Can pirate chasers attend to business while accusing each other of piracy? <A HREF="http://www.digimarc.com">Digimarc</A> and <A HREF="http://www.verance.com">Verance Corporation</A>, two competitors in the digital watermarking race, have been swapping accusations over patent infringements.
One of the most esteemed labels in the audiophile universe should soon be back in business. Online retailer <A HREF="http://www.musicdirect.com">Music Direct</A> has purchased remastering and re-release specialty company Mobile Fidelity, according to an <A HREF="http://pages.prodigy.net/amicus1/end_los.htm"> announcement</A> made April 24.
Little noted by the mainstream media, technology companies are pushing ahead with research and development programs for high-resolution audio. Two announcements in late April indicate that neither DVD-Audio nor the Super Audio CD is a passing fancy.
Back in September, the <A HREF="http://www.sdmi.org">Secure Digital Music Initiative</A> issued a public challenge that offered cash rewards for successfully uncovering and removing watermarks from recorded music. The <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10878/">challenge was met</A> by a number of hackers, most notable among them Professor Edward Felten of Princeton University's Computer Science Department.
Is the consumer electronics business swimming, sinking, or simply treading water? It all depends on who's talking. Retailers don't appear to be suffering, despite widespread staffing cutbacks by large companies, but the gains are coming more slowly than they did last year.
During the past year, hardly a day has gone by without headlines announcing the latest twist in the fate of embattled free music service <A HREF="http://www.napster.com">Napster.com</A>. Lost in the hysteria was Napster's tiny rival <A HREF="http://www.emusic.com/">Emusic.com</A>, a three-year-old online music venture that always charged its subscribers for downloading tunes, and always paid the copyright holders. For news appeal, Emusic's paltry 10,000 subscribers and languishing stock price didn't compare to Napster's reported 75 million users and major league court battles.
It's a season of mixed results in the electronics industry. On April 9, Peabody, MA–based <A HREF="http://www.bostonacoustics.com">Boston Acoustics</A> announced that it has slashed jobs due to a slow fourth quarter, reducing its workforce from 389 to 327 as a result of slowing sales. The loudspeaker manufacturer expects earnings of more than $4.2 million for the year ending March 31, a figure that puts the company in a profitable position despite a loss of close to $1 million for the final quarter.
Now there are three—Cello spinoffs, that is. More than two years ago, prior to Cello Technologies' ill-fated expansion, company founder Mark Levinson <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/10360/">departed</A> to create <A HREF="http://www.redrosemusic.com/">Red Rose Music</A>. Late in 2000, former vice president of business development Jim McCullough formed <A HREF="http://www.stereophile.com/news/11002/">Matthew James LLC</A>, which will make and market a new generation of Cello electronics. In early April, Viola Audio Labs announced its debut.
Large companies may be chopping jobs by the thousands, but there are signs elsewhere that the economy is still booming. Recent figures from electronics retailers <A HREF="http://www.bestbuy.com/">Best Buy</A> and the <A HREF="http://www.tweeter.com/">Tweeter Home Entertainment Group</A> and from <A HREF="http://www.sel.sony.com/SEL">Sony Electronics</A> indicate only a partial slowdown in spending for quality audio/video gear.
A recent email soliciting acquisition partners has given rise to a rumor that George Tice is leaving audio. "Far from it," said the AC power-conditioning pioneer from his Jupiter, FL office. "I want to accomplish three things: move this company to the next level; devote more of my energy to research and engineering; and spend more time with my family." These goals are going to require a well-organized team effort, he insists.