Note: this post is part of the R/WW Files on Online Music.
Universal Music Group (UMG) is teaming up with Google and a new start-up company called gBox, Inc., to sell DRM-free music on an experimental basis, in what many will interpret as a direct challenge to Apple’s iTunes Music Store (iTMS).
The way gBox is expected to work — it debuts August 21 and ends January 31, 2008 — is that the service will get referrals through ads that UMG purchases from Google at standard advertising rates. When users search for a band or a song using the Google search engine, ads will appear next to the results directing them to gBox.
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While there is no high definition content to purchase from the iTunes Music Store yet, there are HD video podcasts that can be downloaded and viewed on various devices including PCs, video iPods, XBox 360, and the AppleTV. These, no doubt, are showing us what the future of downloadable HD content looks like.
The AppleTV, obviously, is a different beast from the iPhone. But they do share one thing in common besides the Apple name: No sooner had the products hit the shelves at an Apple Store or were available online, hackers, developers, and sadist techies immediately started ripping them apart.
George Kliavkoff, NBC Universal’s chief digital officer, calls it like he sees it. Appropriate, considering he came to NBC Universal from Major League Baseball.
Whenever I think of the 
It’s a bit odd to be writing a review about a video podcast that began on March 17, 2006 and ended on March 17, 2007. Today, in case you don’t know or have to look it up, is August 3, 2007.
First there were three: CBS, NBC, ABC. And three became four with the addition of Fox. Now it’s time to officially recognize a fifth major television network in the U.S.: the Internet.
As a casual gamer, I’ve not been all that interested in the Sony PlayStation 3 despite my gadget thirst. I have a PS2 and use it occasionally. I own a few Nintendos, and use those every now and then. I’m not hardcore enough to buy into Microsoft’s Xbox 360, even as an entertainment or media center, and I can’t find a Wii in stock.
The Federal Communications Commission 