Around Business

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- After revolutionizing the way people listen to music with the popular iPod, Apple Computer Inc. is trying to do the same with video.\nThe company introduced a new iPod Oct. 12 that is capable of playing everything from TV shows to music videos.\nCiting a groundbreaking deal with ABC Television Group, Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said video offerings via iTunes will include episodes for $1.99 each of the hit shows "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost," which will be available the day after they air on television.\nThe purchased video can be watched on a computer or taken on the road for viewing on the new iPod's 2.5-inch color screen.\nThe much-anticipated new iPods, available this week, will replace Apple's current 20-gigabyte and 60-gigabyte models. A 30 GB version will sell for $299 and a 60 GB version will cost $399. A 30 GB model can hold about 7,500 songs, 25,000 photos, or 75 hours of video, Apple said.\nApple hopes to repeat with Hollywood the coup it achieved with music labels: Ease an industry's piracy fears and transform its business models to include convenient, legal distribution of digital content over the Internet at reasonable prices for consumers.\nThe new video iPod, available in black or white, will be able to play video and podcasts. Apple said the 30 GB model will have up to 14 hours of battery life while the 60 GB model's battery will last up to 20 hours. Both versions will include a clock, a calendar, a stop watch and a screen lock.\n

Maker's Mark, Jim Beam join forces

\nLOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Until recently, Jim Beam's chief executive would have been on rival turf when hobnobbing at the Maker's Mark Bourbon House and Lounge in a downtown entertainment district.\nBut the impending consolidation of two famous names in bourbon put Tom Flocco in friendly territory. Even his choice of whiskey -- Maker's Mark -- was a sign of the new alliance.\nJim Beam and Maker's Mark will become stablemates under the banner of Lincolnshire, Ill.-based Fortune Brands Inc. in a deal expected to close in coming weeks or months.\nFlocco, president and CEO of Jim Beam Brands Worldwide, a Fortune subsidiary, had been talking strategy with Bill Samuels Jr., president and chief executive of Maker's Mark Distillery. Flocco said the addition of Maker's -- the brand known for its distinctive red wax seal -- was a good fit with Jim Beam, the world's top-selling bourbon.\nSamuels said the deal offers considerable potential by joining two brands at the forefront of making bourbon "the fashionable spirit of choice"