snapshot 5/30/07

iTunes 101: Apple brings college to the iPod
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9723677-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1040_3-0-5
Apple on Wednesday launched iTunes U, a new section for the iTunes Store dedicated to free content related to all things college. Posted material is set to include media such as language lessons, lab demonstrations, campus tours and, yes, course lectures.


Microsoft to unveil coffee-table-shaped computer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070530/tc_nm/microsoft_surface_dc_1;_ylt=AmavhLEBs0QKvrPoObWbhKFkM3wV
Microsoft Corp. will unveil a coffee-table-shaped "surface computer" on Wednesday in a major step towards co-founder Bill Gates's view of a future where the mouse and keyboard are replaced by more natural interaction using voice, pen and touch.

Microsoft Surface, which has a 30-inch display under a hard-plastic tabletop, allows people to touch and move objects on screen for everything from digital finger painting and jigsaw puzzles to ordering off a virtual menu in a restaurant.

It also recognizes and interacts with devices placed on its surface, so cell phone users can easily buy ringtones or change payment plans by placing their handsets on in-store displays, or a group of people gathered round the table can check out the photos on a digital camera placed on top.


Apple launches DRM-free iTunes service
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070530/tc_nm/apple_itunes_dc_2;_ylt=Am11VJhIO6NInDiy0Skq_zFkM3wV
http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/05/30/apple_launches_itunes_plus_alongside_itunes_7_2_release.html
Apple Inc. said it launched iTunes Plus, a digital rights management-free music download service, for $1.29 per song. The new service, offering higher audio quality music downloads, will operate alongside the existing iTunes, which offers music tracks at 99 cents per song, Apple said in a statement.


iTunes Upgrade Paves Way For EMI's DRM Free Launch. Indies Left Wondering When They'll Be Invited.
http://hypebot.typepad.com/hypebot/2007/05/itunes_upgrade_.html
iTunes is still silent, however, as to when DRM free tracks from hundreds of indie labels clamoring to offer them will become available. While Apple sent a letter weeks ago asking indies to deliver mp3 masters, no label or distributor that we surveyed had been offered a launch date or the contract addendum that would be required to allow DRM free sales.


CBS buys online music network Last.fm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070530/wr_nm/cbs_lastfm_dc_1;_ylt=Ah4XPqr_bi215QAWJQKlNAVkM3wV
CBS Corp said on Wednesday it had paid $280 million in cash for the popular music social network service Last.fm. CBS said in a statement the online service had more than 15 million active users in more than 200 countries and would fit well with its plans to attract younger viewers and transform it from a content company to an audience company.


Scoop: New Palm Device is “Foleo:” Don’t Call it a Laptop
http://crunchgear.com/2007/05/30/scoop-new-palm-device-is-foleo-dont-call-it-a-laptop/
Palm will call it the “Foleo”, according to a reliable source that owes us favors still. The Foleo isn’t a handheld, like a Tungsten or Lifedrive. Nor is it a smartphone, like a Treo. It’s a “smartphone companion”, a way to interface with your smartphone in more broad terms. It features a full sized QWERTY keyboard and large LCD screen, and pairs with your Treo (or, presumably, other smartphone) via Bluetooth. Edits on the Foleo are matched on the smartphone, and visa versa. While it sounds like just a way to interface with your mobile, it’s really a bit more.
It will have it’s own OS, running Palm’s homebrew Linux-based OS, the first device featuring the operating system. It also has the ability to run apps natively and independently from your smartphone, meaning it could quite literally replace many people’s laptops. It’ll launch this summer at $499 (AR) with applications from selected developers following shortly after.


The trouble with Apple TV
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/06/11/100060835/index.htm?section=money_technology
Take Apple TV, the $300 set-top box that Jobs unveiled last October and that finally started shipping in at the end of February, several weeks late. You don't see many ads for it on TV, even though Apple is blitzing the airwaves with iPod and iMac spots, and after living with one for the past few weeks, I think I see why. It's just not very good. It's about as uninspired as another prominent dud, the Zune, the MP3 player Microsoft (Charts, Fortune 500) launched last year. In fact, the Apple TV is so Zune-like, you'd think Jobs was so busy with the iPhone that he outsourced the Apple TV project to the folks up in Redmond.


One Little Indian Gets Digital
http://prod1.cmj.com/articles/display_article.php?id=37047268
One Little Indian US, the label home to Björk and the Twilight Singers, have launched Digital First, a new online marketing division that will promote their artists to new media. Online radio stations, video broadcasts, web reviews, and MP3 promotions are all part of the new plan, as well as focusing on its wide range of online retailers (such as iTunes, eMusic, and Napster) via Caroline Distribution to further sales.


QiGO announces Internet Content Keys
http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/29/qigo-announces-internet-content-keys/
QiGO's on the scene with its Internet Content Keys, which serve the purpose of foregoing logins and passwords for providing key-recipients access to premium internet content. (Example: get a branded Slate 1yr subscription QiGO key, pop it in your computer and you're off without logging in.) Sure, it's a sensible idea until you remember binding internet products and services to physical artifacts works fine the first time, but progressively suckier the second, third, and tenth time... or whenever you leave your home, want to use said service on another machine, etc. Hey, just saying, if you want to gift someone access to some premium internet content, it's probably best done with an email invite or (gasp) one-time-use code.


Apple hides account info in DRM-free music, too
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070530-apple-hides-account-info-in-drm-free-music-too.html
Apple embeds your account information in all songs sold on the store, not just DRM-free songs. Previously it wasn't much of a big deal, since no one could imagine users sharing encrypted, DRMed content. But now that DRM-free music from Apple is on the loose, the hidden data is more significant since it could theoretically be used to trace shared tunes back to the original owner.


Maroon 5 album breaks iTunes sales record
http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/07/05/30/itunes.sales.record.broken/
A&M/Octone recording act Maroon 5's sophomore album, "It Won't Be Soon Before Long," has broken an iTunes Store sales record amidst predictions of a chart-topping debut week. The Grammy-winning band sold over 101,000 albums via iTunes in one week including more than 50,000 digital pre-orders that provided fans with two exclusive tracks and a Ticketmaster pre-sale offer. "Maroon 5 fans broke an iTunes record, making 'It Won't Be Soon Before Long' the no. 1 most popular album upon week of release," said James Diener, President of A&M/Octone Records.


YouTube Now Embedded Into AppleTV
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-d-youtube-now-embedded-into-appletv/
Steve Jobs, speaking at D confernece, announced that YouTube is now embedded into the AppleTV interface and works off a live Internet connection, that is does not have to go through the PC. You can see all YouTube videos, most viewed, search and other normal site functions. Jobs: The biggest thing limiting the quality of video on YouTube is the source of the material. It is amazing how these fun these things are. Our model for Apple TV is like DVD player for the internet.