Music industry betting on ‘ringle’ format
The major labels are getting ready to launch the "ringle," which combines the mostly defunct single format with ringtones. Each ringle is expected to contain three songs -- one hit and maybe one remix and an older track -- and one ringtone, on a CD with a slip-sleeve cover. The idea is that if consumers in the digital age can download any tracks they want individually, why not let them buy singles in the store as well? It also enables stores to get involved in the ringtone phenomenon. Sony BMG Music Entertainment, which came up with the ringle idea, and Universal Music Group are going to be the first out of the box with ringles. The former will unleash 50 titles during October and November, while UMG will have anywhere from 10 to 20 titles ready. The majors are gambling that the ringle can instill in consumers the mind-set to connect to the Internet via the CD. Sources suggest the ringle will carry either a $5.98 or $6.98 list price, while the wholesale cost to retailers will be less than $4. If it's $5.98, ringles will have a 31% gross margin, shy of the 35% profit margin that CD albums carry nowadays; if it's $6.98, that would give retail a 42.7% gross margin, similar to the profit margin cassette and vinyl albums enjoyed back in the day. The big retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy and Amazon have agreed to support the configuration, although all of them may not be ready to do so at launch date.

DoJ puts the boot into net neutrality
The US Department of Justice (DoJ) has dismissed the need for a net neutrality law, maintaining that it would represent unnecessary meddling in the affairs of telecoms companies. The DoJ said in a filing to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that net neutrality would hamper the future development of the internet. It added that existing competition laws would be enough to ensure that companies would not use differential pricing to drown out competition by buying faster access. Marketplace restrictions proposed by some proponents of 'net neutrality' could in fact prevent, rather than promote, optimal investment and innovation in the internet, with significant negative effects for the economy and consumers. Net neutrality, the principle that all websites should be equally easy to view, has long been opposed by telecoms providers which would like to charge different prices to site owners for different speeds of access. Such plans have been slammed by web giants such as Google and eBay, as well as web founder Tim Berners-Lee, computer scientist Vint Cerf and pressure groups around the world.

Serve analog TVs even after digital switchover
Here's the pitch from the cable TV industry: One way or another, all subscribers will still be able to tune in their favorite shows when broadcasters shift to digital-only transmission in 2009. Seeking more than a promise, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin wants commissioners to require cable companies to provide that service. "Unless the commission acts, some cable customers may actually be harmed by the transition and lose the ability to view some of these channels". The greatest impact of the digital conversion will be on viewers of non-digital televisions who receive their signals over the air. Beginning Feb. 18, 2009, they will be forced to buy a special converter box, subsidized by the government, to receive their channels. The impact of the shift on the nation's cable subscribers is less certain. Today, cable television system operators receive broadcast feeds in analog and digital format. Come Feb. 18, 2009, broadcasters must stop supplying the analog signal. That creates a problem for the cable industry's 32 million analog subscribers. Cable operators can either convert the digital signal to analog at the point where their cable signal originates, or they can supply customers with a "down converter" device that will change digital signals to analog at the TV set.

AT&T ad campaign gets edgy
AT&T is launching a new corporate advertising campaign, with ads designed to convey a younger, edgier style associated with wireless. The company's "Your Seamless World" corporate ad campaign features situations that "speak to the on-the-go lifestyle of today's consumers and businesses." The campaign includes six television spots overseen by Wes Anderson, director of films including Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums. AT&T also said it will now use orange as its primary corporate color. Ads, company signage and its Web site are undergoing a "color makeover.

Typo-squatter faces 20 years in jail
A man in Nevada is facing a possible 20 years in jail after trying to defraud people out of their domain names. David Scali pleaded guilty in court to a charge of mail fraud after being caught out in the scam. Scali registered an email under a false name and pretended to be an intellectual property lawyer, threatening $100,000 lawsuits unless domain name holders signed over their property within 48 hours. The man targeted websites with similar names to popular sites. When internet users mistype URLs the traffic these sites generate can be used to sell advertising on the misspelt sites, a practice known as domain-squatting or typo-squatting. According to the FBI, Scali sent the emails between late June and early July 2006 to domain name owners. One of the recipients, who had a site name similar to citysearch.com, handed over their domain for fear of prosecution but then grew suspicious and notified authorities. Domain-squatting can be very profitable, given the number of mistyped URLs. While people seldom visit such sites for long, the page hits still register and some people click on the adverts. As Scali pleaded guilty and faces a single charge his attorneys have asked for a probationary sentence of a maximum of six months.

Mobile system promises free calls
A new way of making calls directly between phones, for free, is being trialled by a Swedish company. It is hoping to dramatically improve communications in the developing world. Swedish company TerraNet has developed the idea using peer-to-peer technology that enables users to speak on its handsets without the need for a mobile phone base station. The technology is designed for remote areas of the countryside or desert where base stations are unfeasible. Projects backed by TerraNet recently launched in Tanzania and Ecuador. The TerraNet technology works using handsets adapted to work as peers that can route data or calls for other phones in the network. The handsets also serve as nodes between other handsets, extending the reach of the entire system. Each handset has an effective range of about one kilometer. This collaborative routing of calls means there is no cost to talk between handsets. When a TerraNet phone is switched on, it begins to look for other phones within range. If it finds them, it starts to connect and extend the radio network. When a number is dialled a handset checks to see if the person being called is within range. If they are, the call goes through. While individually the phones only have a maximum range of 1km, any phone in between two others can forward calls, allowing the distance to double. This principle applied many times creates a mini network.
indicated that the business model for the network is sound.

Mobiles for the 'world's poorest'
Nearly half a million people, described by the UN as "the poorest of the poor", will soon be able to make mobile calls. As part of a UN programme to tackle poverty in rural Africa, 79 villages across 10 African countries will be hooked up to cellular networks. It is hoped that the connections will help improve healthcare and education, as well as boosting the local economy. A 2005 study showed that an increase of 10 mobile phones per 100 people could increase GDP growth by 0.6%. The first Millennium Village was started in Sauri, Kenya, and there are now 79 in countries including Mali, Uganda, Senegal and Ethiopia. The program aims to tackle all of these areas, rather than focusing on a specific problem. The infrastructure, as well as solar chargers for phones, have been provided free of charge by mobile firm Ericsson, but services will be run and charged for by local operators. In most countries, Ericsson will install a 2G network, able to handle voice calls as well as data downloads of around 200 kilobits per second (kbps).

Techie shortage costing us billions, says Europe
Europe is losing out on billions in investment because of a shortfall in qualified tech staff. The European Commission is warning that 40% of European citizens suffer from "digital illiteracy" and the skills shortage is slowing down the implementation of new projects. European Commissioner for the Information Society and Media Viviane Reding said that it is no longer possible to waste the talents of millions of Europeans by leaving them out of the information society. "Shortfalls of qualified ICT practitioners slow down new ICT applications in the economy and draw away billions of euros of investment funds to dynamic emerging economies, where hundreds of thousands of new engineers are qualifying each year," she said in a statement. The Commission has called upon member states to tackle the deepening digital skills crisis, and will supporting a number of initiatives, launching its e-Inclusion initiative in 2008 which aims to halve digital illiteracy by 2010 by promoting better use of e-learning.

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