Week In Review: The RIAA Shuts Down Muxtape, But Wal-Mart Turns Its Back On CDs

New York-based startup Muxtape was much-loved by music fans who blog a lot. But not by the music industry. That caught up to the site this week, when founder Justin Oullette took it offline  "while we sort out a problem with the RIAA." Oulette insists the site will be back up, but we're not so sure. Contrast Muxtape with rival 8tracks, which appears to be 100% in the clear legally -- but has a crippled feature set to get there. But Big Music has bigger worries than niche digital music sites: Wal-Mart is pulling back on CD sales in an ominous sign for the industry.

Verizon's (VZ) high-speed FIOS Internet/cable service is beginning to make headway in some large NYC apartment buildings, but there are rumblings Verizon won't be able to recoup its $6 billion investment in the new network. Adding fuel to the fire, here's one thing that will add more costs onto the already estimated $3,897 per-customer cost of building the network: Verizon is doublechecking every one of its FIOS installations amid concerns over faulty wiring

And don't forget, SAI is your home for free schwag! We're giving away free passes to the Web 2.0 Expo, and Peek founder Amol Sarva is giving away a few of his wireless email gadgets. But don't go looking for anything related to the Ziff-Davis DigitalLife con. The event's been canceled.