MP3 Players & Digital Audio

Monster iCarPlay Wireless 200 -- Yes, Indeed!

August 7, 2008

Stop fumbling with CDs or going without your favorite tunes, and start playing your iPod wirelessly through your car's FM radio. Monster iCarPlay Wireless 200 lets you enjoy all your music and keep your iPod charged up at the same time.

With other FM transmitters, finding an FM frequency clear enough for use with your iPod can be time consuming and distracting -- especially while driving.

The 200 incorporates exclusive Monster AutoScan technology that automatically seeks out and tunes in the clearest FM frequency available (excluding 87.7 and 87.9MHz).

Posted in MP3 Players & Digital Audio

Take Home a Concert on Your Wrist

August 6, 2008

Now we finally have a really useful application for USB drives -- besides just for backing up or taking yhour files with you on your rambles.

The Aderra Audio System allows a single technician to record an event and duplicate up to 1,000 USB flash drives within 15 minutes after the event has ended.

They record live events, duplicate them on the spot and sell them to attendees as they are leaving the venue, usually on a wristband that has the USB flashdrive embedded. It's really easy to use for either Mac or PC -- so get ready to rock!

In the case of a live concert, they include auto-play videos, links to artist websites, charities in which they are involved, special bonus tracks and more.

It's a cool, green-friendly unit that allows you to relive the live experience immediately as well as hold onto a keepsake as a reminder of that concert for years to come.

www.aderra.net

Posted in MP3 Players & Digital Audio

Yahoo Music: The Beauty of the Refund

July 28, 2008

With Yahoo Music shutting down its store and DRM licensing servers on September 30, anybody who ever bought music from the Yahoo! Music Store would no longer have a license to play their music.

Now, however, Yahoo has announced that it will issue refunds to its customers for the full value of their purchases.

According to a report on CNet, Yahoo is also looking at making copies of the music its customers bought available to them as MP3s without any DRM.

Or just burn them to CD!

ReadWriteWeb.

Posted in MP3 Players & Digital Audio

Malware & Hackers Heading to Mac Land

July 23, 2008

News that I'd rather not think about, but have to, is the new upsurge in malware written specifically for Apple users.

Still a drop in the bucket compared to Windows vulnerabilities, but Mac nastyware is on the rise.

Two new Mac-ware Trojans that emerged in February and June ought to shake Mac users of their misconceptions that their computers (and, eventually, iPods and iPhones) are impenetrable.

To put this in perspective, the first really pernicious piece of Mac malware emerged only in October 2007, suggesting that a worrisome trend is about to get worse.

Read more of this sad development here at TimesOnline (UK).

Posted in Apple, Computer Hardware, Computer Software, MP3 Players & Digital Audio, Mobile Phones

Can We Do Anything about iPod Audio Quality?

July 23, 2008

In the iPod age, music sound quality has been dumbed down to "Fisher-Price toy" levels, said one of my all time favorite rockers, Neil Young, at Fortune's Brainstorm Tech Conference.

"Apple has taken a detour down the convenience highway," he said, talking about what he considers to be the poor audio quality of MP3.

He's currently working on a multimedia archiving project of his entire career, which he says should be available as a series of Blu-Ray discs later this year. He hopes that becomes the basis for an alternative digital platform featuring higher audio quality that will be made available to other musicians.

Read more at Fortune.

Or check out the unique NeilYoung.com.

Posted in Apple, MP3 Players & Digital Audio, Video Hardware & Software

Summer Camp & Gadgets: Let the Smuggling Begin

June 27, 2008

Can see why summer camps aren't too big on allowing their campers to bring their personal gadgets along with them.

But while they don't allow them, seems like smuggling them into camp has become a new tradition.

Wonder what the most popular contraband item will be -- couple of years ago it was the iPod, but I think now it''s the cell phone.

'Course there could be some other ones, but I don't think so ...

Posted in Gadgets, MP3 Players & Digital Audio, Mobile Phones

Trade in your Headphones cash back offer

June 26, 2008

Time to upgrade your headphones or ear buds for some high-quality iPod music listening? Not to mention some high-quality VoIPing, Skyping, etc. etc. Well, why not get cash back for your headphones to offset the costs of a new one?

Posted in Accessories, Gadgets, Headsets, Home Entertainment, MP3 Players & Digital Audio, TMCnet, VoIP

One Less Retail Music Outlet -- Starbucks ...

June 25, 2008

Sorry to hear the news about another retail music outlet pulling up stakes and retreating from the business.

Now this is not a the level of Sam Goody's or (you name the store), but Starbucks is apparently planning to drop its in-store music retail offerings come September.

That means no more "spinner" racks offering multiple CD choices to latte-buyers. And that also means no more gift cards and promotional giveaways for Apple's iTunes. Instead, we're told, the coffee chain will offer just four CD "slots" per store. But it will also continue to offer free Wi-fi access to Apple's online music store and may continue to try to sell entertainment online. This all according to Silicon Alley Insider.

But for me, there's nothing like browsing through racks of CDs, just like there used to be nothing like browsing through racks of LPs -- I don't go any further back than that.

BTW, how many times have you used the term "you sound like a broken record" not realizing your audience (at least one) has no idea what a record is or how it could be broken?

Posted in Apple, MP3 Players & Digital Audio

Anybody in Sync with Ford's In-Car Connectivity?

June 20, 2008

I don't know about you, but before I left to go to the office today, I made sure I had my cell phone, laptop and BlackBerry, and on my way here, I programmed my navigation system for directions, switched between listening to CDs and traffic reports on the radio and checked my cell phone for voice mail. Sound familiar?

It's amazing how connected we are today. It's changed the way we live - and will continue to change the way we live -- at home and on the go.

We live in an age where devices are everywhere. We have more ways to communicate and be entertained than ever before - PCs, cell phones, BlackBerrys, digital music players, CD and DVD players, terrestrial radio, HD radio, satellite radio, text messaging, voice recognition, ring tones, video games, navigation systems, e-mail, TiVO, Wi-Fi - and I'm sure I missed a few.

This convergence of factors - digital music players, broadband, voice recognition and everything else - is now dramatically changing our experience as drivers while at the same time it has already changed how car companies design their cars.

We want to be connected 24x7, any time, anywhere, and we want to the the same things in our cars as we do at home and in the office.

With Ford's in-car connectivty system, SYNC, you control the devices you already have. You control most digital music players and Bluetooth-enabled phones from the driver's seat, with both hands on the wheel, using only voice commands. You can operate your digital music player through the car stereo without touching it, or make calls without even taking your phone out of your pocket.

Does this sound great or what?

What has your experience been as a Ford owner?

Will this really make a difference how we buy our cars?

The Internet is open for your response ...

Posted in MP3 Players & Digital Audio, Mobile Phones, PDAs & Handhelds

Around the FM Dial: Looking for Vacant Frequencies

June 20, 2008

Love to use the FM transmitter to listen to iPod tunes in the car, but if you use one to pipe music from your MP3 player to your car stereo, nothing beats getting static-free music -- which is not all that easy in the rolling hills of Connecticut.

Finding an open FM frequency can be a nasty experience, but we have CNET tip that recently led us to Radio-Locator.com -- an amazing web site that lets you type in your zip code to find vacant frequencies in your area that are best suited for use with your audio device.

Posted in MP3 Players & Digital Audio

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