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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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 
The digital living room market is fiercly competitive and extremely lucrative. On the one hand there are devices like the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, TiVo, and Apple TV, not to mention TVs, DVD players, and countless other bits of hardware. On the other hand there is content; the music, movies, games, and television shows that make the living room the entertainment hub of the typical home. Then of course there is the marketplace that bridges the gap between the two.
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.
Thursday evening, as my friend and I drove to the theater to see an opening night 12am screening of “The Simpson’s Movie,” we were forced into an unusual technological corner.