(You're Puttin') A Rush on Me
According to a press release by Hearst Corporation, "Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith, News Corporation and Time Inc. today jointly announced that they have entered into an independent venture to develop open standards for a new digital storefront and related technology that will allow consumers to enjoy their favorite media content on portable digital devices."
Many rumors of print media giants joining forces to combat a possible "iTunes News/Magazine Shop" have been circulating since the rumors of the "iPad" have started snowballing and more reliable sources have begun commenting on Apple's upcoming ultraportable.
While the release states it intends to create "a robust publishing platform optimized for multiple devices, operating systems and screen sizes…" this union, ahead of the release of Apple's much anticipated netbook, indicates otherwise. There are many Flash-based online magazines that exist already, but these cannot be viewed on Apple's iPhone and with HTML 5 facing opposition on all fronts on open standards and codecs this could well be a heated battle which will divide more than unite.