Top Items:
Nick Gonzalez / TechCrunch:
gBox: Give The Gift Of DRM-Free Music — gBox is a new take on selling digital content. Instead of emphasizing sales directly to consumers, gBox is encourages you to create wish lists and buy gifts for your friends and family. To kick-start the service, they've sealed a pretty big deal …
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Nate Anderson / Ars Technica:
World's largest music retailer ditches DRM, not censorship — Like a frog slowly turning into a princess, Wal-Mart's music download store has grown far more attractive now that it offers 256kbps unrestricted MP3 tracks from both EMI and Universal. It won't win over fans who like the other features …
Discussion:
The Technology Liberation …
PR Newswire:
Wal-Mart Launches MP3 Music Download Tracks — "As we consistently strive to help our customers shop smart at Wal-Mart, our new 'DRM-free' MP3 digital tracks give them the ease and flexibility to play music on virtually any device at a great value," said Kevin Swint, Wal-Mart's senior director and divisional manager for digital media.
Reuters:
Wal-Mart selling DRM-free digital music — Wal-Mart Stores said on Tuesday that it was now selling digital music downloads on its Web site without the customary copy-protection technology that limits where consumers can play the songs. — Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer …
PR Newswire:
MTV Networks, RealNetworks and Verizon Wireless Join Forces To Offer A New Integrated Digital Music Experience — NEW YORK, Aug. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — RealNetworks, Inc. , MTV Networks, a division of VIACOM International , and Verizon Wireless, a joint venture of Verizon Communications …
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Jeremy Kirk / InfoWorld:
MTV, RealNetworks said to merge digital music stores — San Francisco (IDGNS) - MTV Networks and RealNetworks will merge their online digital music stores in the latest attempt to reduce Apple's hold on the music download market, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday morning.
Jess Lee / Google LatLong:
YouTube-style Embeddable Maps — Today we're excited to announce a new feature on Google Maps that allows you to add maps to your blog or website just by copying and pasting a snippet of HTML. And once you embed the map, it has all the same functionality of the Google Maps you know and love; it's clickable, draggable, and zoomable.
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Google:
Google announces a simple new way to embed Google Maps — Starting today, Google Maps users can add a map to their website or blog just by copying & pasting a snippet of HTML. This new functionality enables Google Maps users to share and disseminate geographic information in the same way that YouTube users share videos.
Discussion:
Google Blogoscoped
Official Google Blog:
An update on Google Video feedback — When your friends and well-intentioned acquaintances tell you that you've made a mistake, it's good to listen. So we'd like to say thank you to everyone who wrote to let us know that we had made a mistake in the case of Google Video's Download to Own/Rent Refund Policy vs. Common Sense.
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Ken Fisher / Ars Technica:
Google Video Store gets stay of execution, full refunds coming — As we reported last week, Google Video is closing its commercial video sales wing, the Google Video Store. The controversial decision will see Google eventually shuttering its video Digital Rights Management service …
Discussion:
The Technology Liberation …
Michael Arrington / TechCrunch:
Zoho Goes Offline (in a good way) — Online office suite Zoho will launch offline functionality for Zoho Writer this morning, and other applications in their suite will follow shortly. — The offline functionality was built on Google Gears, an open source project launched by Google in May 2007.
Discussion:
Google Blogoscoped, CNET News.com, Insider Chatter, mathewingram.com/work, Ajaxian, Zoli's Blog and Mashable!
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Tinic Uro / kaourantin.net:
What just happened to video on the web? — That's a question you should ask with the announcement we made tonight. I think a lot will change. This is probably one of my longest and information packed posts ever, but I think it is important we put down all cards on the table.
Discussion:
ExtremeTech, PC World, on AIR, MacUser, Geek Speaker, Podcasting News, NewTeeVee, JD on EP, aralbalkan.com, TechBizMedia, Slashdot and Lost Remote
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Villu Arak / Heartbeat:
The Microsoft connection clarified — Yesterday, we posted an explanation of what happened to Skype on August 16. Some reactions to the explanation, however, have reminded us of one of the basic tenets of communication: It's not what you say. It's what they hear.
Matt Marshall / VentureBeat:
Video site Metacafe gets $30M more — Investors have poured $30 million more into video site Metacafe, the popular online video site. — This is a significant amount of money for a company that already raised $15 million. But the support may be necessary if Metacafe is to stay among the front-runners.
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Yahoo! Search Blog:
Be Dynamic, Be Confident — Yahoo! Search Supports You — Please excuse the dramatic start to this post. Between the anticipation of rolling this out and my incessant Harry Potter reading, I couldn't resist. — Once upon a time, on the World Wide Web, all URLs were fixed strings — static in form.
Peter Rojas / Engadget:
Dear Palm: It's time for an intervention — Man, what a crazy year, right? We know things haven't really been going your way lately, but we want you to know that we haven't given up on you, even though it might seem like the only smartphone anyone wants to talk about these days is the iPhone.
Nokia:
The new Nokia 6555 features a smooth-back fold design and original analog timepiece — Espoo, Finland - Nokia today announced a new 3G mobile phone that pairs original design and quality workmanship with outstanding features. The Nokia 6555 meets the desire for aesthetic appeal …
