Digital Home Thoughts - News & Reviews for the Digital Home

"Microsoft Corp. today announced a new technology aimed at improving the battery installation process called InstaLoad battery installation technology, which allows users to easily install a battery without regard to positive and negative polarity. Never again will people have to squint to see battery installation diagrams - the device simply works regardless if the battery is installed positive-side-up or positive-side-down. InstaLoad is a patented battery contact design now available for license by third-party device suppliers, with companies like Duracell already lining up to endorse the technology for use in their own products."

If you've ever replaced batteries in something, only to have it not work because you got the polarity wrong, you'll appreciate Microsoft's technology here. Sometimes the ideas that seem the simplest end up having the most impact - and this could very well be one of them, as long as the licensing fees as low enough to warrant no barriers to adoption. If Duracell is already on board, that's a very good sign - the real proof will be in whether or not this makes it to products in the market over the next year or two. And hopefully it will help Microsoft's rather beat-up stock price...(says the shareholder right here).

"Songwriters, composers, and music publishers are lobbying Congress to legislate the payment of performance fees into downloaded music. If music publishers get their way, they'll be able to extract additional licensing fees from music downloads, movies, and TV shows containing their music, and even 30-second previews."

Times are tough. And when times are tough, people start looking for ways to make as much money as possible. Songwriters and publishers are targeting adding more fees to digital downloads. The sticking point is that they believe that downloads should be put under the umbrella of public performances, for which they would get an additional fee to the synchronization and mechanical licensing fees they already receive. The music industry already provides a minefield full of regulations and fees so it's no wonder that there is a conflict on what fees should be charged for what. Ars Technica is right, in that the world of music distribution and use has changed considerably and that laws need to be updated to reflect it. I also have the additional concern about the balance between those involved in music creation and the cost to consumers. Creators, be it songwriters, publishers, singers, etc, should get paid for their work, but at the same time, costs should not run up so high that consumers start looking for alternative ways to acquire their music.