snapshot 6/19/07

Digital music no environmental cure
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070619/tc_nm/digital_dc;_ylt=AvyG1ZAdyn0eIbafDbBgrq9kM3wV
After all, replacing physical CDs with digital files must help the environment right? Wrong. Environmental groups claim the music industry's transition from physical to digital has no discernible benefit to the environment and, in the short term, is actually causing more harm than good.

For starters, there's no noticeable decline in the number of physical CDs found in landfills. While music fans are buying fewer CDs at record stores, they are buying more blank recordable CDs to burn their own discs from music acquired digitally.


Swarmcast offers faster way to download iTunes
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070619/wr_nm/swarmcast_itunes_dc;_ylt=AsNueFoN8h1mVfk47grakrtkM3wV
Privately held Swarmcast, which specializes in streaming video over Web connections, on Tuesday unveiled a new application to accelerate video downloads from Apple Inc.'s popular iTunes store. Swarmcast said its technology can help a viewer download movies, music or television episodes to their computers up to 10 times faster than usual.

Swarmcast's technology, called the Autobahn Accelerator for iTunes, uses what it calls multi-source streaming. Many downloads rely on a single computer server to deliver information over a network, raising the likelihood of delays, while this application pulls video from several servers simultaneously.


"Draco" to Store 4GB or 8GB of Flash Memory
http://www.zunescene.com/
. The codename for the flash Zune player is Draco. Keep in mind this is not the marketing name, that name is still unknown to us. Draco will be available in two sizes, specifically 4GB and 8GB models. These numbers are eerily analogous to the iPhone storage options. As we stated in our previous story, this unit will be available for the 2007 holiday and sport unique features such as video playback and WiFi.


Response to Rafat Ali’s Open Questions to Rob Glaser
http://rws-blog.rhapsody.com/realplayer/2007/06/response_to_raf.html
Rafat Ali: In the end, RealNetworks has more fundamental issues to address than a software update here and there. Yes there’s the games part, yes there’s Rhapsody, but the format war was lost by Real a few years ago. Microsoft money can only carry them so far.

Rob Glaser: With all due respect Rafat, I don’t understand what you’re talking about. Our first quarter revenue was $129.5 million, an increase of 50% from last year. We’re very focused on continuing to develop new products and services that deliver great digital entertainment experiences to consumers. Based on the initial reaction to the new RealPlayer as well as the continuing success of our other products (including the ones you mention), we think we’re on the right track.


Flash drives the new vinyl?
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9731486-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
doubt it will replace the CD anytime soon, but some record labels are experimenting with distributing music on portable USB flash drives. The latest in this occasional trend is The White Stripes, whose Icky Thump album is available in both traditional CD form as well as in a limited edition USB thumb drive format. Now, the flash drive version sells for $57, well more than the $15 price tag of the CD.