Posts filed under 'Music'
I don’t know this for sure - it’s a guess, ok - but I am predicting that Apple will release new
iPods
either on 9/18 or 9/25. Why you ask? We’ll first off Apple is currently running their College Student ‘free Nano (rebate)’ with the purchase of a Mac. This helps clear out a shit load of stock. Why the date? The ‘free Nano’ promo ran last year and shortly after Apple released new Nanos. Total shot in the dark but time will only tell.
August 21st, 2007
Shed a tear because Apple is being hit, yes once again, with another suit. This time it’s not a company but a country. Norway has concluded that Apple’ iTunes breaks Norway’s consumer protection laws by not allowing iTunes music to be played on any other device (other then the
iPod) due to its DRM or Fairplay technology. Norway has given Apple until October 1st to make its ‘code’ available to other device manufactures and it looks like Germany and France is are about to follow suit with Sweden and Finland closely behind. If Apple doesn’t concede they’ll be fined and eventually shut down.
We should add that rumors are afoot that Apple may allow device manufactures to license their Fairplay DRM.
This comes on the heels of California sueing Apple as well.
Norway declares Apple’s iTunes illegal [Financial Times]
January 25th, 2007
Apple is once again being sued, but this time for its iTunes store. Apple is accused of creating a monopoly because users can’t transfer the iTunes Store’s music and video to any other device but the
iPod. The suit was filed in United States District Court for the Northern District of California on Dec. 20. Apple was denied its motion to dismiss the case.
iTunes Facing Lawsuit [MediaPost]
January 3rd, 2007
So if you remember, I recently picked up the new
iPod Nano. Being the audio snob that I am (not a huge one, but nonetheless) I had to pick up a decent pair of
headphones to compliment the 8GB Nano. Not only do the standard
iPod headphones sound sub par, but fly out of your ear with a slightly aggressive nod or jostle. So I did some searching and settled on the Shure E2C in ear headphones. A few places gave them good reviews, so I figured why not. I ended up ordering the headphones from Amazon.com and signed up for a free trial of Amazon Prime, which by the way does offer 2 day delivery for ‘real’. Although the Shure’s sounded solid plugged into my computer, they distorted at high volumes on the Nano and were far from delivering a reasonable amount of bass. Sure the distortion could be attribute to the Nano small size and lack of power, but we’re not talking over the ear headphones - then I could understand. To add insult I recently read that some headphones are designed to work specifically with the iPod to offset the additional decibels. More specifically the Etymotic Research ER-6i headphones (white ones only) which are “designed specifically for use with the Apple iPod and other small portable players, offering 8 dB higher overall sensitivity and slightly more bass than the ER-6 isolator earphones.” Does this mean that all high end headphones are too sensitive for the
iPods? The Shure’s fit snugly in your ear by rapping the cord over the top of your ear - a style derived from musician monitoring headphones. Because the Shure’s require the phones to be placed into the ear canal for optimal bass response they can become a bit uncomfortable after extensive or long periods of use. Final verdict: Great in ear head phones that dampen much of the outside sound, but some other in ear headphones for cheaper are a better choice.
Available at Amazon for $99.
November 21st, 2006
If the latest round of touchscreen
iPod rumors are true, you may want to revise your holiday wishlist.
Touchscreen iPod rumors have been circulating around the Internet for awhile now. Even MethodShop.com posted some touchscreen iPod patent pictures back in February. The new twist to this story is that the touchscreen iPod might have a wide aspect ratio screen. This would make a lot of sense since Apple recently started selling movies on iTunes.
The new widescreen rumor originated from an anonymous executive at an iPod accessories company who spoke to someone at TrustedReviews. How reliable is this anonymous executive? Your guess is as good as ours. Anyway, here’s what Mr. Anonymous had to say:
“In a very matter of fact tone I was told that the product was not designed for the current generation of device, but the official 6G iPod… which is to be released in December. His company’s device only comes onto the market shortly before then and would benefit hugely because the new iPod would sport a screen that filled the full side of the device and consequently offer higher resolution video… This is why Jobs isn’t afraid of the Zune,’ he said, though he had no knowledge of whether wireless would make an appearance.”
This might help explain Steve Jobs dismissive attitude last week:
“Jobs is unimpressed with Microsoft’s Zune, which allows users to exchange songs. ‘It takes forever,’ said Jobs. ‘By the time you’ve gone through all that, the girl’s got up and left!’”
Adding more fuel to the fire, here’s what Gizmodo had to say about the widescreen iPod rumors:
“One thing’s for sure, if this widescreen iPod is released in the next two months, the Microsoft Zune with its old-fashioned 4×3 screen and crippled WiFi will be slam-dunked.”
digg story | methodshop
November 5th, 2006
Retro junkies rejoice. Speck Products has a top-loading
iPod stereo speaker system called the
SpeckTone Retro. Sure, there are hundreds of iPod speaker systems on the market. What makes this system unique is the design.
The designers of the SpeckTone Retro have succeeded in making a product that looks modern and retro at the same time. The way they’ve paired clean modern styled lines with the nostalgic elegance of the 1950’s is very impressive. The end result is an iPod speaker system that doesn’t replicate or compete with the modern, sleek look of the iPod itself. These speakers almost feel like they could be in Lucy & Ricky’s living room.
The SpeckTone Retro sells for under $150 and has the following features:
- 28 watt output
- 4 inch subwoofer
- two 3 inch drivers
- 1/8″ mini plug auxiliary input
- Sleek & Stylish Retro design
- Analog Circuitry for rich, deep tone
- High-gloss lacquered wood cabinet
- Includes 2 free iPod skins (video & nano)
- Backlit ‘green glow’ volume knob
- compatible with the following iPods: 4G, 5G, nano and mini
The SpeckTone Retro comes in 3 high-gloss lacquered color finishes, black, white and green, and is available from Amazon.com. Thanks to the guys at iPastudio for turning us on to this.
digg story | methodshop
November 4th, 2006
Want to be a rebel and break the law in the United Kingdom? It’s easy. All you need is an
iPod and a CD. Here’s how:
Step 1: Pop a CD into you computer.
Step 2: Import the songs into iTunes.
Step 3: Sync the songs onto your iPod.
Millions of people in the United Kingdom break the law everyday just by using their iPods. Why? The music industry in the UK claims that the illegal practice of coping music onto your iPod costs them hundreds of millions of pounds a year. Anyone else getting a 1998 Napster flashback here?
Apparently the UK music industry is about a decade out of sync with reality. In an effort to help the UK music industry get with the times, ministers in the UK are being urged to relax copyright laws to prevent music fans from facing prosecution for using their iPods. A UK think-tank called the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has recommended an overhaul of the legislation to allow a “private right to copy” music, and thus stop home users being treated the same as large-scale pirates.
Ian Kearns, deputy director of the IPPR, had this to say on the subject:
“Millions of Britons copy CDs on to their home computers, breaking copyright laws every day. British copyright law is out of date. When it comes to protecting the interests of copyright holders, the emphasis the music industry has put on tackling illegal distribution, and not prosecuting for personal copying, is right. But it is not the industry’s job to decide what rights consumers have. That is the job of Government.”
The dawn of the digital age of music was initially damaging to the music industry… but only because the industry failed to embrace the change consumers desired. As a result, people turned to illegal file-sharing sites such as Napster to find digital music. However, since the launch of the iTunes Music Store, digital music has proven to be a successful business model and the laws in the UK should be changed to better reflect current times. Duh!?
methodshop.com
November 1st, 2006
I was on Jason D. O’Grady’s
PowerPage when I saw this article and started cracking up. We’ve all heard of the
iPod’s vaunted “clean design,” but this is ridiculous.
Apparently someone named Sean bought what he thought was an iPod from Smalldog.com. However after removing the shrink-wrap and opening the box, he instead found inside two bars of soap and a package of cheap batteries.
As you can imagine, Sean was pretty pissed off. I found a write up of how his conversation with a Smalldog customer service rep went on Consumerist.com.
“I picked up the phone and gave Smalldog a call… I was ready to really tear into someone when a supremely polite and nice customer service rep answered the phone. When I told her about my situation (and not too nicely, I might add), she started laughing. For a second I was shocked! I mean, first you screw up, and then you laugh at me!? But the next thing I knew, I started laughing too. She used just the right amount of humor and seriousness in helping me figure out what had happened… She also wanted to know if I took any pictures, saying that she’d love to have a few to show the other people in the office… It was good to see that someone could have a sense of humor and still be incredibly accommodating at the same time.”
The big mystery to this story is how was the iPod box shrink-wrapped if it had already been opened? There are two theories.
- Someone in the iPod factory swapped out the iPod with the soap and batteries before the box got shrink-wrapped.
- Someone at UPS or Smalldog might have done a homemade shrink-wrap job. All you need is a roll of plastic and a heated cutting device.
We will probably know exactly what happened, but this tale does have a happy ending. Sean got a replacement iPod. The moral of the story: just because something is shrink-wrapped, doesn’t mean it’s actually in the box.
digg story | methodshop
October 30th, 2006
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