Ed Oswald

Samsung finalized agreements this week with two of the biggest cable companies, Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications, to work together on technologies that will be incorporated into the next generation of Samsung televisions. The TVs will be embedded with XHT bi-directional cable receivers, thus eliminating the need for a separate cable box.

XHT is a home network technology that uses Firewire cables to control multiple high-definition televisions and is compatible with digital rights management. It would also allow several HDTVs, as well as audio and video devices, to be controlled by a single remote control.

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Oracle announced late Thursday that the merger with PeopleSoft was expected to close on Friday, and is taking steps to quickly integrate the two companies. Friday's events will signal the end of a year-long contentious battle between the two companies that resulted in courtroom battles, departures of several high-level PeopleSoft executives, and the firing of PeopleSoft's CEO.

At the end of a statement to the press, Oracle made clear PeopleSoft's new position in the merged company: "following the merger, PeopleSoft will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oracle."

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Sony and Microsoft may join forces in an attempt to break Apple's dominance in digital music, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Bill Gates said that leveling the playing field carries "a lot of incentive to work together" in digital-music "infrastructure." Apple currently holds 87 percent of the market, according to research firm NPD.

While nothing specific was mentioned on a deal between Sony and MS, Gates said iTunes' resistance to allow its music to play on anything other than iPods meant that consumers needed more of a choice. Apple was sued earlier in the week by a California man who said he was "forced" to buy an iPod in order to play his purchased music on a portable player.

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TiVo demonstrated Thursday at CES 2005 a high-definition cable ready DVR that will soon allow customers to use the TiVo service without a set-top box. The new service will be delivered over the Internet, the company said, and embraces the CableCARD initiative, which allows televisions to link to digital cable systems without the use of an external box.

"By eliminating the need for a separate set top box, consumers will enjoy more choice and flexibility over their entertainment delivery," said Mike Ramsay, chairman and chief executive officer, TiVo.

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MSN announced Thursday that it will begin to offer pay-per-view movies from CinemaNow through its MSN TV 2 set-top boxes beginning in spring 2005. Customers will receive an upgrade to their boxes, which will allow them to view content protected with digital rights management.

"We know people prefer to watch movies and videos in the comfort of their living rooms rather than being tied to their computer screens," said Sam Klepper, general manager of MSN TV. "Together, MSN TV and CinemaNow make it easy and convenient for consumers to watch Internet-based Windows Media-compatible movies and video on a TV by using the MSN TV 2 Internet and Media Player."

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Creative said Thursday it will introduce three new versions of its popular Zen Micro audio player to meet "strong consumer demand." The new players will come in 1GB, 4GB and 6GB models. The original Zen Micro had a capacity of 5GB, and according to the company, sold out quickly in many retail locations.

Sim Wong Hoo, chairman and CEO of Creative, says the company plans "to increase our production capacity significantly this quarter."

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As expected, Microsoft has released a new beta of recently acquired GIANT Software's anti-spyware software to the public via its Web site. The company also announced that it expects to release a beta version of a new antivirus tool next Tuesday, which is based on technology acquired from GeCAD in 2003.

Details of Microsoft's anti-spyware plans were first leaked to Windows enthusiast site Neowin.net earlier this week.

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Microsoft chairman Bill Gates used his keynote address at the 2005 CES Wednesday to play up several of the deals it has struck with various companies in an effort to display Microsoft's commitment to "bringing the digital lifestyle into the mainstream." The address served to give attendees a broad idea of what Microsoft and its partners have been working on over the past year.

"We are at the forefront in making broad technology investments and delivering breakthroughs that bring the digital lifestyle into the mainstream," Gates said. "Our strategy is to deliver great software and a platform for partner innovation, so consumers can choose from a vast array of devices and services that work together seamlessly and suit the way they live."

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A California man is hoping to open up iTunes to work with more devices than just Apple's iPod by suing the company, court documents have shown.

The suit claims that Apple broke antitrust laws by freezing out competitors and forcing consumers to buy an iPod if they wish to make the music purchased portable.

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While SIRIUS announced Monday that it had finished 2004 with a little over 1.1 million subscribers, and announced a partnership Wednesday with Microsoft for mobile video in 2006, frustration may be setting in for the satellite radio service. Rival XM released several new products, announced it had 3.2 million subscribers and a partner showed a prototype of an in-car XM video system at CES, stealing the thunder from its smaller rival.

Among the new products introduced were two new portable players from Pioneer and new consumer electronics brand Tao. Both will retail for $349.99 USD, the same price as Delphi's MyFi, and will have similar features such as the capability to record programming.

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Sony plans to launch its PlayStation Portable in the United States and Europe in March, according to a company executive. The date comes on the later side of an estimate provided by the company late last year. The unit was introduced in Japan in early December, and shipped over a half-million units by month's end.

"It will probably be March," Sony's Ken Kutaragi told reporters. "We'd like to launch in Europe during March as well. You've got Easter." Sony hopes to be able to even the playing field with Nintendo, which so far has dominated the portable game player market. Nintendo's latest unit, the DS, was launched in the U.S. and Japan late last year.

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Computer storage device manufacturer Seagate will begin shipping a 5 gigabyte CompactFlash card to retail stores next month, the company has announced. The 5GB card is the largest on the market to date, and will work on any CompactFlash II based device, Segate said. It will hold 1,500 high-resolution or 4,000 standard-resolution pictures on a single card.

"Seagate wants to bring photographers reliable, simple storage - shoot and store thousands of high-resolution photos without changing your CompactFlash drive," said Brian Dexheimer, Seagate executive vice president of Sales and Marketing. The company had already released a 2.5GB CompactFlash card late last year.

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SIRIUS and Microsoft will partner to offer a premium satellite video service to its customers starting next year, the companies announced at CES 2005. SIRIUS plans to offer two or three video channels of content aimed primarily for a younger audience. The video channels will use Microsoft's Windows Media Video 9.

"We will take the DVD experience to the next level, offering the best content easily available to families and consumers," SIRIUS CEO Mel Karmazin told reporters. "Working together with Microsoft will help ensure the exciting development of a solid and user friendly video platform for SIRIUS for years to come."

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Philips introduced Monday a new computer DVD recorder that will be able to record and play DVDs in the new Blu-ray format. The unit will be on display this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and is expected to be available by the second half of this year.

Blu-ray discs will be able to store up to 50GB of data through the use of a smaller laser.

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Broadband telephone company Vonage is expected to announce plans Tuesday for a Wi-Fi phone that could make calls through a customer's wireless home network or at wireless hotspots, USA Today reported Tuesday. Vonage says it would work like a cell phone, but would not cost the subscriber any additional fees to use the service.

Vonage expects to be able to offer the phone to its 400,000 subscribers at a cost of about $100 per device. According to CEO Jeffrey Citron, it's a feature that Vonage has been planning to add for quite a while. "Our customers are asking for it," he said. The phone should be available by June of this year.

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