Information Security & US & Life & Love & Fashion & Hacking & Passion

Apple Inc. is cutting the price of some songs in its market-leading iTunes online store to as little as 69 cents and plans to make every track available without copy protection.

In Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people )'s final appearance at the Macworld trade show, Apple's top marketing executive, Philip Schiller, said Tuesday that iTunes song prices will come in three tiers: 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29. Record companies will choose the prices, which marks a significant change, since Apple previously made all songs sell for 99 cents.

Apple gave the record labels that flexibility on pricing as it got them to agree to sell all songs free of "digital rights management," or DRM, technology that limits people's ability to copy songs or move them to multiple computers. Apple had been offering a limited selection of songs without DRM, but by the end of this quarter, the company said, all 10 million songs in its library will be available that way.

While iTunes is the most popular digital music store, others have been faster to offer more songs without copy protection. Amazon.com Inc. (nasdaq: AMZN - news - people ) started selling DRM-free music downloads in 2007 and swayed all the major labels to sign on in less than a year.

Schiller also announced that iPhone 3G users will be able to buy songs from the iTunes store using the cellular data network. Previously, iPhone users could shop for tunes when connected to a Wi-Fi hot spot.

The iTunes changes marked the highlights of Schiller's run as a stand-in for CEO Steve Jobs, who used to make Macworld the site for some of Apple's biggest product unveilings, such as the iPhone. Apple said last month that Jobs would not address the throngs this time because the company plans to pull out of Macworld next year.

Apple shares slipped $1.18, 1.3 percent, to $93.40 in afternoon trading.

Schiller got a warm welcome from the attendees - who packed the convention hall despite the pall cast over the industry by the economic downturn - especially at the start of his talk, when he thanked them for showing up despite Jobs' notable absence. He ran seamlessly through his 90-minute presentation, getting applause and oohs from the audience, varying little from the format of slides and demos established by Jobs. And like Jobs, he gushed about Apple's products being the best in the world.

In this Sept. 29, 2008 file photo, of the exterior of Circuit City store in San Mateo, Calif. Circuit City Stores has filed for bankruptcy Monday, Nov. 10, 2008, about a week after it said it would close 20 percent of its stores. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, file) (Paul Sakuma)

Richmond-based Circuit City, the nation's second largest electronics chain, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this morning, one week after announcing it would close one-fifth of its stores in a nationwide effort to cut costs and conserve cash in an increasingly grim retail climate.

With the holiday shopping season looming, Circuit City Stores Inc. said it planned to stay open for business while it developed and executed a "comprehensive corporate restructuring plan."

The bankruptcy filing was one of several developments today that reflect the ongoing economic downturn. Federal officials said they were expanding their effort to save insurance giant AIG from financial ruin; DHL announced it would discontinue its money-losing U.S. domestic services as of Jan. 30 to focus on European and international business; and mortgage giant Fannie Mae said it lost $29 billion in the third quarter and was nearly out of cash.

Circuit City said it hoped the bankruptcy would allow it to keep its stores stocked with merchandise in the crucial weeks before Christmas, by allowing the company to assure vendors they would be paid. Circuit City said it is asking the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to make wage and salary payments and honor returns, exchanges, gift cards and other customer programs.

The company pledged to streamline costs and create a more efficient operation. It negotiated a commitment for a $1.1 billion debtor-in-possession revolving credit facility to provide immediate liquidity and supplement working capital.

"The decision to restructure the business through a Chapter 11 filing should provide us with the opportunity to strengthen our balance sheet, create a more efficient expense structure and ultimately position the company to compete more effectively," James A. Marcum, vice chairman and acting president and chief executive officer, said in a news release. "Our stores remain fully operational, and our associates are focused on consistent and successful execution this holiday season and beyond."

Last Monday, Circuit City announced it would close 155 U.S. stores and lay off nearly 20 percent of its workforce. The stores that will be shuttered are currently selling deeply discounted merchandise at liquidation sales.

Three stores each will close in Virginia and Maryland. The Virginia stores are located on Chain Bridge Road in McLean, Davidson Place in Manassas and Albermarle Square in Charlottesville; The Maryland stores are on Baltimore Avenue in Beltsville, 32nd Avenue in Marlow Heights and Pulaski Highway in Baltimore.

"We know there is never a good time for individuals to be impacted by decisions like these, and we deeply regret the effect this has on our associates," Marcum said.

The DHL announcement said the shipping and logistics giant would slash U.S. operating costs by more than 80 percent, cutting 9,500 employees from a U.S. payroll of about 13,000. The company will close all its U.S. ground hubs and reduce the number of stations it operates from 412 to 103.

"When we looked for efficiencies in the U.S. Express market, we decided to focus on what we do best as a company, and that's international shipping," John Mullen, global chief executive officer of the company, said in a statement. " . . . This is the right move for our U.S. Express operations given the current economic climate and for the long run."