Newswatch 8.10.07: Murdoch might set wsj.com free
By Richard Koman - August 10, 2007
[Reuters] Murdoch may free wsj.com
News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch has said he might make the Wall Street Journal's Web site free, a shift that could compel Britain's Pearson to do the same with the online version of its Financial Times. (And what about the Times?)
Stanford makes the cut for robot car contest
[Mercury News] Stanford is one of two teams with Bay Area connections named among 36 semifinalists Thursday for the defense department's robotic vehicle race later this year "It's great that we are in. We are obviously in the great company of 35 other strong teams," Sebastian Thrun, Stanford associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering and leader of the Stanford Racing Team, said in a statement.
Veoh sues to block Universal
[AP] The online video sharing site responds to threats by Universal with a federal action of its own -- a request for declaratory relief that it is protected by DMCA Safe Harbors.
Perfect 10 sues Microsoft over thumbnails
[Ars Technica] Adult site Perfect 10 is suing Microsoft over its image search feature, which features thumbnails of its models and links to sites that host the images without permission. A similar lawsuit against Google hasn't turned out too well for the adult site, though.
AT&T censors Pearl Jam, sparking net neutrality debate
[ZD Net] After AT&T censored a supposedly live webcast of a Pearl Jam concert, in which Eddie Vedder tossed off a couple of anti-Bush ad libs during a cover of Pink Floyd’s “The Wall,” the band complained bitterly not only about censorship but about media consolidation and the risks of not having net neutrality.
Universal to test DRM-free song sales
The music will not be offered D.R.M.-free through Apple’s iTunes, the leading music service. The use of copy protection software has become a major bone of contention in the digital music business, where iTunes accounts for the vast majority of download sales. But Apple’s proprietary D.R.M. does not work with most rivals’ devices or software — meaning that music sold by competing services cannot play on Apple’s popular iPod. Some record executives say they believe that the stalemate has capped the growth of digital music sales, which the industry is relying on more heavily as sales of plastic CDs slide.
Vista blocks high-def content
[Infoworld] Content protection features in Windows Vista are preventing customers from playing high-quality video and audio and harming system performance, even as Microsoft neglects security programs that could protect users, computer researcher Peter Gutmann argued at the USENIX Security Symposium in Boston Wednesday.
RSA to buy Tablus
[Computerworld] Finding a fitting match for their plans to offer a full portfolio of product to secure data behind the firewall, RSA has announced plans to purchase data-leak protection vendor Tablus.
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Comments (4)
This is a great example of how Rupert Murdoch leads change instead of fighting it. The simple truth is that bloggers are going to continue to blow the media agencies out of the water by making information free to the people. The Wall Street Journal accepts this and works with it not against.
Posted: August 10, 2007 12:10 PM
I agree. Rupert Murdoch is the savviest media executive on the planet. Why lock up your content behind a paywall? Use the Internet's greatest attribute: scale. You can reach anywhere on the planet with your brand, locking it up is madness.
Posted: August 10, 2007 2:30 PM
I have read in a few places that WSJ.com cannot go free becuase of contracts with various aggregators...here's a paste:
WSJ.com has agreements with Lexis Nexis, Facitva, Congoo and several other distributors that specifically prohib them from removing the pay wall. They might go free but they will have to pay millions in settlements to do it.
Posted: August 11, 2007 1:16 PM
Wow. That is very interesting Lee. Its legacy agreements have hobbled its ability to compete. It would be worth paying "millions" to get out of those agreements. I would.
Posted: August 11, 2007 7:58 PM