Details are still fuzzy, but whatever it is you can imagine that it will be Google-like in that it will be easy to use, free, and work very very well.

In short, it’s no wonder why Google and Apple have stopped being such buddies.

A couple of months ago when Eric Schmidt left the Apple board, the speculation was that it had to do mostly with Android competing with the iPhone. That may have been part of it.

But it may have had more to do with this music service. Apple makes good money selling iPhones and computers, but it practically mints money with iTunes, a service where other people make the product, and Apple just takes a cut and doesn’t have to actually build or ship anything.

Now music didn’t exactly fit in with the mission of Apple back when it was Apple Computer, and it’s hard to see how selling or even making music available for free is a part of Google’s stated mission “to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.” I suppose you could call music “information” but really this makes it clear that both companies have the same mission: make money. No surprise there, but it’s always important to keep in mind. It’s easy to ascribe higher or lower motives to both companies, but they really are just companies that do what they do to make money.

[Thanks: http://www.examiner.com]

Based entirely upon a leak of abstract new marketing graphics from Microsoft, bloggers have announced a new generation of music players that will apparently do most of what the iPod touch did when it arrived in 2007.

The product concept is so deep in vaporware territory that Microsoft hasn’t even publicly acknowledged any real plans to clone the iPod touch yet. The marketing graphics below, initially published by Engadget, referred to as a “draft” artist’s conception, suggest the same minimalist, single home button as the iPod touch along with a wide screen that is smaller than the iPod touch but housed in a significantly thicker overall box.

This would make the rumored Zune HD device a fitting tribute to the original Zune, which targeted the popularity of the original iPod with a lower-density screen but thicker box a year after the video playing, fifth generation iPod shipped, only to be blindsided by Apple’s move to flash RAM-based video players with the iPod nano and shuffle.

The second generation Zunes caught up with a flash-based player just in time to be trampled by the stampede of interest in 2007’s video playing iPod nano and the web browsing iPod touch. Microsoft had been able to clone the iPod classic and nano fairly easily, as both used largely off the shelf components and simple software; reviewers reported that the Zune was nearly identical internally to the iPod nano. Copying the iPod touch would take significantly more work, however.

Now two years behind

Last year, Microsoft caught up to Apple’s 2006 release of iPod games with its own new mobile XNA initiative in its third generation Zune firmware, although poor sales of Zune units have prevented major developers from showing much interest in the platform.

If Microsoft is able to release a touch-based Zune by the end of this year using either the same technology it showed off for Windows Mobile 6.5 or a simultaneously created alternative, it will remain no more than two years behind Apple. A variant based partly on Windows Mobile would require shipping the functional new version of Internet Explorer Mobile the company announced was in the pipeline for new WiMo 6.5 smartphones.

Microsoft’s version of the iPod touch has also long been expected to eventually deliver a full-fledged WiFi music store, similar to the one Apple released in 2007; in 2008, the company updated the Zune with a limited ability to find tracks on the Zune Marketplace. If the Zune HD arrives on the one-year anniversary of last year’s Zune update, by September, it will deliver a version of most of Apple’s features within that two year copy window, with the notable exception of being able to run the same mobile software.

However, Microsoft already has its own software platform in Windows Mobile. The problem is that all of these programs are oriented around stylus tapping or button pushing, not finger-driven touch. As RIM discovered with the BlackBerry Storm, releasing a touch version of an existing brand is not easy nor without its own risks, as key interface choices at least temporarily diminished the Storm’s appeal.

Apple’s iPod touch shares a platform with the iPhone, with a user base of 30 million devices sold within the last two years. Selling enough Zune HD and Windows Mobile 6.1 phones to give developers a reason to rewrite mobile apps around a touch interface could be a difficult undertaking, particularly given the already lucrative option of developing for the existing iTunes App Store market, paired with its existing library of apps for consumers.

Vaporware advertising?

With such long odds, Microsoft may be smart to keep its plans secret and allow the blogosphere to build anticipation itself. That’s what the company did in 2006, which resulted in the Zune originally being touted as a juggernaut that would destroy the iPod by pundits who speculated that Microsoft would deeply discount the new player as cheaply as $99 and give it more features and flexibility than anything else on the market.

The downside was that Microsoft didn’t attempt to meet those expectations. It has consistently priced the Zune and its accessories near Apple’s pricing and has regularly had enough earlier inventory left over to clear out through significant discounts. Further, most of its imagined features ended up being underwhelming in ability and scope, such as its wireless file sharing, or “squirting,” which was eventually supplemented by basic wireless sync and download features in its second and third years on the market.

While not without risk, allowing fan sites to chat up the Zune HD’s potential features will still be far more effective than Microsoft’s current efforts to advertise Windows by calling Macs “too cool,” “so sexy,” and “popular” among kids, while implying that lower quality machines with cheaper components deliver more value.

[Thanks: http://www.appleinsider.com/]

Parts of .Mac are still hanging around despite the changeover to MobileMe in mid-2008—namely the HomePage and Groups features. They won’t be around for much longer, though. In an e-mail sent to MobileMe users yesterday, Apple announced that both .Mac HomePage and .Mac Groups will be discontinued on July 7, 2009.

MobileMe replaced .Mac last July, but Apple has maintained legacy support for HomePage and Groups users who are MobileMe subscribers. On July 7, HomePage users will no longer be able to publish, edit, or delete pages. At that time, all current pages will remain live as long as their owner is a MobileMe subscriber, although subscribers will be able to manually delete pages. Once .Mac HomePage disappears, Apple recommends MobileMe subscribers use iWeb and its publishing functionality for websites and MobileMe Gallery for sharing photos.

On the other hand, .Mac Groups is getting the axe completely. The service will be completely discontinued on July 7, after which group pages, e-mail addresses, and pretty much everything else will cease to exist. If you happen to have an iDisk for your group, the files there will be moved into a “Groups Archive” folder on the iDisk where the group owner can get to them. Though July 7 is still a few months away, it’s probably a good time to fire up Google Groups (or something similar) and let you group members know that .Mac is going the way of the dodo.

[Thanks: http://arstechnica.com]

The game features non-linear storytelling that has you determine the best way to unfold the storyline. And the Prince is joined in this adventure by Alika, a computer-controlled companion gifted with magical powers.

This is the latest “reboot” to a series originally created by Jordan Mechner that began in the late 1980s on multiple platforms, including Mac OS. This latest installment, developed by Ubisoft’s Montreal studios, the same developers who created the famed console game Assassin’s Creed. The game was released in December, 2008 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows.

Prince of Persia has been rated T for Teen by the ESRB.

System requirements call for Mac OS X 10.5.6, Intel Core Duo processor, 1024MB RAM, ATI X1600 or better 3D graphics or Nvidia 8600 or better, 8.01GB hard disk space, keyboard and mouse. Logitech gamepads optional but supported.

[Thanks: http://www.macworldcanada.ca]

The new Notescast program from Time Stream Software builds on Notes, the feature that Apple kindly added to nearly every iPod Classic, iPod 5th Generation and iPod nano.

With its hierarchical folder and file structure, Notescast content is organized and displayed so you can surf and scan through any title, locating the information you want, as well as the supportive photos, video, audio, etc. all of which installs to the Notes feature.

Anyone can write a Notescast – it’s not about programming at all – and so the potential range of uses is awesome. Already, travel and tourism destinations like Walt Disney World, Sheraton Hotels and Glacier National Park, to name just a few, are using Notescasts as information sources, marketing & brand reinforcement and service fulfillment tools.

The Glacier National Park Notecast, by the way, is a free download for a limited time. Information in over 30 different categories is contained in the program, in some 110 pages of interactive content, complete with lots of gorgeous photos, specific hiking routes, backcountry tips, park tour guides, driving guides, as well as flora & fauna information.

[Thanks: http://www.macworldcanada.ca]

The new music player also features a polished steel clothes clip

Apple have unveiled their new iPod Shuffle.

A new feature means that the MP3 player can talk to the user in 14 languages, telling them the artist and title of the song they are listening to.

The revamped iPod Shuffle, which measures around 46mm by 8mm, is the smallest ever made, and weighs only 10.7 grams.

Controls are mounted on the headphone lead for the first time, rather than on the body of the player.

The third generation iPod Shuffle, which comes in only silver or black, can store 4GB of music or 1,000 songs.

It talks to you because there’s no screen. It could be the beginning of an Apple virtual DJ.

The player, the entry level in Apple’s range, was originally launched in January 2005.

[Thanks: http://news.bbc.co.uk]

Apple has released version 8.1 of its iTunes software, which patches some security holes, speeds up iPod syncing and introduces a few new features.

The most interesting of the additions seems to be something called iTunes DJ, which allows anyone with an iPod Touch or an iPhone and the Remote app to request songs from any stereo system that is running the iTunes DJ program.

Say, for example, you are at a party, listening to music over a system controlled by iTunes DJ. Using your iPhone, you can now look at all the songs that are available on your host’s computer and choose which one you’d like to hear next.

You can even interrupt the song that’s currently playing to put on the song you want to hear — which seems like an invitation to anarchy. I greatly look forward to the ensuing fights.

[Thanks: http://techblog.dallasnews.com]

Facebook senior platform manager Dave Morin revealed the news Saturday while flanked by an array of hip social software makers at a panel talk at South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive Festival in Austin, Texas.

“For the first time, your iPhone apps can now have friends,” Morin said before panelists demonstrated applications that expand the borders of Facebook’s online community onto iPhones and iPod Touch devices.

Facebook Connect for the iPhone debuted with nine applications available at Apple’s online iTunes store and a promise that more will launch in coming days.

Mini software programs tailored to mesh with the Facebook operating platform let social-networking service users play games with each other online, share restaurant reviews while on the move, and locate friends.

Facebook members can use the community-oriented applications through iPhones as they would if they were connecting through a home computer.

Facebook launched Connect last year as a way to break down the walls between the social networking service and other websites and services on the Internet.

Applications demonstrated to applause from a packed conference room at SXSW included a “Who has the Biggest Brain” game by Playfish and a new SGN “Agency Wars” game enabling users to play government spies.

“Agency Wars” lets people pretend to be members of agencies such as the CIA or MI6 and work as mobile teams on missions while becoming “the most deadly spy around.”

“Who has the Biggest Brain?” has been played by more than 15 million people since it launched on Facebook in 2007. The App Store now has a version that lets Facebook users train their brains while on the go.

“In addition to Facebook and other social utilities, we believe iPhone and iPod touch represent the next generation of entertainment platforms,” said Playfish chief executive Kristian Segerstrale.

Other Facebook-oriented applications premiering at the App Store include Urbanspoon restaurant review-sharing service and Flixster film recommendation website, along with games “iBowl,” “Live Poker,” and “Tap Tap Revenge 2.”

“Win or lose, you’ll have the option to publish a story back to Facebook, where all of your friends can see it,” said Facebook engineer Joe Hewitt.

Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved.

Limbo, one of the largest mobile social networks in the U.S., today announced that Limbo for iPhone and iPod touch now features Facebook Connect for iPhone. iPhone and iPod touch users can link their Limbo and Facebook accounts, enabling automatic status and activity updates that are shared between the two accounts.

With Facebook Connect, Limbo members can see their Facebook friends on Limbo without their friends having to be Limbo members. They can also view the status of their friends on Limbo based on their Facebook status message, or automatically set an “On Facebook” status for members who are logged on and active on Facebook.

“Our members want a new way to share their experiences from their iPhone or iPod touch with friends who may not yet be Limbo members,” said Jonathon Linner, Limbo’s CEO. “Now that Limbo features Facebook Connect for iPhone, they can easily share and distribute information and experiences with their friends via Facebook status updates, requests and notifications. The location-aware emphasis of the Limbo application enables users to find and meet up with their friends to increase face time and real world experiences. This makes it even easier to connect with friends in the real world, not just online.”

Limbo with Facebook Connect is now available for free from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.

About Limbo

Limbo, founded in 2005, is the largest, fastest growing mobile community with four million passionate members and a monthly reach of over five million people. Limbo makes life more social by giving us more from our mobile phones: more friends, more fun, more connections. Limbo is free for everyone to use and is paid for by innovative mobile advertising formats. The award-winning, privately held company, headquartered in Burlingame, Calif., is backed by three of the world’s top venture capital funds: Azure Capital Partners (www.azurecap.com), Draper Fisher Jurvetson (www.dfj.com), and New Enterprises Associates (www.nea.com).

Facebook® is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.

Contacts

fama PR
Keri Bertolino, 617-758-4148
limbo {at} famapr(.)com

[THANKS: http://press-releases.techwhack.com]

It’s probably only natural that a caption reading “ipod Touch explodes in boy’s pants” generates a whole slew of jokes, and a few will probably even pop up here in the comments section below. And while initially they’ll be funny, there’s nothing really funny about a 15-year-old teenage boy receiving second-degree burns because of a faulty Apple product. Yet that’s what happened: a 16 GB Apple iPod Touch supposedly exploded and caught fire while in the boy’s pocket, thus burning his leg. It certainly gives the slogan “burning a hole in your pocket” a whole new meaning.

According to the lawsuit (PDF) filed Thursday in the Southern District of Ohio, the teen was attending school in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and sitting at his desk; the iPod Touch was tucked away deep down in his pants pocket, turned off. The teen heard a loud pop and immediately began to feel a burning sensation on his leg. He quickly jumped up out of his seat to find that the iPod Touch has exploded and caught on fire. He then darted to the nearest bathroom and took off his pants “with the assistance of a friend.” Apparently, the device had not only burned through his pants pocket, but melted through his Nylon/Spandex underwear, burning his leg. His mother was called in immediately to rush him directly to the doctor.

According to the lawsuit, the doctor declared the boy’s wounds as second-degree burns. “He continues to suffer from both physical and mental conditions which will cause him to suffer pain, mental distress, emotional distress, and otherwise for the rest of his life,” the lawsuit adds. The mother adds more turmoil to the pot, claiming that the sales clerks in the local Apple store didn’t warn her of the potential danger, that the device could cause some serious bodily harm. The employees, more than likely unaware of any harmful side effects of using an Apple iPod Touch, now face gross recklessness and negligence charges due to malicious and fraudulent salesmanship. Oh, and the entire Apple company faces the same charges as well. That claim makes just about as much sense as saying that every McDonald’s employee is guilty for gross recklessness and negligence because a customer burned their tongue on a hot apple pie.

Currently the Plaintiff’s mother is suing Apple and the ten unnamed retail employees at a local Apple store for $225,000 in damages comprised of $75,000 for compensatory damages, $75,000 for punitive damages, and $75,000 for legal fees and “special damages.” Naturally, Apple declined to comment on the situation, only saying that it does not comment on pending litigation. But as pointed out by CNET News, mobile device explosions are nothing new, however most of the time, they’re caused by cheap batteries inserted by the user. It’s certainly possible the teen’s iPod Touch suffered the same fate if he modded the device with a different battery. Still, until more information comes to the surface, the device’s flamboyant malfunction can only be speculated.

According to Apple, the iPod Touch is the “funnest iPod ever.” It’s probably safe to assume that the burned teen disagrees. Ultimately, this probably won’t be the last we hear on this “Hot iPod Incident,” as investigators probe into the actual device to determine what caused the fire. The plaintiff better hope that he didn’t “jailbreak” his iPod Touch, as that would spell trouble for his defense and possibly terminate the lawsuit.

Note to self: do not put the iPod Touch in pocket.

[Thanks: http://www.tomsguide.com]