ameritrade1 : DENVER (AP) — Investigators trying to determine why a Continental Airlines plane veered off a runway and skidded into a ravine heard an odd bumping and rattling noise on the flight's recorders shortly before it tried to take off.
The noise was detected 41 seconds after the jet started speeding down a runway at Denver International Airport on Saturday. Four seconds later, one of the crew members called for the takeoff to be aborted, said Robert Sumwalt, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board.
The recording ends six seconds after that, probably because the plane slammed to the ground after hurtling off an embankment, he said.
Sumwalt revealed the findings late Monday after an initial review of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders. Experts planned to begin a more in-depth analysis of the contents of the recorders in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday while investigators return to the plane's wreckage in a snowy field at the airport.
All 115 passengers and crew members escaped the jet, which caught fire on the right side. Thirty-eight people were injured, including the plane's captain.
Sumwalt said investigators have found no problems with the plane's engines, tires or brakes, but they are not yet ruling anything out.
The plane traveled about 2,000 feet after leaving the runway, crossing a grassy strip and a taxiway before going off the embankment, hitting the ground at its base. It then went up a slight hill, over an access road and then down another small hill on the other side of the road before landing on its belly, its landing gear shorn off.
Lead NTSB investigator Bill English said the plane's flight data recorder shows the thrusters on both engines were switched to reverse. He said that normally happens when crew members try to stop a takeoff.
Sumwalt said investigators are still gathering information about the exact wind conditions on the runway at the time of the accident. However, he said the cockpit voice recorder contained no comments about wind.
Investigators have not yet interviewed the plane's captain, who was flying the plane, because Sumwalt said he is physically unable. He didn't elaborate. They have talked to the first officer, who said the plane began moving off the center of the runway as it reached about 103 mph while speeding down the runway for takeoff.
The plane continued to accelerate, reaching a maximum speed of about 137 mph, Sumwalt said.
Off-duty crew members who had flown the plane earlier in the day also were on board at the time of the accident, and Sumwalt said the first officer from that crew returned to the plane three times to help rescue passengers. Sumwalt also reported that those crew members said they had no problems with the plane during their flight.
A fire charred and ripped open much of the right side of the plane, with the worst damage around a crack around the fuselage. Sumwalt said all the passenger seats remained intact during the plane's wild ride off the runway, although seats in row 18, near the crack, had loose fittings.
Sumwalt said the runway was bare and dry when the plane attempted to take off for Houston and no debris was found there.
President-elect Barack Obama's transition office is ready to release an internal review of all contacts his staff had with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office over the Senate seat that Obama has vacated and that the governor is accused of putting up for sale.
The report's release, expected Tuesday, comes as Obama is vacationing in Hawaii. Obama said last week he wants to answer questions about conversations his aides had over filling his Senate seat because nothing inappropriate took place. But he kept the details private while the federal investigation continues.
"We have a report," Obama spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter said Monday. "It's been ready for release for a week. We've held off at the request of the U.S. Attorney's office and that continues to be the case, though we expect to be able to release the report shortly."
Aides said Obama had no plans to make a public statement on his internal report while in Hawaii. Last week Obama described the findings of the review as "thorough and comprehensive" and promised they would be made public this week.
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Holder Endorsement Could BackfirePHOTOS: Aniston, Mayer Openly AffectionateIncoming White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel contacted Blagojevich's office about the appointment, according to a source close to the governor who requested anonymity because the person is not authorized to speak on the matter. Blagojevich believed Emanuel was advocating Obama friend Valerie Jarrett for the Senate seat so he would not have to compete with her for Obama's attention in the White House, the source said.
The U.S. attorney's office had been secretly recording Blagojevich's calls since October. A federal complaint charging the governor with seeking cash and favors for Obama's vacant Senate seat doesn't cite conversations with Emanuel or others on the transition staff.
U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago said when announcing the charges that Obama was not implicated in the case, and sources have said Emanuel is not a target of prosecutors.
An official familiar with Obama's internal review said the president-elect's team wrote its report without having access to transcripts of the FBI's taped conversations. The source spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to discuss the review publicly.
Emanuel has refused to comment on his recent interaction with Blagojevich and his staff. Emanuel succeeded Blagojevich in his House seat in 2002, when Blagojevich became governor. Emanuel also served as an informal campaign adviser to the governor and has a mutual friend with Blagojevich who has become a key player in the criminal investigation.
Ill. Gov. Rod Blagojevich makes his first substantial public comments since his arrest last week on federal corruption charges at the State of Illinois Building Friday, Dec. 19, 2008 in Chicago. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
(AP)
More PhotosThe governor at times considered trying to exchange Obama's Senate seat for a presidential appointment, a job for his wife, campaign contributions and donations to a nonprofit he hoped to create, according to the complaint.
Blagojevich expressed frustration in one conversation taped by the FBI that Obama and his advisers weren't "willing to give me anything except appreciation. (Expletive) them," the complaint quoted him as saying.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Holder Endorsement Could Backfire
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ABC's Ariane de Vogue reports: Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, released several letters of support today from parties supporting the nomination of Attorney General Nominee Eric Holder. But one of the letters might backfire and serve as ammunition for those opposed to Holder's confirmation.
Former Attorney General James Comey writes in support of Holder but does not mince words when it comes to Holder's participation in the controversial pardon of financial fugitive Marc Rich. Comey says that Holder, who was then serving as Deputy Attorney General, made a "huge misjudgment" in his role in the pardon and that Holder has "learned a hard lesson."
Comey says in the letter that he has "unique perspective" into the matter because he served as the prosecutor in charge of the Marc Rich case from 1987-1993 and then after the pardons he, as US Attorney, supervised a criminal investigation into the pardons.
The Southern District of New York's investigation into the pardons received little attention. Comey's letter could well ignite some harsh questions from Republicans on the committee about that chapter in Holder's career.
Comey says that he had been "stunned" when Clinton pardoned Rich. Comey's investigation into the matter, however, never lead to any prosecutions.
"I know a lot of people who have made significant mistakes," writes Comey. But he adds that Holder's mistake for his role in the pardon might make Holder an even "better steward" of DOJ because he has "learned a hard lesson about protecting the integrity" of DOJ from "political fixes."
In a statement released today describing Comey's letter, Leahy left out any criticism of Holder and instead focuses on Comey's endorsement:
"The prosecutor in charge of the Marc Rich case and the criminal investigation into the Marc Rich pardon, described Holder as 'a smart, decent, humble man, who knows and loves the Department and has demonstrated his commitment to the rule of law across an entire career.'”
Mary Jo White, who held Comey's job as US Attorney in New York when the pardons were announced, and was reportedly furious at the time, is refusing any comment on Holder's nomination.
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary committee have succeeded in having Holder's hearing delayed a week, so they cam go through voluminous documents to prepare for the hearing.
Some PC makers now have an extra four months to sell Windows XP.
The BBC reported Monday that Microsoft has extended the deadline for smaller PC builders and resellers to obtain licenses for the discontinued operating system from the previous deadline of January 31, 2009 to May 30, 2009.
"Microsoft is making accommodation through a flexible inventory program that will allow distributors to place their final orders by January 31, 2009; and take delivery against those orders through May 30, 2009," a Microsoft representative said in an e-mailed statement. "This is not an extension of sales."
Even after May 30, however, it's still not the end of XP. The operating system will be available on ultra-low-cost PCs until June 30, 2010, and the low-end Windows XP Starter Edition will continue to be available in emerging markets until the same date.
Plus, big PC makers plan to offer PCs with Vista Ultimate and Vista Business that have been factory downgraded at customers' request until July 30 next year.
Windows XP pauses again in its shuffle out the door
By Angela Gunn, BetaNews
December 22, 2008, 4:47 PM
Microsoft is making an accommodation through a flexible inventory program that will allow distributors to place their final orders by January 31, 2009 and take delivery against those orders through May 30, 2009.
This is not an extension of sales, according to the Microsoft spokesperson who issued the statement above. Semantics? Depends on where you reside in the food chain, but mainly, the decision is about giving the put-upon guys in the middle some breathing room.
Before this change of plans, the distributors had to order, receive and pay for their desired XP licenses by the end of next month, which meant that the distributors were trying to gauge demand from the system builders and get paid for it ahead of time. The distributors will not still lean on the system builders to gauge demand, but they won't be coming around with their hands out -- surely a relief for those tiptoeing into 2009 economic realities.
The system builders, meanwhile, don't have to rush to get their XP machines out the door (which seems to be a universal relief -- happy holidays from Microsoft, maybe). As long as they square away their licenses before their distributors run of of them, everything's fine. And if a distributor were to have an extra XP license or two lying around after May, it seems pretty clear that it could be sold to a willing distributor.
This isn't the first rest stop on the move to Mohave, of course. Windows XP Home is still on offer for low-end laptops and desktops until 2010 -- not bad for a system that in theory was made obsolete two years ago.
(12-22) 17:23 PST -- Palm Inc. said Monday that it has raised $100 million from a private investment firm, sending shares of the smart phone maker soaring 22 percent on hopes that it will be able to revive its ailing business in the coming year.
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Shares of the Sunnyvale company rose 56 cents to $3.05, reversing the stock's steep decent over the past three months.
Elevation Partners, a venture capital firm that has U2 lead singer Bono as a managing director, made the investment on the heels of Palm's report last week that its fiscal second-quarter revenue fell 45 percent to $191.6 million amid declining phone sales. The disappointing performance, coupled with a dwindling cash reserve of $143.6 million, had prompted some investors to question whether the company had enough money to fund its operations over the long term.
Palm, maker of the Treo and Centro phones, has fallen behind Apple's iPhone and Research In Motion's Blackberry in the highly competitive market for smart phones, the Internet-enabled devices that serve as mobile computers. Catching up will depend in part on whether consumers flock to Palm's new but long-delayed operating system, Nova, which may be released in January.
"The additional capital from Elevation Partners will enable us to put added momentum behind the new product introductions scheduled for 2009 and will provide us with enhanced stability in unsettled economic times," Ed Colligan, Palm's chief executive, said in a statement.
Although the investment removes some of the uncertainty about Palm's immediate future, it doesn't solve its lingering problem of a slumping business. With the economy in turmoil, people are reluctant to spend their money on pricey phones, which can cost up to $599.
Last year, Elevation Partners invested $325 million in Palm for a 25 percent stake that it used to install a new executive chairman and replace two directors. As part of its latest infusion, the venture firm will increase its voting control in Palm to 38 percent.
Under the deal, which is expected to close by Jan. 31, Elevation Partners will acquire 100,000 shares of newly issued Series C preferred stock. It is also getting warrants to purchase 7 million shares of common stock at $3.25 per share - a 31 percent premium on Friday's close - that can be cashed in before October 2014.
Palm has the option of requiring Elevation Partners to sell up to $49 million of its new shares at the same price or higher to other investors until the end of March.
Roger McNamee, co-founder of Elevation Partners, said he remains confident in Palm and its planned products, saying that he looks "forward to great things from Palm in 2009 and beyond."
Even with Monday's bump in stock price, Palm's shares are down 50 percent over the past 12 months.
E-mail Verne Kopytoff at vkopytoff@sfchronicle.com.
This article appeared on page D - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Dec 22 (Reuters) - Palm Inc:
* Secures additional $100 million equity investment from Elevation Partners
((Bangalore Equities Newsroom; +91 80 4135 5800; within U.S. +1 646 223 8780))
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List of 18 appointments to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper
14 hours ago
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed 18 Conservatives to the Senate on Monday, where they will each receive a $130,400 annual salary to serve in the unelected upper chamber.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Fabian Manning, defeated Conservative MP.
Nova Scotia
Fred Dickson, longtime Conservative supporter and lawyer specializing in offshore resource development.
Stephen Greene, former chief of staff to Reform leader Preston Manning.
Michael L. MacDonald, Conserative supporter and businessman.
Prince Edward Island
Mike Duffy, host of CTV Newsnet's Mike Duffy Live.
New Brunswick
Percy Mockler, former provincial Conservative cabinet minister.
John Wallace, Conservative lawyer, former counsel for Irving Oil.
Quebec
Patrick Brazeau, National Chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples.
Suzanne Fortin-Duplessis, ex-MP under Brian Mulroney and co-chair of recent Conservative campaign in Quebec.
Leo Housakos, longtime supporter of l'Action Democratique du Quebec.
Michel Rivard, Conservative organizer, former Parti Quebecois member of the Quebec legislature, later ran for the Canadian Alliance.
Ontario
Nicole Eaton, Conservative fundraiser, cultural philanthropist from family that founded iconic department store.
Irving Gerstein, chair of the Conservative Fund Canada.
Saskatchewan
Pamela Wallin, former diplomat and broadcaster.
British Columbia
Nancy Greene Raine, former Olympic skiing champion.
Yonah Martin, defeated Conservative candidate.
Richard Neufeld, energy minister in British Columbia's Liberal government.
Yukon
Hector Lang, Conservative, former member of Yukon assembly.
Patrick Brazeau's Senate appointment comes as no surprise, observers say
11 hours ago
MONTREAL — Observers say the appointment of aboriginal advocate Patrick Brazeau to the Senate should come as no surprise, given his close ties to Stephen Harper's Conservative government.
Brazeau, 34, the current national chief of the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, is an Algonquin from northwestern Quebec and a citizen of the Indian reserve of Kitigan Zib.
Brazeau says he was invited last week to the Prime Minister's Office and asked if he'd like to be a senator.
Brazeau said he accepted the seat with the understanding he would not keep it for the next 41 years.
"I basically have some strong beliefs and I support the prime minister's view on Senate reform so I think there are some contributions I can make to make that a reality," Brazeau said in an interview Monday.
"The thought of 41 years (in Senate for myself) is comical at this point."
Russell Diabo, a consultant to various aboriginal groups, said there were rumours galore that an aboriginal appointment was coming.
"When I saw it was Patrick Brazeau, it didn't surprise me because he's been pretty partisan promoting the Conservative agenda and the prime minister has been praising him up," said Diabo, who is based in Orillia, Ont.
Diabo said Brazeau has been a very vocal supporter of Harper's Conservatives for a long time.
Harper came under fire for attending a meeting of the Congress in Halifax last year after snubbing a similar invite from the Assembly of First Nations.
Harper was introduced by Brazeau at that event as "a man and a leader who has taken bold steps to ensure Canada's off-reserve aboriginal communities are no longer considered a forgotten people."
Diabo said the Congress "has been basically towing the Conservative line of criticizing First Nations chiefs on reserves, making allegations there wasn't enough accountability or transparency."
The Congress has been involved in a turf war with the Assembly of First Nations over who represents natives.
Brazeau has said he would like to move away from the Indian Act toward a governance model that is more accountable and reflective of problems communities face now.
"I've never been afraid to voice my opinions and my beliefs in asking for more accountability," Brazeau said.
The Congress of Aboriginal Peoples was originally known as the Native Council of Canada before reorganizing in recent years. Its leadership says the group represents Metis and off-reserve status and non-status Indians.
Therein lies the controversy, as many groups say the Congress doesn't represent them.
"The allegations are still hanging in the air that the Congress declared itself to represent people that don't feel they are being represented by the Congress," said Paul Barnsley, a journalist who has covered aboriginal politics for years.
Barnsley said those he spoke to following the appointment viewed it as a double-barrelled move.
"People are wondering how much this is a recognition that the Congress supported Stephen Harper's party when they first became government and how much of it is a snub at the other national chief," said Barnsley, referring to Assembly Grand Chief Phil Fontaine.
"There is some rivalry there and it is a very interesting political scenario.
"It could say an awful lot in aboriginal political circles."
Barnsley says it could signal the end of Brazeau's run in aboriginal politics.
"He's now part of the parliamentary system - and he's a young man. So if they don't change the rules about having that job until 75, he's going to be hanging around the hill for a long, long time."
But Brazeau indicated he may not immediately give up his role as head of the Congress.
"I would have to assure there would be no conflict in assuming both duties - and, if so, I'm willing and able to fulfil both positions," Brazeau said.
Interpol 'not given Mumbai data'
More than 170 people died in the three days of attacks in Mumbai
The global police agency Interpol says India has not shared any information with it about last month's deadly attacks in Mumbai (Bombay).
Interpol secretary general Ronald Noble, who is in Islamabad, said its only knowledge of what happened had come from the media.
Pakistan says it also has had no firm information from Delhi.
India says Pakistani militants carried out the attacks, which left more than 170 people dead.
Only one of the 10 gunmen, Mohammed Ajmal Amir Qasab, survived and he is in Indian custody.
On Monday India handed a letter to Pakistan it says was written by Mr Qasab, confirming he is Pakistani and asking for Islamabad's help.
'Sovereign choice'
Mr Noble has been in Islamabad for talks with Rehman Malik, the adviser to the prime minister on interior affairs.
At the weekend he had met India's Minister of Home Affairs Palaniappan Chidambaram in Delhi.
Ronald Noble is heading an Interpol team to India and Pakistan
Mr Noble said in the Pakistani capital: "To date, India's government has not authorised India's police agencies to enter any data relating to the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai into Interpol's databases.
"The information Interpol has about what happened in Mumbai is the same information that you have - it's information that was read in journals, that was read on the internet or that was seen on TV."
Mr Noble has said Interpol is willing to pass on DNA profiles, photos and fingerprints of the suspects worldwide.
He said it was Delhi's "sovereign choice" on whether to pass on evidence, but was confident more would be forthcoming.
"We are hopeful that it will happen very quickly. We've deployed a team there for that reason."
Mr Malik reiterated Pakistan's line that it is willing to take part in an investigation but has had no data from India.
"We want to bring the culprits to justice... We are prepared to co-operate with India but they have to bring us evidence."
India says militants of the Lashkar-e-Taiba group carried out the attack, citing evidence provided by Mr Qasab.
Mumbai police have listed in full the names and apparent aliases of the men it said carried out the attack, along with photographs, and says all were from Pakistan.
India's foreign ministry said Mr Qasab's letter to the Pakistan High Commission "stated that he and the other terrorists killed in the attack were from Pakistan and [he] has sought a meeting with the Pakistan High Commission".
Islamabad says it is examining the letter but has made no official response.
'Regrettable'
Meanwhile, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm Mike Mullen, has urged Pakistan to work with India to combat extremism, a US embassy statement has said.
Pakistan has yet to respond to Mr Qasab's letter
Adm Mullen has been in Islamabad to meet the Pakistani army chief and head of the intelligence service.
The embassy said Adm Mullen urged Pakistan to "use this tragic event as an opportunity to forge more productive ties with India and to seek ways in which both nations can combat the common threat of extremism together".
Separately, Mr Chidambaram said comments by a minister that suggested there was another agenda to the killing of senior policemen in the Mumbai attacks were "wrong and deeply regrettable".
Minority Affairs Minister AR Antulay had questioned who sent anti-terrorism chief Hemant Karkare - who had been investigating suspected Hindu radical attacks - and others to their deaths at the scene of the attacks.
Mr Antulay said Mr Chidambaram had "clarified all doubts" and "the matter is settled".
Recording labels and websites in a music video tussle
Universal Music Group
Urban artist Akon, left, during the making of the “I’m So Paid” music video. Paid product placement underwrote the Universal Motown video’s entire $1-million production cost.
A scrap between Warner and YouTube points up the music industry's growing dependence on online revenue.
By Dawn C. Chmielewski
December 23, 2008
The removal of Warner Music Group's videos from YouTube over the weekend highlights the growing tension between music labels and websites over what is becoming an important source of revenue for the beleaguered recorded-music industry: advertising and licensing fees from music videos, the foundation that built MTV but which has now largely migrated to the Internet.
The impasse comes at a time when all four major labels -- Warner, Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment and EMI Music -- are renegotiating their licensing deals with YouTube, the largest video site.
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YouTube and social networks such as Last.FM pay for the rights to stream music videos. Typical licensing agreements pay either a minimum fee based on the number of times a video is viewed or, if the sum is greater, a share of the ad revenue, helping to make music videos a small but fast-growing source of revenue for the labels. One label executive estimates that music videos will generate about $300 million for the industry this year.
Record labels are eager to explore ancillary revenue to help offset free-falling CD sales. This year's album sales are down 45% from 2000, according to Nielsen SoundScan. A recent Forrester Research report projects that disc sales will continue to decline by an annual rate of about 9% over the next five years, as retailers reduce the shelf space allotted to CDs and music fans shift their purchases online.
As a result, music executives are increasingly pressing for what the industry calls 360 deals, in which the labels grab a share of revenue once reserved for the artist, such as concert ticket sales and proceeds from the sale of T-shirts and other merchandise.
"The idea of getting as many revenue streams [as possible], licensing as broadly as possible, and making those digital pennies add up to dimes and hopefully add up to dollars is clearly the game everybody's playing right now," said David Card, research director at Forrester.
Music videos are just one of myriad ways in which the music companies slice and dice a music single, from 99-cent downloads on iTunes to mobile-phone ring tones.
"Video is not the largest category, but it's a significant category, to the tune of 5% or 10% of the total," said Thomas Hesse, president of global digital business for Sony BMG Music Entertainment. "It's a significant and growing number."
No one considered music videos to be anything other than telegenic billboards when MTV launched its 24-hour-a-day music channel in 1981. Those were the days when labels spent lavishly on cinematic-quality productions such as Michael Jackson's 14-minute "Thriller" music video, directed by Hollywood filmmaker John Landis, which cost $1 million.
"The irony is, back in the day when the production budgets were more in the seven-figure-plus range, we weren't monetizing them at all," said Jeff Dodes, senior vice president of marketing and digital media for Zomba Label Group, whose artists include such pop acts as Jordan Sparks, Justin Timberlake and Pink. "It was a time when the media landscape wasn't as fractured as it is now."
Those days -- like MTV's dominance as the one place to watch music videos -- are a memory.
The major labels quickly recognized the business potential of the polished, short-form content, which Internet users consumed like digital candy. Music videos allowed sites to build an audience, and Universal Music was among the first to enter into licensing arrangements with America Online, Yahoo Music and Microsoft Corp.'s MSN to request payment for the videos offered free to Internet users.
YouTube's launch, in December 2005, remade the digital video landscape. The site grew quickly in the U.S. and now attracts 100 million monthly visitors, thanks to quirky homemade videos and the mini-celebrities who emerged. Universal Music's own research shows that YouTube is the leading source of music discovery for teens, who increasingly turn to their computer screens, instead of radio and television, to find new tracks.
Universal Music, the world's largest label, expects revenue from online streaming of music videos to approach $100 million this year -- up from zero in 2004. Though that amount doesn't reach the level of consumer spending on song downloads, cellphone ring tones or CD sales, executives nonetheless anticipate that the advertising revenue that flows from the music videos will increase. Revenue for the label from videos is up 80% from last year.
"It's definitely on a significant growth trajectory," said Rio Caraeff, executive vice president of Universal Music's ELaboratory, a division responsible for the label's new technology business initiatives. "As Madison Avenue and advertisers in general learn to start embracing video advertising as a viable medium, there is no content that's more popular on the Internet, more well suited, than music videos as the ultimate snack-size programming."
Brands such as Coogi, a clothing maker, are so eager to be associated with music videos that paid product placement underwrote the entire $1-million production cost for the Universal Motown music video of Akon's "I'm So Paid." In the opening of the video, a helicopter deposits the urban artist on the deck of a 40-foot yacht, where he disembarks and saunters past two Coogi bikini-clad women perched on the edge of a hot tub.
Paid product placements are "the smarter way to do it," said Aliaune Thiam, who performs under the stage name Akon.
The popularity of the music video as its own form of entertainment has emboldened the labels to restructure deals and demand bigger payments from their digital distributors -- setting the stage for the stand-off between YouTube and Warner Music, the third-largest label and home to such acts as Madonna, rapper T.I., Red Hot Chili Peppers and Linkin Park.
"We want to offer the most complete array of music possible, but we need to do that in a way that makes economic sense," said Chris Maxcy, YouTube's director of content partnerships. "Some labels are clinging to a model that makes no sense economically. We'll be sad to see that content go, if it gets to the point where we can't agree on terms."
The licensing issue is so sensitive that some smaller social music networks, such as iMeem and iLike, declined to discuss it for this story.
At least one of the major labels is seeking a mandatory minimum licensing fee of $20,000 a month, said Ted Cohen, an industry veteran who now heads digital consulting firm TAG Strategic. Though it's understandable that music companies are looking for alternative revenue streams, he said, such sizable payments threaten to drain budding ventures of the cash they need to remain in business.
"We need to come up with sustainable models," Cohen said. "What's happening is [that the labels are saying], 'Give us a bunch of money; we don't care if you're around in six months.' "
dawn.chmielewski@
latimes.com
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) -- A U.S. astronaut and a Russian cosmonaut completed a 5-1/2-hour spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Tuesday to install a device that monitors conditions around the orbital outpost.
Engineers believe electrical charges triggered glitches that caused Russian space capsules returning from the station to land hard and off-course during two consecutive homecomings in October 2007 and April 2008.
Flight controllers staged a spacewalk in July to disconnect suspect equipment on the last Soyuz capsule, circumventing the problem for its landing in October.
In search of more data, Russian flight controllers late Monday dispatched station commander Michael Fincke, a veteran of four previous spacewalks, and flight engineer Yury Lonchakov, who made his first spacewalk, to install a probe to monitor electrical fields near where Soyuz capsules park.
"The space station is this big, old huge chunk of metal flying through a magnetic field," deputy program manager Kirk Shireman told reporters last week.
"There's an electron cloud flowing around the station at all times. And then the station itself generates electricity."
Fincke and Lonchakov quickly completed the primary task of their spacewalk, then installed two science experiments to the outside of the station's module.
But when it came time to test new gear, flight controllers could not get any data to the ground.
With time running out, flight directors told the men to retrieve one of the experiments and head back to the airlock.
"We've done everything we could," Finke, speaking Russian, said through a translator.
The station, a $100 billion project of 16 nations, is nearing completion after more than a decade of construction. Next year, NASA and its partners plan to expand the station's live-aboard crew size from three members to six.
NASA's next mission to the station is scheduled for February.
(Editing by Alan Elsner) |
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