10/28, 11:15pm
Google Music Search uses iLike, Lala
Google at a Los Angeles event tonight unveiled its widely expected advanced music search feature. The addition (a video of which is available below) automatically parses regular searches for music from all four major labels and automatically filters it by artist, album or track; users can then either sample or buy the tracks through Lala or MySpace's iLike. Those who use recommendation-based Internet streaming service like iMeem, Pandora or Rhapsody can also find related music.
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09/06, 10:35pm
Spotify for iPhone and Android
Spotify tonight quietly saw the release of both the iPhone (1.7MB) and Android versions of its promised mobile app. On both platforms, the free app lets those with a Spotify Premium subscription (roughly $14 per month) stream the service's entire catalog, including music from all the major labels. They also have access to an offline mode that caches whole playlists for use when Internet access over 3G or Wi-Fi isn't available.
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08/27, 3:40pm
Spotify iPhone App
Apple today said it has approved Spotify's iPhone app. A spokesperson for the company made the rare statement ahead of the app's appearance for paidContent in what's seen as a bid to prevent accusations of anti-competitive behavior regarding the app, which will need a 10 Euro (roughly $14) monthly premium subscription but which will give unlimited streaming of music over both Wi-Fi and on iPhones using 3G. It's unclear when the app will actually appear but is expected only in countries where Spotify is already available on computers, such as the UK or Spain.
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08/24, 8:25am
Revo IKON Radio Dock
Revo this morning claimed the high ground in radio docks through the unveiling of the IKON. The system aims to be a center for all digital audio with DAB+ radio (for the UK), Internet radio through many sources that include Last.fm, Pandora, Rhapsody and Sirius, an iPhone/iPod dock and media sharing from Macs and PCs on the local Ethernet or Wi-Fi network. A unique advantage in the field is a 3.5-inch touchscreen that provides both a much more context-sensitive interface for each source but displays album art, song data and anything else a given format allows.
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08/24, 7:25am
Real Rhapsody for iPhone
Real this morning branched out to Apple devices in earnest by revealing a port of its Rhapsody service to the iPhone and iPod touch. Normally only offered through rival players like those from SanDisk, the service gives subscribers access to the full song catalog and lets them queue up any of the 8 million songs from Rhapsody on request. It also provides access to playlists, Rhapsody Radio and every other service normally available through the full-function website, Real claims.
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08/18, 9:20am
WD TV Mini Media Hub
Western Digital shrunk its media hub today and produced the WD TV Mini, a new extra-small version of its earlier media sharing device. The set-top box omits HDMI output but now measures just 3.6 inches square and 0.8 inches deep while still capable of playing 1080i video depending on the codec. RealVideo format support is equally new and complements the existing MPEG-1/2/4, VOB and XviD formats.
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08/11, 11:05pm
RealDVD Injuction Stays
A US court on Tuesday maintained (reg. required) a preliminary injunction that prevents RealNetworks from selling its RealDVD software pending the results of a lawsuit against the company. The decision is characterized by Judge Marilyn Patel as a safeguard given the legal ramifications of the technology. While she agrees individual DVD copying is legal given fair use principles, she warns that software designed to streamline copying and sharing DVDs is often illegal under federal law and that allowing sales may run afoul of that law.
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05/14, 10:00am
Real Sues MPAA
RealNetworks today fought back against Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) claims that it was aiding piracy by filing counterclaims against both six studios in the MPAA and the DVD Copy Control Association. Sent through a Northern District of California court, the complaints accuse both groups of violating antitrust law by colluding together on trying to block legal alternatives to fair use copying of DVDs. Rather than grant copyrights through individual studios, permission is offered solely through a joint agreement between all of the studios and the DVD CCA, effectively letting them exclude anyone they decide offers competition to their own methods.
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04/28, 4:40pm
RealDVD vs MPAA trial
In the ongoing legal battle between the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and RealNetworks over the latter's RealDVD computer program that lets users violate copyright laws, the MPAA argued removing the software's restrictions on how many computers can access the ripped files is easily done. Robert Shumann, an expert on securing DVDs, took the stand on Tuesday at the request of the MPAA and said changing RealDVD to allow for more than the current five computers to playback the copied content is simple.
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04/24, 9:15am
Real Facet Prototype
RealNetworks is developing a digital media hub reference design that would let users store protected rips of their own DVD movies, the company's project lead Jeff Albertson revealed late yesterday. Nicknamed Facet, the Linux-based device mentioned to the New York Times would use the same technology as Real's RealDVD software and would let users store copies of DVDs on a hard drive, letting them play movies they own themselves while preserving the CSS copy protection to prevent piracy. An example Facet would hold about 70 movies.
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04/06, 2:10pm
Yahoo Music Revamp
Yahoo today unveiled a reworked, public beta version of Yahoo Music that significantly changes the company's philosophy on content. The new version serves as a central hub for third-party music services and will let users buy songs from a number of sources, including Amazon and iTunes. It likewise collects Internet radio streams from Last.fm and Pandora as well as music videos on YouTube.
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04/03, 3:40pm
RealDVD gets court date
RealNetworks will get a chance to defend the legality of its RealDVD DVD ripping software on April 24th in court, launched back in September, sales of which were later banned by a federal judge and the ban extended after the software maker was sued by movie studios. The trial will take place in a US District Court in San Francisco, RealNetworks Chairman and CEO Rob Glaser said in a Friday TWICE report.
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01/12, 9:10am
Haier ibiza Theatre
Haier in a low-key introduction has revealed its second and third major players in the ibiza line. The ibiza Theatre is the company's first real touchscreen player and serves as a lower-cost alternative to players from Apple and Samsung; while it has a 2.4-inch, 320x240 screen and doesn't appear to include Wi-Fi, the device includes Bluetooth for wireless headphones, an FM radio tuner and a microSD slot to add more space. It also supports Real's Rhapsody to Go for loading the device with music from the unlimited subscription service.
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10/23, 10:35am
Facebook Music Rumor
A previously hinted-at Facebook music service could be true after all, a claim made by VentureBeat suggests. Previously discredited, a now supported rumor asserts that the social network is allegedly planning to team up with a partner such as iLike, imeem, Lala or RealNetworks' Rhapsody to offer a way of at least streaming full songs over artist pages or those friends who bring up songs in the regular Facebook news feed. The service would potentially let users buy downloads, though whether this would involve the partner or simply linking to a third party such as Amazon or iTunes is unknown.
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10/09, 9:05am
RealDVD ban extended
A temporary ban issued at the start of this week on RealNetwork’s sales of its RealDVD software, which allows users to copy DVD movies, has been extended until a hearing is held to decide whether or not to make the ban more permanent. The stop in sales was ordered by a US federal judge after Hollywood studios, represented by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), sued RealNetworks over copyright issues. The extension came just one day after the original temporary ban, on Tuesday, according to a Thursday report.
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10/06, 7:30am
Judge Temp Blocks RealDVD
A judge today issued a temporary ban on sales of RealNetworks' RealDVD as part of proceedings for major movie studios' copyright lawsuit against the video software firm. The move, which officially lasts until Tuesday, is primarily to give the judge an opportunity to review filings made in the case but may be extended if more time is needed or the court decides to support a longer injunction against sales until the end of the case.
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08/25, 11:05am
Verizon Blitz Official
Verizon this morning switched its attention to non-smartphone messaging with the formal rollout of the Blitz. The UTStarcom-made device has a traditional feature phone interface but a slide-out QWERTY keyboard that speeds up responding to e-mail as well as instant messaging. The change also has the upside of keeping the closed phone short at 3.5 inches tall and allowing room for a 2.2-inch LCD.
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07/29, 2:35pm
RealPlayer exploit fix
RealNetworks is urging Mac users to upgrade to version 11.0 of its RealPlayer application, due to a potential security exploit. The malware research site Secunia rates the problem as "highly critical," with potential risk of malicious system access and exposure of sensitive information. The vulnerability affects Realplayer v10 and v10.1 for Mac OS X. The company did not issue a patch, but is instead urging users to upgrade to RealPlayer 11.0. The company says there is a problem with Realplayer's ActiveX import method buffer overflow.
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07/26, 6:55pm
Yahoo Music Compensation
Yahoo will compensate customers of its Yahoo Music online store once the company shuts down its servers and prevents customers from renewing their copy protection licenses, the company says. The firm now says that anyone who purchased tracks in addition to their monthly subscriptions to Yahoo Music will be refunded "for whatever [was] paid" for the songs so that they aren't forced to repurchase the tracks later. All active subscribers can also voluntarily transfer over to RealNetworks' Rhapsody subscription service and will have their lower $10 monthly rate carry over for a limited amount of time.
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07/25, 12:25pm
Amazon May Back MySpace
The upcoming MySpace Music service may ultimately be run by another major online music store, say alleged sources for TechCrunch. The social networking site is described as most likely picking Amazon MP3 to handle the commerce behind the store but is also said to be entertaining offers from other companies, including Apple and RealNetworks. No commitments have yet been made.
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01/08, 11:00pm
CES highlights, Gallery 1
The second day of CES has drawn to a close, with many companies making major announcements about new products and services. Intel unveiled its 45nm Core 2 mobile platform with integrated SSE4 and 6MB of cache, available in speeds ranging from 2.1GHz to 2.8GHz. Microsoft announced that its Xbox Video Marketplace service will see content from Disney-ABC and MGM, and formally denied rumors that Xbox 360 with built-in HD-DVD is in planning. HP’s MediaSmart gear was given a complete overhaul, while also introducing several new laptop products. Seagate was on hand to show a number of different new storage options, while RealNetworks showed various products that use its Rhapsody media service.
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01/07, 4:45pm
Philips TV, audio products
Philips today introduced several new home and personal audio products, also a new line of LCD TVs. Pairing up with RealNetworks, the company’s new Streamium NP1100 relies on the 4.5 million track collection offered by Real’s Rhapsody network, as well as internet radio, and PC music libraries to bring audio to the home environment. The device uses a black and white display to show track information, and has a built-in WiFi receiver to connect with users’ home wireless networks. Philips expects to ship the NP1100 in May for $150.
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