It controls most big concert venues in the U.S., and manages Broadway shows and top-draw tours by Cher, Tom Petty and Bob Dylan. SFX Sports Group, meanwhile, represents athletes like Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing and Kobe Bryant. Battling the Free Music Movement -December 22, 1999 -Wired For the recording industry to control music piracy on the Net it has to get its message across to millions of students. Good luck. At the University of California at Berkeley, students are too busy listening to illegal MP3s. -December 22, 1999 -Wired As if earthbound Y2K lunacy wasn't enough, a laser in Roswell, New Mexico is beaming "eGreetings" to outer space on New Year's Eve. Plus: More wacky Y2K stuff from around the world. -December 22, 1999 -CNET When RCA Records dropped Baillie and the Boys after five years and 10 chart-topping songs, the Nashville, Tenn., country music band assumed its big break was over. -December 21, 1999 -Catti.com / MP3.com Korean venture firm Baromtec & Co. has won export orders for some 500,000 MP3 players from Taiwan, Japan and the United States. -December 21, 1999 -Wired Representatives of the art group and Web site gathered at the Museum of Modern Art to protest against eToys, vowing to continue to fight. -December 21, 1999 -Wired Officials are investigating whether the country's restrictions on Scientology might affect Windows 2000. How? Part of the software technology is provided by a company with links to the church. psm; (public service message) :) -December 20, 1999 -MP3.com Imagine that you're standing in front of a leaking dyke. Every time you're able to plug a hole with one of your fingers, another crack starts dripping water. Even worse, the tide is continually rising and threatens to start flowing over the top of the dyke. -December 20, 1999 -Wired Forget aimlessly wandering the aisles hoping for something unique to leap off the shelf. Here are some off-the-wall devices that you won't find in any holiday wish book. -December 20, 1999 -Geeknews KaosDG writes "Since we're all mP3 Freaks 'round here... TerraTec has a new CD/Mp3 player out too... looks cool... and, whats this... SPECS! Check out the article on harmony-central." -December 17, 1999 -Wired The latest MP3 portable players do more than play tunes. They're smaller, smarter, and connect with your email and car sound system. -December 17, 1999 -CNET Web portal Lycos said today that it will acquire up to 15 percent of Internet search technology firm Fast Search & Transfer. -December 16, 1999 -Wired Putting your music on the Net may help sell a few more tunes, but signing with a label is still the only way to become a rock star. Online music sellers agree that digital music has its limits. -December 16, 1999 -Slashdot Posted by Roblimo on Thursday December 16, 1999 from the gotta-love-the-irony dept. ©Slashdot.org HydroCarbon10 writes "I was just over at ActiveWindows.com trying to find new stuff to help in the quest to destroy everything 'Windowsish' about Windows and noticed a link to a new site called ActiveLinux. The only link on this site directs you to sign up to be a part of the ActiveLinux community which is gracefully hosted by the Microsoft Network. This is just wierd." We *almost* put this under our "It's funny. Laugh" topic. But apparently it's serious. -December 15, 1999 -Wired The music network is under scrutiny by the Justice Department for possible antitrust violations following its acquisition of a smaller competitor. -December 15, 1999 -Press release MP3.com, Inc., a premier online music service provider, today announced it has formed a multidimensional strategic relationship with BUY.COM, a leading Internet retailer. -December 15, 1999 -Reuteurs Assuming that hell was already frozen, it now may take a bit longer to thaw. Not only have legendary rockers the Eagles remained together in their reunited state, buy they also are plugging into the world of free Internet distribution in partnership with MP3.com. -December 15, 1999 -Reuteurs AOL, fortifying its stake in the online music biz, and record label BMG give US$21 million to Riffage.com, which provides downloads of unsigned bands. -December 15, 1999 -Reuteurs At what age should kids start learning to pay with plastic? Credit card companies and e-commerce sites want kids to start using debit accounts early and often. Parents aren't so sure. -December 15, 1999 -Wired BERLIN -- Even in the old countries of Europe, where the holiday season pushes people to outdoor markets for mulled wine and candied apples, Internet buying has had a major impact on Christmas shopping habits. -December 14, 1999 -Salon.com The latest digital music players let you play MP3s on your home stereo, in your car or on the run -- but are they any good? -December 14, 1999 -CNET Lava.com, a Creative Labs venture, has released new software to generate and play 3D music videos, which it hopes will be used as a marketing tool by Net sites that promote digital tracks. -December 14, 1999 -CNET With the dust finally clearing from MP3.com's stellar initial public offering this summer, there is no doubt the company has fueled the digital music wave. The question is, how does it plan to compete? -December 14, 1999 -Press release Interactive music videos for MP3 music are now a reality with the introduction of version 2.0 of the LAVA! MusicVideo Player from LAVA.com, the Internet venture funded by Creative Labs, Inc., as part of its Creative.com initiative. -December 14, 1999 -CNET Eager to spur digital music sales, Virgin Megastores will stock Diamond Multimedia's Rio 500 players and teach CD-buyers how to use the devices to download tracks from in-store kiosks. Virgin Entertainment Group's brick-and-mortar locations throughout the United States and Canada will let shoppers search for popular music using Virgin on Demand kiosks developed by Sony Music, and then buy the tracks for storage on a Rio player. The devices will support specifications set by the recording industry's Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) to curb the illegal copying of music. -December 13, 1999 -Press release EMusic.com Inc., the Internet's leading seller of downloadable music, today announced the completion of its acquisition of privately-held Cductive.com. Starting today, EMusic.com will begin to make selections of Cductive.com's premier catalog of underground indie music available for sample, purchase and download in the MP3 format from the EMusic.com Web site. -December 10, 1999 -Press release MP3.com, Inc., a premiere online music service provider, today announced its 250,000th song upload, "A Coffin" by artist Dirty Rotten Imbeciles,. - Dec 10 8:02 AM EST -December 10, 1999 -Sonicnet Digital-music leader's assessment runs counter to industry forecasts of simplified future. The leader of the group creating copy-protection standards for online music said listeners might have to contend with as many as 20 different digital-music formats, even after a security standard is... -December 09, 1999 -CNET Capping a three-day gathering of the streaming media industry, market leader RealNetworks and determined challenger Microsoft offered technology advances and key strategic differences in their long-standing battle for the streaming media market. -December 09, 1999 -Internet.com MP3.com Inc. Thursday announced "Stations" that allow music consumers and artists to create their own interactive Internet radio station with access to MP3.com's database of over 200,000 songs from more than 35,000 artists. and move into broadband Internet market -December 08, 1999 - Press Release Eiger Technology Inc., a leading Internet products company, announced today its latest MP3 player is ``show ready'' and that it is now moving into the broadband Internet market. -December 08, 1999 -Wired Distributing music over the Net costs companies more, not less, and consumers can expect to absorb the difference. Record labels will start to let the music flow in 2000. -December 08, 1999 -Wired A professor opens a school for digital filmmaking in the city that sparked a major filmmaking movement. -December 07, 1999 -CNET The Recording Industry Association of America today sued five-month-old music community Napster on behalf of record labels and artists, claiming that its software creates a black market for illegal copies of digital music. -December 07, 1999 -MP3.com The recent spate of college campus MP3 busts (see "Co-eds Busted in MP3 Crackdown," "University Snoops For MP3s"), though controversial, isn't exactly what most would call unexpected. -December 07, 1999 -CNET Samsung may have an answer to the perennial question, "What will they think of next?"--a cell phone with a built-in TV. -December 07, 1999 -Wired Web companies are making it easier for their users to donate to nonprofits. What may be a drop in the bucket is still a step in the right direction. By Katie Dean. -December 06, 1999 -Wired Streaming audio companies roll out software and hardware to help promote Internet-based broadcasting. The technology will also deliver targeted ads to Web listeners. -December 06, 1999 -MP3.com If I had a nickel for every time someone has told me that all the artists putting their music up for free on the 'Net are no names, I could afford to start my own online music powerhouse. Unfortunately, instead of hearing a loud "ker-ching" every time somebody makes that observation, all I can do is shake my head and acknowledge their ignorance. Sure, not every high-profile artist is flocking to the web, but plenty of them are--and many are already having considerable success with it. -December 05, 1999 -Slashdot.org "CNN is running a story [from Salon] about how times have changed, but not really. The new breed of music distributors, the online mp3 sites, are still pulling the same old 'screw the artist' tricks..." This article sure paints a bleak picture. Anyone have any personal experience from the band/artist perpective you'd like to share? -December 04, 1999 -E! Online MP3.com, the ultra-successful Website that offers downloadable, near CD-quality music at the click of a mouse, is making dreams come true for a handful of unkowns. -December 03, 1999 -MP3.com Editor's Note: Aloha! Our SDMI mole--in a particularly poetic mood of late--dropped us this coconut-scented postcard from Paradise. Read on for details on the latest reported Secure Digital Music Initiative intrigue. -December 02, 1999 -Slashdot.org An anonymous reader noted an article that is running over on CNN that is discussing the news that DVD Audio will be delayed while manufacturers attempt to implement strong encryption to prevent the same thing from happening to DVD Audio that happened to DVD Video. They are still operating under a fundamentally flawed assumption: if we can decrypt it to watch it, someone will figure out a way to decrypt it to rip it. The delays hurt their profits as well as irritate their customers that want new products. Its quite frusterating. -December 02, 1999 -CNET Music giant EMI will give Launch Media access to its video collection for streaming over the Web. -December 02, 1999 -Slashdot.org IBM, starting on Monday at the Internation Electron Device Meeting, will be disclosing eighteen new inventions coming out of their labs. IBM goes to so far to say that it will keep Moore's Law[?] around for at least another decade. The article also talks about some of IBM's recent advancements as well as describing some of the new stuff to be unveiled. -December 02, 1999 -MP3.com Popular record club the BMG Music Service today announced the launch of its Download Central component, a new area giving members access to LiquidAudio's Liquid Music Network. -December 01, 1999 -CNET America Online's Net radio company, Spinner.com, is spinning into something else altogether: a music download site. In a move that aims to position Spinner as a stronger competitor to the growing number of sites that let computer users collect and store free audio tracks, Spinner unveiled an MP3 music download service today. -December 01, 1999 -Yahoo ( press release ) Visiosonic, Ltd., a market leader in music software for professional DJs and home music enthusiasts, today announced that PCDJ PHAT, unlike its major competition, is uniquely capable of playing or mixing two audio or video files at the same time without the stuttering or gurgling associated with typical jukebox audio players.
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