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03 Sep 2010 11:12

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Tech: Apple’s Ping service has some pretty big problems right now

  • bands The service doesn’t currently have a lot of popular bands on it, mainly because Apple inexplicably decided to do it by invitation at launch. Dumb.
  • control Profile pictures have to be APPROVED by Apple. The app approval process, we could maybe understand. This? What the heck, guys? This is stupid.
  • spam Apple’s social networking service is also overrun with a lot of spam because of a pretty thin spam filter. Those links will not earn you free iPads.
  • The root of the problem: Apple is trying to run a social network, which by definition needs to be open, the same way it runs its hardware business. They’re setting themselves up for a pretty embarrassing fall as a result. If they bought Lala to build this, they wasted their money.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Sep 2010 00:16

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Tech: Two thoughts on whether Apple’s Ping is actually a big deal

  • maybe Apple is a big company and iTunes is their most popular piece of software. And, while it’s starting with music, it’s pretty obvious that this is a play for a much larger, Facebook-sized market.
  • maybe not However, it has the same problem as Google Buzz – it’s  another social network piggybacking where it’s not needed. Also, why focus on just music? Trying to top MySpace, are we? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

06 Aug 2010 14:58

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Music: Yoko did it: The Beatles not hitting iTunes anytime soon, kids

  • (Apple CEO) Steve Jobs has his own idea and he’s a brilliant guy. There’s just an element that we’re not very happy about, as people. We are holding out. Don’t hold your breath … for anything.
  • Yoko “Beatles Destroyer” Ono • On the idea of releasing the Beatles’ music on the iTunes Store. You know, this debate was funny when it was 2003 and buying music on the Internet was a new and exciting thing. But now it’s 2010. Just accept Apple’s terms, Yoko and company, before you miss out on your chance to be part of the online music revolution altogether. You’ve missed out on millions of dollars already. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

22 Jun 2010 11:22

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Tech: A Google music store? Apple’s Lala purchase may haunt them

  • first Google launched a music search feature with a number of providers, including Lala and (the now-closed) iMeem.
  • second Apple bought Lala partly because of this competition, and Google now uses iLike, Rhapsody and Pandora.
  • third Losing their key service, Google said screw it and is now building its own music service. It’s all-out war now. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 May 2010 12:31

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About, Music: Sad news: The Saturday Mixtape’s taking a break

  • why? Blame it partly on Lala’s closing,
    but we also think it’s  a good
    chance to reconsider our
    short-form musical approach.
  • next We plan on trying different music features in the future. Our first was “Non-Expert Opinion.” We’ll keep you posted, guys. source
  • » Will the mixtape return eventually? Probably, but its form might change. We might also move it to Monday. Who knows? We might get lucky and iTunes will have a similar embed feature that uses HTML5 (hint, hint).
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Apr 2010 08:28

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Music, Tech: Lala is shutting down. Oh God, we need a moment. *SOB*

  • We’re currently out a song-sharing host. OK, we knew this day was coming the second that Apple bought them out, but we didn’t realize it would happen so suddenly. The company is no longer allowing new playlists or web songs to be sold. Is an iTunes equivalent of Lala coming next? We can only hope, guys. This was the only music service that got it right. Being able to sample music – in full – was a revelation. (P.S.: Does anyone have any recommendations for services that we could use for our Saturday Mixtape in the future? Lala was nice because we could stay legal AND share new music. We’ve officially lost that, as of now.) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

07 Apr 2010 10:06

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Music, Tech: Do your legal MP3s have “secret” DRM? Some stores play dirty

  • Apple, Lala and Wal-Mart are culprits. Does the record industry have sights on putting the cat back n the bag? Despite the lack of digital rights management in nearly all of the online music stores, some embed your name in the file, something which could lead to backdoor digital rights management down the line – especially if cloud-based services like Lala (which we otherwise love) take off. Will the labels ever learn? And why are Apple, Wal-Mart and Lala enablers? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

26 Feb 2010 10:47

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Tech: The Man In Black helps iTunes hit a major milestone

  • 10 billion songs sold, the latest by
    Mr. Johnny Cash source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Dec 2009 23:22

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Tech: UPDATE: Apple and Lala now getting married to each other

  • First a rumor, now a done deal. We posted about this two hours ago, and now it’s actually real. Apple, which has the pretty killer iPhone along with a music service which feels a little dated in the wake of services like Spotify and Lala, is ready to take on one of those startups. Lala’s cloud-based approach makes a ton of sense considering the iPhone app that the service has reportedly been working on for months. Lala’s super-embeddable approach (which we use) and Web-based interface also feel infinitely simpler compared to iTunes’ walled garden interface. We can’t wait. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink

17 Sep 2009 21:43

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Music, Tech: iTunes should pay for the sam …

  • … ple, too, the music industry says. It doesn’t matter if 30-second samples are promotional AND fair use. The music industry wants Apple to pay performance fees. They say they’re not trying to gouge, though. “People think we’re making a fortune off the Web, but it’s a tiny amount,” says Songwriters’ Guild of America president Rick Carnes. “We need multiple revenue streams or this isn’t going to work.” Critics say that Apple’s getting picked on by these groups, who they accuse of double-dipping. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 3 Comments • Permalink
 
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