SLICE FOR APPLE El JERKO DITCHES MOVIE SALE DOWNLOADS FOR RENTALS

Apple CEO Jobs may be used to calling the shots in almost every business venture he enters into, but in dealing with the entertainment industry he's being forced to learn he can't always get his way. Readers of this blog can imagine how sad and downhearted we've been trying to wrap our brains around this news: Silicon Valley's own spoiled pencil dick not getting what he wants, when he wants it.

After trying for over a year to jam down the throats of studio executives the concept of selling cheap movie downloads via iTunes and having limited success, the notoriously inflexible tech titan is expected to change tactics and push low-cost rentals instead.

Apple is said to be close to announcing a deal with News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox about a rental download service that could be announced at the Macworld Conference on Jan. 15, if not sooner, and is actively talking to a number of other studios about the offering. (News Corp. also owns The Post).

It currently sells select movie titles from Disney, Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM.

At the same time, Jobs is receiving plenty of pushback from the once receptive music and TV industries, which are now working hard to build up iTunes alternatives because he won't play ball on higher pricing and new bundling models.

Warner Music Group yesterday announced a deal to sell its music in the MP3 format through Amazon.com, joining Universal Music Group in bypassing iTunes when it comes to offering their songs free of digital-rights management.

And earlier this month NBC yanked TV hits like "The Office" and "Heroes" from iTunes in favor of Amazon and its own hulu.com service as part of a fight over pricing.

In each case, entertainment industry execs are looking to heap pressure on Apple by resisting participation in a priority iTunes initiative and hoping that Jobs blinks first.

While the jury is still out on how well the plan will fare in music and TV, the strategy appears to be working on the movie front, where, in a first, downloads will stop working after a limited amount of time.

Also, as part of the deal, future Fox DVD releases would reportedly come bundled with Apple software that would make it easy for users to rip the movie into iTunes - another potential first.

Both moves would represent a major capitulation on Jobs' part.

Historically, Jobs has been resistant to the idea of rental models, preferring easier to understand and less technically complicated permanent ownership plans for music, movies and TV.

Likewise, Jobs has long resisted licensing Apple software to third parties for inclusion on music and movie releases.

However, the hope is that the studios, which have resisted selling movie downloads through iTunes out of concern of undercutting DVD sales and angering retail partners like Wal-Mart, will be more open to short-term rentals that wouldn't directly compete with retail store sales.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12282007/business/slice_for_apple_70507.htm

El Jerko Makes Nice With Intel

Yes, Intel's CEO may have another occasion at which to sport the clean room outfit he donned onstage with Apple’s Chief Jerkoff Steve Jobs at the Macworld conference in January 2006. Two years ago, Otellini handed Jobs a pristine silicon wafer to mark the announcement of the first Intel-powered Apple portable computer, the MacBook Pro.

This year, Otellini could suppress his nausea and show up in San Francisco to toss the Jerk a chip intended for inclusion in a variety of Apple mobile devices, including tablets, ultra-mobile computers and advanced versions of the iPhone.

According to fresh rumors from Apple blog AppleInsider, the computer maker will soon pledge support for Intel's upcoming new mobile chip platform, code named "Menlow," and is planning multiple products using the platform for 2008. Menlow chips, including one code-named "Silverthorne," are being designed especially for "mobile Internet devices" and "ultra-mobile PCs," according to Intel.

But since Silverthorne isn't expected to be ready for prime time until a few months in to 2008--Intel is expected to shed more details on the chip at another San Francisco conference in February--it is unlikely that whatever MID or UMPC Apple has planned will be detailed at Macworld.

But God forbid Apple fans should toss and turn at night or weep with despair--they'll still likely get something new in January. The slim, ultra-light laptop that analysts including Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster are counting on for a Macworld debut will include a more heavy-duty, older chip from Intel, such as the Core 2 Duo. This device is expected to be more like a laptop than an "ultra-mobile" PC.

Should Otellini appear on stage with El Jerko, however, it can mean only one thing: More mobile Apple products lifted directly from enthusiast wish lists are on their way. Blackfriar principal analyst Carl Howe believes Jobs will make a statement about his company's direction with regard to portable devices, but that the devices themselves won't show up for a while--the Intel chips simply aren't ready yet.

But Apple has to be careful about which products it puts these tiny Intel chips in, cautions Howe. Past Intel-supported mobile Internet devices haven't exactly been a hit with consumers. "Mini-notebooks," which include the hardback-book sized UMPC standard engineered by Intel and Microsoft. And if there’s one thing we know about the Steve, his sinus cavities (and others that will go nameless) get inflamed at the first sight of risk. "Nuff said?

http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/12/24/apple-tablet-
silverthorne-tech-ebiz-cx_rr_1225appletab.html

To our readers…

Maybe the tech news and accompanying changes have been flying so thick and fast lately our defenses have crumbled, or maybe we've stumbled into a Twilight Zone, but whatever the case, we're going to take some time off to recharge, lick our wounds, put a tiger in our tank, whatever. And we swear, may G-d strike us dead if we entertain another irresistibly clever thought. Ever. In any case you will be hearing from us intermittently at best for at least a week, maybe longer.

When you think of us gentle reader, and you will, we hope you will be kind.

Opera files EU antitrust suit against Microsoft

How long has it been since someone stood up to Redmond? A couple of months?

Opera Software has filed an antitrust suit against Microsoft in the European Union, accusing it of stifling competition by tying its Internet Explorer Web browser to Windows, the Norwegian company said Thursday.

The complaint, which was filed with the European Commission on Wednesday, says Microsoft is abusing its dominant position in the desktop PC market by offering only Internet Explorer as a standard part of Windows, and hindering interoperability by not following accepted standards with IE.

Opera is asking the Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, to force Microsoft to unbundle IE from Windows, or include other browsers as a standard part of its operating system. It also wants it to require Microsoft to adhere to industry standards with its Web browser.

The issue of standards is seen as important because if all Web browsers do not use the same standards, Web site developers are likely to design their Web sites to work with the most widely-used browser, which is Internet Explorer. That gives people a disincentive to use other browsers.

Microsoft's spokesman in Brussels did not immediately have a comment on the lawsuit. The company has argued in the past that consumers benefit from its tight integration of IE and Windows.

Opera said it filed the complaint on behalf of all consumers who are tired of having a monopolist make choices for them.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20071213/tc_pcworld/140528

Russian computer program fakes chatroom flirting

Reuters warns chatroom romantics to beware: your next chat may be with a clinical computer, not a passionate person, trying to win your personal data and not your heart, an online security firm says.

A Russian website called CyberLover.ru is advertising a software tool that, it says, can simulate flirtatious chatroom exchanges. It boasts that it can chat up as many as 10 women at the same time and persuade them to hand over phone numbers.

An Australian anti-virus software firm, PC Tools, has warned that the software could be abused by identity fraudsters trying to harvest people's personal details online. The Russian site denied it was intended for identity fraud.

The program, so far available only in Russian, will go on sale around February 15, just after St Valentine's Day, said the CyberLover.ru website.

"Not a single girl has yet realized that she was communicating with a program!" it said, adding that the program could also simulate virtual sex online.

"It's happened - a program to tempt girls over the internet!" said the site. "Within half an hour the CyberLover program will introduce you to ... girls, exchange photos and perhaps even a contact phone number," it states.

Chatrooms have developed into a popular social networking section of the internet, where people can converse anonymously by keyboard on any topic, from flirting to fishing.

CyberLover's website explains that the settings on its program can be changed to attract men, persuade people to visit a website or encourage them to top up mobile telephone credit, and that all the data collected will be stored.

A spokesman for PC Tools said the program had a "terrifyingly well-organized" interaction that could fool users into giving up personal details and could easily be converted to work in other languages.

"As a tool that can be used by hackers to conduct identity fraud, CyberLover demonstrates an unprecedented level of social engineering," Sergei Shevchenko, Senior Malware Analyst at PC Tools, said in a statement.

"It employs highly intelligent and customized dialogue to target users of social networking systems."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071213/wr_nm/russia_internet_dc

Super sadistic game beats the censors’ ban

Manhunt 2 will receive 18 certificate in the UK unless the BBFC challenges the Video Appeals Committee's decision, writes Claudine Beaumont

The maker of controversial video game Manhunt 2 has forced the British Board of Film Classification to reconsider its recent ruling banning the title from going on sale in the UK.

Rockstar Games, the development studio behind the title, took its case to the Video Appeals Committee, a panel of the BBFC, which ruled in Rockstar's favour.

It means that in theory, the game could be released with an 18 age rating unless the BBFC chooses to again contest the decision. The BBFC has twice refused to award the game an age certificate, ensuring it cannot be sold in British shops.

"The BBFC will carefully study the judgement by the Video Appeals Committee when it becomes available," said David Cooke, director of the BBFC.

"The BBFC twice rejected Manhunt 2 for its focus on varied and cumulative killings. We recognise that rejection is a very serious step, in which the desire of publishers to market their games, and that of gamers to buy them, must be balanced against the public interest, including the full range of possible harm risks to vulnerable individuals and to any children who may be wrongly exposed to such games.

"Such balancing judgements are inevitably complex and multi-faceted, and are made only after very careful consideration of the contents of a work. We played Manhunt 2 for well over 30 hours prior to our decision."

In a statement, Rockstar Games welcomed the decision of the Video Appeals Committee: "We are committed to making great interactive entertainment, while also marketing our products responsibly and supporting an effective rating system," the company said.

"We are pleased that the decision of the Video Appeals Committe has recognised that Manhunt 2 is well within the bounds established by other 18+ rated entertainment." A censored, edited version of the game went on sale in the US in October, with an M rating for mature audiences.

It was first refused a certificate in the UK by the BBFC in June, which singled out its "casual sadism" and focus on "brutal slaying" for the ban, arguing that it "constantly encourages visceral killing".

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/connected/main.jhtml?xml=/connected/2007/12/10/dlmanhunt110.xml

Businesses do want the iPhone apparently…

Despite the drawbacks…

A hit with consumers because it combines a phone, music player and web browser, analysts say Apple's iPhone is gaining ground as a business tool as well, and could one day rival RIM's popular BlackBerry line.

Businesses have yet to widely adopt the iPhone, so a major corporate adoption of the iPhone would be a breakthrough. Indeed, it is popular enough that software makers such as SAP, Salesforce.com and scores of smaller developers are letting sales and finance teams work away from the office on their iPhones.

SAP broke with precedent last week by saying it would introduce a version of its upcoming customer relationship management software for the iPhone before launching versions for mobile devices from RIM and Palm.

SAP's own salespeople were saying the iPhone was easier to use, according to Bob Stutz, SAP senior vice president in charge of developing customer relationship management software.
But analysts said several things need to happen before the iPhone becomes a serious challenger - the most crucial of which is more support for corporate email.

BlackBerrys became an indispensable part of the business world for their ability to forward email from a corporate network straight to the phones.

The iPhone's email service can be configured to work with corporate systems but it does not "push" the entire message to the device. Contacts and calendars also cannot be updated over the airwaves but require the iPhone to be physically docked with a computer.

Since many businesses use Microsoft's Outlook software for email, contacts and scheduling, Apple would need to licence Microsoft technology that lets mobile phones work with Exchange, the server software that underpins Outlook.

Apple needs only to look at its recent past to find a business justification for working with its long-time rival.

Shaw Wu, an analyst with American Technology Research, said: "What really made the iPod take off was when they made it compatible with Windows. So if they made the iPhone compatible with Windows email, meaning Outlook, that would really make sales take off."

Email is not the only stumbling block to wider corporate adoption of the iPhone.

Analysts said some potential business buyers are holding out for a model that runs on newer technology that enables faster web connections. AT&T, the exclusive US carrier, said last week it expects that kind of iPhone in 2008.

http://hardware.silicon.com/pdas/0,39024643,39169409,00.htm

Soaring console sales boost Game

Is anyone seriously surprised? Game Group reported a 44 per cent increase in like-for-like sales for the year to date as consumers flocked to stores to buy Nintendo's DS and Wii consoles.

Europe's biggest specialist games retailer said sales were also being boosted as new family-oriented games such as Brain Training and High School Musical, the singalong game, expanded the market beyond its traditional audience of teenage boys.

Lisa Morgan, chief executive, said: "It's a really different market from a couple of years ago. There is still a big demand for the traditional games like Need for Speed. But games such as Brain Training are also featuring in the top 20.

"Demand for Nintendo's DS is exceptional and demand for the Wii is outstripping supply.

"Sales of the PlayStation3 have accelerated since Sony cut the price and we expect around 800,000 to 1m PS3s to be sold in the UK by the end of the year," Ms Morgan said.

However, accelerating console sales are a mixed blessing for Game as the company makes much lower margins on hardware than software.

Game yesterday warned it expected group margins to fall by 275 to 325 basis points in the year to January 8, a bigger drop than it had previously outlined in September.

Game's profitability will also be hit by the purchase of Gamestation, a rival games retailer that operates at a lower margin than Game's own stores.

Margins are expected to begin improving next year, as the mix shifts back towards buying games, Ms Morgan said.

Total sales were up 89 per cent in the 45 weeks to December 8, reflecting the opening of 333 new stores, taking Game's portfolio to 1,150 across Europe.

Altium Securities up-graded its recommendation from "add" to "buy". However, shares in Game, which have more than doubled in value over the past year, fell 8½p to 234p.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6f5b33e4-a855-11dc-9485-0000779fd2ac.html

Problems with the Mac in the promised land

I've definitely learned something in recent weeks about reacting to the inevitable problems that will happen in life--how it can be possible to turn a problem into a huge opportunity, but also how a problem can become an even bigger problem overnight with neglect.

Perhaps it was inevitable for Apple this year, as the nearly unprecedented iPhone hype from this summer was followed by a surge in Mac shipments. It's never clear in the early going exactly how many people as a whole run into problems with Macs, since things get quickly blown out of proportion under the intense scrutiny paid to Apple. But the basic complaint seems to be: this ain't what we thought it would be. Buggy upgrades? Security issues? This is why we switched to the Mac in the first place, right?

That's the image Apple wants people of have of the Mac: the anti-Windows. The problem is that's simply not true. Mac owners will encounter problems during the life of the product, maybe not as many as Windows owners, but frustrating, on-hold-with-tech-support types of problems will happen. Apple sets itself up for this kind of backlash with a holier-than-Windows marketing strategy if people run into some of the very problems they are trying to escape, such as blue screens of death. But how big a problem is this?

My friend Roger Kay of Endpoint Technologies Associates, back when we were trying to figure out if Microsoft and Intel had a chance at selling Windows Media Center PCs as digital living room hubs (they didn't), used to always note that people expect and are willing to tolerate a certain amount of "funk" from a PC. Basically, people are so used to encountering problems with Windows PCs that they have sort of gotten used to it, and while it's a hassle it's just part of using a PC.

But try taking away their TV. The consumer electronics industry tries to make simpler products that turn on instantly and don't require updated virus definitions or defragmenting or task management. They just work, and people aren't willing to tolerate anything less than a consumer electronics product that just works. I've put up with lots of PC issues over the years, but when the right half of my brand-new HDTV went snow white an hour into Boston College's first football game of the year, I was on the phone and livid in seconds. (Looking back, perhaps it was an omen.)

Apple has been trying to pitch the Mac as a consumer electronics device that "just works," against a Windows PC that sort of works. There is as much illogic in part of the Mac world as in the Microsoft world," he wrote in 2005.

Not every new Apple customer is going to reach that conclusion. They are probably people who have had at least one or two Windows computers and many of them see the Mac as the answer to all their computer problems, even some who should probably know better.

If Apple fails to deliver that, those people might wonder what all the hype was about, and react as disproportionately as they did assuming Apple was the Answer. And long-time customers might feel slighted that in Apple's pursuit of new markets such as the iPod and the iPhone, they've let the fundamentals deteriorate. Although Apple's customer service scores are still the best in the industry, they did slip last year.

But any company can win customers for life if the first time they run into a problem with your product, you fix it quickly. The lesson from Dell's experience is that you can't let these customer service problems stagnate. Apple has a unique opportunity to act quickly on its customers' concerns because it controls the way its customers experience its products much more closely than any of its PC competitors.

Think about it.

http://www.news.com/8301-13579_3-9829091-37.html

15 Billion dollars, Apple? El Jerko is doing some serious Xmas shopping

So it came out last week that Apple had been saving a bit of money. They are likely going to buy something and the internet blew up with ideas on what that should be. Ars came up with Adobe, Tivo, Nintendo. We aren't feeling any of those - here's why:

* Adobe - there is too much overlap in products. Final Cut/Premiere. Aperture/Lightroom, etc, etc. Adobe has a great portfolio of applications but overall the line isn't close enough to Apple's core competency. Plus the two companies aren't getting along that well anymore. Adobe is also pricey.

* Tivo - It is a great technology for the next 3-5 years. Soon though, networks will be broadcasting their content over the net by themselves. The technology to leverage advertising will make them more than the currently falling costs of broadcasting over the net - so it won't matter. As someone who has to watch college football on a slingbox, I say hurry the fsck up.

* Nintendo - great idea, but they are too expensive. Any buyout of Nintendo would have to be more like a merger. Can you see Steve Jobs agreeing to a merger and taking in top management? Us neither.

So, we've come up with three companies that Apple should buy - and which they actually have a shot at. Yep, telecoms:

* Clearwire. Fresh off their split from Sprint talks, Clearwire is looking for some more dough. Apple has 15 billion reasons why they should come into the Apple fold. Oh, btw, WiMAX is great match for Apple's new mobile platform.

* Skype - Recently devalued and a bargain. Ebay is looking for a buyer. Over 100 million users. VOIP. Phone Numbers. iPod, iPhone, tablets...it all makes much more sense.

* 700MHz spectrum. Not a company per se - but a huge amount of power in the telecommunications industry for the next 20+ years. Apple would likely partner with Google and a few other technology giants (MS?) on snapping this up. It goes without saying that tech companies are sick of letting the telecoms tell them how they can use and sell their products. This will be an interesting auction. NFL draft, eat your heart out.

* EDIT - didn't think of it but makes perfect sense. a Studio! Maybe they even roll their own. With the other studios starting to give up on Apple and in some cases giving preferential treatment to other online distributors (see Amazon's DRM free music from Universal), it might be time for Apple to move down the value chain a little. Apple has one of the biggest distribution channels on Earth in iTunes and can offer new artists a really big, hip audience in a tenth of the time it takes traditional studios to get content out. Oh. And why just music? El Jerk knows a few things about running a movie studio (Pixar). - thanks D-Jents

Will Apple put its feet into the telecom world? $15 billion is a whole lot more fun to spend than distribute to shareholders. Maybe we'll get some news at Macworld on January 14-18. OH btw- the telecom auction is on Jan 17.

http://www.9to5mac.com/15-billion-dollars-apple-spending-2345662

Smut vid outfit sues PornoTube

Is the Pot calling the Kettle black?

A major producer of adult videos yesterday filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles federal court against YouTube clone PornoTube for "allowing its users to post videos that include copyrighted material".

Vivid Entertainment Group claims that PornoTube - a subsidiary of Data Conversions Inc, which trades in Charlotte, NC, as AEBN Inc - is hosting "excerpts of tapes that include such Vivid titles as Night Nurses, Where the Boys Aren't 7, and the private work of TV personality Kim Kardashian*". The lawsuit is claiming $150,000 per infringed work, according to the the LA Times.

Vivid co-chairman Steven Hirsch said: "We've decided to take a stand and say 'no more'. We will go after all the free sites." He conceded that piracy has "always existed", but described it as "detrimental for the company as it tries to sell more of its content over the web". He noted: "Competing with free internet videos is bad enough, but competing with free versions of Vivid's material is maddening."

Hirsch added that he "wasn't interested" either in negotiating a deal with websites whereby the two parties split ad revenue generated while Vivid clips are playing - something which other producers have already agreed to - or "constantly keeping watch for Vivid material popping up without the company's permission".

He stressed: "I can't be a policeman, and I don't intend to be."

Fellow pornographer "Jon B", vice president at Red Light District, agreed that the industry was suffering "an unacceptable amount of theft", but said targeting individual sites was "likely to prove futile because so many existed and because file-trading occurred over decentralised networks, leaving no single party to sue".

He said Red Light was considering the alternative line of attack favoured by the music biz - going after the individual downloaders. He concluded: "If it scares them enough, if it can take away 20 per cent of the illegal downloads, we'll be doing the best that we can."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/11/video_piracy_lawsuit/

Will there be life at Apple without the Jerkoff?

Though mostly speculative, Timesonline.co.uk profiles Apple's Vice-President of Industrial Design, Jonathan Ive, as a possible successor CEO to Steve Jobs.

The author suggests that there has been some call for a plan for 'Apple after Steve Jobs', who is currently 52 years old. Jonathan Ive might be the man to take that place. Ive and Jobs are said to share a similar perfectionist attitude and are in close contact on a daily basis.

“I think Steve Jobs has found somebody in Jony who knows how to complete or even exceed his vision, and do it time and time again,” said Chee Pearlman, who hosted the event at which Mr Ive spoke four years ago.

Of course, some doubt that Ive has the charisma to replace Jobs as CEO, in what has been a very public role.

The question of Jerk's successor has been raised before, with one suggestion that Google's CEO Eric Schmidt might have taken a temporary role as Apple CEO during the option-backdating scandal.

http://www.macrumors.com/2007/12/09/jonathan-ive-in-line-to-succeed-steve-jobs/

Yahoo Starts Internet Program for Technology Investors

Yahoo, which already owns one of the most successful financial sites on the Web, is putting the final touches on a new online program for technology investors that is scheduled to begin next month.

To be called TechTicker, (a little too cutesy for our taste) the Web program will report exclusively on technology stocks, offering daily streaming-video segments and blog posts, as well as some live coverage of breaking news, said Brian Nelson, a spokesman for Yahoo.

The initiative is another example of Yahoo moving aggressively into content, something that sets it apart from Google, its main competitor. As high-speed Internet access becomes more prevalent, Web producers predict that video will play a greater role in consumers’ online habits.

Yahoo has not finished lining up the program’s online staff, but among those under consideration are Henry Blodget, the editor in chief of Silicon Alley Insider (who was barred from the securities industry for the misdeeds he committed as a research analyst); Sarah Lacy, a BusinessWeek columnist; and Paul Kedrosky, a CNBC analyst. None of these people could be reached for comment.

TechTicker is Yahoo’s second foray into streaming-video finance. In 2000, the company introduced FinanceVision, an online version of a round-the-clock cable business channel. The effort met with little success, and was shut down two years later.

Its latest venture, which will feature periodic video segments and all-day blogs, Yahoo will face tough competition from television news programs: in addition to the cable news business networks CNBC and Bloomberg Television, it will be up against the new Fox Business Network.

Mike McGuire, a media analyst with Gartner Inc., said he thought it would be difficult for TechTicker to distinguish itself.

“If they can get an audience aggregated around the site, it can provide an off-ramp to other Yahoo properties,” Mr. McGuire said. “But we have a ton of stuff that’s available on TV and any number of blogs and Web sites that provide close to real-time accounts, so this will be a real challenge for Yahoo.”

Mr. Nelson said, “Yahoo Finance already maintains the Internet’s largest finance audience. When we think of developing new products, we’re focused on serving that audience.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/10/technology/10yahoo.html?_r=1&ref=technology&oref=slogin

Universal Music Group and Imeem Ink Deal

Social networking Web site operator imeem Inc. has signed a licensing deal with Universal Music Group to offer free streaming of music and videos by the record company's artists in exchange for a share of online advertising revenues, the companies said Sunday.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The pact is the latest example of record labels betting on online advertising as a source of revenue amid sinking CD sales. The Web operator already has similar licensing deals with the other three major record labels. Collectively, the four biggest recording companies account for more than 85 percent of music sales so far this year.

Under the agreement, imeem can carry full-length music and videos by Universal Music's acts, which include Snow Patrol, Kanye West and Amy Winehouse.

Like Google Inc.'s YouTube and similar sites, imeem allows computer users to post their own videos. The imeem site claims to have more than 19 million active users.

Imeem said it counts Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Nike Inc., and AT&T Inc. among the companies advertising on its Web site.

Getting access to music from the four major record labels should help imeem drive more traffic, even taking some from established online music sites such as Apple's iTunes Store, said James McQuivey, an analyst with Forrester Research.

ITunes allows users to listen only to samples of songs before they purchase them for download. Imeem allows full playback of songs and videos; it hosts links to iTunes for visitors interested in buying tracks.

''It creates a new kind of music distribution model,'' McQuivey said. ''As a result, it takes away the need that you might otherwise have to go get your music from iTunes or from a CD, because your music is now available for you on imeem.''

SpiralFrog, another Web site offering ad-supported music, lets users download tracks and videos for free. So far, the site does not offer content from all the major labels.

Imeem could see some competition from News Corp.'s MySpace, which has been beefing up its online music profile, McQuivey said.

The popular social networking site recently launched a music program that provides exclusive audio and video content from recording artists, among other music initiatives.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-Universal-Music-Group-Imeem.html?ref=technology

CompUSA goes titsup

CompUSA has thrown in the towel on the hypercompetive US electronics retailing scene.

The store giant has sold itself for an undisclosed amount to Gordon Brothers, a Boston-based restructuring specialist, which will close its 103 retail stores in an "orderly wind-down". The number of expected job cuts has not been disclosed, at time of writing.

Gordon Brothers - motto :"Finding Values where others see none." - will run CompUSA outlets through Christmas - and is promising customers "attractive bargains".

The company is actively discussing to sell stores in some markets, as well as its technical services unit, CompUSA TechPro. It will run TechPro and its Internet sales arm, CompUSA.com until any sales transactions ar closed.

Gordon wants to be nice to CompUSA's creditors, including property landlords. Bill Weinstein, a principal at Gordon Brothers, who will act as interim president, at CompUSA, said: "We are focused on assuring that CompUSA's creditors, landlords and other key constituents are treated properly during this process. We are working hard to achieve the maximum recovery possible for the company's constituents while also minimizing unnecessary expenses. We will actively communicate with the various parties and their advisors starting today, and in the days and weeks ahead."

For CompUSA, it has been death by a thousand cuts. In February this year, the retailer announced plans to shut down 126 stores, to leave it with today's 103 outlets. At the time, it also said it had secured a $440m cash injection to shore up its balance sheet. The benefactor was unnamed, but everyone knows the donor was Carlos Slim, the Mexican bazillionaire, who controlled the company until its takeover by Gordon Bros. By some reckonings, Slim leaped past Bill Gates this year to become the world's richest man. So it's pain Slim, but not as you or I know it.

http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2007/12/10/compusa_shuts_down/

Apple’s $15 billion cash hoard

Pop quiz: Which tech company has the most cash?

(A) IBM (IBM)

(B) Hewlett-Packard (HPQ)

(C) Intel (INTC)

(D) Google (GOOG)

(E) Apple (AAPL)

If you picked E, congratulations. Apple’s $15.4 billion stash is indeed the biggest of the group, putting the iPod maker in the elite ranks of well-heeled Fortune 500 tech companies. (Only Microsoft (MSFT) and Cisco Systems (CSCO) stockpile more.) And lately the stacks have been rising fast; Apple has added $5 billion to its coffers in the past year alone, according to regulatory filings.

Unlike Microsoft or Cisco though, Apple (AAPL) doesn’t pay a dividend, doesn’t make big acquisitions, and doesn’t buy back many shares. Last month the company reported that since 1999, it has spent a relatively paltry $217 million to repurchase stock, though its board has authorized $500 million for that purpose.

So what does CEO Steve Jobs have in mind for all those greenbacks?

Traditional money managers would say he has to spend them somehow. Sure, a growing mound of cash looks impressive on financial reports; and a growing cash reserve also can be a sign of above-board profitability, since it’s easier for companies to play games with income numbers than with cash flow. But if the money just sits there, it smacks of waste.

When asked about Apple’s plans for the cash, a spokeswoman referred to chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer’s statements earlier this year. When a Lehman Brothers analyst asked him where the money would go, Oppenheimer didn’t offer specifics beyond saying that having a few billion on hand helps to fund big projects, and “we do discuss share buyback and other forms of returning cash to the shareholders with the board from time to time.”

Apple vs. Microsoft Indeed, investors tend to discuss those things, too — they like to see that kind of money either used to place big bets that drive future earnings, or handed back to them through buybacks and dividends. Technology companies often resist such suggestions, but not always. Under pressure from investors, Microsoft began offering a dividend five years ago.

Of course, as a quick glance at a stock chart makes obvious, Apple is not Microsoft. While the Redmond software giant has performed well — shares are up a respectable 15 percent this year on the strength of Windows Vista sales — Apple’s stock price has doubled. Considering Apple’s standout performance, and a big year ahead as the iPhone and redesigned iPod push into new overseas markets, no one’s about to start lecturing Jobs on shareholder value.

But that still doesn’t answer the question of where Apple’s going to put that $15 billion, not to mention the next couple billion dollars it will probably pocket during this holiday season alone. Though Apple isn’t talking about its spending plans, history offers some clues.

http://bigtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2007/12/07/apples-15-billion-cash-hoard/

Second ex-Brocade exec hit with guilty verdict

The weed of backdating bears bitter fruit

A second former executive at Brocade was convicted Wednesday for participating in the company's stock option backdating skulduggery.

After one day of deliberation, a San Francisco federal jury found Stephanie Jensen guilty of both charges she faced: conspiracy and falsifying corporate records.

Jensen, the former vice president of human resources at Brocade, faces up to 20 years in prison. She will be sentenced on March 12.

Brocade's former chief executive, Gregory Reyes, also awaits sentencing after a jury convicted him last August of 10 counts related to the backdating scheme.

Prosecutors claim Jensen conspired with Reyes to falsify executive options records so they appeared to have been awarded when Brocade's stock was at quarterly lows. By failing to disclose the practice with investors and regulators, US authorities say the two illegally inflated Brocade's earnings.

In May, Brocade paid $7m to settle SEC charges of falsifying reports of income through backdating and falsifying compensation expenses between 1999 and 2004. The company neither admitted nor denied any wrongdoing.

Reyes and Jensen are the first Silicon Valley executives to face trial over the options backdating issues. The book-cooking hunt has become a favorite pursuit of the SEC.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/06/stephanie_jensen_found_guilty/

The Dr. Seuss Conundrum: Naming Web Sites

Could it possibly be true? Has all wit and cleverness already dried up in the naming of Web sites, less than 15 years after the Internet was opened to the public?

In the beginning, Web sites announced their own names. You pretty much know what you're going to find at Sears.com, Staples.com, McDonalds.com and Microsoft.com.

If you didn't already have a brand to maintain, you could always invent a brand-new domain name that explained itself, like "FreeCreditReport.com," "AddictingGames.com" or "GetFirefox.com."

Even startups used to make at least a feeble effort to associate domain names with their functions. "Amazon" was meant to invoke the world's most voluminous river, hinting at the online store's massive sales capacity. "Flickr" suggests the millions of photographs pouring onto its pages. "Google" suggests a catalog of one googol Web pages. ("Googol" is a mathematical term that refers to 1 followed by 100 zeroes.)

But that's all gone now. These days, startups take the lazy way out: they choose goofy-sounding nonsense words. They think they're being clever by being unclever.

These are all actual Web sites that have hit the Web in the last year or so: Doostang. Wufoo. Bliin. Thoof. Bebo. Meebo. Meemo. Kudit. Raketu. Etelos. Iyogi. Oyogi. Qoop. Fark. Kijiji. Zixxo. Zoogmo.

These startups think that these names will stick in our minds because they're so offbeat, but they're wrong. Actually, all those twentysomething entrepreneurs are ensuring that we won't remember them. Those names all blend together into a Dr. Seuss 2.0 jumble.

So little imagination is on display nowadays, you could create an algorithm that spews out comparable domain names with the click of a button.

And that, in fact, is exactly what the Web 2.0 Name Generator does (at Dotomator.com). It coughs up new-age Web site names as fast as you can click the mouse.

Names like Cojigo. Roombee. Kwiboo. Trundu. Oobox. Ceelox. Myndo. Ababoo. Vible. Yambo. Eizu. Twimba. Yanoodle.

As you can tell, these made-up names are absolutely identical to the actual company names listed above--equally meaningless.

(And a disclaimer. As the site says, "No, I don't promise that any of these names are actually available.")

Look, I know it's hard to come up with a great domain name. You want a name that's short, easy to type, and, above all, available. That's a challenge when thousands of good names disappear every day, snapped up by domain-name squatters or by legitimate businesses. The obvious choices, like Dictionary.com, Flowers.com and Music.com, were taken sometimes in the Paleolithic era..

These days, though, you get the impression that today's startups aren't even trying. They go directly for the Web 2.0 Name Generator. They think that if Google or Yahoo got away with cryptic names, they can do it, too.

But here's a little wakeup call: People will learn to love your site's wacky name only if they fall in love with the site itself. Google and Yahoo became household nutty names only because everyone loved their services. They did not succeed because they had silly names.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/06/technology/personaltech/06pogue-email.html?ex=
1354683600&en=e08b6ea2e4dad1dd&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink

Steve Jobs takes Schwarzenegger's gold

Clad in blue jeans and a black shirt, Steve Jobs picked up a gold medal last night

Apple CEO Steve Jobs was officially inducted into the California Hall of Fame last night at the California Museum for History, Women & Arts, so henceforth he will be known as Sir Jerk Jobs..

Jobs - wearing his traditional blue jeans and a black shirt - rolled up to the red carpet reception along with a dozen other Californian notaries to be presented with a gold medal by state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and first lady Maria Shriver.

In a move guaranteed to nurture further talk of a deepening link between Apple Corps and Apple Inc, Jobs' soundtrack as he climbed the stage was the song, Revolution by The Beatles.

Shriver told local news channel NBC11 that convincing Jobs to attend the ceremony was the hard part. "He's trying to balance children, family, business, he doesn't like to be singled out," she said. "He believes that Apple is the star of the Silicon Valley, not him."

Other inductees included: Elizabeth Taylor, Tiger Woods and Willie Mays, Ansel Adams, winemaker Robert Mondavi, actress Rita Moreno, Jackie Robinson, polio vaccine inventor Jonas Salk, former California Governor Earl Warren and John Wayne.

http://www.macworld.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=19872

AT&T flings cellphone network wide open

Starting immediately, AT&T customers can ditch their AT&T phones and use any wireless phone, device and software application from any maker — think smartphones, e-mail and music downloading. And they don't have to sign a contract.

"You can use any handset on our network you want," says Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T's wireless business. "We don't prohibit it, or even police it."

AT&T's push to give consumers maximum control of their wireless worlds is being driven, in part, by Google. The tech giant is a monster in the Internet search business for personal computers, and is hoping to replicate that success in the wireless market.

Google recently announced plans to link arms with more than two dozen wireless companies, including Sprint (S), with the goal of developing an operating system that lets consumers use any application on mobile devices, much as they now do on PCs. Other partners include Japanese cellphone giant DoCoMo and handset maker Samsung.

Everything that Google has promised to bring to the wireless market a year from now AT&T is doing today, de la Vega says. "We are the most open wireless company in the industry."

AT&T for years kept quiet the fact that wireless customers had the option of using devices and applications other than those offered by AT&T. But now salespeople in AT&T phone stores will make sure that consumers "know all their options" before making a final purchase.

The AT&T wireless chief won't say whether AT&T plans to launch a marketing campaign to push "open" platforms, but allows that might be a possibility.

Despite its bear hug of "open" standards, one AT&T device, for now, will remain tightly closed: the Apple iPhone. AT&T has a deal with Apple to be the exclusive U.S. distributor for the next five years. To get the device, consumers must sign a two-year contract.

AT&T has no plans to change that arrangement, de la Vega says. "The iPhone is a very special, innovative case."

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/phones/2007-12-05-att_N.htm

Michael Bay tells Microsoft's 'dirty secret'

Our colleagues over at CVG.com have picked up on a rather interesting post on director Michael Bay's website. The Transformers mastermind has waded into the HD format war, saying that Microsoft wants both the HD DVD and Blu-ray formats to be unsuccessful.

"Microsoft wants both formats to fail so they can be heroes and make the world move to digital downloads," says Bay, who signs off as exactly that.

"That is the dirty secret no one is talking about. That is why Microsoft is handing out $100 million dollar cheques to studios [to] just embrace the HD DVD and not the leading, and superior Blu-ray. They want confusion in the market until they perfect the digital downloads. Time will tell and you will see the truth."

Well you can see where his loyalties lie, but the allegation that Microsoft has been paying studios to embrace HD DVD is serious.

Bay seems extremely convinced of his stance. "They want confusion in the market until they perfect the digital downloads. Time will tell and you will see the truth."

If the main allegation in his attack is true - that Microsoft wants to stall next-gen disc adoption - then Microsoft might have to hold back for some time. While most are happy with DVD playback quality, Microsoft's main barrier to download bliss is undoubtedly the width of our broadband pipes. How many years until we're actually able to download a movie without having to think about it the night before?

http://www.tech.co.uk/home-entertainment/high-definition/news/michael-bay-tells-
microsofts-dirty-secret?articleid=1716382442

Apple Hit with iPhone Patent Lawsuit

Having forced AOL and Vonage into settlements, Klausner Technologies turns its attention to Apple and the iPhone.

Seeking damages and future royalties estimated at $360 million, Klausner Technologies is suing Apple and AT&T for patent infringement related to the iPhone.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 3, also names Comcast, Cablevision Systems and eBay's Skype for patent infringement on the same technology.

Apple is named in the lawsuit as the designer of the iPhone, while AT&T is named for selling the mobile device.

The Klausner suit, filed in the federal Eastern District Court in Texas, claims the iPhone violates Klausner's intellectual property rights by allowing users to selectively retrieve voice messages via the iPhone's inbox display. The Klausner patents have already been licensed to other companies that provide visual voice mail, including AOL and Vonage Holdings.

However, AOL and Vonage didn't agree to license the technology until Klausner sued them for infringement.

"We have litigated this patent successfully on two prior occasions," Greg Dovel of Dovel & Luner, counsel for Klausner Technologies, said in a statement. "With the signing of each new licensee, we continue to receive further confirmation of the strength of our visual voice mail patents."

Klausner also claimed the same technology has been used without permission in Cablevision's Optimum Voice, Comcast's Digital Voice Voice Mail and eBay's Skype Voicemail.

Apple representatives did not return a telephone call seeking comment.

http://www.eweek.com/prestitial/0,,,00.asp?success_page=%2Farticle2%2F0%2C1895%2C2228057%2C00.asp

Cisco grabs Motorola ex-technology chief

Cisco Systems is filling its head of technology spot with the one-day former CTO of Motorola.

The Cisco CTO position will be given to Padmasree Warrior, who jumped ship at Motorola just days after its board of directors said they were ousting CEO Ed Zander.

Warrior announced her leave from the troubled mobile-phone maker on Monday, where she was responsible for Motorola's $4.1bn research and development investments and about 26,000 engineers.

She claims that her decision to leave was independent of Motorola's CEO chop. Warrior was the highest ranking female executive in the company's history.

Nich Nottenburg, Motorola's chief strategy officer, will take her place. Zander will relinquish his title at the beginning of 2008.

Meanwhile, Cisco will have its first CTO since Charles Giancarlo traded his title for chief development officer in 2005. Warrior will now work directly for Cisco Chairman and CEO John Chamber.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/12/05/cisco_hires_padmasree_warrior_for_cto/

Apple's iPhone Exclusivity Upheld

Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit won a German court decision upholding the telco's deal to exclusively sell locked Apple ) iPhones.

The decision is a defeat for Vodafone, which sought an injunction to prevent T-Mobile from selling so-called locked iPhones under the requirement that users sign two-year contracts.

The move comes two weeks after a German court ordered T-Mobile to stop selling locked iPhones. T-Mobile responded by announcing it would sell unlocked, contract-free iPhones for $1,481, in an effort to honor the decision and compensate for the loss of potential revenue. T-Mobile's regular price for the iPhone is $591.85.

The challenge by Vodafone could have threatened Apple's unique royalty and revenue sharing arrangement with its telco partners. In exchange for exclusive iPhone selling rights, phone companies agreed to share a percentage of the monthly subscription revenue with Apple. It is estimated that Apple enjoys a 10% cut of the proceeds.

Deutsche Telekom shares rose 40 cents to $22.54 and Apple was up 59 cents to $179.45 in midmorning trading Tuesday.

http://www.thestreet.com/s/apples-iphone-exclusivity-upheld/newsanalysis/techtelecom/10392800.html?puc=_googlen?cm_ven=GOOGLEN&cm_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

Making Microsoft Secure: Inviting the hackers inside

A limo speeds away from Seattle's Pioneer Square carrying an unlikely party on an unusual quest. A group of security researchers and a member of Microsoft's security response team have bonded, in search of--a haircut.

The expedition, held in September, was part of the Limo Races, a citywide scavenger hunt serving as the informal end to Blue Hat, the internal Microsoft security conference that started two years ago. The conference has become a twice-yearly event bringing some of the world's top hackers inside Microsoft's walls for two days of presentations before the software maker's executives and engineering ranks.

"It is a really human problem. The human element plays a massive role."

--George Stathakopoulos, head of Microsoft's security response efforts

In the end, the team that included Microsoft's Andrew Cushman and IOActive's Dan Kaminsky failed in its mission. They found several tattoo parlors open for business, but no all-night barbers. None of them was really up for a buzz cut, anyway.

But while Cushman may have failed to win the Limo Races competition, he and his colleagues met a larger goal. Once again, Microsoft had succeeded in its twin aims for Blue Hat--becoming a more accepted part of the security community and ensuring that the people writing Microsoft's code are acutely aware of the threats facing its products.

The company has realized that security issues are about more than preventing buffer overruns and keeping up to date with the latest fuzzing tools.

"It is a really human problem," said George Stathakopoulos, the head of Microsoft's security response efforts. "The human element plays a massive role."

These days, Microsoft's security strategy is one that focuses on both people and technology. While Microsoft spends a fortune on automated testing and creating institutional processes to avoid bugs, it also spends money reaching out to its front-line engineers as well as to the security community that finds the bugs that Microsoft misses.

That attitude represents a sea change from where the company was a decade ago. At that time, Microsoft took a hands-off stance toward the security research community. In its earliest days of security issues, the company didn't even disclose the extent of vulnerabilities.

"We had almost a cold-shoulder approach," Stathakopoulos said. The idea of talking more to the outside world was controversial, prompting meetings with "many raised voices," he said.

Stathakopoulos admits his was one of the voices arguing against such transparency.

"People already think our products are bad and if we start talking about those issues more and more, people will think we are horrible," Stathakopoulos said he argued at the time. But his boss, Mike Nash, persisted, arguing that the move would pay big dividends over time.

http://news.zdnet.com/2424-9595_22-178674.html

The Most Anti-Tech Organizations in America

Funny how their names keep coming up over and over again in courtrooms and corridors of power across the country--those groups whose interests always seem to run counter to those of technology companies and consumers. They come in many forms: associations, think tanks, money-raising organizations, PACs, and even other tech-oriented industries like telecommunications.

The tech issues that they're concerned with are what you might expect: digital rights management and fair use, patent law, broadband speed and reach, wireless spectrum and network neutrality. I talked to a good number of tech and media policy insiders in Washington, D.C.--mostly off the record--to find out who these groups are, how they operate, and who pays their bills. We'll start with the biggest offenders first and work our way down.

1. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)

Issue: Copyright and Fair Use

The Internet economy should be a boon for digital media companies and for those of us that like to buy our music and video online. It's also a very powerful way to connect with people of like mind with a view toward learning about new things to watch and listen to. Unfortunately, the content owners in the record and movie industries have mainly seen the Web as a platform for piracy, and have mainly failed to adapt their businesses to the realities of online, as one lonely industry executive recently admitted.

Both organizations have their own staffs of lobbyists in Washington, but both also contract with numerous outside lobbying firms. In 2006 alone, the RIAA reported lobbying expenses of $1.5 million, while the MPAA reported $1.8 million. The RIAA retained the services of 13 outside lobbying firms in 2006 to help make its case to lawmakers, while the MPAA used 17 outside lobbying firms.

Whether or not the RIAA's and MPAA's tactics have really helped the entertainment industry is debatable. Their legal and lobbying tactics have put real limitations on the way that we consumers are allowed to use the digital content we purchase, causing many of us to wonder if we truly own the digital content we buy. The digital rights management (DRM) software that the content owners wrap around our music and video files often prevents us from playing media on all of our devices, copying it, or owning it forever. This has stirred up a lot of resentment, even as file sharing continues to be rampant around the globe.

2. The Pharmaceutical/Biotech Industry

Represented by Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) and Patent Attorneys

Issue: Patent Reform

Over the last ten years it's become increasingly obvious that the system we have for patenting new tech ideas is broken. The number of tech patents granted by the U.S. Patent Office has gone way up over the past decade, while the quality of those patents has gone way down, most analysts agree.

A bad patent can mean one that covers too broad a swath of technology, preventing others from innovating in that area. It can also mean patents granted for ideas that are obvious--ideas that aren't really innovative, but just take the next logical step in the development cycle. When such bad patents are granted in a certain tech area, it can take away the incentive for other technologists to innovate and invest in that area. That's bad news for those of us who expect new and better tech toys every year.

Problem is, tech is not the only industry that uses the patent system to protect intellectual property. Every other industry uses it too, and some of them feel strongly that it's working just fine. Enter the pharmaceutical industry, tech's unlikely adversary in the battle over patent reform. The pharmaceutical industry (and its attorneys) might end up directly affecting the state of personal technology for you and me.

"Basically, two constituencies oppose patent reform: The biomedical industry--pharmaceutical and biotech companies--who rely on patents and want them to be as strong as possible, and patent lawyers, who are both resistant to change in general and likely fearful of how reform will affect their practices," explains Stanford Law Professor Mark Lemley.

3. Big Telco Companies, Industry Group USTelecom

Issue: Network Neutrality

Network neutrality principles are rules that prevent large Internet service providers (ISPs) like AT&T, Verizon, and Comcast from giving one Internet company's traffic priority over another's. Up until now, the Internet has been a fairly neutral place--we have equal access to any (legal) content we choose to access. But if the big ISPs begin giving preferential treatment to the highest-paying Internet sites, they could effectively make it harder for us consumers to access some of the vast content and services on the Web. The next Google and Yahoo of tomorrow, now gestating in garages and dorm rooms across the country, likely wouldn't have the funds to buy enough bandwidth to compete with the Google, Yahoo, and other giants of today. That's bad for us, because the companies of tomorrow might simply be better.

The phone companies had at one time reserved the right to parcel out bandwidth as they saw fit, as evidenced by the words of former AT&T CEO Ed Whitacre in late 2005:

"How do you think [Internet companies are] going to get to customers? Through a broadband pipe. Cable companies have them. We have them. Now what they would like to do is use my pipes free, but I ain't going to let them do that because we have spent this capital and we have to have a return on it." And so began the network neutrality fight we know and love today."

But so far there's been no smoking-gun evidence that the "Internet tollbooths" Whitacre alludes to are being set up on a large scale--that major net neutrality breaches are taking place at the big ISPs. We've seen only borderline offenses like traffic Comcast's recent throttling back of BitTorrent file sharing. But Comcast may have singled out BitTorrent traffic not because it's BitTorrent traffic or because it's file sharing traffic, but because peer-to-peer traffic eats up huge amounts of bandwidth--both upstream and downstream. Still, many people believe that some type of traffic discrimination is inevitable, and that network neutrality principles must be codified into law to prevent it.

The companies that own the big broadband pipes remain willing to fight hard against a law restricting their right to discriminate on their networks. A major pro-network neutrality bill cosponsored by Senator Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and Senator Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota, failed to pass last year, in part because of a massive lobbying campaign by Big Telco and it allies. The two Senators reintroduced the bill again in January, but little action has been taken on it. The phone companies have already done a lot of talking on Capital Hill to prevent passage of a net neutrality law. And, it should be said, the tech and consumer groups pushing for a law have not always stated their case clearly enough to move lawmakers and their constituents. That situation, I believe, is getting better, but a smoking gun--an obvious net neutrality breach by a large ISP--will likely be needed for Congress to pass a law.

The big telcos are very influential in Washington, and rarely loose a fight over something they really want. "They've got armies of lobbyists that work for them," Public Knowledge's Brodsky says. "They've got regiments of lobbyists that are hired guns. They've got zillions of dollars to spread around town in campaign contributions and other ancillary supports."

http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,140081/printable.html