Not Windows, but good news is good news: Circuit City cancels DIVX

Na na na na hey hey hey goodbye... OK, this has nothing to do with Windowsper se, but anyone that cares about technology at all will be happy to hearthat Circuit City subsidiary Digital Video Express LP has announced thedeath of the bastardized DVD format known as DIVX, which briefly threatenedto divide the DVD world into competing camps. DIVX, which was probably theworst technology idea since the IBM PC Jr., will cause Circuit City to takea one-time $114 million charge this quarter on the way to a $88 millionloss. Ah, justice.

The real joke behind DIVX, of course, was that players cost $100 more thancomparable DVD players. And for the privilege of owning a DIVX machine, youwere given access to "disposable" $5 DVDs that would only play for 48 hours.To view the movie after that, you could call a toll free number and shellout some more money. This sort of on-the-fly rental scheme was an attemptat getting consumers to keep paying for a movie, every time they watched it.

Well, consumers who were hoodwinked by this plan can take solace in CircuitCity's $100 rebate for anyone that bought a DIVX player before June 16th.And DIVX DVDs can now be viewed continuously until June 30, 2001 without anyextra payment. After that, they're coasters