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France eyes 'Google tax' on Internet ads
(AFP)
AFP - A proposed French "Google tax" on online advertising revenues to fund subsidies for musicians and newspapers struggling in the digital era drew criticism from the Internet sector on Thursday.
Mac Laptop Explodes Flames
Apple laptops are known for their tendency to run hot; apparently, they run hot enough that they sometimes burst into flames....
Samsung Adds eReaders, App Store, 3D Partnerships
(PC Magazine)
PC Magazine - LAS VEGAS—Samsung Electronics expanded in virtually every direction on Wednesday, announcing updates to its HDTV line, including a deep push into 3D, updates to its Blu-ray players, a multi-device application store, its own e-reader, a see-through MP3 player, camera updates, and a willingness to go green.
SpeckTone Retro Stereo Speaker System for iPod
The SpeckTone Retro is one of the few iPod accessories that has caught our eyes recently. The fifties look of the all-wood speaker cabinet is finished with a high-gloss lacquered piano finish, and is a surprisingly nice complement to the modern look of iPods.
Griffin Intros Evolve iPod Speakers
Griffin Technology today announced the unveiling of its new lineup of powered speaker systems. Evolve is a speaker system with a flat charging base that holds your iPod in a Universal Dock.
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 Tech Commentary
Apple's Tablet Much Closer to Reality? For the most part, the mysterious Apple tablet has pretty much had a fairytale-like existence. Recent news accounts, though, appear to have the device one step closer to becoming non-fiction. CNBC hosts seemed quite titillated during the wee hours of Tuesday as they ruminated on reports about Apple unveiling its tablet later this month and officially launching in March. The Wall Street Journal also reported similar information about the oft-rumored tablet, citing sources "briefed on the matter." Key info from the Wall Street Journal article include a touchscreen of either 10 inches or 11 inches. But the kicker is an estimated price of $1,000 (yikes!) by an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co. If that price holds up, the Apple tablet, iSlate or whatever it ends up being called better be real and spectacular. Then again, I remember the original 8GB iPhone launching at $599 without a contract. The lesson? Never underestimate what the market would bear for an Apple product. Apple's Tablet Much Closer to Reality? originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 23:01:29.
Panasonic DMP-B15: Take Your Blu-ray On The Road They say you always remember the first time. In Panasonic's case, one first it gets credit for is the first portable Blu-ray player, namely its DMP-B15. With its excellent display, watching a Blu-ray movie on the DMP-B15 will remind you of just how far technology has come. At the same time, looking at its price tag will also likely remind you of just how underpaid you are at work. Oh, the price of being an early adopter. To find out more about the device, check out my Panasonic DMP-B15 Portable Blu-ray player review. Panasonic DMP-B15: Take Your Blu-ray On The Road originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Thursday, December 31st, 2009 at 00:01:17.
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 Christmas Music Albums As Christmas day is nearly upon us, what better way to celebrate than with festive music playing in the background? For your enjoyment, here are a couple of free Christmas album downloads to celebrate the holiday season: Source: Amazon MP3 Artist/Band: Jason Lytle Related Articles:
Tracks: 7
Free Christmas Album: Sampler Claus
is a compilation of 50s and 60s classic songs by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Mario Lanza, and others.
Tracks: 7
Free Christmas Album: Merry X-Mas 2009
is an improvised Christmas album of piano songs produced by Ex Grandaddy member, Jason Lytle, as a gift for all his fans.
Free Christmas Music Albums originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 06:54:44.
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Free Album Download: Magnatune Hands Out a Christmas Compilation To help you get into the festive spirit this season, why not get yourself a free Christmas album? The California-based record label, Magnatune, is generously offering up a free 24-track album called, The Magnatune Christmas Compilation. It contains a selection of timeless classics such as Jingle Bells, Silent Night, We Three Kings, and many more tracks that have been performed by Magnatune's artists. In order to download this free album, all you need to do is provide your email address; you will then receive a confirmation email giving you a private link for the album, along with your username and password which you need for the download to start. To get your free Christmas album download, simply visit Magnatune's holiday page on their website. Related Articles:
Free Album Download: Magnatune Hands Out a Christmas Compilation originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, December 18th, 2009 at 09:00:52.
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Free Music Downloads This Week Here's another weekly roundup of free music downloads that will hopefully introduce you to some new styles of music that you'll like. The music downloads are full tracks that will give you a good taster of the sort of sound that the artist/band produces before you consider purchasing their album. The free music in our spotlight this week is: Artist/Band: Solid Gold Artist/Band: Good Shoes Artist/Band: Julia Nunes Related Articles:
Genre: Electronic / Synth Pop
Free Music Download: Synchronize (White Sea Remix) (5:30)
is free promotional track taken from the band's Bodies of Water album and remixed by White Sea. This remix is a taster of Solid Gold's fusion of dreamy 80s electronic sounds mixed with synth pop. Their new Synchronize EP is due for release Jan. 12 exclusively on the iTunes Store.
Genre: Indie
Free Music Download: Under Control (2:29)
from the British indie band, Good Shoes, are offering this free track from their forthcoming album, No Hope, No Future which is due for digital release Jan. 26, 2010. In order to get this free music download, all you need to do is sign up to the Good Shoes mailing list via their website and follow the instructions sent to your inbox. There's also the Under Control music video that you can watch via YouTube.
Genre: Acoustic
Free Music Download: I Think You Know (3:40).
New York based Julia Nunes, who has unconventionally made a name for herself via her YouTube video channel is to release her new 5-track EP, I Think You Know, Feb. 2, 2010 (Rude Butler Records). To celebrate this event, you can download the I Think You Know teaser single to get to hear Julia's unique acoustic music style that includes the ukulele, melodica, piano, guitar, and even items such as pillows, tissue boxes, and water bottles for added percussion effects!
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 09:00:36.
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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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