SAN FRANCISCO — Make room, iTunes. MySpace is hoping to shake up the digital music scene. In a bid to spruce up its popular online hangout, MySpace plans to flip the switch Thursday on a much-anticipated service that will give its roughly 120 million users free access to hundreds of thousands of songs from the world's largest recording labels.
The catch: the music can be played only on personal computers connected to the Internet and listeners have to tolerate advertising splashed across the screen. Anyone who wants to transfer a song to a portable device like Apple Inc.'s iPod will have to buy the music through Amazon.com Inc.'s year-old downloading service, which sells songs for as little as 79 cents apiece.
Unlike much of the material at Apple's iTunes store, the music sold through MySpace's new service won't contain the protections that limit how many times a track can be copied.
MySpace is hoping to set itself apart from iTunes even further by allowing its users to create an unlimited number of playlists containing up to 100 songs apiece - a sharing concept similar to music services already offered by Imeem and Last.fm.
If MySpace's plan pans out, people will regularly post different playlists on their profiles and expose their friends to new music.
The recording labels are betting these implicit recommendations will cultivate more interest in more songs and eventually generate revenue to help recoup some of the revenue that has evaporated as CD sales have plunged from $12 billion in 1999 to a projected $5 billion this year.
"We have to unlock the social value of our music," said Michael Nash, executive vice president of digital strategy and business development for Warner Music Group Inc.
Besides Warner, the three other major recording labels - Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and EMI Music - also are opening up their libraries to the MySpace service, which will operate as a joint venture with the music industry. Sony ATV/Music Publishing and The Orchard also have joined the MySpace alliance.
MySpace is starting with several hundred thousand songs, but expects to surpass the size of Apple's iTunes store, which stocks 8.5 million songs.
"When all is said and done, we will have the richest catalog of content on the Internet," boasted Amit Kapur, MySpace's chief operating officer.
The music labels are hoping that the MySpace service can lessen the dominance of iTunes, which has sold more than 5 billion songs since its 2003 inception and now ranks as the largest music retailer. Apple has vexed the music industry by refusing to allowing higher prices to be charged for the most popular songs.
Several other services, mostly peddling monthly subscription fees for access to large music libraries, have tried to tackle iTunes with little success. The list of foiled challengers include Yahoo Music, RealNetworks Inc.'s Rhapsody and Napster Inc., which this month agreed to be acquired by Best Buy Co. for $121 million.
The difficulty developing a major alternative to iTunes hasn't seemed to discourage the music labels yet. Rio Caraeff, who heads Universal Music's digital efforts, predicted services similar to the MySpace joint venture will sprout at other social networks.
"We know there is a large portion of people who love music but don't want to buy music," Caraeff said. "We have to figure out a new business model that serves that audience while providing remuneration for the labels and the artists."
MySpace appears to be in a better position to take on iTunes because its site has always emphasized music. About 5 million bands and singers have MySpace accounts, and two-third of its users stream music on their profiles.
In MySpace's early years, the music industry lashed out at the site as a haven for pirated songs. Universal Music even sued MySpace for copyright infringement; the case was settled in April to open the door for the new joint venture.
Despite its musical bent, MySpace isn't positioning its service as an iTunes killer. "We see this as more of a complement to what Apple is doing and create even more demand for digital music devices," said Chris DeWolfe, MySpace's CEO. "And we think it can create an ecosystem for both music artists and labels to make more money."
As it tries to become a hot spot for sharing and hearing music, MySpace also hopes to sell more brand-driven advertising and establish its Web site as the go-to spot for buying concert tickets and music merchandise.
The strategy is another prong in MySpace's efforts to drum up more online revenue for Rupert Murdoch's media conglomerate, News Corp., which bought the site for $580 million in 2005.
McDonald's Corp., State Farm Insurance, Toyota Motor Corp. and Sony Pictures are sponsoring the music service's launch.
Maintaining the advertising momentum won't be easy because commercials haven't always resonated on sites devoted to socializing.
"The big question is whether they can change their environment so people will want to do their shopping as well as their gossiping (at MySpace)," said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey. He doubts the music joint venture will become a major source of advertising because studies have shown people often don't watch the computer screen when they stream music over the Internet.
If MySpace and the participating music labels intend to finance the service with advertising, McQuivey predicted they will have to permit audio commercials to be played every two songs or so. DeWolfe, though, said MySpace doesn't plan to allow that because users find it too intrusive.
Even if the music service isn't an immediate music maker, MySpace needed to do something dramatic to regain its competitive edge, said Pali Capital analyst Richard Greenfield.
Although it remains the Internet's largest social network, MySpace increasingly finds itself being upstaged by Facebook Inc., whose decision to host a wide variety of outside applications - including some music programs - has helped nearly quadruple its audience in the past 18 months to about 90 million users.
MySpace's "biggest challenge is finding new things for their users to do," Greenfield said. "You have to make sure people have a reason to stay on the site. You don't want people getting bored."
MIAMI — In a nod to how finicky people have become about the gadgets they use, software company Citrix Systems Inc. is rolling out a new program for its workers: BYOC - Bring Your Own Computer.
Employees get a $2,100 stipend to buy a laptop and three-year service plan. In exchange for getting a computer with the specs they want - whether it's a wide screen, a light weight or ultra-fast processing - the workers essentially take on the company's technology purchasing and maintenance responsibilities. The 200 staffers who have signed up since the pilot program began this month say it's a deal they're happy to take.
Carolyn VanVurst, a Citrix information technology specialist, said she loved the idea of having a single laptop for both personal and business use, since she's on the computer so much.
"It was easier for me to have my life on one device instead of separated," she said.
It appears Citrix is the first large company to take such a leap, at least publicly. Steve Kleynhans, an analyst at Gartner Inc., said other technology companies have started similar pilot programs but are doing so under the radar.
The idea presents technical challenges - such as making sure employees can access the programs they need for their jobs - as well as corporate policy questions, including how sensitive information is protected on the employees' computers.
"There's a lot of groundwork that needs to be done," Kleynhans said.
For Citrix, the program is a way of promoting its "virtualization" technology, which among other things lets companies run software programs they need - like SAP for time sheets and Microsoft Exchange for e-mail - in a central data center. Employees access the applications by logging in remotely, but the programs and potentially confidential information in them are never downloaded to the workers' own laptops.
Citrix's chief information officer, Paul Martine, said the company's leaders asked themselves: "Our technology does this - why aren't we doing this?"
"I'm either crazy," Martine added, "or this is going to be the trend of the future."
Whether other companies follow the bring-your-own-computer route is more likely to depend on whether it saves them any money. Citrix said it generally had been spending $2,500 to $2,600 to buy and manage a PC for each employee - a figure that analysts said likely is similar at other companies - so it comes out ahead with the $2,100 stipend.
Pund-IT analyst Charles King called it a "very forward-looking strategy."
"People tend to become very personally attached to their technology," King said. "Having the freedom to buy the kind of computer you want would be seen as a perk, and a happy employee is usually a productive one."
However, Sara Radicati, an analyst whose Radicati Group tracks business computing use, said she doesn't see what problem the Citrix program fixes, and she's unsure how useful it will be.
"We live in a complex world, so it is easier to manage and know where your data is and what is being done with company-sensitive information if you have a little more control," Radicati said.
Tim Bajarin, head of technology consulting group Creative Strategies, added that the BYOC plan is likely easier for a software company like Citrix. "They are a virtualization company so they understand how to make this work successfully," Bajarin said. "For a traditional IT shop ... this is very difficult to do."
There are some restrictions. Citrix is requiring that employees use either Windows or Mac operating systems, have antivirus software and buy a three-year, full-service warranty so that tech support from the manufacturer can be on hand within 24 hours and supply a loaner if needed.
The pilot period is expected to last until the end of the year. Martine will be looking to see whether the program is as self-service as hoped. He'll also be keeping an eye on whether staffers are leaving the company shortly after receiving the laptop stipend. If that happens, Citrix may prorate the stipend amount, as they do with relocation expenses in similar situations.
Lettie Carrisales, an information technology manager at Citrix participating in the pilot, said she's glad the company's computing purchases don't have to be "one-size-fits-all anymore." For example, she said, an engineer needs a faster, more robust machine than someone with more clerical duties. Carrisales is considering getting a Mac because it can run both its own operating system and Windows, and her customers use both.
Employees like VanVurst, who was enticed by having the same computer for office and personal use, might find that to be a trap, said Citrix software engineer Mark Beyer. People can find themselves doing more work from home, or more personal tasks while at work, he said.
WHITEHOUSE, Ohio — An Ohio farmer would like to invite you to get lost inside the head of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
A 16-acre corn maze near the town of Whitehouse has been carved in Palin's likeness, complete with her familiar updo hairstyle and eyeglasses.
Farmer Duke Wheeler says that Palin created a lot of excitement in the campaign and that he was hoping to generate some for this year's maze.
Wheeler says it took an artist from Idaho at least eight hours to mow down stalks for the maze.
WATERBURY, Vt. — Mooove over, Holsteins. PETA wants world-famous Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream to tap nursing moms, rather than cows, for the milk used in its ice cream.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking the ice cream maker to begin using breast milk in its products instead of cow's milk, saying it would reduce the suffering of cows and calves and give ice cream lovers a healthier product.
The idea got a cool reception Thursday from Ben & Jerry's officials, the company's customers and even La Leche League International, the world's oldest breast-feeding support organization, which promotes the practice - for babies, anyway.
PETA wrote a letter to company founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield on Tuesday, telling them cow's milk is hazardous and that milking them is cruel.
"If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers - and cows - would reap the benefits," wrote Tracy Reiman, executive vice president of the animal rights advocacy group. She said dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies and obesity.
Ashley Byrne, a campaign coordinator for PETA, acknowledged the implausibility of substituting breast milk for cow's milk, but said it's no stranger than humans consuming the milk of another species.
"We're aware this idea is somewhat absurd, and that putting it into practice is a stretch. At the time same, it's pretty absurd for us to be drinking the milk of cows," she said.
It takes about 12 pounds - or 1 1/2 gallons of milk - to make a gallon of ice cream. Ben & Jerry's, which gets its milk exclusively from Vermont cows, won't say how much milk it uses or how much ice cream it sells.
As a standardized product under federal regulations, ice cream must be made with milk from healthy cows. Ice cream made from goat's milk, for example, would have to be labeled as such.
Presumably, so would mother's milk ice cream.
To Ben & Jerry's, the idea is udderly ridiculous.
"We applaud PETA's novel approach to bringing attention to an issue, but we believe a mother's milk is best used for her child," spokesman Sean Greenwood said in an e-mail. He didn't respond to requests for an interview.
Leon Berthiaume, general manager of the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, which provides milk products to Ben & Jerry's, called the dairy products "among the safest in the world."
"Milk from cows has long-term health benefits and has been proven to be safe and healthy and an important part of the American diet for generations," he said. "I'm not ready to make that change."
Cow's milk and mother's milk aren't interchangeable, according to La Leche spokeswoman Jane Crouse, who says breast milk is a dynamic substance that's different with each woman and each child and might have difficulty being processed into ice cream.
Then there's the question of who would provide the milk, and whether they'd be paid.
"Some women feel compelled to donate milk to a milk bank for adopted babies, or for someone who's ill or unable to breast feed. There's plenty of anecdotal evidence about sisters who nurse each others' babies. There's a population of women very willing to share their milk. Whether there's enough to do it for a commercial entity, who can say?" she said.
At the Ben & Jerry's factory in Waterbury, consumers gave a collective "Ehttp://www" to the idea Thursday.
"It's kind of creepy," said Jeff Waugh, 42, of Dayton, Ohio.
"I think it's a little nutty," said the Rev. Roger Wooton, 83, of Malden, Mass., finishing up a cup of Heath Bar Crunch.
"How would they get all that milk?" said his wife, Jane Wooton, 77.
Jen Wahlbrink, 34, of Phoenix, who breast-fed her 11-month-old son, Cameron, said she wouldn't touch ice cream made from mother's milk. She remembers her nursing days - and not that fondly.
"The (breast) pumps just weren't that much fun. You really do feel like a cow," she said, cradling her son in her hands.
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