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Priceline removes booking fees for all flights

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priceline.jpg Priceline, a leading U.S. online travel service for value-conscious leisure travelers, eliminates booking fees for all domestic and international flights purchased by July 4th for travel up to 330 days from date of purchase. Every flight and itinerary is on sale, except for those purchased through priceline.com’s Name Your Own Price® service.

“Since this sale is good for last minute and advance purchase tickets, it will appeal to many different types of customers,” said Mark Koehler, priceline.com’s Senior Vice President, Airline Ticketing. “Travelers can use this sale to lower the cost of their upcoming summer vacation. They can purchase tickets for a fall getaway once the crowds thin out. Or, consumers who like planning ahead can buy their Thanksgiving and Christmas airline tickets now and lock in the additional savings.”

Priceline.com’s Summer Flights Sale applies only to published-price itineraries where travelers pick their exact carrier, flight times, routes and price. The sale does not apply to priceline.com’s Name Your Own Price® service, where consumers already can save up to 40% over the published prices found on major online travel reservation sites.

Originally posted on June 12, 2007 @ 10:07 am

CinemaNow seeks second chance on music videos

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watch.jpg CinemaNow, an Internet provider of premium on-demand, download and burn movies, and video content, will relive its initiatives on selling music videos through Watchmusichere.com. In support of this relaunch, the company will feature 1,600 videos from Warner Music Group and will add more record labels after July 21.

This online music video store was initially launched in 2005 but failed to catch fire partly due to lack of portable devices to play these videos. The boom of portable media devices and the recent success of Apple’s iTune music store induced CinemaNow to embark on this venture once again.

Each video costs $1.99 and transferable to 3 devices like laptop, desktop computer, or portable music device. However, it will not run on iPhone and iPods. Instead, only devices running Windows Media software can play these videos.

Originally posted on June 12, 2007 @ 9:51 am

Baidu denies Europe expansion plan

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baidu.jpg China’s most popular search engine, Baidu, plans to enter the European market has denied its plan to expand in European market. Instead, it will invest $15 million for its Japanese Web site, Baidu.jp.

“Recent rumors alleging that Baidu.com is expanding into Europe are groundless,” the company said in a statement released through its Beijing public-relations firm.

Originally posted on June 10, 2007 @ 7:42 am

Former Polish President publishes secret police files on the Net

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godlo_polski_oficjalne_male.png Bothered by allegations from Solidarity activists that he worked with secret police to sabotage the freedom movement, former Polish President and 1983 Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa has tapped the power of Internet to clear his name. He has published on the Internet more than 500 pages of police files kept on him by the communist-era secret police.

Walesa founded the Solidarity trade union in 1989, helped overthrow Communism, and became Poland’s President from 1990 to 1995.

Although the court exonerated him of such charges, Walesa faces relentless allegations from leading Solidarity activists Andrzej Gwiazda, Anna Walentynowicz, and Gwiazda’s wife, Joanna Duda-Gwiazda.

The files reveal this dispute is part of the secret service’s strategy to destroy the Solidarity and even Walentynowicz and Gwiazda were manipulated by the secret police without realizing it.

Originally posted on June 11, 2007 @ 1:22 am

Apple in talks with Hollywood movie outfits

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apple.jpgApple Inc. is picking a new fight. This time against video-on-demand services from cable companies and satellite TV operators. According to Financial Times, the company is in talks with Hollywood’s biggest movie studios for a possible partnership on a new online film rental service.

In this new service, a 30-day rental would cost about $3 and allows buyers to move these films from a computer to just one device like iPod. Apple’s digital rights-management software will protect these films from being copied.

Movie studios include Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Bros and Disney. All companies declined to comment on this venture.

Earlier, some movie studios expressed their concerns against tie-up with Apple for selling films, believing that digital downloading will significantly hurt DVD sales. This new concept of online film rental service, on the other hand, strongly appeals to these groups.

Originally posted on June 11, 2007 @ 1:59 am