Digital Audio

from arstechnica.com

Nokia announced today that its new "Comes With Music" initiative will launch first in the UK, and UK papers are full of breathless stories wondering if Nokia can wage successful "battle" against Apple. But before any talk of taking on Apple can have meaning, the service itself needs to deliver. And does it? We're skeptical.

from gizmondo.com

Sony's S-series Walkman is their new high-end digital audio player that is not only their slimmest player to date, but has active noise cancellation and the SensMe music suggestion engine. Sony bundled 13.5mm EX headphones with the S-series players, as well as a pass through cable that connects to an in-flight entertainment system and uses the noise canceling capability of the Walkman.

from wired.com

My Morning Jacket and its label ATO Records have struck upon a new way to introduce an album to existing fans and help the band find new ones: Zapping the record across the internet onto thousands of jukeboxes in bars and nightclubs around the world.

from wired.com

On Wednesday at 10:42 a.m., exactly two seconds after Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced a heap of new iPods, music geeks everywhere started reworking their finances to make room for the new iPod Touch.

But the new players also present a barrier that's tough for a true music lover to hurdle: storage space.

from engadget.com

In what seems to now be something of a trend, online music retailer PayPlay.fm is following in the footsteps of Amazon and -- to some extent -- Apple, by retooling its store to only include tracks encoded as DRM-free MP3s.

from engadget.com

Just as the Times Online predicted last month, Amazon.com is set to strike a potentially major blow against DRM by launching a download store later this year that will offer millions of songs in unprotected, MP3-only format.

from ilounge.com

Apple has reportedly begun pursuing higher quality and DRM-free music from labels and artists, which may be available alongside the much-publicized EMI offerings. According to a report, Apple notified iTunes partners yesterday, informing them that the store will soon offer higher quality music without copy protection restrictions.

from marketwatch.com

Exclusive Remix of 'Riders on the Storm' Now Available for the First Time Ever

The best in videogame music is now global, mobile and portable. Electronic Arts Inc., announced that starting today the chart-busting music from its best-selling games will be available for purchase from the iTunes Store via ea.com.

from websiteoptimization.com

Users of iTunes grew by 47.5% over the past year, while the other streaming media players had single-digit growth. At current growth rates iTunes users will exceed RealPlayer users by the second quarter of 2007.

Designed for the blind, firefighters, emergency responders, and others, this SWAN could also be a great aid to adventure athletes.

from Medgadget.com

This wearable system, designed by a team at the Georgia Institute of Technology , can guide people with or without vision through a difficult terrain. Featuring integrated robotics, the system uses auditory signals via bone-conduction headphones, and is designed not only for the blind but also for firefighters, soldiers, EMTs and others.

Interval runner Jeff Welch developed a script which creates an iTunes playlist in which songs stop and start at timed intervals so he knows when to switch from running to walking without checking his watch.