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Man Destroys iPod In A Blender
Blendtec, a company that makes heavy duty blenders, is destroying iPods to help sell $400 blenders.
Jackson "This Is It" album to sell at iTunes
(AFP)
AFP - Apple on Friday confirmed that Michael Jackson's "This Is It" music compilation will be available at online shop iTunes a day before the release of the compact disc version.
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.
NAMM Update: Numark Announces HDX HD/CD/MP3 player
Numark announced the HDX, a tabletop HD/CD/MP3 player with an high torque, motorized 12-inch platter.
Bandwidth Police Help Keep Corporate Networks Humming
(Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - Some are mission-critical, such as data traffic, corporate video streams and Web searches. Others are the more frivolous kind: online music, shopping and social networking.
Music Industry Signs Online Distribution Agreement With EU
(PC World)
PC World - The European Commission has signed an agreement with the online music industry designed to improve consumers' access to online music across the 27-nation European Union, it said Tuesday.
Judge Rejects Ringtone Lawsuit Against Verizon
(PC World)
PC World - A U.S. federal judge has rejected a music royalty collection agency's contention that a mobile operator is liable to pay public performance royalties when a ringtone is played.
MP3 Tech Commentary
Free Music Downloads This Week Here is another weekly helping of free music downloads designed to help you discover new bands and artists. These full promotional tracks can either be streamed or downloaded and will hopefully give you a good idea on the style of music that the artist/band produces before splashing that cash. The free music promo tracks this week are:
The free promo track, Wonder Stranger, is a good example of Via Tania's unique sound that blends Björk-style vocals with dreamy melodies. This free music download is taken from Via Tania's new forthcoming album, Moon Sweet Moon, (The:Hours) which is due to be released digitally on Oct. 13, and physically on Oct. 20.
- Greenmoney's exclusive live mix (33:01)
- Young Blood (3:06)
Related Articles:
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, October 2nd, 2009 at 09:49:10.
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Microsoft Reboots Media Player Line With New Zune HD Microsoft Reboots Media Player Line With New Zune HD originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, September 16th, 2009 at 01:54:24.
When Apple unveiled its new video-recording iPod Nano earlier this month, the local newspaper in my town ran an article about it. Microsoft's release of its latest top-of-the line Zune HD player this week? Not even a sniff.
That, in a nutshell, demonstrates the challenges Microsoft continues to face when it comes to gaining mindshare from a public that continues to go gaga for Apple's iPod line.
As someone who owned an iPod Video when it was the gold standard of Apple's music player offerings, there was a time when the Zune certainly looked like the more attractive media player option, thanks to its bigger screen. The release of the iPod Touch, however, slammed the door on any potential momentum for Microsoft, which really hasn't been able to release a legitimate competitor until now.
For its latest attempt, Microsoft adds touchscreen capabilityÂ--a must-have for any device hoping to compete against the iPod Touch. Videophiles can also connect the device to HDTVs via an AV dock accessory to play high-definition video. Naturally, the Zune HD features good synergy across Microsoft platforms such as Xbox Live.
Although the Zune HD remains the underdog in this media player battle, Microsoft has at least added enough features to make the fight interesting. It's not like the company is a stranger to battling bigger foes. Just look at the turnaround the Xbox division pulled off against the more popular PlayStation brand.
Then again, Apple doesn't typically make missteps at the level that Sony has. Regardless, it would be interesting to see if Microsoft manages to make any headway in this latest Zune/iPod matchup.
Photo © Microsoft
Spotify Brings Music Downloads to Its Users The music service, Spotify, which streams music has revealed in its blog that users will now be able to download tracks. The new service will only be available to Spotify premium subscribers, who will be able to use a special 'offline mode' to store up to 3,333 tracks on their computer's hard drive. Spotify explain in their blog that a user's online playlist is synchronized for offline usage by downloading the necessary tracks - even if you have no Internet connection the music will still be accessible. The big question still to be officially answered is, "Does the music come with any DRM copy protection?" In Spotify's FAQ section, offline mode is restricted to three device and tracks can only be stored offline while you continue to pay a subscription. The other restriction mentioned on their website is that you need to login to your account at least every 30 days to ensure you are still subscribed. These set of restrictions could indicate DRM copy protection, but there's no official word on this at present. Currently Spotify is available in Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Spain, and the UK. According to a BBC News article, the service is due to roll out in the United States by the end of the year. Related Articles:
Spotify Brings Music Downloads to Its Users originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Thursday, October 1st, 2009 at 15:12:23.
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Free Music Downloads This Week Our music discovery blog this week features another helping of free music downloads designed to widen your musical tastes. The free music this week is:
The free music download, Magnetic Baby, is a promotional track from the Brooklyn-based band, Semi Precious Weapons. The song is a hard rock track that's typical of the band's 'rebellious' style of music. Their debut album, We Love You, is now available as a digital download from Amazon MP3, MusicSpace.com, or the iTunes Store.
- 3 Remix Tracks (14:31 Total playing time)
- Dirty Mutha (Crookers Remix)
- Dirty Mutha (DJ Mehdi Remix)
- Sometime - Heart of Spades (Steed Lord's "Ja Ok!" Remix)
- Track (4:26)
Related Articles:
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 09:49:55.
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Free Music Downloads This Week In our music discovery spotlight this week, we showcase another selection of free promotional tracks that cover a wide range of genres designed to broaden your musical horizons :
The free music download, No Light Escapes Here, is a track from the electronic band, The Prairie Cartel. There's also the No Light Escapes Here music video that you can stream or download. Incidentally, their music has also been featured in the video game, Grand Theft Auto IV. The Prairie Cartel's new album, Where Did All My People Go is now available via their MySpace page; the digital release is slated for release on Oct. 27.
- Toxic is Dead (5:11)
- God Damn Best (2:48)
Related Articles:
- How can I record streaming music from the Internet?
- How to store and stream your own music from the Internet
- How to create a music library using Windows Media Player 11
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 09:00:29.
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The eBook File Compatibility Chart The eBook File Compatibility Chart originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Saturday, October 10th, 2009 at 17:07:20.
With a wide range of eBook file formats out there, figuring out which device plays what file can be a major hassle. Here's a list of some of the more popular eBooks out there and which files they are compatible with. This list will be updated regularly to account for product upgrades and additional devices.
Kindle
Kindle 2
Kindle DX
Sony Readers
Hanlin V3
Hanlin V5
IREX Iliads
IREX 1000
ARG
AZW
BMP
CHM
DJVU
DNL
DOC
EPUB
FB2
GIF
HTML
JPG
LBR
LIT
LRF
MOBI
OPF
PDB
PDF
PKG
PNG
PPT
PRC
PS
RTF
TIF
TR2
TR3
TXT
WOLF
XML
NOTE: The acronyms on the left refer to file extensions. A file called "War and Peace.txt" indicates, for example, that you have an electronic copy of the book War and Peace in "TXT" or "Plain text" format. Also, a "Y" in a box means that a device is compatible with the corresponding file format.
Photo © Amazon
WikiReader Brings You Wikipedia Sans Internet Connection WikiReader Brings You Wikipedia Sans Internet Connection originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, October 13th, 2009 at 20:18:35.
As much grief as Wikipedia gets due to questionable &mdash and at times, incredibly hilarious &mdash edits by pranksters, the site can be a treasure trove of information on all sorts of subjects.
But let's say you're out and about in the wilderness with no Web access and you suddenly notice a coral snake slithering around your campsite. That's when you might say to yourself, "Self. If only I could access Wikipedia right now, I could find out if this is the type of coral snake that can actually kill me."
Which brings us to the announcement from company Openmoko about its new WikiReader portable encyclopedia. The WikiReader contains more than 3 million English-language Wikipedia articles, which users can access without an Internet connection. The device is now available on Amazon.com and the device's official site for $99.
"We created the WikiReader to be fun, easy, informative and entertaining for all ages," said Openmoko CEO, Sean Moss-Pultz, in a statement. "WikiReader is a whimsical look at the joy of learning in the digital age."
Since updating is a key part of Wikipedia, owners of of the WikiReader can get free quarterly downloads to keep their device current. You'll definitely need an Internet connection for that part, though. More on the device after I get my hands on one to review.
Photo © Openmoko
7digital Music Service Launches in the U.S. The UK-based digital music service, 7digital, has announced that it has finally completed its U.S. roll out. 7digital which operates in several different countries (mostly in Europe) will now offer its 6 million+ MP3 music library to consumers in the United States. Prices for albums will be $7.77 while songs will cost 77 cents each. The pricing for both albums and songs is competitive when compared to major pay-per-click digital music services such as AmazonMP3 and iTunes, so it will be interesting to see over time how 7digital perform in the U.S. and how much market share they eventually control. For more information, be sure to read our 7digital Music Service Review. Related Articles:
7digital Music Service Launches in the U.S. originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Thursday, October 8th, 2009 at 11:39:35.
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