Apple

There have been several news items this week with prophesies of doom and gloom for Microsoft’s Vista operating system. After Steve Balmer’s quote about its lackluster launch, the sharks have been circling and, truthfully, the press (especially the blogs) have been quite amusing. I know most of you think that operating systems are boring and Continue Reading →

By now, everyone in our business has either read or knows about Steve Jobs’s essay, “Thoughts on Music by Steve Jobs.” (If you haven’t read it, click here for my commentary and a full version of the original essay by Mr. Jobs.) The thesis of Mr. Jobs’s essay is that Digital Rights Management (DRM) software, Continue Reading →

ACCORDING TO A LAWSUIT FILED by the record labels, XM Satellite Radio’s XM + MP3 service is causing “Massive Wholesale Infringement.”  Ooo… that sounds bad!  The suit, filed May 16, 2006, alleges that the service is an improperly licensed “download service.”  Ouch! Having come from the music business, I get a little insulted when businesspeople Continue Reading →

TO LISTEN TO HOWARD STERN’S new radio show on Sirius Satellite Radio, you need a satellite radio receiver and a paid subscription to the service–or do you? The show is being rebroadcast (albeit slightly delayed) on a bunch of “pirate” radio stations. It’s all over the Internet in the form of podcasts and progressively downloadable Continue Reading →

On April 2, 2005 XM will increase their monthly subscription fee by 23%.  Their, very matter of fact, letter states that they have made “dramatic improvements” to their channel lineup.  These improvements include 50 new channels, like: ACC, PAC-10, and Big Ten college football and basketball and traffic and weather channels covering 21 markets.  Will Continue Reading →

The 2005 Media Summit New York started off with a bang yesterday morning as keynote speaker, Mel Karmazin, CEO Sirius Satellite Radio was interviewed by BusinessWeek Media Editor, Tom Lowry.   Always entertaining, Mel started off by throwing down the gauntlet to terrestrial radio – calling it a mature business with growth limited to GDP increases.  Continue Reading →

John Markoff of the NY Times reports that: Onstage at the Macworld Exposition in San Francisco last week, Apple’s chief executive, Steven P. Jobs, proclaimed 2005 as “the year of high-definition video,” a strange declaration from someone who was not trying to sell television sets. He kept his laser-like focus on the iPod and the Continue Reading →

I was at CES I was lucky enough to spend a few minutes with Joseph Damato, Director – Consumer Electronics for Delphi.  They make hardware for XM and Sirius Satellite Radio.  Our conversation was about compatibility and consumer choice.  While Joseph did not want me to use a time frame, he did say that the Continue Reading →

Reuters reports that Delphi and Comcast are going to team up to bring video content to your car.  Microsoft is “taking a backseat,” forgive the pun, and is planning to offer kids videos over Sirius Satellite.  How will it all work? Let’s forget content rights, union & guild payments and business rules for a minute Continue Reading →