George Lucas: Online movie services viewed as the future of industry

I have to agree with Lucas, the future of all media will be as downloadable files or streaming media. The concept that any of us owns the music on a CD or movie on a DVD is of course incorrect.

We purchased a license to enjoy whatever recording, and according to fair use clauses in the license, can enjoy that media either in a traditional player or a digital player. Of course there is examples of media companies and the RIAA ridiculously going after their customers smile_sad, and individuals engaging in media piracy smile_baringteeth.

Now the key to all this is a common “fair use” policy that allows us to enjoy any media in a venue we prefer, using a player or format that we choose. In return, we consumers need to agree that there is some type of accommodating digital rights management (DRM) technology to thwart piracy.

In the future, George is right on the money. Whether its a computer, wireless media player (Zune or future iPods), home media center, etc… we will likely not have to worry about where the movie/song is located, we’ll simply select it from a catalog of our preferred online media service and enjoy.

With a mass market, the scale of economies kicks in and for some reasonable charge per month, we’ll have access to huge volumes of recorded works. The differences in these online media services is their pricing, and the type and quality of value-added services they offer. That may simply be an extended library, or maybe conversion of a DVD to an old Beta videocassette that is mailed to you (who knows).

This will be the next generation of media enjoyment.

Neowin.net – George Lucas Sees Movie Downloading as the Future

T-Mobile already rolling out UMTS!

T-Mobile Logo As expected, T-Mobile today announced that their 3G UMTS rollout was already underway.  With 50% of New York already completed, T-Mobile has obviously been active in the background working ahead of the spectrum acquisitions to get a jump on the 3G market.

With a completion schedule into 2009, and service to be available to customers next summer, the rollout is quite accelerated.  BetaNews also mentioned the spokesperson changes, new plan options, and the UMA WiFi-based services announced late last month.

Great news for all Tmo customers!

BetaNews – T-Mobile: 3G Deployments Underway

T-Mobile USA rumored to announce UMTS this week

T-Mobile Logo It seems eWeek and the::unwired are suggesting that T-Mobile USA will be holding a press conference on Friday (10/6/2006) in New York to announce the carrier’s move into UMTS (or 3G) services.

T-Mobile will utilize the 1700MHz and 2100MHz bands in North America, which are not the same bands used elsewhere in the world.  This will require handset makers to incorporate multiple UMTS bands in their devices if they are to be able to roam on any UMTS service.

This news is not surprising due to the recent spectrum purchases that T-Mobile was able to win in the last FCC Auction.  You can find some pricing speculation at the::unwired, and more strategic analysis at eWeek – links below.

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Cingular Network Integration of AT&T Wireless is Complete

Cingular Logo Cingular has finally completed the integration of the AT&T Wireless network.  Its been two years since Cingular purchased the aging network, and they have had several challenges in merging the two companies together.

This is ultimately good news for Cingular’s customers, as the company can now focus those energies on other opportunities such as expanding their 3G networks!

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Link to: Cingular Finally Completes Network Integration (Phone Scoop)

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