Pandora One February 16, 2010
Posted by Zev Rosenbaum in : Computers, Music , add a comment
Have you ever wanted your own DJ? One that is so smart that it can pick from literally thousands and thousands of songs, the perfect songs, customized to your music preferences? Imagine, a DJ that will create a whole playlist of songs based on songs you like, even comprehending the elements of the song that cause you to enjoy it so much. No I’m not talking about Genius, Apple’s attempt to create your own DJ, but something you can run entirely off the internet, for a mere price tag of $3 a month. I’m talking about Pandora One, which is an attempt to bring the very successful Pandora (known for their great iPhone, Android and other mobile apps), to your desktop.
Zune HD Announced May 27, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Mp3 players and iPods , add a comment
The Zune HD
It’s been rumored for a while, and here it comes. Microsoft’s next shot at it’s multimedia line, the Zune. And it seems that they actually might have something here. Details on it are few and far between right now, with more coming at Microsoft’s E3 event (a major tech event next week, June 2nd) but here’s what we know so far:
- New hardware-- 3.3 inch OLED touchscreen, built-in WiFi and web browser with multi-touch, HD radio, ability to play back movies in HD with a dock (sold separately), and the usual ability to play movies, music, and photos.
- Xbox Live interactions– Microsoft’s not giving a whole lotta info here, but the Zune Marketplace and the Live Marketplace on the Xbox are apparently merging, along with other Xbox/Xbox Live integration. Again, more info at E3.
- Coming in the Fall– When exactly we don’t yet know.
So, what do I think? At this point, its hard to tell. Without knowing some more info, like the extent of the Xbox integration, or even the storage capacity, and of course, price, it’s hard to guess where the Zune HD is going. Personally, I think that it looks pretty cool, but without more details or trying one out personally, I can’t call this one yet. More stuff to come next week as Microsoft announces it, so hang tight.
New Pricing System Begins for iTunes April 8, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Apple, Mp3 players and iPods , add a comment
The new iTunes pricing method
At MacWorld ’09 in early January, Apple announced that they would introduce a new pricing system for iTunes, with songs costing either $.69, $.99 or $1.29, depending on how much the record label and artist wanted to charge– which really means based on the song’s popularity.
Apple, true to it’s word, released this new pricing system yesterday, and I’m not gonna lie: this ain’t cool. The economy is still in the toilet, and their gonna raise prices? Doesn’t really make much sense to me, and already 33 out of the iTunes Top 100 songs are going for this new price, and this new pricing has only been out 3 days! The other 77 songs are staying at the previous $.99 for now, though I don’t think it will stay that way for long. See now how this whole popularity thing changes the price?
I also don’t get why they’re giving Amazon and other services a chance to gain some ground in the online music store; you can also get DRM Free songs (DRM= Digital Rights Management, which is the copy protection previously found on iTunes songs, limiting song sharing on computers and iPods. iTunes Plus now removes DRM from the iTunes songs, though movies and TV shows still have them) at Amazon’s Mp3 store for as low as $.79 (they too have the $.99 and $1.29 price listings as well), including a majority of the songs on their Top 100 being either $.79 or $.99 (though Amazon also has a few $1.29 songs– which we hope they keep to a few and try to make up ground vs Apple and iTunes with the cheaper pricing). I mean, the number 2 song currently on both lists– Poker Face by Lady Gaga– sells for $.79 on Amazon, and $1.29 on iTunes, and their the exact same song! (And yes you could say it’s only a $.50 difference, but when you buy a lot of songs, it’ll add up to be much more pretty quickly).
I know that most of this really ends up hurting the consumer, but there is one good thing out of all this though in my opinion– the fact that now all iTunes songs are DRM free. This is something that is actually good for us consumers as we can all now listen to our higher priced songs on any device we want 
(though just so you know, to make this happen tech wise, they didn’t need to raise the price, as evidenced by the $.69 songs which are the exact same DRM free quality as their $1.29 counterparts).
So while its great that now all iTunes songs are DRM free, I’m still not gonna pay over a dollar for a song when I can get it for less than a dollar at another, reputable site like Amazon.
What are your thoughts– you agree or disagree with the new iTunes pricing? And are you still gonna get songs from iTunes even though they raised the prices? You gonna switch to Amazon, or another site like Rhapsody? Or have you stopped buying your songs entirely and instead go the more illegal, torrent (or otherwise known as file sharing) route to get your stuff ? Let us know in the comments.
New iPod Shuffle – Review March 16, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Apple, First Look/Reviews, Mp3 players and iPods , 3comments
The really, really, ridiculously small new Shuffle.
Last week, Apple announced the absolutely minuscule new iPod Shuffle. And over the past few days, I had the privilege to try one out for a bit. Read on for my take!
The Beatles are coming to Rock Band! March 5, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : Music, Video Games , 1 comment so far
Very into Rock Band and are looking for some new classic songs to jam to? Well, if that’s the case, then today’s your lucky day: MTV Games, Harmonix (joint Rock Band founders) and Apple Corps LTD (copyright owners of the Beatles music; not the iPod company) announced today a whole new game for the Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii that features the legendary British rockers.
Arriving 9/9/09, it will be available as a stand-alone game for $60, and for $250, as a limited edition Rock Band set including the whole package– game, guitar, drums, mic– entirely designed to look like the instruments used by the Beatles. You can also get just the guitar for $100.
The game will also have 45 of the Beatles hits from 1962 through 1969 playable, though as of right now, not much is known about whether you can download those songs for play on your Rock Band 1 or 2 as well as if you can play other songs in this special Beatles version. We also know that fortunately, the 3 companies also said that the older Rock Band instruments will be able to work with the new game, so those of you who don’t wanna spend the extra $190 for more plastic instruments can just get the game and be all set
So you pumped for this new game? Will this make you hold off on that Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero World Tour purchase and wait a few months to get a game based on one of the greatest bands ever? Sound off in the comments.
Info from Joystiq.com and pix from Rock Band Beatles preview page.
Garageband 09' – Lesson Review February 7, 2009
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, First Look/Reviews, Music , add a comment
Garageband 09′s Lesson system (in shiny HD!)
Had some snow here last week, so I finally got the chance to try out the new iLife stuff. So here’s my take on the new Garageband features, and specifically, the Lessons system.
After installing the update, finding the digital keyboard, plugging it in, and re-acquainting myself with the piano (haven’t played it for a while), I went into the lesson, of which there are two already installed ones: Piano Basics 1 and Guitar Basics 1. Since I play piano, I tried the Piano Lesson.
After being greeted by a friendly person, I was introduced to the basics of piano. My instructor went through basic chord progression, the hold pedal, and, at the end of the lesson, played a simple song with me using the chords we learned. The interface, as you can see above, is nice, with HD video and a visual guide to help you, along with the instructor. While I haven’t had a chance to try the Artist Lessons, I’m assuming they work the same way, just with real musicians teaching you their songs instead of the Apple Instructor teaching piano basics. In theory, one could teach themselves an entire instrument using the system, which is quite cool.
Overall, it’s a cool concept, that works just as well as one would expect. Definitetly a worthwhile feature for anyone who has iLife 09′ to try out.
First Look: iTunes Store on iPhone over 3G January 7, 2009
Posted by Eli Blumenthal in : CES and Macworld, First Look/Reviews , add a commentWell, as Chaim mentioned in his MacWorld 09 roundup, Apple today unleashed the restrictions on the iPhone’s wireless iTunes Music Store, letting you finally download songs over 3G! So me being crazy to try this out, took out my iPhone 3G and put this to the test.
I gotta say it works as advertised; I was able to download a 4 minute song in about 1 minute, and my 3G wasn’t even going at its normal speeds! (I think this has something to do with AT&T’s data/internet network going down earlier yesterday morning on the east coast, and it hasn’t fully recovered as of this writing). Anyways, the quality of the songs are the exact same as the ones on your computer’s iTunes, and the mobile iTunes Store even started selling the new DRM free tracks (see Chaim’s post) – which you can also download today.
All the songs you downloaded get transferred to your regular iTunes on the computer the next time you sync and go to File–> Transfer Purchases from “____’s iPhone”, so don’t worry about losing your newly bought tracks
Another pretty important thing worth mentioning here is that the pricing on the iPhone’s iTunes store remains the same. Unlike other carriers’ music downloading services (we’re looking at you Verizon, and AT&T with your non-iPhone phones’ $1.99 pricing per song), you’re not paying more than the standard .99 cents to download a song.
Oh, and for all you original iPhone owners: don’t worry, this works over EDGE as well, but I would recommend sticking to Wi-Fi for your downloads, as you may not have enough time to sit and wait for your song to download (downloading over EDGE is that slow).
iTunes Music Store over 3G on my iPhone 3G. Click on pic for bigger version.
(The song, by the way, is “If Today Was Your Last Day” by Nickelback, and the download is paused so I could take the pic- not because of 3G problems 
)
I still was hoping (wishing really) that Apple did more for the iPhone today (please, all I want is: a landscape keyboard like in Safari for texting, syncing with more than one computers like a regular iPod, a lil video recording, and some picture messaging. Honestly Apple, is that so much to ask?). But all in all, the “new” iTunes Store over 3G is great, and gives the iPhone yet another edge over the competition as both a music player and phone.
What you think of the new iTunes Store- both the iPhone’s new ability to download over 3G and the new DRM free songs? How the iPhone 3G’s wireless iTunes Store working for you? Let us know in the comments.
Auditorium December 14, 2008
Posted by Chaim Gartenberg in : Computers, Video Games , add a comment
A screenshot of Auditorium (it looks cooler when it’s moving)
Auditorium is the latest game I’ve found online, and frankly, it is incredible.
The basic premise of the game is that there is a river of “audio-visual particles” that flows across the screen. You must use the various tools the game gives you (a vortex creator, directional changes, and others that have yet to appear in the demo) to manipulate the river and get it to reach any of the various boxes. When the boxes are hit, they fill up with a steady stream of particles, when the flow is diverted, the boxes recede. As the various boxes around the board fill, each plays a part of a soaring orchestral harmony that sets off the game.
Also in the mix are color areas, which change the color, and then allow you to fill different colored boxes. The game only gives you a certain amount of tools per level, though, actually making it difficult.
All in all, the game is excellent – the particle effects are spectacular, the music wonderful, and the gameplay and puzzles unique and challenging enough to be fun. My only complaint – its only in demo stages right now, which of course means that its not finished yet.
Play Auditorium here.