Eventually, the retailersrsquo; golden after-Thanksgiving holiday, best known as Black Friday, will be celebrated in October. This year, Amazon.com is kicking off its Black Friday prices on Monday, November 23 mdash; three days ahead of schedule. Amazon is offering free shipping and no sales tax unless you live in the state of Washington.

Itrsquo;s often asked how important local content is to such as pay-TV services, local TV stations and newspapers. Herersquo;s what the national TV network CBS has found. It says its high school sports service MaxPreps.com continues "torrid" growth with triple digit yearly growth in visits (200%), unique visitors (194%) and total minutes (149%).

Microsoft is sending the Zune brand beyond US borders for the first time, hoping to expand its music and movie platform to profitable areas during the next year. The Zune player itself, which has been underwhelming for years, got a facelift with its HD version and has seen some success. Building on that, Microsoft is aiming to rebrand its digital movie service on the Xbox 360 as a Zune service. The service will also be introducing an on-demand streaming option that allows customers to watch a film without having to download it first. The Zune-branded service will be available in 18 total markets, including the Xboxrsquo;s largest markets like Australia, France, Germany, the UK and the US.

Many app and music reviews, whether on the Web or an e-mail from a friend, like to link back to iTunes to suggest a download or a purchase, which can lead to the trouble of stopping browsing and opening up iTunes or, for those Zune fans perhaps, even downloading iTunes. Apple has addressed this with its quietly launched iTunes Preview, a feature that shows what music is available on iTunes through a Web browser. Users so far can check out music, artist info and user reviews. Unfortunately, users canrsquo;t do anything but see the information. Listening to a music preview still has to be done from within iTunes mdash; making us think the launch was quiet because itrsquo;s not fully featured just yet. Though itrsquo;s currently music-only, the platform seems easy to extend to apps, TV shows and movies.

At its original launch, Microsoftrsquo;s Windows Marketplace for Mobile was only available to phones running the latest Windows Mobile 6.5. While many users were anticipating the market, the execution left the PC giant on some shaky ground. Originally, and about 18 months behind Apple, the store was limited to an operating system that the majority of its customers didnrsquo;t use. This week, the store reopened and reaches back as far as the 6.0 version of Windows Mobile, grabbing a much larger user base. The app store currently has around 800 applications, which will inevitably always be compared to Applersquo;s offering mdash; currently around 100,000.

Google is preparing to show off a little bit and release some details of its Chrome operating system this week. Whatrsquo;s expected so far are a few demons of the OS and an explanation of the technical mojo behind the thin system. The latest news is that Google will be developing not only a netbook version but a full-blown desktop version. An open-source version of Chrome is expected to become available very soon with the full launch still slated for the second half of 2010.

Leaving its box behind, Vudu is increasing its CE platform by making all of its Vudu Labs partnersrsquo; applications available through its TV partners. Now users with supported Mitsubishi sets can access services like Picasa, Flickr, Pandora and a few casual games right on their sets. LG, Vudursquo;s other TV partner, doesnrsquo;t support the service fully yet because it "requested that only free TV and games be available on their devices." Vudu says more Internet apps will be available "in the next few months" and will likely land on these TV sets and their connected CE devices. The real wonder is whether or not the new apps will land on Vudursquo;s own set-top boxes. The company already has developed some apps that arenrsquo;t available on its own boxes, and as it looks to become more of a platform and less of a CE maker, the trend will likely continue.

It was only a few years back when electronics stores replaced the analog TV sets on their shelves with flat-panel models. Consumers, despite the recession, may be about to do the same in their homes. CNN says Wal-Mart has already jump-started its holiday season TV promotions by offering a 42-inch Sharp 1080p HDTVs for $498, a 46-inch Sharp model for $698 and a 52-inch Sharp model for $898. Rival target is reportedly going to offer a 32-inch Westinghouse LCD for $246 as a "doorbuster special" on Black Friday to kick off the holiday shopping season.

What do consumers do with all those used CDs and DVDs once theyrsquo;ve gone digital and no longer need them? Ex-eBay-er Simon Rothman has launched a Web site called Glyde to give people a place to buy and sell them. He estimates that therersquo;s about $300 billion of media thatrsquo;s sitting in the home no longer being used. The number seems high because itrsquo;s about $3,000 per residence. Sellers pay Glyde 10% and $1.25 for a mailing envelope. Therersquo;s no upfront fee. In 2007, the company raised $6 million in Series A funding. By the way, whatrsquo;s to stop someone from copying a CD or DVD to a PC and then selling the "seldom used" disc thatrsquo;s still in a "like new" condition?

T-Mobile USA said has resumed sales of the Sidekick after pulling it off the shelves following a massive outage.

Redbox and CinemaNow are joining forces to test a new digital download program that gives frequent Redbox kiosk customers vouchers to download content through CinemaNow. These users will be given gift cards that can be used to redeem downloads; initially, itrsquo;ll be reserved for those who purchase DVD-rental packages.

Coinstar, parent company of Redbox, said that while this will be its initial step in the digital download space, expect a full-faith effort. CEO Paul Davis said Coinstar is potentially looking into buying a company that specializes in digital content delivery.

CinemaNow currently powers download and/or streaming offerings for its own service, Best Buyrsquo;s service, Zip.carsquo;s offering and a service for Redbox-rival Blockbuster.

Google has come up with another scheme to get free news content thatrsquo;ll help it rake in advertising revenue. Its YouTube has added YouTube Direct, which allows TV and online news editors to get free videos from "citizen journalists" and request amateurs seeking recognition to submit specific videos. Huffington Post, NPR, Politico, the San Francisco Chronicle and two Boston TV stations are testing the service. Recognizing that accuracy is the Achilles heel of free content from amateurs, Steve Grove, head of news and politics at YouTube, said, "News organizations always want to verify the content they use."

Univision has signed an agreement with Google to bring its TV content to YouTube, marking a huge milestone for both companies.

Univision will be delivering full-length, current programming on YouTube, something that the major US networks like CBS, ABC and NBC donrsquo;t do. For those wondering "why YouTube?," Univisionrsquo;s current clips on the service get twice as many views each month as clips from the nearest TV station competitor, which is generally Fox.

The agreement includes clips and full-length TV shows from Univisionrsquo;s three networks: Univision, TeleFutura and Galavision. Theyrsquo;ll be both current and catalog shows.

Those numbers come from before the deal when all the content on YouTube was pirated mdash; not bad numbers for clips that get pulled down regularly. While piracy is often a big thorn in the side of networks, Univision is putting ad-supported content on a place where users are used to getting their content, turning free stream into a revenue stream. Univision will also be relying on Googlersquo;s ContentID to find existing clips of its shows and insert advertising for some much-needed monetization.

YouTube, saying the deal was one of its "most comprehensive partnerships for full-length content to date," will get shows like "Despierta America," which does well on TV and on pirate networks.

The major difference here is that these Univision shows are current content. YouTube isnrsquo;t getting stuck with reruns of "Star Trek" or cartoons from the early rsquo;80s; itrsquo;s scoring its first major blow against the likes of Hulu.

Univisionrsquo;s deal does contain two big caveats. The first is that the deal is not exclusive, which means that other services like Hulu could eventually pick up the deal and be on, at very least, equal footing with YouTube. This is different from most US networks which seem to be picking one service to back, like when Hulu pulled all of its content off of CBSrsquo;s TV.com earlier this year. This, however, does work somewhat in YouTubersquo;s favor because it means there are no restrictions about where the content can be embedded or shared.

The other limitation is that YouTube wonrsquo;t be getting Univisionrsquo;s popular telenovelas, which are extremely popular. These shows arenrsquo;t available legally online in the US due to a disagreement with the showsrsquo; producer Grupo Televisa. While the two continue to fight out who has the digital rights and where they extend, a popular and profitable showing on YouTube could help these two strike a deal and bring their most popular shows to the Web.

The biggest implication of all this will likely be for those sitting on the sidelines. If Univision can come in and make a profit on YouTube mdash; and now that therersquo;s 1080p HD support, we know quality isnrsquo;t an issue mdash; other content providers are likely to jump in the mix.

As the deal gets into full swing, wersquo;ll check a variety of CE that delivers YouTube to the TV set and see if any of the full-blown Univision content makes it through.

YouTube has long been the de facto Internet video service that users flock to; mobiles develop homescreen apps for; and every living room-connected CE device aims to support, and with the latest update, YouTube is looking to capitalize on all that potential revenue.

YouTube has added support for 1080p HD videos uploaded by users. This comes roughly a year after YouTube began allowing 720p video uploads available, and during that year handheld HD video cameras have been popping up more and more. YouTube even said that a lot of content uploaded to it in the past year was in 1080p even though it was only viewable in 720p, so itrsquo;s going to be developing a tool to allow previously uploaded content to be seen in all its glory.

While the move is somewhat about simply keeping up with other technology, YouTube is also hoping to become a commercial content juggernaut. Last spring, it began offering some premium content from Hollywood and independent producers, as well as a slew of film and TV content that entered the public domain. YouTube has been reportedly talking with major film studios for a movie rental service and streaming options.

The best proof wersquo;ve seen of this shift came from this yearrsquo;s Telco TV conference. The only time YouTube was mentioned in any of the keynotes this year was to show what kinds of video users are slowly moving away from on the Web. There were plenty of net-connected TVs and set-top boxes mdash; as well as video and widget platforms mdash; that werenrsquo;t even showing YouTube in their demonstrations or listing the service as a partner.

Devices are no longer pushing and promoting YouTube compatibility; Netflix is the new king of connected CE. The biggest place YouTube isnrsquo;t on is the Roku box, which gets a lot of hype every week.

YouTube wants to be important to your TV, and one of the best ways to do that is to make videos in a high enough quality that theyrsquo;re worth watching on the TV set. YouTube exists on a lot of CE already connected in the living room, and it needs a compelling reason to stay there. Itrsquo;s banking on HD and future premium content.

With all of that shifting, YouTube is going to need to make money from more videos than the cream of the crop. The new definition will not only allow better and longer video; the higher quality will allow for better ads and higher ad prices.

It all truly comes down to money, so look for the offering to expand to a lot of platforms, and look for a lot of content deals mdash; already beginning talks mdash; to lead to releases before the year-end.

And before taking any of the bandwidth hysteria seriously, Adobe just released a new version of Flash that should help with a lot of the concerns popping up. Nice timing, eh?

For a test video of the new 1080p, check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUM1284TqFcamp;fmt=37

This week, Vevo sent out a notice that it will be launching on December 8. The joint venture from Sony Music and Universal Music aims to capitalize on the popularity of music videos on sites like YouTube (which is powering Vevo). The announcement came just one day after Hulu and EMI announced their pairing, so the space is going to be heating up very quickly.

EMI has signed a deal to become Hulursquo;s first major record label partner. The deal kicks off with exclusive content from Norah Jones, whose new album debuts this week, and will include multiple full concerts and all of her music videos. Hulu has traditionally focused on TV shows and movies, but the partnership with EMI is definitely a swipe at the upcoming Vevo music video service from YouTube, Sony Music and Universal Music.

In 2012, European radio stations in 27 countries will get competition from the subscription-based and ad-free satellite radio service Ondas Media. Itrsquo;ll cover all of Europe with a planned 150 channels.

As with the USrsquo; Sirius, getting receivers in new cars is the key to success. BMW and Nissan have jumped on board. Then you have to get "must-hear" stations the likes of the UKrsquo;s Jazz FM, which signed up this week.

Some car makers such as Ford and Vauxhall have committed to offering over-the-air DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) radios in some models. However, there is not a DAB standard that works throughout Europe.

Thanks to more players entering the market, digital music services in Mexico have begun dropping their prices, most to around 10 pesos (79 cents).

Telcel, which has a library of 1.4 million songs, was one of the first major players to drop to this price likely because iTunes entered the market in August. Apple sells tracks for around 12 pesos (93 cents).

Illegal downloads in Mexico are outpacing Internet penetration, so the price drops might also be an attempt to keep the industry afloat.

The times they are a-changinrsquo;.

It wasnrsquo;t long ago that the music industry began to realize how much of a problem piracy wasmdash; thanks to Napster and Kazaa mdash; and the industry first responded with its idea of free music streams. The leader of that pack for a long time was MySpace, which paved the way for services like Pandora and imeem.

MySpace has been slowly losing users and eyeballs, and along with that goes revenue but not much cost mdash; so can it survive without those expensive, free-music streams? Perhaps the more pertinent question: Can it survive with such music streams?

Multiple sources say MySpace Music is "almost certainly" going to restrict free streaming and move to a paid model, according to TechCrunch. "They are spending $20 million per month on streaming royalties" one of the Web sitersquo;s sources said. While reports vary on the amount of royalties, therersquo;s no denying that MySpace Music is burning through a lot of cash.

Without a move to a paid streaming option, it feels like the company is dumping money on the smoldering funeral pyre of the once social-networking giant.

News Corp has repeatedly said it will turn the site into an entertainment hub, moving toward videos and more e-commerce interactions, with less of a focus on streamed music. The company has done very well with its pay-for newspaper sites and will likely get to see a subscription model coming from its Hulu joint venture. If the pay-for model is going to be successful, this might just be the parent company to pull it off.

The latest rumors say that MySpace is in talks to buy imeem, a free streaming service thatrsquo;s having trouble making ends meet. MySpace would benefit from its user base and technology, both of which could easily transition into a pay-for offering that has a complementary counterpart on MySpacersquo;s sites, as well as the imeem executives mdash; the founder and CEO Dalton Caldwell most notable there.

Running a music company business is tough under the best of circumstances what with online piracy and rampant copying of music CDs making the last and current generations of the young think music mdash; surely one of the best things in life mdash; itrsquo;s free. There are also so many other distractions for consumers these days mdash; cell phones that play music, offer games and provide instant texting plus gaming consoles that play downloaded TV shows and movies and, and, and ... .

It gets tougher when an investment company, Terra Firma Capital Partners, pays too much, pound;4 ($6.7) billion, for a music company mdash; EMI in 2007.

This week, the bank Citigroup said no to an offer from Terra Firma to restructure the debt EMI has with the bank, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Reportedly, Terra Firma offered to invest another pound;1 ($1.67) billion in EMI if CitiGroup agreed to write off the same proportion of its pound;2.6 ($4.36) loan to EMI.

The face-off continues.