There are rumors abounding that MySpace is in advanced stages of trying to social-network music system iMeem, and they set us thinking. Looking at Facebook's tie-up with Lala, and even MySpace's with iLike, is this all to outsmart ...READ»
In the digital music arena, it often seems like there is iTunes, and then there is everybody else. (A spoof of an iTunes ad pictured left.) While Apple cornered the market early by dropping the iPod on the world and then shrewdly ...READ»
Always a caring bunch, E.U. lawmakers have just mandated that MP3 player makers remind their users of the risks of hearing damage from prolonged, loud headphone use. Their ruling is based on some sensible science, and it's aimed at ...READ»
Remember when I said Apple probably wouldn't let the Pre sneakily connect to iTunes for media syncing? I was right. And now, after some to-and-froing, the USB's regulatory body has sided with Apple, effectively agreeing it can block ...READ»
Microsoft's Zune HD rolls out today, but as part of its launch Microsoft's spinning it with an interesting angle--the Zune 4.0 software makes it into a cloud-based, central component of your home-media system.
As Microsoft puts ...READ»
It seems intuitive enough that downloading music would be less carbon-intensive than buying a CD that has been transported in a truck and wrapped in multiple layers of plastic. Now a study (PDF) funded by Intel and Microsoft and ...READ»
Silly, music business. Will the record labels ever learn? There's news today that a group of record labels are busy working on their own next-generation digital album format to rival Apple's "Cocktail" system. It's doomed to ...READ»
The current slump in the adult entertainment industry is about more than just the recession. Like music and news, porn must compete against a raft of free content. Now the business is betting that mobile is its salvation.READ»
In a sign that the major labels are finally beginning to embrace digital music worldwide, U.K.-based digital music provider 7digital announced a pan-European licensing agreement with Warner Music to sell their MP3s, nearly completing ...READ»
There's a delightful irony in this: Metallica, long-term DRM advocates, iTunes hold-outs, and MP3 haters, are releasing a branded jacket that includes Skullcandy speakers and--horror of horrors--an iPod dock connector.
The M4 jacket ...READ»
Coldplay is the king of downloads. According to Neilsen, the band has become the first to sell over one million digital albums in the U.S., and over two million worldwide. It may be surprising that this hasn't happened before, but it ...READ»
Ditching a car for a fuel-efficient Vespa isn't enough to satisfy some sustainability advocates, but few people will have reason to complain now that Italian manufacturer Piaggio has introduced the first hybrid scooter. The ...READ»
LEGO has teamed with electronics designer Digital Blue to create a line of LEGO-inspired consumer electronics for creative kids and nostalgic adults alike. Announced earlier this year, the final product will be available this fall, ...READ»
Microsoft may have another new audio player up its sleeve: The Zune "3rd," as it's being dubbed. The tip came in the form of a supposed advertising image, seen below, courtesy of Gizmodo.
News of this Zune, which appears ...READ»
I exist mostly in an Apple ecosystem: I work on a Mac, call on an iPhone, and work out with a Shuffle. And yet, here I am, spending more and more time on Rhapsody.
Rhapsody, Real's subscription-based music service, is my tech life's ...READ»
Some audiophiles would argue "let it be," but the Beatles' discography is finally being brought fully into the digital 21st Century: Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music have just announced that the completely re-mastered ...READ»
As promised months ago, Apple has implemented a tiered pricing structure for iTunes music tracks today. But with many of the same tracks available from Amazon at a lower price, and a fresh report showing that Amazon's music ...READ»
If you're an iPhone user, you just looked at Apple's [AAPL] new 4GB iPod Shuffle and groaned.
Announced this morning, the little stainless steel slab is beautifully minimalist, and about the size of a piece of Trident. But its ...READ»
Plenty of people have already written eulogies for the compact disc now that iTunes is the number one U.S. music retailer, and CD sales are in a death spiral. But U2 is making an excellent case for old-fashioned physical, ...READ»
It's been a tough year for Redmond: bricking Zunes, class-action suits, and the people-hate-Vista debacle. You'd think those three catapstrophes would be enough to make the PC giant shape up. You'd be wrong.
Microsoft [MSFT], it ...READ»
Digital recorders for your guitar playing are two a penny, but the Ovation iDea guitar apparently represents the first time digital recording has been built into the body of a guitar.Inside the acoustic-electric instrument sits an MP3 ...READ»
The term “Internet radio” is reminiscent of those DVD/VHS combo players that were popular a few years back: a hybrid of two technologies, one embraced the future while the other clinged to the past. And if Slacker radio is any ...READ»
Yesterday in San Fransisco, Apple [NASDAQ:AAPL] announced a slew of music-related device and software updates for the iPod and Macintosh. Some are big and some are small, but as a collective whole, the updates are an effective ...READ»
There has been a little bit of speculation as to the form-factor that iriver's [KDQ:060570] new media player, the Spinn, would take; early FCC leaks seemed to suggest that it would operate via a traditional directional pad. But the ...READ»
Hot on the heels of the announcement of their new ZEN X-Fi media player is news of another Creative [OTC:CREAF] media player, apparently to be called the ZEN Krystal. When it comes to names, there's no accounting for taste -- one ...READ»