Find Your EMI iTunes

With Apple and EMI planning to offer 30-cent song upgrades to a higher bitrate without DRM next month, TUAW has documented two ways to identify the applicable tracks in your Mac iTunes library… First up is the geeky command line method: mdfind -onlyin ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music “kMDItemCopyright == ‘*Emi*’ kMDItemCodecs == ‘*protected*’ “ Next we have … Read more

Target Intends To Replace iTunes. Good Luck With That.

By way of TechCrunch, we learn that Target is posed to launch an UltraViolet-compatible online video store. Presumably “Target Ticket” is a collaboration with someone skilled in the space or even a branded white label product and, beyond the web screenshots, the Android and iOS apps are sure to follow. As to why, well let’s … Read more

HBO Lands on iTunes (with Variable Pricing)

HBO content lands on iTunes, with variable pricing (based on unknown criteria): “We’re thrilled to bring this incredible lineup of programming from HBO to the iTunes Store,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes. “Sex and the City,” “The Wire” and “Flight of the Conchords” are $1.99 per episode, and “The Sopranos,” “Deadwood” and … Read more

Another iTunes Subscription Rumor

I admit it. I’m lazy. Even though I’ve purchased and ripped hundreds of CDs (plus those DRM-encumbered iTunes), I still prefer someone else program my playlists. In fact I’m an iPhone owner who (mostly) forgos the audio iPod functions, opting instead for the (jailbreak) iRadio streaming application. Or my XM subscription via Helix or computer. … Read more

XM Gives Away Programming On iTunes

Follow me along a brief web journey… Browsing the newly redesigned CrunchGear, I read Blake’s holiday gift suggestions that lavished high praise on Griffin’s Evolve Wireless Sound System, leading me to XM’s site to find out if they’re still ignoring us Helix/Inno customers in need of an integrated speaker solution. While they’re offering a $30 … Read more

iTunes Plus… Email

As promised, iTunes and EMI (partially) delivered on their promise of releasing DRM-free music. However, the initial batch of tracks doesn’t include anything in my collection. The bigger news with the new service seems to be iTunes Plus embedding personally identifiable info, such as name and email, into every file. I don’t have a problem … Read more

DRM-Free Tracks On iTunes

Apple and EMI will begin offering DRM-free songs via iTunes in May. I honestly never saw this day coming… Not on a voluntary basis without the might of several European countries behind it. There’ll be a 30 cent premium here in the US for unprotected tracks, but with it comes higher audio quality (256kbps versus … Read more

Meta Quest’s Quixotic Marketing

From where I sit, Meta Quest marketing continues to falter. They increased the Quest 2’s price point from $300 to $400 at the same time existing customers largely tune out or abandon Horizon Worlds – their VR centerpiece, promoted via a Super Bowl ad that ran a reported $13 million. To further poison their own … Read more