Apr
2
Notable this week: Tim Schaaff, SanDisk e200, Zencast, Real-ity, MS ‘iPhone’, Stageside, iPod Volume limiter
- BusinessWeek runs a piece on Tim Schaaff, Sony’s Senior VP of Software Development: the man who left Apple to undertake a huge task—make Sony’s software work. That means bringing the various departments closer, giving more power to software developers and keeping a low profile so as not to collide with the rather autonomous hardware engineers.
- Review: SanDisk e200: most of the kinks can be ironed out with a firmware update—overall this looks like a noteworthy entry. Above average SQ, solid build quality, bright and crisp display, UMS support, along with a wealth of features. The device was first presented at CES 2006.
- Creative announces Zencast subsciption services: ...for France(!?). Music, movies, TV shows from three major partners: TF1vision, L’EquipeTV and NRJ. Also mentioned: three new flash-based players coming before June and players with X-Fi built-in coming in December.
- Real-ity allows you to submit your Pandora tunes to Last.fm: there’s the issue of trusting them with your passwords for the two services, but as a mashup idea it’s pretty clever.
- Shocking news! MS working on their own “iPhone”: Steve Ballmer says in Fortune interview we should expect a convergence device (portable audio player with phone capabilites—or is it the reverse?) within a year. [via]
- This tune brought to you by Coca-ColaTM: exclusive live performances, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews of mainstream artists provided to you in DRM-free form from Stageside, in return for some subtle Coke branding. As long as the sponsoring remains gentle, I don’t actually mind this. It may prove to be an efficient—not idea l—way to get rid of DRM. [Apple to provide volume limit setting for iPods: you’ll be able to set a maximum volume level, and even lock it down with a PIN (handy if you’re a parent, I guess). Gizmodo comments: “Thus Apple joins the ranks of lawsuit-paranoid companies such as McDonald’s telling its customers that coffee may be hot, plastic bag manufacturers cautioning that you might suffocate if you wrap yourself up in their products, and mirror manufacturers warning you that objects may be closer than they appear.”
Before leaving the site, have a look at our most popular entries:
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- Apple Lossless offerings from the iTMS not likely—for now (June 28, 2006)
- Review: Datasafe oomi (June 7, 2006)
- HOWTO: Move your iTunes music while preserving library data (May 11, 2006)
- Batteries 101 (May 8, 2006)
- Presentation: iPod Hi-Fi, plus a few thoughts (March 2, 2006)
- Presentation/Review: Creative Zen Vision:M (December 9, 2005)
- Review: Alegria Audio Ling bookshelf speaker system (November 9, 2005)
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