News Archive for 06/02/15

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Apple releases iTunes 6.03

02/15, 4:55pm

Apple releases iTunes 6.03

Apple today released which it says includes stability and performance improvements over iTunes 6.0.2. As with all versions of iTunes 6, Apple also includes this caution note: "Note: After purchasing music from the iTunes Music Store with iTunes 6 or later, you will also need to upgrade your other computers that purchase music from the iTunes Music Store to the latest version of iTunes." This morning we noted new SI Swimsuit videos on the iTunes Music Store and Apple also recently added a new 'Reggae' to its music selection categories.

First Disney 2006 podcast

02/15, 3:25pm

Disney releases first 2006 podcast

Walt Disney has released its first 2006 episode of the "Official Disneyland Resort Podcast," available via download from Apple's iTunes podcast directory or from the Disneyland website. This month's release focuses on the opening of the new attraction "Monsters, Inc. Mike-and-Sulley to the Rescue!" at Disney's California Adventure Park, and goes behind-the-scenes for an inside look at the workings of the Matterhorn Bobsleds ride, according to Designtechnica. The show offers interviews with people involved with the attractions, and the podcast itself is hosted by Michael Geoghegan. The Official Disneyland Resort Podcast first launched in October of 2005, and has achieved a good ranking on iTunes, scoring four-and-a-half stars out of five, according to Disney.

Real falls short

02/15, 2:30pm

Real falls short, drops 9 percent

RealNetworks shares today dropped nine percent after the company issued a sales and profit forcast that fell short of Wall Street expectations. One of Apple's largest competitors, the company's stock gained 15 percent on Tuesday in anticipation of forth-quarter financial results which was bolstered by a positive brokerage comment, according to MarketWatch. RealNetworks turned a profit, partially due to a $434.4 million gain related to a legal settlement with Microsoft back in October. The company earned $295.6 million, or $1.61 per share, compared to a loss of $972,000, or a penny per share registered for the fourth quarter of 2004, according to the report. Revenue reached $83.6 million, up from $72.5 million the previous year, below average expectations of nearly $85 million. RealNetworks has doubled its subscriber base since 2004, and the firm is working with manufacturers to produce a viable alternative to Apple's iPod.

Sprint gets 1M downloads

02/15, 1:10pm

Sprint mobile music service reaches 1M

Sprint Nextel today said that its customers have downloaded one million songs from the Sprint Music Store, a competitor to Apple's own iTunes Music Store. Sprint launched the service on October 24th of 2005, and while the company charges $2.50 per song versus Apple's 99-cent pricing, Sprint allows customers to purchase songs from a catalog of over 320,000 songs via mobile phones using its "Power Vision" network. Apple, however, reported one million downloads during the first week after launching its service. A Sprint spokesman David Gunasegaram said Sprint Nextel does not intend to compete with iTunes, and that "it's a value-added [service] for our customers." Sprint had not made an estimate of the time required to hit the one million-song mark, according to a report from bizjournals.com.

iPod skins from cellfan

02/15, 12:30pm

New vinyl iPod skins from Cellfan

Cellfan.com announced the availability of its "skins" for iPods. The skins and wallpaper maker now offers ten categories of officially licensed vinyl skin styles for iPods: Sports/Swimsuits, Collegiate, Entertainment, Art, Valentines Day, Music, Military, Comics, StyleSkins, and Nations. The skin is made from a professional-grade vinyl, which is printed via a proprietary process that ensures details and premium images, and is then coated with a glossy finish and custom cut. The skin will not void a device warranty and can be easily removed. The skins are available for all iPod models and cost $13 (which includes delivery).

Fake Apple event hits net

02/15, 12:20pm

Fake invite for Apple event circulates

A fake invite today was sent out by a user in Germany. The hoax invite, which read and looked like a real Apple-sanctioned event, was sent to several Mac websites and touted a 'special event' with U2 lead Bono. The fake red invitation said "Please join Steve and Bono" for an "invitation-only event" at the Moscone Center West in San Francisco on March 1st at 10 am. The invite also offered the words "Together we can fight it." Several reports had speculated on a special red iPod from Apple to help Bono's fight against AIDS. "U2's Bono may partner with Apple on a new red iPod in the near future to help promote a new project to battle AIDS. The charity is designed to raise money to help finance the fight against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria in Africa, and hopes to convince the world's largest companies to release special red-branded products while offering a portion of the profits to the fund." [updated]

Indonesian iTunes

02/15, 12:00pm

Indonesian music to debut on iTunes

Equinox Digital Music Distribution announced the availability of Indonesian music on iTunes. The catalog of over 60 Indonesian artists forms Southeast Asia's largest selection of music in digital format, according to the company. It will include little known genres such as Bali rockabilly, Bandung electronica, and Jakarta metal. Distribution agreements have been signed with Musica Studios, Aquarius Musikindo and Pro Sound Records, as well as top indie labels like Aksara Records from Jakarta, Fast Forward Records from Bandung and Electrohell Records from Bali. The music will be available on Friday, February 17 and will feature artists, such as Dewa, Rossa, KLa Project, Homogenic, Netral and Dewi Lestari. "We are thrilled to bring this new and exciting dimension of Indonesia to music fans around the world," said Mark Hanusz, proprietor of Equinox Publishing and Founder of Equinox DMD. "People will soon discover that Indonesia has so much more music to offer than just gamelan."

Front Row glitch fixed

02/15, 11:25am

Briefly: Front Row glitch, SI Swimsuit

In Brief: Mac OS X 10.4.5, released yesterday, appears to have fixed the well-publicized video glitch with FrontRow software in Apple's Intel iMacs, according to ATR analyst Shaw Wu.... Sports Illustrated is offering eight SI Swimsuit videos on iTunes feature "a more in-depth showcase, including videos on invididual models.... Apple's dual-core iMac notebooks and MacBook Pro desktop PCs will hit store shelves in Taiwan between the end of this month and the middle of March and the new 1GB iPod nanos will be available this week for NT$5,300.... For the second consecutive year, Peachpit and the Pearson Technology Group are recognizing Scott Kelby, who published 11 titles in 2005, as the No. 1 computer book author in the U.S., according to research based on Nielsen BookScan data.... Readers note a new 'coming soon' sign for a new Apple store inside Toronto's Eaton Center shopping mall, the second store in Canada, which one reader speculates may open as early as June 1st.... Virgin Mobile is first European cellular operator to deliver live TV to its customers, a move that could impact the Apple's own move into the digital video world.