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MP3 Player News & Headlines
EU plans overhaul of Internet download rules
(Reuters)
Reuters - The European Union needs new rules for Internet downloads that would make it easier for people to access music and films without resorting to piracy, the bloc's telecoms chief said on Thursday.
L.A. blogger sentenced for Guns N' Roses leak
(Reuters)
Reuters - A Los Angeles blogger who leaked new Guns N' Roses songs on the Internet before their official release on the band's first new album in 17 years, was sentenced to two months of home confinement on Tuesday.
Webcasters, music industry agree on royalties
(Reuters)
Reuters - Artists and record labels reached an agreement on Tuesday with Internet radio companies over royalty rates, resolving a dispute that dates back more than two years over how to divvy up revenue from streaming music on the Web.
8 Rockin' YouTube Remixes
(PC World)
PC World - Video upload sites like YouTube provide the perfect platform for the creatively twisted to add their own unique spin to music videos and Internet memes. From parodies to remixes of single songs to mashups of many, you can find some pretty innovative stuff out there.
Apple Intros New Mac minis; More Expensive, More Powerful
Apple today unveiled two new Mac mini computers with the Intel Core Duo processor. The new models are more powerful, and at $599 and $799, more expensive than ever.
Palm shares sink after Apple closes iTunes sync
(Reuters)
Reuters - Shares of Palm Inc fell more than 3 percent on Thursday after Apple Inc closed a loophole in iTunes that had allowed the music management software to be synchronized with Palm's Pre phone.
Keith Urban goes with instinct on digital release
(Reuters)
Reuters - Keith Urban's contribution to the iTunes Originals series features interview segments and new, live-in-studio recordings of six songs -- including three from his latest album, the chart-topping "Defying Gravity."
MP3 Tech Commentary
Voice Removal Software: Eliminate Vocals from Your Songs Have you ever listened to a song and thought, "love the music, hate the singing". In this situation, you can use a software audio tool that specializes in trying to filter out the frequencies of the human voice. Vocal removal can be a time consuming process that involves experimentation with various audio sources, but satisfactory results are achievable. The biggest stumbling block with voice removal is the nature of the music source. If you have a highly compressed song for example that has low quality audio data, then the chances of removing the vocals are poor. On the other hand, if you are working on a high quality audio file that has a good stereo image with vocals that are center-panned, then your chances of vocal removal are much higher. Overall, it really depends on how the song has been mixed and the frequencies involved.
There's a lot of fun to be had experimenting with the songs in your music library, and with an investment in time (and a little luck), you can produce some great results. For more information on removing vocals from songs, why not read our guide on Free Software for Removing Vocals. Related Articles:
Buying Guide: Before You Buy a Portable Ebook Reader
The age of the portable ebook reader is upon us. Though nothing will ever replace fully the beloved paperback, the idea of being able to take hundreds of digital paperbacks with you on the road has lots of appeal. A growing number of ebook readers are being released for your purchasing consideration. You should ask yourself first, however, which features are most important to you. Battery life? Screen size? How many books a reader can hold? Read Before You Buy a Portable Ebook Reader for must have ebook reader features.
Free Music Downloads This Week Starting this week, we're planning to bring you cutting edge digital music by providing links to free promotional music tracks. As well as showcasing forthcoming releases from major bands and artists, we'll also be highlighting new and up-and-coming talent that offer free music in order to gain that much needed exposure. One of the great benefits of using free music discovery resources is being able to 'try before you buy' without the financial risk of a blind purchase. The promotional tracks that we're going to showcase every week will hopefully give you a wide variety of styles and sounds to experience. Here are the tracks in our spotlight this week:
This 17 minute monster mix showcases DJ Paul Oakenfold's new 21-track album, Perfecto Vegas, which will be released by Thrive records on July 7 - available in stores nationwide and via digital download.
- Little Wildcat (3:48)
- Sleepwalking (3:40)
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- How to use iTunes to listen to thousands of free radio stations
Product Review: Nextar T30 Portable Media Player Photo credit: Nextar
The Nextar T30 portable media player, despite its inexpensive price tag, is hard to recommend when put up against other devices similar to it. It has a few stand out qualities, but the overall experience it provides is marred by a small host of mostly minor issues. Were there but a handful of these it would be one thing, but it is hard to overlook so many challenges at the same time. Should you choose to purchase this player, it is best suited for those on a budget who want a portable media player which offers a wide range of mostly functional features...read more
Forum Question: What is your favorite portables gadget?
What is your favorite portable electronics gadget? An iPod? That shiny new PlayStation Portable? How about the hot selling Amazon Kindle 2 ebook reader? I've opened up a forum discussion on this topic in the Portable Electronics forums and would love to hear your opinions. Feel free to join the conversation!
Crossfading in iTunes: Seemless Non-stop Music
iTunes and many other software media players these days have a whole host of extra 'tweakable' features that you can use to enhance your music listening experience. Crossfading is one such technique that you can employ to blend the end of one track into the start of the next; this effectively removes the silent gaps between songs. DJs extensively use this technique to create a smooth transition between music tracks - the volume of one song is slowly faded out as the next song's volume is faded in at the same time.
If you're annoyed by the gaps of silence between your songs and want non-stop music, then be sure to read our step-by-step guide on How to Crossfade Using iTunes.
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Michael Jackson Fans Pay Ultimate Tribute Via Digital Music Services After the sad news yesterday of the untimely death of Michael Jackson, fans on digital music services have paid tribute to the king of pop by purchasing his albums in their droves. At the time of writing, 7 out of the top 10 albums on the iTunes Store are Michael Jackson compilations. Currently, the Essential Michael Jackson album is number one followed by:
The other albums in the top 10 include, Thriller (25th Anniversary), The Ultimate Collection, and Bad.
This shows the far-reaching effect that Michael Jackson has in the music world and his fans have paid the ultimate respect by purchasing his music.
R.I.P. Michael Jackson, 1958-2009
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- Top 7 Music Services
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New netbook can double as touchscreen portable media player The Touch Book is notable because it sports a detachable keyboard and 3D touchscreen user interface. This design choice, in effect, allows this netbook to become a touchscreen only device which can work as a standalone portable media player or handheld gaming machine. The screen size is 8.9-inches and it can run for up to 15 hours on its rechargeable battery.
Key features of this multi-form factor netbook include storage done by a micro SD memory card, built-in speakers, a headphone jack, multiple USB ports and open source software. It is said that the Touch Book will be available in late spring for a starting price of around $300. More details can be found on the Touch Book Web site.
Photo credit: Always Innovating
Netbooks – smaller, inexpensive laptop computers primarily designed for light functions such as Web browsing and checking email – are becoming extremely popular, especially in this downtrodden economy. Innovation is something possible in this category at the moment, and a small company by the name of Always Innovating is attempting such a feat with its new Touch Book netbook computer.
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