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20 May 2010 01:06

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Music: (Sine) Wave of the future: Multitouch musical instruments

  • what roger linn can do Linn has created a cool new musical instrument that plays music on a touchscreen in a pretty innovative way. The organization (in chromatic scale) is key to this setup being fairly easy to play. The downside: Amazon bought the technology Linn used to make the device.

  • What Bebot can do It’s actually kind of reminiscent of an iPhone app called Bebot, which allows you to play a touch-sensitive synth in a similar fashion. It doesn’t use a scale in the way Linn’s awesome instrument does, but it does have a cool robot who sings your tunes. Hooray!

05 Feb 2010 10:57

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Tech: Amazon’s got a full-on Kindle publisher revolt on its hands

  • 3 major publishers are opting out of Kindle’s $9.99 pricing scheme source

31 Jan 2010 20:53

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Biz, Tech: Amazon takes it from Macmillan because it has no choice

  • We want you to know that ultimately, however, we will have to capitulate and accept Macmillan’s terms because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are needlessly high for e-books.
  • A statement from Amazon • On its decision to back down from the removal of Macmillan’s e-books over a disagreement on pricing. Amazon removed all of Macmillan’s books on Friday, only to put them back up today. Amazon has insisted on a $9.99 price for Kindle books, but Macmillian wants to charge more. Amazon is optimistic that other major publishers won’t follow suit. We’ll see where optimism gets them. source

22 Jan 2010 12:08

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Tech: Amazon’s new Kindle app store a bum deal for developers?

  • 15¢ the cost per megabyte Amazon wants developers to pay for its Kindle app store
  • 70% the share of the pie developers take home after the 15-cent-per-meg charge
  • 30% the share Amazon takes; this is a less favorable deal than Apple’s App store, BTW
  • Why the 15-cent charge? Simple: Users don’t pay for the wireless connection. Amazon does. It’s a cost-recouping measure which has the effect of making the store less desirable for developers. No free apps to be found here, guys. source

05 Jan 2010 09:23

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Offbeat: Dude buys $3 billion item on Amazon just to see what happens

Hear that sound? It’s the sound of someone’s credit card reaching its limit, and then some. This guy, whoever he is, is awesome. source

26 Dec 2009 15:07

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Tech: Kindle had a banner day on Christmas Day, Amazon says

  • eBooks > books and Amazon’s investors go wild source

06 Dec 2009 20:49

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Tech: Some quick Amazon Kindle math: They’re taking a bath, guys

  • $12 the rate that publishers offer books to sellers – digital or not
  • $9.99 the amount that Amazon sells books for its Kindle e-Reader
  • $2.01 the amount they lose on each Kindle book they sell source
 

24 Nov 2009 10:53

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Biz: Amazon and Wal-Mart looking like old-school boxing foes

In this corner, an online mega-retailer that has a massive reach. In that corner, a brick-and-mortar retailer with a similar reach. Who will win your holiday dollars? source

20 Oct 2009 21:25

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20 Oct 2009 10:53

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