lala

Time for Apple to get serious about video

Netflix is cruising. The cable guys are catching on. Wal-Mart just rumbled in.

The Web's video-on-demand sector is filling up fast with some serious heavyweights. If Apple wants to make a mark in digital video that even vaguely resembles the one it made in music, perhaps the company should start treating Apple TV as more than just a "hobby." That's Apple's attitude toward the streaming-media device, said Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook, who spoke at a conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

This doesn't seem to be a good time to toy with online … Read more

How to make the iPad a better music device

I was at Apple's iPad launch on Wednesday, and maybe it was just Steve Jobs' reality distortion field, but I don't quite understand why the haters are piling on. A lot of PC-centric commentators are dismissing the iPad as an overpriced gadget, wondering why it's lacking features that are standard on even the cheapest notebook computers, like Flash support, multitasking, USB inputs to connect peripherals, and video outputs (HDMI would be nice). These are legitimate complaints--for a notebook replacement. But the iPad isn't a notebook replacement, and I don't think users will carry it with … Read more

Is music part of Apple's tablet hoopla?

At this point, it looks fairly certain that an Apple tablet computer, expected to debut on Wednesday, will offer digital books, newspapers, and video.

But what about music? Conspicuously missing from much of the speculation surrounding Apple's tablet is any word about what music features it offers. Music is the content that Apple used to forge the iTunes and iPod dynasties, and music has been an integral part of the iPhone as well.

Could music be left out of all the tablet ballyhoo?

CNET reported last week that Apple spoke to the labels recently about offering iTunes users the … Read more

Apple tablet may get iTunes LP, cloud locker

With Apple's tablet unveiling just a week away, more rumors are bubbling to the surface regarding the mythical product's capabilities as an eReader and all-around life changer.

Both personally and professionally, I'm most intrigued to figure out what the Apple tablet will deliver in terms of music and media playback. Will it run a full version of iTunes, or act more like an iPod or iPhone as an extension of your personal media collection?

We aren't going to know the concrete details for sure until next week, but the rumor mill is at least getting some … Read more

Apple's iTunes Web preview pages get audio clips

Apple continues to take baby steps in making iTunes a less software-oriented experience. The latest change, which blog The Distorted Loop noticed early Thursday, shows that Apple now lets users listen to 30-second preview clips from its recently-introduced Web preview pages. Here, users who may not have iTunes installed can listen to the first 30 seconds of a song, just as if they were using the media software. Though, in typical Apple fashion, streaming clips requires users to have its QuickTime browser plug-in installed.

It may be a relatively small addition, but it's likely a sign of larger things … Read more

CNET TV Apple Byte: Apple to stream music?

CNET TV's Brian Tong discusses the latest news in the world of Apple. This week, Apple purchases streaming music service Lala; magazine publishers agree to a digital standard; and even more rumors on the Apple Tablet. You'll also learn a "neat" trick for your MacBook and get a peek at the UStream iPhone App. If you need to catch up with top Apple stories, take a look at the Byte.

Be sure to check us out on Twitter and the CNET Mac forums. Do you have questions, issues, or stories you would like to see on … Read more

Lala chief could steer iTunes away from downloads

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the digital music format used at Apple's iTunes. Apple uses the AAC format.

Apple was engaged in a bidding war with Google when it acquired music service Lala, The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported on Friday. That helps to explain why Apple agreed to pay $85 million, a sum that I (and others) believed was far too much for a down-on-its-luck start-up.

What has surprised some in the music sector, however, is that Apple is considering a plan to create some kind of streaming-music service and is turning to … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1124: Alexandria, the greatest hard-drive crash

So, Apple bought Lala, and Ars Technica thinks it has a source who knows what Apple's going to do with it-- it's going to make a Web site that sells music and stores it in the cloud. Kind of like what Lala already is, but it's going to be all iTunes-ified. And that has Rafe worrying about cloud failure again. We also kvetch about Facebook, a Mozilla employee complains about Google, and the "New Moon" videotaper is set free.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) … Read more

Week in review: Getting real with Google, Yahoo

Google's deal with Twitter is paying off.

Google announced the fruits of its earlier deal with the microblogging site, showing off how it has decided to present real-time Internet content within search results.

Google will build a section called "latest results" into the regular Google search results page that automatically refreshes Internet content from sources like Twitter. A demonstration showed off how a search for "Obama" would bring up tweets, Web pages, and other Internet content related to the president as it was generated. At the Web 2.0 conference in October, Google struck a … Read more