News

Direct Link: MP3 Version In the wake of a strange week and on the eve of WWDC, Ricky Spero and Jeff Gamet are left with few choices but to hit as many stories as they can in a short while. From Apple’s options, to software options for music notation; from Napster’s options to Norway’s, this…

What the Agenda Tries to Achieve Everyone likes to make predictions about the WWDC Keynote. That’s the easy part. I’m going to do something a little different. My motivation is that while Steve covers a lot of ground, and it’s a very entertaining show, very little of it is deeply technical. So I’m going to…

France’s so-called “iPod law” officially went into effect on Thursday, although little immediate effect from it is expected, according to an Associated Press story. “A new government regulatory authority assigned to monitor the law is not expected to be in place until this fall,” noted reporter Angela Charlton. “Much will depend on the law’s interpretation…

Khronos Group announced the newest members to join the multimedia open standards organization on Monday. Apple, Google, and S3 Graphics are among the names on the list. Khronos Group is an organization that includes over 100 companies that are working together to define open standards for dynamic media on devices ranging from cell phones to…

Apple has filed its response with Norway’s Consumer Council over concerns that iTunes Music Store licensing violates Scandinavian laws. According to Macworld UK, Apple submitted its response by the Council’s deadline, but the contents of the letter has not been released to the public. Norway claims that the terms and conditions for purchasing music from…

"I get up every morning determined to both change the world and to have one hell of a good time. Sometimes, this makes planning the day difficult." – E.B. White Preparation Whether you’re preparing to attend Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) for the first time or you’re doing an encore visit, or if you’re…

Sharman Networks Ltd., the makers of the Internet file sharing application Kazaa, settled a lawsuit on Thursday that accused it of allowing music and other copyright protected files to be transfered through its service without authorization. According to Forbes, the company agreed to pay more than US$115 million in penalties to music and movie companies,…

Microsoft is ready to spend hundreds of millions of dollars over several years on its Zune products to catch up with the iPod. According to CNET News, Microsoft sees its music player and download service as a long-term investment. Robbie Bach, Microsoft’s president of the Entertainment and Devices Division, said “We think of this in…

Apple Computer has terminated its Apple Discussions Hosts, the forum moderators that monitor and moderate the company’s user discussion boards. A source involved with Apple Discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Mac Observer that management at Apple has questioned the value of the discussion boards. The end result, however, has been a marked…

France’s Constitutional Council late Thursday released a report declaring unconstitutional some aspects of the country’s so-called “iPod law.” According to an International Herald Tribune article published on the New York Times’ Web site, the 1789 Declaration on Human Rights was referenced in the council’s conclusion that property protections were being violated by the law. Reporter…

It has been common knowledge for sometime now that, while Redmond based Microsoft owns and/or controls much of the worldwide PC market, the industry looks to Apple for clues as to what’s next in the hardware and software world. From servers that serve powerfully yet quietly and with no fuss, to integrated applications and hardware…

Microsoft is working to change the beige-box image most PCs suffer from by offering manufacturers its own how-to kit. According to BusinessWeek, Microsoft is advising PC makers to design cases with “accelerated curves” and “purposeful contrast.” The colors Microsoft’s kit calls for are obsidian (a shade of black) and ice (translucent white). The booklet included…

As part of his 1,680-page book Mac OS X Internals: A Systems Approach, author Amit Singh produced an in-depth history of Apple’s operating systems. Since he had to discard much of the material while whittling down the first chapter to a manageable length, Mr. Singh has decided to make “A Technical History of Apple’s Operating…

Thirty percent of mid-to-large-sized businesses in Canada have banned MP3 players, including the iPod, at work because of data theft fears. That number comes from an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Sun Microsystems of Canada. In addition, 49% of those surveyed also prevent personal laptops and USB key drives from entering the workplace.…

As the iPod’s popularity has soared, so have the fortunes of businesses dedicated to refurbishing and repairing the MP3 players. Some of them, such as PodSwap.com, allow customers to trade in used iPods — working or not — toward the price of new or refurbished iPod. In 18 months, PodSwap.com has taken in 5,000 iPods,…