News Archive for 06/11/14

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NBC news shows offered on iTunes

11/14, 9:35pm

NBC news shows on iTunes

NBC News this week said it will offer "NBC Nightly News" and "Meet the Press" as free video podcasts on iTunes. The company, which has been streaming its video on MSNBC.com as well as offering audio of both shows as audio podcasts, will be offering video downloads of the shows for the first time. "NBC Nightly News" will be available every weeknight at 10 p.m. EST, while "Meet the Press" will be available via video podcast at 1 p.m. EST -- both after their West Coast airings. The "NBC Nightly News" video podcast begins Tuesday. "It makes sense to provide the content to viewers in whatever format they prefer," MSNBC.com deputy editor Randy Stearns said. He said that MSNBC.com still believes that streaming ad-supported video-on-demand is what users want. The new video podcast will be the first full evening newscast available as a video download. ABC News began "World News Now" as a 15-minute daily newscast in January, and CBS News simulcasts "CBS Evening News" on the Web, according to the Washington Post. Meanwhile, ESPN said that it has begun offering iTunes podcasts of such local ESPN radio shows as "The Michael Kay Show" in New York and "The Big Show With Mason and Ireland" in Los Angeles.

Zune attracts 'little' excitement

11/14, 4:35pm

Zune, little excitement

Apple's iPod and Mac sales remain strong moving into the holiday season, but Microsoft's Zune player is generating 'little' excitement and will only minimally impact the iPod, according to UBS analyst Ben Reitzes. "While Microsoft's Zune will hit stores tomorrow, our checks show little excitement around the new product and we are not expecting much of an impact to iPod sales from the new MP3 player. In fact, initial reviews for the Zune have been far from impressive." Reitzes' views echo those of Piper Jaffray senior analyst Gene Munster, who yesterday pointed to the long, hard road Microsoft has ahead as it tries to best Apple's dominance in the digital music market. Reitzes of UBS continues to expect new iPods next year after Macworld, with the large screen video model likely ready by spring.

DRM Dumpster converts iTunes tracks

11/14, 11:25am

DRM Dumpster released

BurningThumb.com has released DRM Dumpster, a utility designed to legally convert DRM tracks in an iTunes music library to MP3 files using a CD-RW and iTunes itself. Users simply launch DRM Dumpster, click the Dump DRM button, and insert a CD-RW disc to begin the conversion process. iTunes will display a new playlist that contains MP3 files once the operation is complete, and the application allows users to resume conversion where it left off in the even of an error during the process. DRM Dumpster is available for free, requiring Mac OS X 10.2 or later alongside a scriptable version of iTunes -- such as iTunes 7 -- and a CD burner with a CD-RW disc.

Angry iTunes customer cries foul

11/14, 9:05am

iTunes customer cries foul

One angry iTunes customer is voicing his frustration with Apple's iTunes Music Store after he purchased a South Park, Season 10 Season Pass, only to receive seven episodes instead of the entire season. Comedy Central decided to 'split' the season into two halves and offer each half for $11.99, confusing many customers who purchased the passes hoping to receive all of the episodes in the entire season. What's more, Apple quietly changed the name of the South Park, Season 10 Season Pass to Season 10A, adding Season 10B as the second half of the episodes available to customers after initially posting the season pass without any indication that it would be split into two parts. Another user has launched a blog about the changes to iTunes content following its public availability, trying to rally other frustrated users with the hope that Apple will give them the second half of the episodes.

Apple, airlines offer iPod integration

11/14, 8:55am

iPod airline integration

Apple today announced it is teaming up with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to deliver the first seamless integration between iPod and in-flight entertainment systems. These six airlines will begin offering their passengers iPod seat connections which power and charge their iPods during flight and allow the video content on their iPods to be viewed on the their seat back displays. "There is no better traveling companion than an iPod, and now travelers can power their iPods during flight and even watch their iPod movies and TV shows on their seat back displays," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPod Product Marketing. "We're excited to work with Air France, Continental, Delta, Emirates, KLM and United to offer iPod users an even better in-flight experience."