snapshot 10/02/07

Amazon Makes You Lie to Log Off
Are e-commerce websites making it harder and harder for users to log off? That's certainly a trend one reader has seen evidence of, including confirmation from Amazon that the best way to sign out from your account is to lie to them about who you are.


Sony launches next-gen eBook reader
Sony today launched its first major update to its Reader eBook handheld. The new device is the first to reflect Sony's newer, more open approach to media playback and now works as a simple USB mass storage device: users can copy books and create folders on the device by using their operating system rather than a custom software program. The Reader can optionally be set up to automatically sync with specified folders. Controls have also been improved for a more natural feel, Sony says; page turn buttons and other parts of the interface more closely resemble what users would expect.


A Split from CD Baby for Snocap
The CD Baby/Snocap agreement, where CD Baby distributed musicians could use the Snocap widget on a MySpace page, is ending.


Hollywood fretting over digital movie downloads and declining DVD prices
Several brick-and-mortar retailers are redefining the term "bargain basement" when it comes to DVD sales, although some question whether it's the wisest move. Both Target and Circuit City have begun advertising certain DVDs, which come from a variety of movie studios, at a new low price of $3.99 apiece—practically the equivalent to renting a movie. The move is meant to boost sales, but not everyone is happy about it, least of all Hollywood.

T he trend is growing, too. VideoBusiness points out that mass retailers are increasingly pricing DVD titles in the $3 to $4 range (0.8 percent of catalog sales were in this range as of 2007, as compared to 0.4 percent in 2005) as well as the even-more-popular $4 to $5 range (a whopping 4.6 percent of catalog sales in 2007, compared to 0.7 in 2005).

The movie studios, on the other hand, are just plain scared to jump headfirst into digital distribution and would rather milk physical sales as long as possible. Only Disney appears to have gone into digital distribution with open arms, which has been a successful venture thus far. But that hasn't stopped others from insisting on strict DRM in an attempt to control the user experience and sell more copies of movies. This strategy has so far failed.


CBS Radio, Clear Channel, Others, Agree To iTunes Tagging Feature On HD Broadcasts
Several major HD radio broadcasters have agreed to allow iTunes tagging, which lets listeners mark a preview of a song they hear on an HD receiver for purchasing. CBS Radio, Clear Channel, Cumulus, Cox, Entercom and Greater Media are currently in the process of installing iTunes Tagging technology on their HD broadcast systems. HD radio developer iBiquity Digital has been working for the past few months to secure the agreements among Apple and the broadcast groups. Last week, it signed a deal with Ford, which has promised to make HD radio available across all of its product lines. There are roughly 1,500 U.S. HD Radio stations are on the air and the system is now being tested in over a dozen countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, France and Hong Kong.


Music download trial starts in Minn.
he nation's largest record companies took their fight against illegal downloads to court for the first time Tuesday, targeting a Minnesota woman they say improperly shared nearly 2,000 songs online. Jennifer Pariser, head of litigation and antipiracy at Sony BMG, portrayed the federal copyright trial as a fight for survival.