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One of the most overhyped experiments in multimedia is disappearing. Two-year-old <A HREF="http://www.den.net">Digital Entertainment Network</A>, which attempted TV-style programming over the Internet, has decided to close down its operations after finding itself unable to raise the capital needed to continue. The company ran through approximately $65 million dollars during its short life, according to several news reports.

The finger-pointing and barb-hurling over the slow rollout of digital television continued through mid-May. The latest episode occurred on Wednesday the 17th, when the <A HREF="http://www.nab.org/">National Association of Broadcasters</A> (NAB) laid the blame on the <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A> (FCC) for its laxity in requiring cable providers to carry digital signals. Electronics manufacturers should also be held to stricter standards, the NAB said.

It's been decades since Hollywood produced a topnotch Roman epic. A staple of the film industry through the mid-1960s, sword'n'sandal extravaganzas fell out of favor with both film studios and audiences with the cultural and political upheavals of the late 1960s.

Power struggles among media companies can erode public and regulatory trust in the cable industry, <A HREF="http://www.fcc.gov/">Federal Communications Commission</A> chairman William Kennard warned attendees at the <A HREF="http://www.ncta.org/">National Cable Television Association</A>'s annual convention in New Orleans last week. Kennard referred specifically to the recent squabble between Disney Corporation and Time Warner, which led to a blackout of Disney's ABC network in key markets earlier this month. Such actions call into question the ability of the industry to police itself, Kennard told cable executives.