Tag: Music

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Look! It’s a Phone, It’s an iPod, It’s a MacPhone!

A short editorial

On January 9, 2006 Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, introduced the much rumored Apple iPhone during his annual keynote at MacWorld San Francisco. As written on Apple website: “Introducing iPhone. Apple reinvents the phone.”

For the last 3 years Apple has been rumored to have been working on a phone-like device. Apple and Motorola introduced Motorola ROKR, an iTunes-enabled phone on September 7, 2005 and somewhat closed a chapter on the rumor. Motorola has since then released other iTunes-enabled phones such as RAZR V3 and KRZR.

Apple iPhone is a different breed compared to any iTunes-enabled phones. Its appearance resembles more like an iPod than a phone. There are other smart phones with touch screen, but Apple strives to make its iPhone to be a class of its own. Underneath its shell, Apple iPhone runs a variant of Mac OS X. Its capabilities make Apple iPhone more like a Mac than a phone.

Steve Jobs on his keynote said that Apple would like to capture 1% of Mobile Phone market, or about 10 million units. Should Apple be able to reach that goal, they would be shipping an additional 10 million of Mac OS X. It is a surprise that Apple didn’t call it “MacPhone”.

Apple iPhone is tentatively scheduled for release in June 1007.

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/01/09iphone.html

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Apple TV, Apple iPhone, and New Airport Extreme 802.11n

Thanks to bad WiFi receptions, bandwidth hog and some other factor, I didn’t get to connect to the internet at MacWorld.

Ayway, two new products from Apple announced by Steve Jobs.

  1. Apple TV
    http://www.apple.com/appletv/
    Priced $299 (U.S.) and will ship in February.
    As expected, it has 40GB hard drive for local caching and storage.
    “It is a cool product, but not necessarily a must have product at this point. I will find out more before making any purchasing decision.”
  2. Apple iPhone
    http://www.apple.com/iphone/
    Tentatively scheduled for released in June 2006 (U.S.)
    GSM Quad Band (no 3G) and EDGE
    Cingular exclusive (for U.S.)
    $499 (4GB) and $599 (8GB) with 2 year contract.
    3.5 inch screen at 3:2 ratio (landscape)
    Operating System: OS X
    iPod capability
    Built-in 2.0 megapixels camera
    802.11b/g and Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
    “Yikes! It is basically a Mac. I’m surprised that it’s not called MacPhone. One thing that might stop me from getting this so called phone is the price with 2 year contract. Now I have to wait till June to spend my hard earned money.”

Apple also shows off the newly redesigned and updated Airport Extreme Base Station.
http://www.apple.com/airportextreme/
It now officially supports 802.11n protocol, offering up to five times the speed and twice the range compares to 802.11g protocol. It has one WAN port and three LAN port. It also has one USB 2.0 port that can be used for printer sharing or USB mass storage sharing.

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Megadeth “United Abominations”: Three New Song Titles are Revealed

Dave Mustaine in Megadeth Official Forums posting, has revealed three more song titles from the upcoming Megadeth album “United Abominations”:

  • Amerikhastan
  • Blessed Are The Dead
  • Never Walk Alone

Mustaine also mentions that “United Abominations” will have 11 songs for US release, and 1 additional song for Japanese release. He also reserves 2 extra songs for later use as “B-Sides”.

Other known and confirmed song titles from “United Abominations”:

  • United Abominations
  • Washington is Next
  • Gears of War
  • Out on The Tiles (cover of Led Zeppelin song)

“United Abominations” is tentatively scheduled for release in March 2007.

http://forums.megadeth.com/showthread.php?p=7574234 (free registration required)

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iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 and Windows Vista

There has been reports that iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 is not compatible with Windows Vista, I cannot confirm this as of yet. My main Windows computer currently runs Windows Vista RC2 Build 5744. I also run Windows Vista RTM (Business and Ultimate) on different computers.

According to Apple Support, iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 for Windows System Requirements:

  • Windows 2000 with Service Pack 4
  • Windows XP with Service Pack 2

I will test the iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 with Windows Vista (RC2 and RTM). Watch for this post for the result soon.

On Windows Vista RC2 Build 5744, iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1 failed to install.
(screen capture to be added later)

More about iPod Shuffle Reset Utility 1.0.1

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Review: Slingbox Pro (The Prelude)

I’ve been wanting to try out Slingbox since it was first out. Pricing and the lack of Mac support were the main reasons why I never actually bought it. Fortunately, an acquaintance purchased Slingbox Pro a few days ago. I was asked to set it up and I didn’t waste any seconds to do so.

To summarize the whole experience, it’s great.

I’ll post the details later on.

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Warner Music Group to Acquire Roadrunner Music Group

Earlier this week Warner Music Group announced that they are going to acquire Roadrunner Music Group.
http://www.wmg.com/news/article/?id=8a0af8120f88d9f4010f956206405504

12/18/2006

Warner Music Group Corp. (NYSE: WMG) today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 73.5 percent of Roadrunner Music Group B.V., which includes Roadrunner Records, one of the leading hard rock and heavy metal labels, for $73.5 million in purchase price and other considerations.

….

The company has enjoyed strong momentum over the past several years. This year alone, Roadrunner has increased its SoundScan market share in the Hard Music genre (which includes both Hard Rock and Heavy Metal) by more than two percentage points. The label’s multi-Platinum, Grammy-nominated artist, Nickelback, is responsible for the No. 1 Hard Music album for 2005 and year-to-date 2006 in the U.S.

In addition to Nickelback, Roadrunner’s roster includes multi-Platinum Grammy winner Slipknot, Grammy-nominated Stone Sour, Killswitch Engage, Theory of a Deadman, Megadeth, Black Label Society and Trivium, among others.

For more information about Roadrunner, visit: www.roadrunnerrecords.com

Roadrunner Records was the home of many influential Metal bands back in the 80’s and early 90’s. Sadly, for the past few years Nickleback was one of their best sellers. Nickleback sold lots of records, but WHY?

I took a little bit of interest in this acquisition since the band I’m sorta working with just recently signed with Roadrunner Records.

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