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So we are now in the maturation phase of the online music world, past the infancy when there was a mad rush to Napster, Kazaa and their brethren. Although those P2P options still exist, there are now legal download options such as iTunes, legal Napster and several others. Even audiobooks have gone MP3, with sites like Audible.com offering the newest novels in formats ready for MP3 players. But I want to look at a niche that has been flourishing since the beginning of the web, and still is an incredible, legal and mostly free option when you want to hear some great music. I am talking about downloading the concerts of bands that are "taper-friendly", which means the band allows fans to record concerts and distribute them freely. So we'll take a look at the history of this concept, what it looks like today, and how to get your hands on some great shows.Click to continue reading Legal Concert Downloads: A Look at the Tech
I was as surprised as you were when I found out the PDA we hinted at last week was actually going to be palmOne's Tungsten T5. For $399 you get: 215 Megs of storage space, portable drive functionality, a 320 x 480 display, MP3 playback, and Bluetooth. While I love the form factor, I still find it a little steep, plus it's sorely lacking Wi-Fi. And this is supposed to be their high end model.
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| PalmOne
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Well, it looks like SpaceShipOne has won the $10 million Ansari X-Prize as it reached over 368,000 feet above the Earth. A couple of months ago we reported on the ships first trip to space, which was a success. The prize rules require the winning team to send a piloted craft up to the 100-kilometer altitude (the accepted official distance of outer space) twice within a two week period. The craft must also bring with it enough baggage to represent the weight of two average passengers. On today's flight, that baggage was in the form of teddy bears, toys for charity, and other personal mementos. Mojave Aerospace Ventures, the company that funded the SpaceShipOne project, spent over $20 million to get this far. While a $10 million prize does not sound like much of a reward, there are already many companies that are ready to license the technology, one of which is Virgin Atlantic. Virgin plan on investing $25 million into a commercial space flight division called Virgin Galactic which will be based on SpaceShipOne technology.
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| CNN
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In yet another OIJ (only in Japan) story, we now introduce you to "The Sound Princess," the first real attempt to world peace (not really). Everyone can relate to being in a quiet bathroom waiting for someone near you to flush a toilet, turn on the faucet, or leave the room so you can "mask the cruder noises of nature," now this most awkward of situations seems to be a thing of the past thanks to "The Sound Princess" from the leading Japanese toilet producer Toto Ltd. The way the Sound Princess works is the user passes her hand over a sensor, and the convincing sound of a torrent of water comes from a speaker, thus eliminating the awkward silence. Now, the waiting game in the cut throat world of toilet manufacturers to see who tries to take back the crown of most creative "plug-ins" for the toilet.
This toilet does in fact have a good purpose, statistics have shown that women flush the toilet several times to cover up the "crude noises" and they are using much more water than they should be so The Sound Princess will cut down on water use as well as related utility costs.
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Read More | Yahoo! News/AP
Seems like a match made in heaven, right? According to USA Today, the two companies are joining forces to deliver movies on demand to TiVo's set-top boxes via the interent. Netflix is really playing its cards right though, by stating that the deal will not be exclusive to just TiVo. They would be free to deliver movies to other boxes, including those offered by cable and satellite companies. While this will certainly help cut down on all the DVD skipping we get from the scratches on shipped discs, we're also wary of the waiting time it would take for movies to be downloaded to the box, which might be as long as the movie itself.
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| USA Today
In a move to get you to upgrade the cell phone you just got last month, Samsung is working on a miniature drive technology for its future models. Though there are no details as to when they might become available, a Samsung spokesperson said that a 0.85-inch drive is indeed "in the R&D stage." Toshiba and GS Magicstor have already announced plans to build drives of that size, which will also likely be used for cell phone storage. Maybe now we'll be able to see the video for "Flap Your Wings" with our ring tones.
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| CNet News
Isn't it pretty? Just another thing to get you excited about the release of one of the two major handheld systems soon to be on the market. As you can see, Nintendo is also advertising the Metroid Prime Hunters demo which is packed in with the system.
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Nintendo DS Price and Launch Date
Gear Live Playlist: Ray Lamontagne, Citizen Cope, Jamie Cullem, Damien Rice, Nick Drake
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Music,
Playlist takes a look at the world of male singer-songwriters this week, a tradition going back to Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams and Bob Dylan, and continuing today with a whole list of gifted musicians. New releases by two American newcomers, and some recent releases and a collection essential from their British counterparts. Enjoy the world where all you need is an acoustic guitar and a lyric sheet.
Today an image of an upcoming Tungsten handheld was posted (and then removed, apparently) on Amazon.com. As you can see, it appears to be a slider-less model, with a 320x480 display. Rumors are also pointing to a release as early as next Tuesday. October has traditionally been a month for new handheld announcements by palmOne, so I'm inclined to believe this news. There's no word as to whether it's the successor to the Tungsten E (most likely) or if it will be billed as the Tungsten T5. I'm still holding on to see how long my M515 lasts, but if it did break, I'd probably jump for one of these, considering I don't like slider designs.
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| PalmInfoCenter
No, I am not trying to get you to set the old Bob Barker game show to Season Pass! This is a message for those of you out there who STILL have yet to pick up a DVR because of the price. Although many cable companies are starting to release combo DVR/Cable Tuners, just about anyone will tell you that they aren't as good as TiVo. Now just about anyone can get one, because they are just $49.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate from Circuit City. I know, mail-in rebates suck - but in this case I think it may be worth it. I mean, who wouldn't want to hit instant replay whenever one of Barker's Beauties hits the screen?Read More
| Circuit City
