It takes a bit of an effort to get to the punchline in IBM Corp’s alliance with Blockbuster Entertainment Corp to enable record stores to create compact disks on the spot at the request of the customer (CI No 2,166), because the deal is actually between IBM’s Fireworks Partners unit, which is buying a stake in Blockbuster’s NewLeaf Entertainment Corp subsidiary and creating a new company, Fairway Technology As-sociates, both in Deerfield Beach, Florida; the latter has been formed to further the development of multimedia technologies and to operate the multimedia distribution system, which will consist of digital content databases, interfaces to broadband telecommunications networks, audio and video servers and content production and display devices – and we were all wrong in suggesting that the point of the system was to enable retailers to eliminate the problem of needing to stock thousands of slow-moving titles the partners say the aim is to create a more enticing retail experience.
