News Archive for 05/02/08

Choose an article from the archive listing on this page or refine your selection using the controls in the gray box below.

iPod at MS dev conference

02/08, 7:40pm

Apple's iPod everywhere at MS developer conference

Apple may have found a way to upstage Microsoft at its own developer conference. CNET News.com reports that several companies were using the iPod as a marketing tool (i.e., as part of raffle prizes) to attract developers to their booth and/or company websites. "One thing that many of the exhibitors had in common was the raffle prize item they used to lure people to their booths: Apple Computer's iPod. 'Win an iPod,' boasts a sign at the Kinitos booth. Ditto at PreEmptive Solutions. Business Objects tried to one-up the others by offering a first prize of an iPod plus $10 worth of iTunes. Although the iPod has little connection to Microsoft's Visual Studio developer tools, there is no question it is hot, hot, hot."

\'Apple wreckers\'

02/08, 4:30pm

'Apple wreckers': digital music war heats up

Apple may not be in an operating system fight with MIcrosoft, but competition in the digital music world is heating up and Microsoft is challenging the dominance of iTunes by giving away a free download every day through Saturday. "he daily freebie will be limited to the one editorial pick from Microsoft's MSN Music staff members that they think will win a Grammy in the song's nominated genre. Of course, Mr. Softy isn't known for being the generous type. The five giveaways are being done to promote the fledgling service, and Microsoft is opening up the offer only to adults willing to pony up their credit card information." Fool.com says that Apple is also facing challenges on other fronts, including Napster, satellite radio upstarts XM and Sirius as well.

iPod used by radiologists

02/08, 4:00pm

iPod, Macs, open-source software used by radiologists

Doctors at the University of California have found yet another innovative use for Apple's popular MP3 player. The iPod is being used by radiologists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to help the medical community cut costs. Silicon.com says that the iPod, Mac desktops, and a custom-built open-source imaging program for Mac OS X have replaced systems costing as much as much as $100,000: "The platform has similar functionality [to the high-end workstations], it's accessible to the rest of the medical community and you don't have to spend $100,000, $200,000 to view the images," Ratib said. According to the report, Apple's CEO Steve Jobs was interested by project and almost presented it as a feature at the Macworld San Francisco Keynote.

Duke iPod pilot program

02/08, 3:50pm

Duke's iPod pilot program 'going very well'

Duke's program to give iPods to incoming college students is going "very well," according to university representatives. The iPods, which were distributed to 1,650 freshman as part of a campus pilot program, are being used to "learn Spanish vocabulary, recording lectures, analyzing music, and - no surprise here - for downloading their favorite tunes," according to The Associated Press. The university expects to decide in late March or early April whether to continue to program, which has seen the number of courses leveraging the music device increase.

Pepsi ads drive traffic

02/08, 12:15pm

Pepsi-iTunes ads drive traffic to Apple's website

Apple's iTunes website saw a more than 170-percent jump in site traffic driven largely by the second annual Pepsi promotion offering the chance to win free songs through the pay-per-download music service, according to comScore Networks. The company today leased an analysis of the online impact of Super Bowl XXXIX, in which Budweiser (594%), Godaddy.com (378%), and OlympusAmerica.com (363%) showed greater changes in their website traffic than Apple. The report said that Apple's iTunes experiencd a 172 percent increase in its traffic following the Pepsi-iTunes commercials. ComScore said that Napster, which advertised for the first time as a rival to iTunes, posted a greater than 30-percent increase on Super Bowl Sunday.