Officials confirmed this afternoon that the body of missing CNET editor James Kim has been located.

Kim had been missing in the remote southwestern Oregon wilderness for 11 days and was found at approximately noon Wednesday about half a mile from the Rogue River, authorities said. Kim, 35, left his family’s stranded car Saturday morning searching for help and never returned.

“He was very motivated…he traveled a long way,” Josephine County Undersheriff Brian Anderson said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

At CNET, James Kim was a senior editor covering digital audio who also co-hosted a weekly video podcast for the Crave gadgets blog. He had been writing a book on Microsoft’s Zune MP3 player.

The Kim family has asked not to be contacted at this time.

via CNET and CNN

Greenpeace has published its latest Guide to Greener Electronics. The survey found an overall improvement in manufacturing processes, but Apple lags at the bottom.

“Most companies now score above average points on the ranking guide, with only five companies failing to score even the average of five points,” said Iza Kruszewska, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner. “The top-ranked brands have adopted a precautionary chemical policy by committing to eliminate the use of the most hazardous chemicals in their products. They have acknowledged that as producers, they bear individual responsibility for financing the take-back and responsible reuse or recycling of their own-brand discarded products.”

Nokia holds the top spot, with progressive policies on both its chemicals policy and disposal of electronic waste. Apple is in the last position¬†because the company has made no improvements to its policies or practices since the ranking was first released three months ago, according to Greenpeace’s analysis.

“Companies seem to respond to competition rather than conscience. By turning the spotlight onto top electronics companies and challenging them to outrank their competition, the Guide to Greener Electronics has succeeded in motivating companies to improve their policies on chemicals and waste,” said Kruszewska.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal (subscription), Blockbuster is introducing a holiday promotion that will let Netflix subscribers rent Blockbuster movies for free. Netflix members can exchange the tear-off flaps from red Netflix envelopes for free rentals at any Blockbuster store.

Blockbuster is using the promotion to boost exposure of its Total Access feature, which lets customers exchange DVDs received through the mail with DVDs available in stores. The promotion is set to run through December 21.

“I think most folks know that if you get something free you’re getting what you pay for,” said Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey. “The very reason for online DVD rental is that you dont have to go to the store. Its the convenience, selection and value.”

While Blockbuster is desperate to hook Netflix customers, they may be fighting the wrong battle. The video download market is beginning to expload, and there is still room for Blockbuster and other movies to stake out their territory.

The mainstream music industry is experimenting with selling unencrypted MP3 files, a move it has long resisted because of concerns over piracy.

Blue Note Records is selling the latest single from jazz-pop singer Norah Jones, Thinking About You, through Yahoo as an MP3. Another EMI act, Christian rock band Relient K, also released two MP3s through Yahoo yesterday.

The move may be an experiment to see if the music industry can break Apple’s control over the digital music download market. The mainstream industry failed to make a dent in the market with services offering music encrypted with Microsoft’s PlaysForSure, a technology that now has an uncertain future. Microsoft’s latest digital music service for the Zune is a closed system, like Apple’s.

Unencrypted MP3s provide a way for the music industry to sell digital music downloads, without being locked into either Microsoft’s or Apple’s technology, and opens up their potential audience to anyone with a computer.

Apple is reported to be hiring video game designers, suggesting that better gaming will be coming to the iPod and Mac platforms, and even a possible Apple-branded gaming system.

“We think the video game market represents a distinct possibility for Apple, especially considering that it recently announced the availability of video games for its iPod through its iTunes store,” Prudential analyst Jesse Tortora told clients in a research note on Monday.

According to Tortora, the company could approach the video game sector in one of two ways, via a home game console or a handheld device.

“The game console device could be morphed out of some combination of the Mac Mini and iTV, while the handheld player could be developed as an enhancement to a future version of the widescreen iPod,” explained Tortora.

Authorities are continuing their search of a remote area of southwest Oregon for CNET Senior Editor and podcaster James Kim. Kim, his wife Kati Kim, and their two young daughters disappeared nine days ago, while on a Thanksgiving weekend road trip.

At CNET, James Kim is a senior editor covering digital audio who also co-hosts a weekly video podcast for the Crave gadgets blog. He has been writing a book on Microsoft’s Zune MP3 player.

Kim’s wife and children were found Monday afternoon in a remote area near Bear Camp. The helicopter that spotted Ms. Kim, waving an umbrella, had been hired by the missing family’s relatives.

Ms. Kim and the two children, aged seven months and four years, were rescued Monday afternoon, and taken to a hospital for evaluation. The older daughter and her mother were released Monday evening, but were staying on with the younger child, who was being kept for observation.

[update: Baby Sabine has since been released, and the family has been moved to “an undisclosed location.”]

The explosion of MP3 players, driven by Apple’s iPod,¬†is raising¬†awareness and usage of digital music in the U.S., according to a new study by JupiterResearch.

“Use of playlists has steadily increased, and ripping music has reached a penetration rate of 25 percent,” said David Card, Vice President and Senior Analyst. “Over 60 percent of portable music device users regularly rip music, while 58 percent of iPod users and 44 percent of users of other portable music devices use playlists.”

While interest in digital music is growing, most users prefer downloading singles to monthly music service options.

Highlights of the report include…..

Keyspan has introduced TuneView for iPod, a dock and uber-remote that let you control your iPod and stereo wirelessly.

TuneView for iPod consists of a universal iPod dock, 2-way RF remote with color LCD screen, a USB power adapter, audio and USB cables, and selected dock adapters.

Together these components allow you to:

• Connect the iPod to a stereo or powered speakers using the line out jack
• Connect the iPod to a TV using the S-Video jack
• Charge the iPod from an AC outlet using the USB Power Adapter
• Browse and control the iPod from around the house with LCD remote

The TuneView dock may also be used to sync an iPod with a PC or Mac.

The system lists for $179.99.

Portable Media Players will get larger hard drive capacity next year, if the latest drives from Toshiba are any indication.

The company has introduced a 1.8-in. drive that can store 100GB of information, a 25% jump in storage space over current models. Toshiba plans to start mass producing the drives starting in January.

Toshiba first developed a 1.8-in. drive in 2000. The device could hold up to 2GB of data and cost around $740 at the time.

via ComputerWorld

Last week, when some experts wondered if reports of the Zune’s demise were premature, we called the Zune’s introduction a debacle and asked if the Zune should be shot out of a cannon.

It may be time to get that cannon ready.

Sales of the Zune sank last week, dropping Microsoft’s portable media player from second place to fifth place in just one week. Zune sales dropped to 2.1 percent of the market in the week ended Nov. 25, according to the market research firm NPD Group.

Zune sales sank as initial reviews of the Zune were largely negative, news came out that the Zune’s price included a controversial “major record label tax“, and SanDisk cut prices.