itunes

Walt loves Apple TV

Gadget godfather Walt Mossberg is first out of the gate with a review of the Apple TV, and he likes what he sees. It seems that Apple's first A/V product designed for the living room worked exactly as advertised. Over 10 days of testing, Mossberg (and colleague Katie Boehret) was able to stream the iTunes-based music, video, and photos from six computers--three Windows PCs and three Macs--without a hitch. Even more impressive was the fact that the video streaming was stutter-free, even though he was testing with an older 802.11g wireless router rather than the state-of-the-art 802.… Read more

SpotDJ lets users spin tales

Bridging the gap between podcasting and music discovery is SpotDJ, a Web service and iTunes plug-in (download SpotDJ for Windows or Mac) that lets listeners record audio clips, or "spots," about their favorite songs or musical artists.

The site has the grassroots appeal of letting amateur DJs like Greg expound upon the libertarianism of Oingo Boingo while also providing inside information from artists themselves, from The Donnas to Taylor Hicks. I recently was lucky enough to be given a tour of the service by CEO and co-founder Kevin Barenblat.

Essentially, SpotDJ analyzes your iTunes or iPod playlists and … Read more

Apple TV slips to March

Shipments of the Apple TV have been delayed until mid-March, according to media reports confirmed by CNET News.com.

The delay is neither surprising nor particularly problematic. With less than 72 hours left in the month of February, the possibility of hitting the announced release window was becoming increasingly unlikely. That said, a March release for Apple TV would only be two to three weeks late and still within the Q1 2007 span originally mentioned when the product was initially announced last fall (under the "iTV" moniker).

In other words: take a deep breath, fanboys. The Apple TV … Read more

Wal-Mart joins downloadable movie battle

Wal-Mart is joining the fray of movie download services today. Its new store (which is mysteriously unfriendly to Firefox) features movies from all six major studios including Disney and Sony--two studios that have a long history of proprietary use and ties to competing download services.

Films range from about $13 to $20 and can be watched almost immediately depending on your connection. Movies are managed and played through a custom player that runs only on Windows PCs. You also can watch the movies in Windows Media Player. Like the iTunes Movie Store, titles released on DVD will be available … Read more

iTunes plug-in finds good concerts

It's early February. Do you know where your favorite band is?

iConcertCal does. This free iTunes plug-in for both Mac OS X and Windows scans your iTunes library and lets you know when the bands you listen to are coming to town.

After installing iConcertCal, the iTunes visualizer becomes a calendar that lists local concert dates for bands in your library. Clicking on each listing in the calendar lets you buy tickets, and changing the city and state brings up personalized listings for other cities.

Since a co-worker sent out a link to this free plug-in last week, I'… Read more

FoxyTunes Planet gets music discovery right

The team behind the popular browser extension FoxyTunes is hard at work on a new mashup site that integrates the music controls of FoxyTunes with an aggregation tool to give you more information and media about your favorite musical artists and new discoveries.

Each FoxyTunes Planet artist page has several customizable widgets. There are Flickr photos, YouTube videos, albums for sale from Amazon, and even various Internet radio stations such as HypeMachine and Last.fm where you can listen to the band's other songs. If you're like me, you might be listening to a Shoutcast feed on iTunes … Read more

Apple planning Super Bowl Beatles ad?

There will, of course, be a football game played on Feb. 4. But we all know half the audience just watches the Super Bowl for the ads, and that's something Apple might be counting on.

The Toronto Sun reported Wednesday that Apple could be ready to announce a three-month deal for Beatles songs on iTunes via a commercial during this year's Super Bowl. Classic Beatles songs have not been available on iTunes while Apple and Apple Records--The Beatles' label--have tussled in court over a trademark dispute. To this point, The Beatles have actually resisted any online music service, … Read more

Rumor: Apple to license FairPlay DRM

Apple may begin licensing its FairPlay digital rights management technology to third-party manufacturers in the near future--at least, that's the rumor. According to an unsubstantiated and unsourced item appearing at tech.co.uk, Apple plans to allow iPod-accessory makers to stream copy-protected iTunes content. To date, that feature has been restricted to Apple products, such as the AirPort Express wireless router and the forthcoming Apple TV. Other digital media products can stream only non-protected iTunes content--essentially, music and movies you've ripped to your PC.

If it pans out, the change could be a big deal and a positive … Read more

Songs to download at the pump

Dresser Wayne is working on a gas pump with Microsoft's Automotive Business Unit that would allow you to download music while waiting for your gas to finish pumping. The Ovation iX fuel pump would connect to the Internet and transfer the songs to your media device or a car stereo system via Wi-Fi. The media/fuel pump complete with touch screen was featured at CES 2007, according to Gizmag.

The device could be a good service for truckers with long hours to kill, but how would you get the full-service gas station drivers in New Jersey to use it?… Read more

Macworld 2007 play-by-play

SAN FRANCISCO--Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs announced a set of new products during his speech at Macworld Tuesday. We covered his keynote from the floor, so check below for continuous updates as the news happened.

Click here to see photos from the keynote.

11:10--"We've got a really special treat today. We don't have many traditions at Apple, but Jon Mayer has helped us with many products," Jobs says.

Jon Mayer plays a song. All the 12-year-old girls in the audience are screaming. Oh, wait, that's right, there aren't any, this is a … Read more