MP3 Headlines & News for February 6, 2010

As well as the new song, Bear Hands have also got a limited edition 7" vinyl that is being released at the same time. For more information, visit their Website.

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Bear Hands Celebrate New Single With Free Music Downloads originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, January 22nd, 2010 at 07:25:33.

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To get your free track, simply go to Soundcheck's Corrine Bailey Rae page and click on the highlighted free download button. You'll have to be quick though -- there's only a limited number of downloads available.

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Soundcheck Offers Free Corinne Bailey Rae MP3 Download originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, January 20th, 2010 at 15:59:06.

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Now that the dust has settled, it's time to take an objective look at Apple's latest product, the iPad tablet.

The quick lowdown: While the device certainly has its strong points, a few big warts (*cough, no multi-tasking and Flash, cough*) prevent it from the being the groundbreaking, netbook slayer that Apple wants it to be.

We take a gander at the device's specs and other features in our first look at Apple's iPad tablet.

Photo © Apple

A First Look at Apple's iPad Tablet originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 00:53:28.

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Artist/Band: Rob Swift
Genre: Hip Hop
Free Music Download: Rabia - 2nd Movement (3:31)
Music Video:Rabia- 2nd Movement
Album: The Architect (Ipecac Recordings) due for release Feb. 23, 2010.

Artist/Band: Annie Mac
Genre: Dance
Free Music Download: Annie Mac's Man Mix (32:38)

Artist/Band: Autokratz
Genre: Electronic / Dance
Free Music Downloads: Always More (YukSek Remix)(4:44) ¦ Swastika Eyes (4:17)
Album:Animal (The Hours / Kitsune) available digitally from the iTunes Store.

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Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 06:35:11.

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It's go time, boys and girls.

With Apple's big Jan. 27 (hey, that's today!) announcement now upon us, I'm hoping to serve up tasty bites of Apple's mystery device (wink, tablet, wink) today as I get info on it.

Now I won't be at the event due to myriad reasons, one of which is unruly Sierra weather. And work. And my wallet. But I digress.

Anywho, I'm banking on live reports online to get me close to the action today (call it, um, liveblogging the liveblogs. What a "great" concept, eh?). If not, an Apple rep says an announcement should be made available to press folks immediately.

In the meantime, expect to have info start trickling in here one way or another before 10 a.m. Pacific Time.

Photo © Apple

9:09 a.m.: I'm all set up and ready to go. Are you ready for some Apple tablet news? Man this Apple tablet sure has everyone psyched out. I can't believe Apple is finally releasing its tablet! This Apple tablet is gonna change electronics as we know it — and the world! Apple tablet, tablet, tablet, tablet ... ... ... ... ... ... TABLET!!!

You know what would be funny? If Apple ends up not releasing a tablet after all this buildup. I'm gonna laugh my socks off. (I might cry, too. After all, I'm a sensitive guy who also happens to suffer from allergies. I might even laugh and cry at the same time. I'm awesome that way. By the way, did I ever say that waiting around makes me ramble incessantly?)

9:14: Looks like the folks at Gizmodo have gotten started early. You can read their discussions about facial hair at the Gizmodo liveblog. I'm telling ya' waiting plus a computer keyboard plus space to fill makes people ramble on about strange stuff. It's practically taking me all my willpower to stop myself from talking about my brother's cat right now.

9:19: Engadget's joined the Apple party as well. At least that's what the atmosphere apparently feels like, they say.

9:30: Looks like they've got one of those Continental breakfast spreads going on to feed the hungry media folk. One thing I've learned in all my years as a reporter is that journalists love free food. I mean just love it. You can't take any free stuff. But free food is apparently OK for the most part (one of the few exceptions being business lunches at a restaurant). So if you've ever wanted to attract journalists to one spot, set up a table with a Continental breakfast spread. They'll be flocking in from miles away.

9:41: The Gearlog Apple liveblog is up and running as well.

9:48: Pics of the stage are now coming out. Check out the iChair and the iTable on the stage. It would be hilarious if that's what they're unveiling.

9:53: Macworld's Apple liveblog is up and running. Apparently, Apple likes Bob Dylan. Livebloggers apparently like taking pictures of those Apple splotch logos as well.

9:57: The announcer has just asked for silence and for cell phones and pagers to be turned off. The popcorn must cost a fortune in this place.

9:59: Here's CNET's liveblog of the Apple event.

10:02: Some dude named Steve Jobs apparently just took the stage. Never heard of him. Looks like good, old Steve is wearing his good, old presentation uniform.

10:08: Looks like it's main event time. They just showed a slide with a Wall Street Journal quote about tablets. Could it be...?

10:10: Jobs' comment about Netbooks not being better than anything is getting a lot of chuckles from the audience and the blogosphere.

10:11: It's official. Apple's new tablet is called the iPad. Basically, it looks like a bigger iPhone. Like its little brother, it essentially has the same type of interface, an accelerometer, touchsreen (with a larger touchscreen keyboard that Jobs says is "a dream" to type on), same flicking action, and, of course, all sorts of apps.

10:15: Jobs is now demoing the iPad's browsing capabilities. He visits several sites first, then moves on to demo it's e-mail capabilities. Basically, Apple's goal is to create a device that serves as a middle ground between an iPhone and a laptop and does certain things better than both (that's where the netbook burn basically came from). Whether or not Apple succeeds with the iPad is something we'll find out eventually, I guess.

10:20: Maybe it's just me, but I think Jobs really likes Bob Dylan. The iPad's music interface apparently is closer to iTunes than it is to the iPhone. Given the extra real estate and what have you, it does seem to make sense.

10:31: Now it's time for some specs: The iPad is 0.5 inches thin, weighs 1.5 pounds, and features a 9.7-inch, "full-capacitive multi-touch" IPS (In-Plane Switching) display. Powering the device is a 1GHz Apple A4 chip. The device will come in three iterations that feature 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of memory. For networking, the device will have WiFi 802.11n and Bluetooth 2.1 plus EDR. Besides the accelerometer, it will also feature a compass in case you get lost admiring your shiny, new iPad. Other features include speakers, a mic and 30-pin connector.

10:33: Battery life is apparently 10 hours, including when watching video. For a videophile such as yours truly who takes long trips, that's actually a big deal. Standby is also over one month, Apple claims.

10:36: Now it's time for one of Apple's golden geese: apps. Apple's showing several games, including a first-person shooter. It would be interesting to see how this stuff controls (which is supposedly customizable). Then Apple showed the New York Times app. All I can say is, if Apple can make reading newspapers cool for the younger generation (which the industry has struggled with mightily for a loooong time), then newspapers will kiss Jobs figuratively and literally.

10:45: Hey look, a paint app. As a former art minor who switched minors to English because I flat ran out of money for art supplies, this app will, well, likely not help too much from an art supply standpoint but it's still a nice thing to have.

10:48: Check it out. EA's demoing its racing game Need for Speed. Where's Tom Cruise when you need him? (I feel the need ... the need for speed!) I feel like watching Top Gun all of a sudden. They squeeze in some baseball, too.

10:54: Oooh, iBooks. Jobs' credits Amazon for really kick starting the field. "Now we'll crush them like the tiny, little rainforest ants that they are." Actually he didn't say the latter but I wouldn't be surprised if his inner Jobs was thinking the exact same thing. Looks like Apple will support the EPUB format. Interface for iBooks also looks iTunes-ish.

11:00: Now they're demoing iWork. I think I'll start adding that little "i" when talking to people about my job. "Yeah, I'm iWorking right now on an iArticle about iFalafels." Notice how my credibility suddenly went up a hundredfold with that little change. Anywho, they're demoing how to create presentations, spreadsheets. etc.

11:13: Time for some networking talk. Though Wi-Fi is standard, some iPads will also come with 3G. There will apparently be two data plans — a 250MB plan for $14.99 per month and $29.99 for unlimited data, both with AT&T. Both don't require any contracts and you can also get free use of AT&T's WiFi hotspots. I wonder if there's any synergy for folks such as myself who already are AT&T customers... Incidentally, a data plan was the biggest buzzkill for survey respondents in a recent Apple tablet survey.

11:18: Money talks so it's time for some pricing info. iPad pricing will start at $499 for the 16GB version, $629 with 3G. For the 32GB iPad, the two price points are $599 for the Wi-Fi version and $729 for the Wi-Fi+3G version. Pricing for the 64GB iPad is $699 and $829 respectively. (I wonder if you can plug an external hard drive to this thing?). The Wi-Fi-only iPad starts shipping in 60 days while the Wi-Fi+3G model starts shipping in 90 days.

11:20: For accessories, it looks like there will a be an iPad dock, a keyboard dock and a case. Pretty sparse for now. I'm sure third-party manufacturers are licking their chops...

11:27: A few loose ends now. The iPad features a backlight display so it will be interesting to see how eBooks look on it, given how many folks prefer the look of E Ink. The multi-touch screen also features 1,000 hardware sensors. Oh yeah, not only is the device "revolutionary," Apple says it's also "magical." And no, I don't think the latter has anything to do with all the unicorn pictures some sites ran with their iPad rumor stories.

11:33: Jobs ends the presentation surrounded by a screen of paint splotches. So what do you think of Apple's new iPad? Personally, I think it looks pretty solid but I also wasn't incredibly blown away by it. That may change when the platform matures and more stuff becomes available for it. In the meantime, I've also put together an iPad first look recap with specs and features. Thanks for tuning in!

Following Apple's Big Jan. 27 Announcement (cough, Apple Tablet, cough) originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 00:01:34.

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For a long time now, the music industry has been trying different methods to reduce online music piracy -- the most notable being (the almost defunct) DRM technology that prevents files from being copied, shared, etc. The problem with this however was it often restricted the user so much that even major music services like iTunes eventually phased it out. However, this new format potentially offers the consumer a great deal more entertainment for their money than just music. This could be just what the music industry needs to try to increase sales and reduce online piracy via file sharing networks.

The big question now is, will the new MusicDNA format 'persuade' consumers to migrate from the trusted MP3 format with the promise of an enhanced multimedia experience?

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Will The New MusicDNA Format be MP3's Nemesis? originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, January 27th, 2010 at 09:00:30.

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