Business 2.0 has an article (with a pie graph) about who gets your music dollar when you buy songs online. The gist is that the artists pick up somewhere between 8% and 12% (some a bit higher) and the site gets the largest portion (about 40%). It is unknown …

For those into very serious blue-screen and compositing effects, Apple has announced Shake 3, and upgrade to the compositing package they purchased in February of 2002. The package is pricey ($3900 on the Mac, and $9900 under Linux and IRIX), but it is acknowledged to be the best product in …

In late April, I was feeling concerned because all of my reviews had been favorable. I wrote in that review "At this point, you are wondering if I ever pan a film." The time has come, the movie is The Hulk and to cut to the quick, don't waste your …

From the man who brought us "There's no excuse for anyone violating copyright laws" and "If that's the only way, then I'm all for destroying their machines. If you have a few hundred thousand of those, I think people would realize" the errors of their ways, now comes "that's ironic …

The Philadelphia City Paper has an article about a local Philly DJ who uses iPods as a distribution mechanism for programmed music in eating establishments, stores, and the like. The benefits are small size, big capacity, and ease of programming as well as the LCD display that the current …

One of the great movie actors, Gregory Peck, has died. I heard the proclamation on NPR yesterday and couldn't help but think of the man leaning back in a chair against a jailhouse in the deep south waiting for the lynch mob. To Kill A Mockingbird is one of my …

All of this discussion about nearly-flawless DRM, GPS-based tax programs, and travel restrictions makes me wonder what happens as technology makes it more possible to locate and cite every transgression and whether that means we need to be changing the underlying laws. Imagine this: you are driving down a country …

Wal-Mart is revamping its by-mail DVD rental service, started last year. The service echos many of the features of Netflix, the premier internet-based DVD rental company (now with over 1 million members) including delivery by mail and rentals without a specific return date. Netflix says they aren't worried.

According to an article from the New York Post (I know, not my usual quality of journalistic source), many of the major artists who have so far refused to sign up for iTunes have done so because they want to be able to sell music in only album-sized chunks. And …

The State (of South Carolina) is reporting that Microsoft is trying once again to get back into the set top box business. Their latest offering, Microsoft TV Foundation Edition, announced in this press release, is aimed at the lower-priced cable converter market, as opposed to some of the previous offerings …

Wired has an article today that describes the various efforts that Microsoft has underway in order to continue their push to make Windows Media 9 the next format for digital media. They cover a number of recent efforts by the company to push into the film industry, including a recent …

There may be some hope for the music industry yet. According to an article in the New York Times, Warner Music considered the sharing of music in the negotiations with iTunes and explicitly decided to allow it for rendezvous during the contract negotiations. But, I found more interesting some of …

An article from Gnutella News summarizes Apple's meeting with independent music producers on Thursday. Lots of good information about the current state of the service and about how it is set up. Here are the points I found most interesting: 6-7 million copies of iTunes currently in use (presumedly iTunes …

Local non-profit radio stations at colleges and the like are breathing a sigh of relief if they either have or want to provide web simulcast. According to an article from Wired, the RIAA reached an agreement with the stations this weekend that will allow them to broadcast an average of …

I personally don't agree with the number published annually by the Business Software Alliance, but it is interesting to note that the Washington Post is reporting that this year's numbers are actually down (in terms of percentage of pirated software in use). They mention that the "cost" of software piracy …

This article from Wired raises an interesting question: once you've purchased a copy of a film, what are your rights to watch it? At play is the question of whether ClearPlay, Family Shield Technologies, and Trilogy Studios can produce hardware and software that modifies the playback of movies (legally bought …

The only surprise is that it took so long to happen. The San Jose Mercury News reports that TiVo (maker of the popular video recorder product, and really the only one left in that space, with Microsoft pulling UltimateTV and ReplayTV in bankruptcy) is preparing to sell aggregated customer information …

Pixar's new hit has broken the record for an animated picture by raking in an outrageous $70.6M in its opening weekend, drowning the rest of the competition (Bruce Almighty is at 35M this week, with The Italian Job opening at 19.3M and The Matrix Reloaded now at 15M …

Everything old is new again. This article on Music Piracy from MP3 Newswire and this article (The Ediston Movie Monopoly) from Hollywood Renegades Archive both talk about Thomas Edison and attempts to tie up intellectual property for music reproduction and films respectively.

I went in to Finding Nemo expecting to have an enjoyable 1 hour 38 minutes and be absolutely amazed by the animation, humored by the characters, and happy with the message. I'm very happy to say, this film did not disappoint! Unless you can't stand comedy, exquisite animation (it's getting …