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MP3 Player News & Headlines
U.S. court revives antitrust suit on music downloads
(Reuters)
Reuters - A federal appeals court reinstated on Wednesday an antitrust lawsuit accusing major record labels of conspiring to fix prices for potentially millions of people who download their music over the Internet.
Man Destroys iPod In A Blender
Blendtec, a company that makes heavy duty blenders, is destroying iPods to help sell $400 blenders.
The Strangest iPod Accessory Ever?
Thanko has introduced a bizarre iPod box speaker that may be the strangest iPoc accessory ever.
Spain presents new Internet anti-piracy law
(AFP)
AFP - The Spanish government presented on Friday a proposed a new Internet anti-piracy law which will allow judges to shut down websites offering illegal downloads of music, movies and other entertainment.
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.
MP3 co-creator wants to smarten-up dumb devices
(AFP)
AFP - A German electrical engineer who helped make MP3 players a reality has turned his attention to making "dumb devices" act smart.
iPods Pose Risk of Hearing Damage
Listening to iPods for as little as 5 minutes a day can cause hearing loss.
New iPod shuffle Available Worldwide This Friday
Nearly half the size of the original, the new iPod shuffle is just half a cubic inch in volume, weighs just half an ounce and features a minimal aluminum design with a built-in clip, making it the most wearable iPod ever.
MP3 Tech Commentary
Student to Challenge $675,000 Illegal Music Download Fine Boston PhD student, Joel Tenenbaum, who was found guilty of illegally downloading music in August 2009, is to challenge his $675,000 fine. The announcement which was made via his blog, details the new motion -- there's also a PDF file of the actual submitted document. In essence, the new motion is asking for a re-trial and for the fine to be reduced. Joel Tenenbaum's attorney, Charles R. Nesson, is arguing that in the original case ruling by Massachusetts district judge, Nancy Gertner, the issue of 'fair use' was wrongly decided. It is also argued in the new motion that the jury's damage ward for the 30 illegally downloaded songs is grossly excessive; this equates to $22,500 per song. It will be interesting to see if Judge Nancy Gertner deems the arguments worthy of a new trial. If not, Joel's only other argument reading the official document is to show that the $675,000 fine is grossly excessive and that it should be lowered to a 'reasonable amount' -- what ever that is? Related Articles:
Student to Challenge $675,000 Illegal Music Download Fine originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 08:54:48.
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Free DJ Software: Use Your Digital Music To Mix Like a Pro! Do you have aspirations of being a DJ? Or maybe you feel like having fun with your digital music collection and want to get creative? If so, then DJ software enables you to use existing audio files to create unique remixes. There's a lot you can do when creating remixes to add your own style to them such as layering real-time effects (echo, reverb, etc.), creating loops, synchronizing BPM's (beat matching) and lots more. DJ software also typically enables you to record your mixes and save them in various file formats -- MP3 being the most popular. This is a great tool if you want to show off your creativity to your friends and family -- especially if you intend on being the New Year's Eve party DJ! If you fancy having a go at mixing up your music library, then be sure to read our Free DJ Software article that showcases some of the best free DJ software that you can download from the Internet. Related Articles:
Free DJ Software: Use Your Digital Music To Mix Like a Pro! originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Tuesday, December 29th, 2009 at 09:00:30.
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The Tablets of CES 2010 While 3D TVs and eBook readers dominated the Consumer Electronics Show, tablets didn't fare too bad either. In fact, I haven't seen this many tablets since the last time I played Pac-Man. From Lenovo and HP to Dell and Sony, several companies featured their take on the tablet or slate concept. Even Microsoft's Steve Ballmer devoted time in his keynote speech to tout the touchy-feely devices. Check out some of the more interesting tablets to grace the show in our CES 2010 Tablet Round-up. Photo © Freescale The Tablets of CES 2010 originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 at 00:01:04.
Fight Like Apes Thank Loyal Fans With Free MP3 Album Irish alternative/punk rock band Fight Like Apes (FLA) are thanking their music fans for their support by offering up an exclusive free album download via their website. The 11-track festive freebie is a live album of FLA songs recorded this year at the Eurosonic festival 2009 in Groningen, Holland. If you intend on backing up your free music album by using CD Burning Software, then you might also be interested in the accompanying album artwork that can be downloaded from the FLA website. You can then print out this artwork for your CD jewel case; or alternatively design your own artwork using Free CD/DVD Cover Design Software. As an added bonus, there's also the MP3 track, Lumpy Dough, that you can get for free when signing up to the FLA newsletter. Related Articles:
Fight Like Apes Thank Loyal Fans With Free MP3 Album originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Thursday, December 17th, 2009 at 06:08:40.
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CD Repair Kits: Are They Really Worth Buying? Under normal usage most optical media (CDs and DVDs) pick up minor surface abrasions that don't affect them. However, accidents can and do happen which can cause more severe scratches which cause problems; skipping for example is a common symptom. If the damage is bad enough then it can even stop a disc from playing altogether. So, are CD repair kits really worth buying? As long as the scratch to your disc isn't deep, there's a good chance that a CD repair kit will be able to successfully resurface your damaged CD or DVD. They can't fix cracks but generally have a high success rate repairing moderately damaged discs. Many of the basic kits can typically fix up to 50 discs, while the more advanced ones can have added features like being able to fix deeper scratches or doubling as a disc cleaner -- this makes them even more useful if you need the extra features. If you consider how much money it would cost to replace your damaged discs, then purchasing a CD repair kit is a worthy investment. If you've got rare or expensive music CDs for example, then a repair kit makes perfect sense -- especially if you want to use a CD ripper to convert them to digital audio files. This will enable you to keep your valuable music collection in a safe place while still enjoying them as MP3s on your computer, MP3 player, or portable media device. If you're looking for a repair kit for your CDs and DVDs, then our CD/DVD Repair Kit Guide will show you some of the best kits for your money. Related Articles:
CD Repair Kits: Are They Really Worth Buying? originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 11:04:45.
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Free Music Downloads This Week As we near the end of another year, here is the last selection of free music downloads for 2009 - don't worry though, there will be plenty more in 2010! If you're planning on a New Year's Eve party, then be sure to check out the first freebie in particular that's over 30 minutes of non-stop music! Happy New Year to you all! Artist/Band: MoneyPenny Artist/Band: The Little Death Artist/Band: Dan Black Related Articles:
Genre: Club / Electro / Disco House
Free Music Download: Spandex Xmas Mixtape 9 (31:35). This mighty mixtape from MoneyPenny is a non-stop mix of electronic dance music which is ideal for any New Year's eve party! For more free mixtape downloads by MoneyPenny, check out their MySpace page.
Genre: Rock / Blues / Soul
Free Music Download: Why My Baby (4:06). Taken from their self-titled new album, this track shows off the bands musical style which is a mix of rock riffs, blues, and soulful melodies. As an added bonus, there's also a second download this week from The Little Death's new album called, Won't Ever Let You Down Again (6:27). The new 13-track album is now available digitally from digital music services and via the band's MySpace web page.
Genre: Electronica
Free Music Download: Pass That Head Noize (Missy Elliot Cover) (3:21). Dan Black is a British electronica artist who is also a former member of 'The Servant' band. The free promotional track that you can download is a good example of Dan's electro-pop/hip hop style. Incidentally, the U.S. version of his new album, ((UN)), (Polydor Records) will have a bonus selection of extra tracks and is expected, spring 2010.
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, December 30th, 2009 at 09:00:06.
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CES 2010: 'SuperSpeed USB' products announced What's faster than "Hi-Speed USB?" That would be "SuperSpeed USB," which is apparently, um, super fast. Now, USB speed may not be exactly sexy news compared to say, Apple's tablet from heaven (cue singing cherubs). But as someone who frequently backs up gi-normous files from my computer to my many external hard drives, faster USB speed is a much more practical thing for yours truly. (We're talking 10 times the speed of USB 2.0, which is obviously a big difference.) Anywho, The USB Implementers Forum announced the first 17 products certified for SuperSpeed USB (that would USB 3.0 for you numbers-and-decimals lovers). They include an ASUS motherboard, notebooks from HP and Fujitsu, and an external hard drive from Western Digital, which also unveiled its new speedy external drive at CES. For the complete list, click on the link above. Photo © USB-IF CES 2010: 'SuperSpeed USB' products announced originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, January 6th, 2010 at 00:01:55.
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