In a sign that digital cameras and disposable cameras are the mainstay of their sales in the "west", Kodak has announced that they will stop selling reloadable film cameras in the US. They are also going to stop producing APS cameras for sale elsewhere. The release notes that they will …

While reading an article from Wired today, it dawned on me that not only do cell phone ring tones bring in $3.5B of the $32B in music sales every year, but that portion dwarfs the sales of online music through all avenues. So much for people being interested in …

It appears that a musical that started its life as a movie will be returning to the silver screen once again. An article in the New York Times indicates that The Producers will return as a new film to begin shooting in 2005, staring Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, who …

According to an article from CNet, Morgan Freeman and his production company are planning to release a film simultaneously on the Internet and in theaters later this year. No word on what kind of DRM (Digital Rights Management) will be used, but it will be interesting to watch.

Many of you know that I don't usually put personal information up on this site. However, I have made the occasional exception for pictures of particularly good trips and so forth. Here is another such exception. On Christmas night, in front of the lit tree and the crackling fireplace, Carol …

Voting for the BAFTA awards (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) has been stopped due to problems with the ballots, reports The Scotsman. The problems include missing actors and actresses, films in the wrong categories, and incorrect sex for some foreign actors and actresses. The BAFTA awards are considered …

Wal-mart's PC-only, web-based service is now available for testing, with a $0.88/song price tag and rights similar to those of Apple's iTunes Music Service ( 3 PC copies, 10 burns, unlimited digital music player transfers), it may well provide some competition. Of course, it is windows only right now …

If you liked the first one, you'll probably like this one better than the second one. For one thing, it is shorter, for another, it actually has an ending (as opposed to a "to be continued" from the second one). All in all, it was a fitting end, but I …

Runaway Jury is the latest John Grisham book to be made into a movie, and by some accounts this movie may even best the book. I haven't read the book, so I can't make a first hand comparison, but unless it was quite good, there's a decent shot because the …

As the Apple home page said, "Hell Froze Over." Apple has made iTunes for Windows absolutely identical to the Macintosh version, right down to the brushed metal. Importantly, you can find Mac servers (or Windows servers) using Rendezvous and play music from one computer on another (even cross platform).

While we're on the topic of movie piracy today, I'd like to chime in on the MPAA "policy" advertisements that have been airing since August on movie screens prior to major feature films. This ridiculous campaign is certainly rubbing me the wrong way and I don't think I'm the only …

Roger Ebert has a good article about the new move by the MPAA to ban the sending of DVDs prior to this year's Oscars and its likely chilling effect on independent films. At issue is a decree made last month by Jack Valenti (head of the MPAA) in an effort …

Here's an extremely well written article on copyright in general and on the book, movie, and music industries in particular. The article was written by Orson Scott Card, award-winning author of Ender's Game and books for Rhino Times of Greensboro, NC. It is an excellent description of the issues surrounding …

An article from the New York Times is reporting that a recent study by AT&T shows that almost 80% of the 285 high-quality pirated copies of movies that have been found on the internet actually came from Hollywood insiders, and not the "little guy," as the MPAA and their …

In an article from the Scotsman, Dr. Susan Black opines that the growth in television shows like CSI and Silent Witness are jeopardizing justice by making jury expectations unrealistic. Not only does she contend that the popularity of the "sexed up" forensic techniques will establish expectations in juries that are …

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced yesterday that they have launched a program aimed at determining the usefulness of DVDs and CDs as archival storage media and at setting standards for media that would be appropriate for keeping data for 50+ years. According to information on the …

As a long-time Star Trek fan, I have to admit that after Star Trek:Voyager and the last lack-luster film, I have not put much thought into watching Enterprise, the latest Star Trek series. However, a recent article in Salon (yes, you'll have to either watch ads or subscribe to …

According to an article from Wired, the RIAA (the recording industry's "enforcement arm") is preparing an amnesty program for music pirates. If you have downloaded music and have not already had your information subpoenaed by the RIAA, you can sign an agreement saying that you have deleted your illegal booty …

In good news for the consumer and probably equally good, if not better, news for the music industry, Universal Music is starting to combat the falling sales of music by cutting prices. According to an article from the Associated Press (via Tampa Bay Online), Universal is cutting wholesale prices by …

In the Q&A section of Roger Ebert's web site at the Chicago Sun Times, there is an interesting exchange about the movie Whale Rider (reviewed very favorably here in June). The crux of the problem is an endorsement that Ebert gave to the film that the MPAA (you remember …