November 14, 2001	Wednesday	Shaba’an 27, 1422

LAS VEGAS, Nov 12: Sony and AOL Time Warner announced an alliance on Monday to allow the two firms’ vast libraries of films, music and other content to be delivered to homes via high- speed Internet connections.

The initiative unveiled at the Comdex electronics show here will allow consumers to share entertainment content among multiple devices with proper copyright management, the companies said.

The alliance will counter Microsoft’s recent moves to create its own network of hardware, software and content, such as movies, music and news.

On Sunday, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates showed off his own company’s high-speed Internet network campaign. Part of that scheme will be the company’s powerful XBox computer gaming console. The device, due in stores this Thursday, will have enough power to make it a high-speed network appliance capable of delivering movies, music and other content to home users.

The AOL-Sony partnership also commits both companies to developing standards aimed at allowing various Sony devices, including hand-held computers, video cameras and even digital music players, to easily communicate with each other.

“This year marks the beginning of the broadband age,” declared Sony President Kunitake Ando, during a flashy stage presentation featuring music and a climbing Spider Man character. Sony Pictures is releasing a new Spider Man movie next May.

Steve Case, AOL Time Warner’s chairman, said the initiative was aimed at creating networked devices that would be as easy to use “as plugging in your toaster.” Case beamed his remarks to the crowd via a satellite broadcast.

Sony also announced on Tuesday it was working with AOL to create a new Web browser that would tie Sony devices closer to AOL, the world’s most popular online service with 30 million-plus users. AOL owns Netscape, a once-dominate Web browser that was eclipsed by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.

Central to the alliance is an emerging standard Sony has labelled “Feel.” The technology allows devices to communicate with each other when they either touch each other or get within close proximity of other “Feel” equipped devices.

Sony also announced on Tuesday it was partnering with both Nokia and Ericsson to create high-speed network standards that will allows cell phones to exchange data with Sony devices.

Sony sells about 100 million electronic devices a year, including video recorders, home stereo systems, television and portable computers. Ando said the company is committed to making all these devices capable of networking.

Sony also showed off its coming massive home digital storage module. The as-yet unnamed device will be able to hold 1,000 gigabytes of information, which is large enough to hold the data from 240 DVDs, plus 2000 CDs and a massive amount of computer files.

Comdex is the world’s largest electronic computer trade show. This year’s meeting in Las Vegas has seen a 25 per cent drop in attendance, the result of a slumping technology sector and the events of September 11.

The show has instituted stringent security measures. No personal bags are allowed on the sprawling show floor, attendees are herded through metal detectors, and guards scan the undersides of hotel shuttle buses, looking for bombs. —AFP