DRM sucks up to a quarter of battery life

Digital rights management systems can significantly shorten the battery life of portable music players such as iPods, according to recent tests. The tests found that playing tracks protected by DRM on an iPod reduced battery life by eight per cent. The impact on other players was more marked: an 18 per cent decline on an The Archos Gmini 402 for example and 16 per cent on an iRiver U10 (although that does have a maximum 32-hour battery life when playing MP3s). ...more

Billy Bragg notches Bebo victory

Billy Bragg has claimed his second victory against social networking websites, persuading Bebo to change its terms and conditions. Bragg had complained that Bebo, like MySpace before it, claimed 'onerous' rights to music posted on its website. The singer songwriter subsequently met with Bebo's founders, Michael and Xochi Birch, and between them they agreed new terms. ...more

BitTorrent aims to speed streams

The torrent of bits delivered by BitTorrent may be arriving even faster. CacheLogic and BitTorrent have announced a partnership that will see the well-known 'peer-assisted digital content delivery platform' work with CacheLogic on new techniques to speed download times. The two companies intend to collaborate on the development of the open-source Cache Discovery Protocol (CDP). ...more

Beatles demand $15mn for online rights - report

The Beatles are asking $15mn for six months' exclusive rights to sell their catalogue online, according to a News.com report. If true, such a high premium would almost certainly price the world's biggest selling group out of the range of most of the online services. ...more

Napster matches iTunes at 79p a song

Napster has rejigged its pricing for music downloads. The price it charges for individual tracks has now been reduced to 79p, which is the charge Apple levies though iTunes. The change has been made, claims Napster, in response 'to brisk Christmas sales', but going toe-to-toe with Apple on price clearly reflects iTunes continuing domination of the market. ...more