Los Angeles – Qtrax, the ad-supported song download service
that previously made headlines for
announcing it had secured licensing deals with the major labels before they had
been finalized, has launched in the U.S. The company launched its service in
Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Hong Kong yesterday, and on Thursday
expanded into the U.S., along with Argentina, Chile and Colombia.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4rp5rd7
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.qtrax.com

Mountain View, Calif. – The SETI Institute has launched a
beta test of a new interactive application it hopes will enable people to help
in its search for extraterrestrial life, CNET News.com reported. The SetiQuest
Explorer app, available in desktop and Anrdroid versions now, and iPhone by
summer, asks users to examine patterns in SETI images to determine whether they
resemble known signal patterns, or are unrecognizable, and therefore flagged
for further review by SETI.

Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20041365-245.html

http://explorer.setiquest.org/

Culver City, Calif. – Sony (NYSE: SNE)Pictures Home Entertainment on
Thursday launched My Daily Clip, an app for Apple’s iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
that offers a single new movie clip each day. The app also features trivia and
the ability to purchase full-length films from the iTunes Store.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4kkm5t8

Washington – Apple (NASD: AAPL) has altered the terms for in-app
purchasing from its iPhone and iPad, in response to complaints from parents
that kids were unknowingly racking up huge bills on virtual items in games and
other applications, the Washington Post reported.

Apple has eliminated a
15-minute period, where, after a user purchased an app he could make in-app
purchases without entering a password.

The password must now be entered any
time an in-app purchase is attempted.

The issue had drawn the attention of the
Washington State Attorney General’s office and the Federal Trade Commission.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4hpqmpl
(Washington Post)

http://tinyurl.com/46q2jsf
(DMW previous coverage)

Cupertino, Calif. – Apple (NASD: AAPL) said on Thursday that its new iPad
2 tablet computer will be available beginning Friday at 5 p.m. local time at
its 236 retail stores in the U.S., as well as through the company’s website
beginning at 1:00 a.m. (PT). The device will then become available beginning at 5
p.m. local time at AT&T, Best Buy, Target, Verizon Wireless, Walmart and
select Apple resellers.

Unveiled last week, the iPad 2 will be 33% thinner than
the original, with front- and rear-facing video cameras for the company’s
FaceTime video chat service, a chip that’s twice as fast and graphics that will
load up to nine times more quickly.

It will come in black and white, and be able to
run on networks operated by both AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

The pricing
structure will remain the same as the original, with units starting at $499.

Apple released its original iPad last April, and sold 15 million units in 2010,
accounting for $9.5 billion in revenue.

Related Links:
http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2011/03/10ipad.html

Foster City, Calif. – Sony (NYSE: SNE) Computer Entertainment America
has announced plans to provide subscribers to its PlayStation Plus service the
ability to store saved games in the cloud.

The new online storage feature
allows gamers to store up to 150MB of game save data, and a maximum of 1,000
data files per PlayStation Network account.

The service will enable users to
access their saved game data from any Internet-connected PlayStation 3, meaning
they can resume their saved games from a friend’s house or other location.

Sony
said most PS3 titles will be compatible with the online storage feature, while
all new titles will support it.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/6afl9ql
(PlayStation blog)

Tokyo – Sony plans to combine its video game and consumer
electronics divisions, and name PlayStation head Kazuo Hirai to lead the
combined unit, The Wall Street Journal reported, calling the move a sign the
company "has anointed a possible successor to [Sony Corp. CEO] Howard
Stringer.

According to The Journal, Stringer has renewed his contract and will
stay on for an unspecified period to oversee the restructuring.

The reorganization
at Sony, slated to begin April 1, will also reportedly see the creation of a
Professional and Device Solutions Group, which would oversee chipmaking and
products for broadcasters.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4z2h4yu
(WSJ)

New York – Following Warner Bros.’ announcement this week
that it would begin offering streaming movie rentals on Facebook, Sony (NYSE: SNE) Pictures
is considering a similar move, CNET News.com reported.

John Calkins, executive
vice president of Sony Pictures’ digital division, praised the idea at a media
conference in New York and said his company is "looking into things like
that," according to CNET.

Warner’s deal with Facebook so far includes just
one, library title, "The Dark Knight," which Facebook users can rent
for 48 hours for 30 Facebook Credits — or $3.

Related Links:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-20041379-261.html

http://tinyurl.com/4kldfy2
(DMW previous coverage)

Washington – Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and John Kerry
(D-Mass.) are expected to introduce an "online privacy bill of
rights" before a scheduled hearing on online piracy in the Senate next
week, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources. The bill would
reportedly require companies to seek permission before sharing a user’s data
with third parties, and give consumers the right to view any data collected on
them.

The bill is said to cover all types of personal data, including
financial, medical and electronic.

The Journal also reports that the Obama
administration is looking to fill two positions related to privacy policy, and
is in talks with former AOL chief privacy officer Jules Polonetsky to operate a
privacy office within the Commerce Department.

Also, Commerce Dept. official
Daniel Weitzner is expected to be named as the White House’s deputy chief
technology officer, and oversee a privacy task force.

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4lhgzck
(WSJ)