1. Movie Downloads to Go

The Buzz: Coming to a couch near you, recent movie releases sent straight to your PC. Leading the pack of video delivery sites is Movielink--backed by the major studios--which debuts this quarter. Broadband users willing to endure the download time (an estimated 2 hours, which sounds wildly optimistic) have 30 days to activate a flick. Once they hit 'Play', they can watch it as often as they want for 24 hours, on a monitor (ugh) or a TV connected to their PC. Video-on-demand sites CinemaNow and Intertainer have struck their own studio deals. And that's just the legal stuff. According to a study by Divine, film buffs bootleg more than 400,000 movies every day.

Bottom line: More Pause than Fast Forward. Movielink's flicks will reportedly be priced "competitively with Pay Per View." Can that compete with the bootleggers' "Steal Per View" pricing plan?

2. Starbucks Goes Wireless

The Buzz: The java giant has a new two-step program: Get wired on caffeine, then hop on a wireless network. A whopping 70 percent of Starbucks shops may eventually sport Wi-Fi Net connectivity, courtesy of T-Mobile. With a Starbucks on every corner, this development creates a de facto nationwide wireless network.

Bottom line: Coffee shop Net access for $30 per month? That's too many beans. Get back to me when it costs less than five decaf nonfat mocha Frappuccinos.

3. Spam Backlash

The Buzz: The rumbling you feel is a groundswell of antispam sentiment. Not unexpected, given that junk e-mail has jumped by more than 65 percent this year, according to Postini, an e-mail security service. Consumer groups are demanding government action.

Bottom line: Direct marketers claim that they can limit spam through self-regulation. If you believe that, I've got some herbal Viagra I'd like to sell you.

4. 'CD Killer' Is DOA

The Buzz: DataPlay was supposed to kill off the CD. After all, it boasted rockin' technology (500MB of data on a disc the size of a quarter), recording-industry support (thanks to built-in copy protection)--even a Britney Spears album on the way. But at press time the parent company was scrambling for cash, marketing bucks had dried up, and only a short slate of artists was releasing discs.

Bottom line: Good-bye, DataPlay; hello, Philips SFFO? As DataPlay rummaged through the couch cushions, Philips demonstrated a coin-size rewritable disc that holds 1GB. The wheel just keeps on turning.

5. Game Consoles Get Net

The Buzz: Competing with others in an online community is the Next Big Thing for console games. Sony's PlayStation 2 has the $40 Network Adaptor, which lets you play games such as Madden NFL 2003 online. Microsoft has announced a mid-November launch of Xbox Live, an online broadband-only community with a yearly subscription fee of $50. And Nintendo's GameCube offers a $35 broadband adapter or modem of its own.

Bottom line: Imagine a kind of digital Mister Rogers' neighborhood--but with guns, helmets, swords, and attitude.

• See more like this:
• movie,
• MovieLink,
• CinemaNow,
• Intertainer,
• demand,
• Starbucks,
• wireless,
• Wi-Fi,
• T-Mobile,
• spam,
• e-mail,
• DataPlay,
• SFFO,
• Philips,
• online gaming,
• PlayStation,
• PlayStation 2,
• Xbox,
• GameCube