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Griffin Intros 2007 Line Up
Griffin Technology today announced their 2007 lineup that will debut next week at the MacWorld Conference & Expo.
Microsoft Zune Media Player
(PC World)
PC World - TigerDirect is sweetening its offer of a refurbished Zune 4GB with an FM transmitter and charger, a dashboard grip pad, and a leather carrying case--all for $50 (you can find the new MP3 player by itself at Amazon for over $100).
NAMM Update: iKey Plus Turns Audio Into MP3s
iKEY-Audio introduced the iKEY PLUS – a device that records live audio and converts it into high quality MP3 and WAV files and saves them directly to an iPod or another USB compatible storage device.
Performers see tiny returns from streaming music
(Reuters)
Reuters - As the music business continues to watch traditional revenue streams slow or even evaporate, a good deal of faith often has been placed in what's hailed as a panacea for the industry's ills: online streaming.
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....
iPods Pose Risk of Hearing Damage
Listening to iPods for as little as 5 minutes a day can cause hearing loss.
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.
Microsoft phone system hits reset on digital music
(Reuters)
Reuters - It's been more than six years since then-Microsoft CEO Bill Gates admitted that Apple caught the company "flat-footed" in the digital music market and directed his team to make up for lost ground, according to recently surfaced internal e-mails.
MP3 Tech Commentary
Free Music Downloads This Week The free MP3 downloads in our music discovery spotlight this week are: Artist/Band: Rich Hil Artist/Band: Groove Armada Artist/Band: Yes Giantess Related Articles:
Genre: Hip Hop / Rock
Free Music Download: Lady in The Hall (3:40)
Extras: More information and additional free MP3s from the official Rich Hil Website
Genre: Electronic
Free Music Download: Shameless (feat. Bryan Ferry) (4:47)
Extras: Free additional Groove Armada track (Pull Up (Crank It Up) (Mad Decent Remix)) via RCRD LBL
Album: Black Light (OM Records), slated for release March 2, 2010
Genre: Pop / Electronic
Free Music Download: The Ruins (3:04)
Extras: More free MP3 tracks (published previously) via our free music downloads blog
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, January 29th, 2010 at 06:48:04.
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Netbook Ownership Sees Increase The last few times I tried buying a netbook, I ended up buying a small, low-end laptop instead. In both cases, I ultimately decided that a netbook was just overpriced and underpowered for me, even for travel purposes. I think that, in a nutshell, portrays one of the key challenges for netbooks. (It certainly doesn't help that PC makers in general seem to collectively nerf netbooks to push people to buy a laptop instead.) Nevertheless, it appears that more people are warming up to the devices. According to Twice.com, a Pricegrabber study found that the number of folks who own a netbook has gone up from 10 percent in 2009 to about 15 percent in January. Interestingly, the primary market for netbooks has gotten grayer, now creeping up to the 45-year-old to 64-year-old age range. Respondents also said they won't spend more than $750 for their next computing device (not sure if they meant any computer or just netbooks). Personally, I think some of the prices I've seen for netbooks out there are just way too high for the performance they offer. Fortunately, it appears that prices are starting to go down. The same survey found that the average price of mobile computing devices fell from $808 in December 2008 to $645 in December 2009. Hopefully, this ultimately translates to lower prices for netbooks. Netbook Ownership Sees Increase originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 at 03:38:59.
Free Music Downloads This Week The free music downloads in our spotlight this week are: Artist/Band: Erik Hassle Artist/Band: Groove Armada Artist/Band: Scanners Related Articles:
Genre: Pop / Rock / Soul
Free Music Download: Hurtful (Penguin Prison Remix) (4:36)
Music Video: Hurtful (2010 Version)
Album: Hurtful single available from the iTunes Store.
Genre: Electronic
Free Music Download: Paper Romance (Clasixx Remix) (4:51)
Music Video: Paper Romance
Extras: More free Groove Armada tracks via our previous music download blog.
Album: Black Light due for release March 2010 (Om Records).
Genre: Alternative / Pop / Indie
Free Music Download: We Never Close Our Eyes (3:28)
Album: Submarine (Dim Mak Records) available now digitally from iTunes and other digital music services.
Free Music Downloads This Week originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Friday, February 19th, 2010 at 11:03:10.
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Apple to Sell iPad at Best Buy, Other Locations Looks like Apple isn't planning to fly solo when it comes to iPad sales. Like Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer in Top Gun, Apple has apparently told Best Buy that it can be its wingman anytime when it comes to selling the iPad. As long as they don't start playing volleyball with shortened nets at the beach, then everything's still kosher... The comments were made by Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook at the Goldman Sachs annual tech conference in San Francisco, according to media outlets such as Computerworld and AppleInsider. Cook also said that Apple plans to expand to more retailers in the future. For more info, check out our article on iPad availability and pricing. Photo © Apple Apple to Sell iPad at Best Buy, Other Locations originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 01:41:17.
Nintendo Gets on eReader Bandwagon Some people scoffed when Nintendo first announced its ginormous DSi XL. But all that extra real estate apparently comes with at least one benefit: better readability. This, um, "power up" apparently isn't lost on Nintendo, which will be releasing a DS eBook title on June 14, according to BusinessWeek. Called "100 Classic Books," the title will retail for $19.99 and put content in your DS that even your grandmother will love — or at least recognize. The eBooks should be especially fitting with the larger DSi XL, which will be released in the U.S. on March 28 for $189.99. Still, it's important to note that while the DSi XL screen looks particularly hulking compared to the old DS "phat," DS Lite and DSi, it's still relatively piddly compared to even the smaller dedicated eReaders. But hey, if people actually use an iPhone as an eReader, then there should be no reason why the same thing can be done with the DS, right? Anywho, get ready to start squinting in about four months. (For more info about the Nintendo DS, check out About.com's DS site.) Photo © Nintendo Nintendo Gets on eReader Bandwagon originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 00:01:28.
Web Radio: Tune into Thousands of Radio Stations From Your Desktop If you're old enough (like me) to remember when there wasn't an Internet, then you'll probably have memories of fiddling around with the tuner on your radio trying to find a decent music station to listen to. If you were really lucky, you may have also had a built-in analog tape deck that you could use to record radio onto compact cassette tape. These days, it's so much easier (and convenient) to listen to radio. With the invention of the Internet, we are now accustomed to listening to music on-demand via streaming audio, MP3 downloads, music services, and other Internet-based delivery methods. Web radio, or more commonly referred to as Internet radio, is very similar to traditional radio in that you can tune into radio stations that broadcast over the Internet; a lot of terrestrial-based stations also broadcast over the Web. However, one of the biggest advantages of using this technology, is that you can access thousands of stations from all over the world -- something that couldn't be done before the digital age. But how do we access this enormous resource of music? One of the most convenient ways is to use software that can play streaming music straight to your desktop. As well as popular software media players such as iTunes, Windows Media Player, and Winamp which can access Web radio, there's alternative light-weight applications that specialize in delivering Internet radio. The big advantage of using a dedicated Web radio software program is that many of them offer more functions such as being able to record what you're listening to -- similar to the old cassette tape. For more information on listening to and recording Internet radio stations, be sure to read our article on Free Web Radio Software. Related Articles:
Web Radio: Tune into Thousands of Radio Stations From Your Desktop originally appeared on About.com Digital Music on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010 at 09:00:36.
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A $150 eReader This Year? Plus AP, Conde Naste Eye eReaders and iPad Rejoice, literate cheapskates! Chip maker Freescale, which counts Amazon and Sony among its customers, recently announced that it has created a faster processor that will lower prices of eBook readers. The i.MX508 processor, which is twice as fast as the ones currently in use, should result in an eReader hitting the magical $150 price point as early as this year, according to Wired.com. (The company claims that it supplies 90 percent of the processors used by eReaders on the market.) A separate report by Reuters estimates the savings from the device to equal about $30, which doesn't sound like a lot. But every little bit certainly helps a sector that's seeing both phenomenal sales growth but is also under siege from new slate tablets such as Apple's iPad. Meanwhile, the Associated Press and magazine publisher Conde Naste are both planning to provide more content to electronic devices such as cell phones, eReaders and Apple's iPad. According to eWeek.com, the AP considers the move as a way to free itself from the constraints of the Web and deliver news to consumers directly. Conde Nast, meanwhile, hopes that putting more resources on digital content will help boost revenue streams. As a young dinosaur who's nowhere close to retirement and works in what's now considered the prehistoric field of print journalism, anything that can boost revenue streams is certainly worth a shot to me. A $150 eReader This Year? Plus AP, Conde Naste Eye eReaders and iPad originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 00:01:07.
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