Apple iTunes 8.0: A closer look at 'Genius'
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While Apple is pushing a major update to its client software filled with several new features, easily the biggest new one appears to be its music recommendation engine, called Genius.
NBC Universal returns to iTunes, altering its pricing model
Download iTunes for Windows 8.0 from FileForum now.
After a pullout last year appeared to pit two of America's most resplendent, rainbow-colored properties at odds with one another, NBCU's Jeff Zucker had his chance to make a Steve Jobs-like play for the Apple faithful.
Apple slaps 'chrome' on the back of iPod Touch, remakes nano
At a press event in San Francisco Tuesday morning, CEO Steve Jobs took the gift wrap off Apple's holiday line of iPods, calling them the "strongest holiday lineup yet" -- stronger in part because of a backing that's not shiny plastic.
The rumors of Steve Jobs' death, the CEO himself proclaimed this morning, were greatly exaggerated; but the rumors of the new iPod nano form factor appear to have been spot on.
Microsoft makes FM radio the center of new Zune feature
In the latest attempt to further differentiate itself from the iPod, the Zune will now be able to tag songs from FM radio and purchase the music directly from its marketplace.
Microsoft's latest enhancements to its forthcoming Zune models take advantage of two previously included features: the wireless connectivity and built in FM tuner. Called "Buy from FM," the listener will be able to use the RDS data to identify tracks and download it if a wireless connection is available.
Analyst: Even against the iPhone, RIM still gains market share
As Apple ramped down shipments of its first-generation iPhone, it actually lost market share to BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM), according to the latest Gartner report.
RIM doubled its market share to 17.4 percent, selling 5.6 million devices in the April to June quarter, states the Gartner report. This was up from 2.5 million a year ago, and the marked increase likely has a lot to do with RIM's new push beyond business customers and into the consumer market.
New opposition mounts to Google ads on Yahoo
The Association of National Advertisers sent a letter to the Justice Department on Sunday, citing antitrust concerns over the proposed partnership between search leaders Yahoo and Google.
The ANA represents about 400 companies that spend about $100 billion annually on advertising. It represents and protects the interests of its members, while also advocating good advertising practices.
AT&T wireless customers get Yahoo OneSearch
Yahoo and AT&T began a planned partnership on Monday that brings the search engine's mobile-centric search platform to the carrier's customers.
AT&T has worked with Yahoo for quite some time, extending back to 2001 when the company signed a shared-revenue agreement for the telco's broadband services in select areas. And since February 2006, AT&T's wireless arm -- then Cingular -- has had a
Real gets into the DVD ripping business
Seemingly without the direct blessing of the movie industry, RealNetworks has introduced a new application that allows consumers to "rip" DVDs.
Set to debut before the end of the month, RealDVD will retail for $40 and will allow the user to copy a complete DVD image to a hard drive, though very likely in a format that only RealDVD can play. This would include the disc artwork and any extras that may be on the disc.
Where does Sarah Palin stand on technology issues?
While Gov. Palin is fairly new to the political scene nationwide, the Alaska native's stance on key topics may give clues into the policies she would support if she were elected Vice President.
[M.E.'s NOTE: BetaNews contacted the press office of Gov. Sarah Palin earlier this week, and received assurances that we would be receiving responses to our inquiries about the governor's position on critical technology issues, five of which we listed and explained in detail. This has been the week of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, so any number of reasons may have delayed the press office's final response to us. However, they were aware of our already-once-postponed deadline, so in the interest of absolute fairness -- especially since we already profiled Sen. Joe Biden last week -- we will proceed with as thorough an assessment as we possibly can of Gov. Palin, given the information we do have.]
No ruling yet in TiVo vs. EchoStar patent case
The judge presiding over the patent case between TiVo and EchoStar has delayed any ruling until possibly November, buying EchoStar some time and causing TiVo some short term duress.
TiVo's share value plunged 16.5 percent on Thursday as news of Judge David Folsom's plans broke, although it had rebounded nearly nine percent on Friday to nearly $8 in late afternoon trading.
Comcast challenges FCC's authority in sanction appeal
In a filing Thursday with the US Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, the broadband service provider argued that the agency did not have the authority to impose sanctions in the first place.
The FCC's order did not fine Comcast, instead ordering the company to make changes to the way it handles traffic. Comcast had already agreed to make such changes on its own, including targeted throttling and a 250 GB cap on bandwidth per customer.
120 GB Zunes begin to appear in stores
Microsoft has confirmed that it has begun to ship the newer high-capacity Zunes at a price that makes it quite competitive against the market-leading iPod.
The 120 GB Zune will sell for $249, the same price as the 80 GB Apple iPod. Internet reports say the devices began shipping to retailers this week, and Microsoft says the rollout will continue to additional retailers over the next several weeks.
Where does John McCain stand on technology issues?
With over two decades in the Senate, John McCain of Arizona has developed quite the resume with respect to technology legislation. BetaNews' Ed Oswald takes a look at where McCain stands on some of the most high-profile issues.
Perhaps simply because he is 72 years of age, Sen. John McCain is often the brunt of jokes that presume he knows little or nothing about modern technology, consumer electronics, or the Internet. Yet McCain's record tells a different story.
Korea Times: Sony home video at the tail end of a Korean exodus
Korea Times reports that Sony's DVD distribution arm in Korea has decided to stop selling discs in that country, making it the last of the major studios to do so.
A request for confirmation by BetaNews with Sony went unanswered as of press time. If the news is accurate, Sony would actually be the last of the major Hollywood studios to pull out of the South Korean market over the last two years, following Paramount, Disney (Buena Vista), Universal, and 20th Century Fox. It seems as if Korean consumers just aren't interested in DVDs any more.
Toshiba debuts 'SRT' upconverting LCD TVs
Toshiba's new functionality -- dubbed Super Resolution Technology -- makes its debut in the company's Regza line of televisions, and promises to upconvert standard definition television to HD-like quality.
Toshiba has made several moves over the past few months following HD DVD's collapse that almost make it seem like it wants to sabotage Blu-ray, and this latest play could be considered one such move. It also announced plans in June to add firmware to SD DVD players to improve picture quality of regular DVDs.
Ed's Bio
Ed Oswald is a freelance journalist from the Reading, PA area. Although he has written across a variety of subjects, Ed’s passion and focus has been on technology and gadgets. His work regularly appears on tech news sites BetaNews, PCWorld, and Technologizer, and has been syndicated to eWeek, Time’s Techland blog, VentureBeat and the New York Times.
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