Last year the US Congress passed a number of laws that cracked down on online gaming sites.  This has not slowed down the industry and probably shows the impotence of US law to impact an internet industry all by itself.  US authorities were obviously influenced in part by established brick and mortar gambling institutions when they crafted the laws that were not friendly to the online community.  This coddling of brick and mortar institutions that have long histories of problems makes the moral stance that the US took online seem hollow.

More and more sites that were once dedicated solely to carefree online games are moving into the virtual big time offering people the opportunity to gamble online.  Playing games is a social aspect of life that goes back many millenia.  The internet is almost a perfect tool for enabling people to socialize from all around the world and when you bring the two together you get an online gaming industry that really can not be stopped or slowed down. 

The internet has long had the potential to flow like water around physical jurisdictions and that is exactly what is happening with gaming online.

Case in point is BackgammonMasters.com, they have historically provided people with the ability to play backgammon online at BackgammonMaster.com and at a sister site for backgammon, called gammonish.com.  They have now opened up poker rooms on their site where people can gamble for real money.  They even have setup an incentive where the house will not take a commission on the games played by members against other members.

The bottom line is that online gambling is legal throughout most of the world.  The United States has established a law that is only partially enforceable against businesses in the US and against persons in the US playing games.  The concern of the US government is that these sites and the people that gamble on them could use the site to launder money, collude or a number of other activities.

Online gambling sites do have this potential, but the nasty truth is that any business that operates online has the same capability.  If someone really wants to launder money, they do not need to attract attention by establishing an online gambling site, all they have to do is establish an online business.  In fact, the law has probably done more to hide money laundering activity than to prevent it.  It has probably also served to clear money launderers out of a large segment of the online gambling industry.  Why would money launderers choose to perform their illegal activities where they know the authorities will be watching when the world wide web is infinitely large and offers many other rocks to hide under.

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EMI, the third largest record company with acts such as the Beastie Boys and the Beatles, has been considering scrapping its use of DRM on downloaded music tracks. EMI has been in talks with more than one online music store. Despite Steve Jobs recent plea to anyone that would listen to end DRM, EMIA and Apple have not spoken yet, but that could change as a result of their now publicly mutual interest in moving away from DRM.

It would appear according to a Wall Street Journal article today that Steve Jobs was not aware that EMI was shopping around. The article goes on to elaborate that Jobs started his letter as a result of European Union pressure for Apple to make its products work on other devices.

CD sales fell this year by 20%. They account for 85% of US sales of music and such a big drop in sales has music companies working hard to catch up and get their cash flows back on track. The new question for the music companies will be, “Is it too little too late?’

Technorati tags: EMI, Apple, DRM

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This week Steve Jobs came out with a letter to the world expressing the concept that he thinks that Digital Rights Management DRM is essentially a waste of time inspired by a reactionary Music Industry. He published his letter on his website and laid out the case against DRM and as a side point against the record industry that requires DRM.

Just a couple months ago Bill Gates invited a number of bloggers for a one on one personal dialogue. He intimated his distaste for DRM then as well. Recommending that music shoppers should burn music from CD’s as opposed to buying music with DRM, like the music offered at his Zune online music store. He essentially said the same thing that Steve Jobs is saying now, but a little eloquently.

With all this talk from the head of two of the companies that are so much at the heart of DRM through their media player software and now also through their physical media players, it seems as if they are starting to publicly state their opinion and acknowledge their agreement.

In private if they were to sit down and choose a course to act together or against individually the music industry, even when consumers benefit this would be considered collusion. However, free speech is still allowed in many forms throughout the US, and so both leaders are allowed to express their opinion publicly, even though it allows them to confirm with each other that they are publicly on the same sheet of music. The end result is the same as they can choose their direction knowing the move of the other, but the record industry also benefits from seeing the telegraphed signal as well.

This might be the beginning of the end of DRM as we know it and that can definitely be a good thing for consumers wallets, what it will do to and for the record industry and the TV and movie industry remains to be seen.

Technorati tags: apple, steve jobs, bill gates, DRM, digital rights management, collusion

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Depending on your perspective you may be chagrined to learn that the latest version of Apple iTunes 7.02 does not function with Microsoft’s new Vista OS.  Apple is recommending that iTune users should not upgrade to Vista yet.

The first question is just who is incompatible with whom?

Is the new iTunes incompatible with Vista?

or

Is the new Vista incompatible with iTunes?

The answer to that question probably depends on your perspective and priorities in life.  If iTunes is more important then the second and if not then the first.

The second question though could be more interesting.  Is this some type of anti-trust move by Microsoft to block out iTunes from its market dominating Operating System base.  This would then allow Vista to potentially make way for more Microsoft OS users and fewer Mac users, while simultaneously opening the door a crack for Zune?

or

Is this some type of anti-trust move by Apple to block out Vista from its market dominating iPod user base?  Could they be opening the door to convert more people away from Microsoft’s Operating system and over to Apple’s OS and machines.  Will Apple make iTunes compatible with Vista prior to the release of Apple’s new Operating System expected this summer?

Prediction

Both companies are playing a game of chess against each other and the answers to all of the questions above would be the same, Yes!

Technorati tags: Microsoft v Apple, Microsoft, Apple, iTunes, Vista, Zune, Antitrust

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Cisco and Apple revealed this week that they have reached a type of cease fire in their trademark battle over the term iPhone, which Cisco owns.

Cisco launched a product called the iPhone in December and wants to come to terms with Apple on an agreement that would allow the Cisco iPhone to ‘ interoperate ‘ with the Apple iPhone in some form or fashion. Apparently the companies continued negotiations on the topic right up until the night before MacWorld at which point Apple walked out on the talks, launched their iPhone at MacWorld hoping that Cisco was bluffing only to learn that Cisco wasn’t bluffing when they filed a lawsuit against Apple.

Now they are back at the tables trying to work things out. Many companies would jump at a chance to avoid a Trademark lawsuit, but Apple is not a company to be troubled by someone else’s trademark. Plus, they are not normally known for opening up their proprietary systems to allow interoperability with other platforms.

Therefore, they may be talking but they may have a long way to go before a settlement is presented. Even then it looks likely that both companies will exact a pound of iPhone flesh from the other.

Technorati tags: Cisco, Apple, iPhone, Trademark litigation, ineroperable iPhones, proprietary systems

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