Rhapsody on the Net

RealNetworks announced today that its Rhapsody music service will be rebranded as Rhapsody.com and made available to any user with a Web browser, reports Businessweek.

The service is a switch from the current setup, which requires users to access music online through a dedicated software application.

The move follows the $761 million legal settlement reached in October with Microsoft, whereby the software titan agreed to give users access to music on Rhapsody through its MSN Messenger software. Real had accused Microsoft of using its Windows monopoly to win customers in the digital music business.

The flap over Sony BMG`s infected copy-protected CDs shows few signs of abating, reports USAtoday. Consumers, bloggers and lawyers are furious at the giant music label. On 14 November, Sony BMG said it would recall nearly 5 million CDs discovered to be susceptible to viruses from its Extended Copy Protection, or XCP, software.

On 18 November, the label said that it planned to release an updated virus-free uninstall program. Almost three weeks later, that program is scheduled to be released today on Sony BMG`s website. Many of the infected CDs are still in record stores.

The label is being sued by the state of Texas, a California consumer advocacy group and some individuals. State attorneys general in New York and Massachusetts last week criticized Sony for still having the CDs in stores in their states.

IBM plans to support the OpenDocument standard in its desktop software from early next year. The company intends to market aggressively the product in developing countries, reports CNet.

IBM executives announced today that the company`s Workplace Managed Client will be able to read, write and save documents in the OpenDocument format. OpenDocument, or ODF, is a standard set of document formats for desktop productivity applications.

IBM has already publicly endorsed OpenDocument, which the company views as a way to loosen Microsoft`s dominance over desktop software. But the forthcoming Workplace products will be the first to support OpenDocument, a standard ratified in May of this year.

A final decision on the controversial .xxx domain has been delayed again, reports the BBC. The domain for sex sites was approved in June and final negotiations over how it should be run were due to conclude in early December.

This latest delay is because the Net body that oversees the creation of new domains said it needed more time to review a report on .xxx before granting final approval. No date was given for when the review of the report would be completed.

Amazon`s search site, A9.com, is enhancing its business-directory listing by bringing city views down to street level, one block at a time, and a change from Google Earth`s top-down satellite imagery, reports PC Magazine.

A9 has the complete US Yellow Pages database and is updated monthly. When you search for a listing, pop-ups list the business` address and a map of its location.

PC Magazine reports how it`s done: Mounted on top of a silver SUV is an industrial-version Sony camera, aimed sideways. As A9 cruises down city streets, the camera shoots individual JPG images. Simultaneously, a custom-built GPS setup records the location of each photograph to ensure accuracy. It takes about three or 4 weeks to map a city depending on its size and complexity. So far, 35 cities have been mapped.