Tech Briefs - IHT.com

HMV Group, the British operator of HMV music stores, said it would join forces
with Microsoft to open an online music store that would challenge Apple
Computer's iTunes downloading service and iPod music players.

HMV, based in Maidenhead, England, will invest £10 million, or $19.2 million,
in the digital downloading service, which will start in the second half of
2005, Paul Barker, head of corporate communications, said Wednesday. The retailer
may stop selling Apple's iPod, he added.

HMV said the hardware and software needed to download music on line will be
available at its 200 British stores and from its Web site. Downloads will use
Microsoft's Windows Media Audio format and will be compatible with more than 75
portable music players, Barker said, but not iPods.

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BLOCKBUSTER CUTS RATE: Blockbuster, the largest U.S. video store chain, cut the
price of its online rental service to $14.99 a month to try to fend off
competition from Netflix.

The price, $2.50 lower than the old rate, is guaranteed through January 2006
to those who subscribe now, Blockbuster said. Netflix charges $17.99 a month.

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T-MOBILE LINKS WITH LG: T-Mobile International, the wireless unit of Deutsche
Telekom, will sell some phones made by LG Electronics exclusively in Germany as
it seeks to regain market share lost to rivals including Vodafone Group.

T-Mobile Germany agreed on a two-year partnership with the Seoul-based LG
Electronics to cooperate in developing cellphones that allow faster data downloads
from the Internet, T-Mobile said. (Bloomberg)