Announcements

We’ll cover whatever is announced on Tuesday’s big Apple event, but Kevin Rose seems to have the scoop. Cingular will announce an iTunes compatible phone – the “Rocker”. New 2GB ipod called the “Nano” – it will sport a color screen and will be much smaller and thinner than a mini. Price = $199. Link.

The Ninth Circuit has created box-wrap patent licenses. Now the label on the box that says “single use only” is given force of law, and if you refill the cartridge you are liable for patent infringement. This from Lexmark, the company that already tried and failed to control the printer cartridge after-market using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)…Will patent owners exploit this decision as an opportunity to impose over-reaching restrictions on formerly permitted post-sale uses, repairs, modifications, and resale? Will consumers soon confront “single use only, not for resale” notices on more and more products? Will innovators stumble over labels announcing “modifications prohibited”? Link.

I’m hoping more and more micropayment systems take off…PayPal announced new micropayments processing fees for digital goods. The new pricing will provide merchants with a more affordable way to process payments for low-cost digital content such as video games, online greeting cards, news articles, mobile phone content and digital music. Link.

Here’s why…On top of that, consumers should expect punishment for tinkering with their Blu-ray players, as many have done with current DVD players, for instance to remove regional coding. The new, Internet-connected and secure players will report any “hack” and the device can be disabled remotely. “A hacked player is any player that is doing something it’s not supposed to do,” Setos said, adding the jury was still out if regional coding would be maintained or scrapped. [via] Link.

The Jack Kirby Museum opened yesterday on what would have been Kirby’s 88th birthday. While just an online museum at this point, it promises to be a great resource for learning about the life and contributions Jack “The King” Kirby made to comic book culture. Largely under-credited for his role in co-creating many of Marvel’s characters during the Silver Age of comics, his career spanned over 50 years. [via] Link.