the beatles

iPhone 5 vs. the VPI Traveler turntable

Face it, most of today's shiny new gizmos will be hopelessly out-of-date in a few years and taking up space in landfills not so long after that. The iPhone 5 may be a marvel of engineering and marketing genius, but like iPhones of years past it's doomed to be cast aside when legions of Apple fanboys and girls stand in line to buy the iPhone 6 sometime next year. And so it goes.

Four years ago I wrote about my friend Gene and his Linn LP 12 turntable, the one he bought 30 years earlier.… Read more

Are music streaming services reducing the number of albums released?

Opinions about the future of the music business cover a lot of ground, but one thing is certain: today's bands release albums at a much slower pace than bands did in previous eras. It's not just that Spotify and other streaming services have been taking their toll on sales; I doubt too many of today's top artists make albums at the rate Bob Dylan did early in his career. He released 21 albums between 1962-1981. The Beatles were even more prolific and released five albums in the U.S. in 1964: "Meet The Beatles!," "… Read more

When did music become unimportant?

In last Sunday's Mad Men episode, "Lady Lazarus," the advertising agency's creative director, Don Draper, asked, "When did music become so important?" Draper's clueless about what's going on outside his Madison Avenue office window. The episode was set in the summer of 1966 when the culture revolved around music; in 2012 the Web is where the action is.

What went wrong with music? Some blame the record companies, believing they mismanaged themselves into a crisis, then again, maybe it was inevitable that our tech culture would move away from music. In the … Read more

'Yellow Submarine' remaster to emerge in Blu-ray, theaters

It's good to be reminded sometimes that automated technology solutions can't fix everything. That reminder came recently with the announcement of the impending big-screen return of The Beatles' trippy 1968 animated film, "Yellow Submarine."

A team of specialists at Triage Motion Picture Services and Eque is responsible for the restoration effort. Sure, it's a digital restoration, but that's not all that was involved with bringing it back to life. The team couldn't just load the film into a powerhouse computer, press go, and wait for the remaster to spit itself out.… Read more

What does EMI sale mean for digital music fans?

Universal Music Group has paid Citigroup $1.9 billion to acquire the recorded-music arm of EMI, the once mighty British music company and home to such acts as Coldplay, Katy Perry, and the Beatles collection.

At the same time, Sony Corp., has obtained EMI's music publishing division for $2.2 billion. The Wall Street Journal reported the news this morning (subscription required).

The company had struggled financially for years and Citigroup it took over earlier this year because of the $4 billion EMI owed it.

It's early and lots of questions have to be answered before assessing the … Read more

The 404 915: Where we're not as think as you drunk we are (podcast)

CNET's Bridget Carey is here to talk about the imminence of the next iPhone. Signs like cases arriving at AT&T stores and the new smartphone appearing in Apple's inventory system have Wilson almost giddy.

Jeff obviously doesn't really understand why anybody would be interested in the new iPhone. It's just a different shape with more storage, right? Well, the iPhone 4S/5 may include some new patented technology that stabilizes shaky smartphone video. It might be the end of an era of vomit-inducing iPhone videos.

We also chat a bit about the crazy idea that Amazon may want to buy the beleaguered remains of Palm from HP. It seems to be a strange purchase, given that this week, Amazon seems to have a buzz-inducing product with the Kindle Fire.

It's not as crazy as Microsoft wanting to start its own TV service on the Xbox 360. That doesn't seem like a terrible idea, given the number of boxes that we have to hook into our televisions these days just to watch cable TV. In our opinion, we think it would be a lot better of a TV tuner than those generic cable boxes that seem to crash every other day.

Rounding out today's craziness, we also talk about faking a girlfriend with a Web site called Fakegirlfriend.co. Don't think that it is going to get you much help with your social life if you ever use it. Finally, we talk about the anarchy that will ensue if Facebook ever gets hacked, and your poke history is revealed.

Let us know what you think of the show by calling and leaving a voice mail at 1-866-CNET (2638). If it's good, funny and short, we'll play it. Or if the phone is foreign to you, you can send us an e-mail at the404 [at] cnet [dot] com, follow us on Twitter @the404 and like our Facebook page. OK, we're going to stop with the plugs now.

The 404 Digest for Episode 915

New iPhone appears in Apple's inventory system iPhone 5 case arrives at a AT&T retail store New iPhone may use accelerometer and gyro to stabilize video Amazon may want to buy Palm Microsoft looking into a Xbox TV service Fakegirlfriend.co lets you pretend to have a girlfriend Scientists use brain imaging to reveal the movies in our mind Facebook keeps history of pokes Justin's Bathroom Break: Kid video bombs sister's YouTube video Justin's Bathroom Break: Dog only responds to terrible Beatle's impression

Episode 915 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

The 404 915: Where we're not as think as you drunk we are (podcast)

The 404 Digest for Episode 915

Episode 915 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Behind the scenes at Abbey Road Studios

LONDON--After spending a day on a behind-the-scenes tour of Abbey Road Studios, it's hard to know which great anecdote to start a story with.

It could be hearing about how, just a few days ago, a studio rehearsal session was interrupted by the sound from another studio of someone pounding out The Beatles' "Lady Madonna" on the very piano used in the original song and that person turning out to be Paul McCartney. Or perhaps it was walking through a random hallway and having my host point out how a four-track recorder placed unceremoniously against a wall … Read more

Remastered Paul McCartney albums sound better than ever

Paul McCartney has been a solo artist for a lot longer time than he was the Beatles' bass player. Yeah, he co-wrote a ton of hits for that band, but he really got a chance to spread his wings in 1970 with the release of his first solo record, the one with the catchy title, "McCartney." Forty-one years after its initial release "McCartney" still sounds very Beatles-esque, you might even think at times that Ringo's in there playing the drums, but in fact McCartney plays every instrument himself. The album has a stripped-down, return-to-basics feel; … Read more

Apple seeks European trademark for green apple logo

Some four years after Apple Inc. and Beatles-backed record label Apple Corps announced that the two companies had settled their trademark dispute (with Apple Inc. coming out the owner), the Mac and iOS device maker has filed paperwork with the European Trademarks Office seeking to make the famous Granny Smith logos its own abroad.

The filings, unearthed by Patently Apple, cover 14 international trademark classifications in common areas like advertising, games, and computer hardware, and in more obscure ones like precious metals and building construction.

Following the 2007 settlement, Apple had filed trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and … Read more