tidbits

Beatles fans can now download the Fab Four's tracks legally for free. But there's one catch: they can only do it by subscribing to, and downloading, a podcast from Norwegian Broadcasting. According to a deal inked by the organization late last year, Norwegian Broadcasting can offer podcasts containing music as long as no more than 70 percent of the entire duration of the show contains music. Using that to its advantage, the organization has started offering daily podcast episodes that feature a three-minute discussion about an individual Beatles track and the actual recording of that track subsequent to … Read more

Google's Mobile App with Voice Search for the iPhone has a few hidden features, the company announced Thursday. The hidden menu offers theme color changes and allows users to ditch its default sounds for others of their choosing. The app also features an option to open links in the program. Google said it will discuss more details at Macworld next week.

Families First, Georgia's largest nonprofit family service agency, has launched the I Am The Solution initiative to provide a community for people to make at least one "selfless" resolution for 2009. The agency claims its … Read more

Amazon.com posted its biggest holiday season sales in history, the company reported Friday. According to data it compiled from witnessed sales, over 6.3 million items were ordered on December 15, its "peak" day, representing 72.9 items ordered per second. It shipped 5.6 million units that day, as well. Amazon shipped products to more than 210 countries and more than 99 percent of orders were sent in time to meet holiday deadlines worldwide. The Samsung 52-inch 1080p LCD HDTV with RED Touch of Color was the top-seller in consumer electronics, followed by the 8GB iPod … Read more

Facebook announced Tuesday that it has followed MySpace's lead and will ban Project Playlist from its service. According to the company, it has removed the Project Playlist app from Facebook and all embedded playlists have been removed from user profiles. Facebook said in a statement that it hopes Project Playlist can come to an amicable agreement with the labels so users can get back to using the app.

The New York Times announced Wednesday that it witnessed its online ad revenues drop for the first time in the site's history. According to the company, its online ad revenue … Read more

Longstanding social network LiveJournal published a report Friday that asked its users what makes the site unique. Written by a Ph.D. candidate in the Media, Culture, and Communication department at New York University, the report contends that a defining characteristic of LiveJournal users is their "passion" for connecting with others. "LiveJournal's feature set encourages real, engaged, committed, long-term interaction with the site and friends met through the site, creating passionate users who care deeply about LiveJournal," the report said. Unfortunately, many of those "passionate" users seem to be moving to Facebook at a rapid rate.… Read more

GPS vendor TomTom announced Thursday that it has launched an online mapping solution to compete with MapQuest and Google Maps. Dubbed TomTom Route Planner, the free service provides door-to-door route planning options to any address in the U.S. or Canada.

Using TomTom's MapShare technology, the service provides users with continued map improvements made by TomTom users that see flaws and correct them. According to the company, improvements are uploaded regularly to provide up-to-date driving conditions. TomTom's IQ Routes feature will offer more accurate arrival estimates by accessing average speeds for each road instead of employing posted speed … Read more

Online video service Joost sent e-mails to its users Wednesday announcing that it has discontinued its software application. Released just a few months ago, the software application will be shuttered as of Friday, December 19. In the e-mail, the company claims that users will still be able to watch its videos online.

Panasonic is getting into the social-networking realm, it announced Tuesday. According to the company, its new social-networking community, Living in HD, is designed to "inspire ideas and spark conversation" among people through videos, photos, and project ideas. Each user will be given the opportunity to explain … Read more

Stickam, a company that allows users to stream their lives online, announced Monday that it has launched an application programming interface that will let users incorporate the company's service into any Web site or app. According to the company, users can use its video-streaming function on their sites without worry of bandwidth, server infrastructure, or Flash development, since it will all be hosted through Stickam. The API is available now as a public beta for the first 100 registered developers at no cost. Once the beta period ends, Stickam will charge developers an undisclosed fee based on a pay-as-you-go … Read more

Comcast announced Thursday that it has rolled out its DOCSIS 3.0 service to four more markets: Chicago, Atlanta, Baltimore, and Ft. Wayne, Indiana. The company now offers wideband services in 10 cities. Comcast claims it now reaches 20 percent of its customer base with the addition of those four markets and by the end of December, 10 million homes and businesses in each of the cities will be able to sign up for the service.

MapQuest was busy Thursday announcing the launch of two new widgets for Twitter and CareerBuilder users. According to the company, its Twitter widget on … Read more