HypedMusic closes down, the latest victim of the RIAA
While services like Grooveshark and Torch Music manage to survive, the Recording Industry Association of America is on a more or less constant attack of similar streaming sites. Now it seems the RIAA has managed to pull off a victory, strong-arming one service out of business.
HypedMusic calls it quits as a result of the cease and desist threats it has received. "I am not in any way condemning the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for what they did or claiming that in some way they 'wronged' me; they had the right to send me a cease-and-desist and I immediately complied", the developer laments.
Winamp is dead, Spotify tries to resuscitate it
You've known for a month, providing you cared enough to notice the news. AOL announced that its once prominent media player, Winamp, would cease to exist on December 20, 2013. But before the obituary can even be written, music streaming service Spotify has stepped in with its own tribute.
Today the company announces Spotiamp -- "to honour the engineering skill and passion that goes into building wonderful software that millions of people enjoy we would like to share a small tribute to honor the great legacy of Winamp".
Windows Phone 8 gets Xbox Music and Video, but do users love the new apps?
In a new attempt to level the playing field between Windows Phone 8 and its main rivals, iOS and Android, Microsoft has launched the Xbox Music and Xbox Video apps for its tiled smartphone operating system. The two offerings complement the existing functionality and add more options to purchase and consume content.
Until now, Microsoft provided no option for Windows Phone 8 users to purchase or rent movies from their smartphones. Xbox Video adds these features, alongside content streaming and download. Users have access to both popular movies and TV shows, like Fast & Furious 6 and Family Guy. For the latter category, the app allows them to get a Season Pass, that will automatically add new episodes to the user's collection.
Style Jukebox takes your music collection to the cloud [Q&A]
Nowadays, cloud services like Pandora and Spotify allow us to listen to our favorite tunes no matter where we are, without having to actually own a single song. But what happens to our music collections, which we have built up over the years? Some of us have thousands of tracks, stored locally on devices like PCs. Should we just abandon our beloved content and embrace alternative ways of enjoying it?
Luckily, answering this question does not involve making a compromise. Cloud service Style Jukebox aims for the middle road, by providing a convenient solution that allows users to upload the music they own to the cloud and play it on PCs, smartphones and tablets. It is designed to work both with and without an Internet connection (the content can also be downloaded for offline playback), which makes it a good fit for those who use devices which are not always connected to the cloud. As Style Jukebox's motto says, "Your music, anywhere, on all your devices".
Now you can listen to Rdio in 51 countries
Our smartphones have become not just entertainment devices, but also our constant travel companions. This means that media services are always at work, trying to get into new markets, in an effort to be with you wherever you go. Now streaming music service Rdio has announced a major roll out that includes 20 new nations.
Today's news brings the total number of countries in which Rdio is available to a more-than-respectable 51. The company brags that this makes it "the second largest music subscription service in the world in terms of countries serviced" (the largest subscription service is Deezer).
Deck the halls -- Rdio unveils holiday stations, playlists
It's that time of year, when the temperatures dip and the snow begins to fall, well, depending on where you live. This is also the time of year when a few radio stations suddenly change formats, and you can't turn the dial without hearing Bing Crosby or Burl Ives. Streaming radio company Rdio is taking a similar approach.
The music service has announced its 2013 lineup of holiday stations and curated playlists to get you in the spirit. "All of your musical needs for the holidays can be found right here on Rdio", the company announces.
Pandora delivers Christmas music -- and statistics
Thanksgiving is in the rear-view mirror and Black Friday shopping has begun. What does this signify? The official kick-off of holiday music of course! Sure, you can listen to that genre of music year-round, but you will look like a loon. You can now officially enjoy it and appear completely sane.
While you can listen to your local holiday station on the radio, that is not very tech-savvy. Quite frankly, FM radio is reserved for Luddites since the invention of streaming music and satellite radio. Today, streaming music service Pandora invites listeners to enjoy some special holiday streaming stations.
Winamp petition is latest to likely fail
When companies announce their intention to shutter services, fans suddenly appear from nowhere, begging for a change of heart. Some months ago there was a petition asking Google to grant Reader a stay of execution. It's not the first and it won't be the last petition Google has ignored -- there's currently one begging for Android 4.4 KitKat to be made available on the Galaxy Nexus, and of course another one asking for the old YouTube comments system to be restored.
Last week AOL, once the darling of the internet back when it was all shiny and new, announced it will be killing off Winamp, the popular media player released back in 1997, and purchased by America Online in 1999 for $80 million.
End of an era -- bidding farewell to Winamp
This was bound to happen sooner or later, although I would have preferred the latter. Winamp has announced that, starting December 20 2013, the site and associated cloud services will no longer be available to the public. What is even worse is that the longstanding media player will also be pulled from winamp.com. This is a sad moment indeed.
I have fond memories of Winamp, which makes it difficult for me to imagine a world without it. After all, when I got my first computer -- more than a decade ago -- it was one of the few pieces of software that came installed on my measly Windows 98 Second Edition PC. At the time, Winamp was my portal to listening to my favorite music. We have bonded and having to see it go away after all this time makes me feel like I'm never going to meet a best friend ever again.
The Divoom Bluetune Bean speaker sounds off [Review]
Bluetooth is everywhere these days -- in our smartphones, tablets and even in newer computers. We use it for the mouse, keyboard and other items. Increasingly, that extra item is a speaker, or perhaps two, in the case of the new Logitech Mini Boom. But that's far from the only show in town, as Divoom also produces a speaker that it hopes can rival competitors in the market.
That market has become increasingly competitive, which is not particularly surprising given the growth of handheld devices, some of which produce less-than-ideal sound quality. The Bluetune Bean attempts to help alleviate this problem, by providing an external source to pound out your tunes with a bit more fury than the tiny built-in speakers that come as part of your tablet or phone.
Ultimate Ears UE BOOM learns a new trick
When you buy a Bluetooth speaker, you do not expect it to evolve. In other words, you buy it from the store, it plays your music and there your relationship with the manufacturer ends, right? Wrong. Well, at least with Ultimate Ears. You see, the company announces a new firmware update that will teach the UE BOOM speaker new tricks.
"When we conceived of the UE BOOM and its updateable platform, our goal was twofold: introduce the world's first social music player and make sure it stays relevant with the ever-evolving world of music consumption. Social music enthusiasts have told us how much they love the 360-degree sound of the UE BOOM, its life resistant design and how it completely integrates into their lifestyle, and now we’re taking it to the next level, thanks to regular updates", says Rory Dooley, General Manager of Ultimate Ears.
Bing improves music video search
Little brings more emotion to daily life than music. For many people it's a part of the psyche, lending meaning to everyday events, leaving memories that are specifically associated with a particular song. For instance, reggae songs can bring visions of summer, while Air Supply dredges up memories of middle school dances.
Bing now wishes to help you find all of those sappy songs, in video form -- though the search engine also promises to help find the newer and less sappy ones as well.
Gramohorn II amplifies your HTC One in a retro-style
Phones are great for music, but in most cases the built in speakers are a bit subpar; quality might be decent enough, but if you're looking for a punch of volume, speakers are going to be needed. Or maybe not. If you're an HTC One owner looking for something a little different -- and have a wad of spare cash lying around -- the Gramohorn II could just be of interest. It brings not one, but two gramophone inspired horns to amplify your music without the need for power.
3D printing is all the rage, and the Gramohorn II is the latest accessory to be produced in this way. There are plaster- and metal-based versions available, but whichever one you opt for, you're going to need to have deep pockets. The plaster-based model is the cheaper of the two, but "cheaper" is very much a relative term. There are 22 color choices and five metallic finishes but only 100 will be produced.
Pandora adds Chromecast support
It has been less than 24 hours since music streaming service Pandora took the wraps off version 5.0 of its mobile app for Android, giving users a new tablet-friendly look and improved features. Now the company adds yet another update to the list, this time in the form of support for Google Chromecast.
"Today, we’re excited to share that Pandora is now available on Chromecast, Google’s new TV-connected device that wirelessly delivers online audio and video entertainment to the biggest screen in the home", announces Pandora's Tom Conrad.
Pandora finds its way to Android tablets
Music choices continue to grow for the new mobile generation. While most services found on your phone are also an option for the tablet in your life, Pandora has been curiously absent from the larger screen. Not that it wouldn't work -- it has been at home on my Kindle Fire HD for sometime now -- but, it wasn't dedicated to the platform.
Today that changes. Mike Grishaver of Pandora proclaims "we’re excited to unveil our latest version of Pandora, designed specifically for Android tablets, and available for download starting today via Google Play".
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