Today finding the music you want, when you want it has been channeled to using sites like the Amazon store or iTunes. Sometimes, when looming for an obscure song that is not mainstream, you’d be lucky to find it. This frustrating experience paired with the perceived greedines of corporate music labels has forced many of us to find our music on peer to peer networks or bitorrent sites such the Pirate Bay.
Songbeat360.com is an amazingly innovative way of integrating a music player with a music search. Now you can listen to your favorite songs while searching for more. You are essentially still building your own station, much like Pandora or Last.fm, but on this music player you have the ability to download your music immediately.
Bypassing the need to go to the likes of Amazon or iTunes may please some, but does the pricing compare? Based on the site, the application is an Adobe Air app, and comes with 25 free credits. Credits are used when a search is done, and searches are supposedly capable of returning up to 500 results, ensuring you will fond what you need. For further credits, those can be purchased via a stored credit card. For $15 you receive 1000 credits for more music, which breaks down to a whole lot less than $.99 per song on the iTunes store. This is of course assuming you find what you want in one search.
Is the next revolution to your music search? I’d say know, but it’s definitely interesting. The pricing alone is attractive, and if the quality is the same, I can see this web app becoming extremely successful.
A lot of people have big issues converting files from PDF format to any other format. Today, I wanted to run through converter programs which change PDF files to JPG (image) files for both Mac and PC.
Zamzar
Zamzar is probably the most well known file conversion site. The process is simplicity personified: Choose the file to convert then choose the format to convert to (e.g. JPG) then enter your email address to receive the converted file then convert. The minuses with the free service are that the file size is limited to 100MB with just 5 simultaneous conversions. Also, you might feel a wee bit uneasy uploading sensitive data without encryption support.
YouConvertIt
YouConvertIt is a new site that lets you upload 5 files at a time and then convert them from PDF to JPG format.
Neevia Document Converter
Neevia Technology has a web interface which facilitates the conversion of PDF documents to image files. Select the conversion settings and upload your file. The converted file can be rendered in the browser or can be downloaded via an email link. Two dropdowns further give you control over image quality and resolution. The only visible restriction is the 1MB file upload size limit.
If you are wary of uploading sensitive files over the net, you need to look beyond the online solutions to something much more local. Thankfully these three pieces of free software take up the task.
PDF-Xchange Viewer
PDF-Xchange Viewer is a light feature-rich PDF document reader. The free version of the software is a capable document handler with most of the standard features expected. Add comments and annotations, mark-up pages with texts and objects, type within the PDF document along with plug-ins for both IE and Firefox are also included.
But the feature which interests us is the ability of the software to export a file or a page to the supported image formats like JPEG, BMP, TIFF, PNG and more.
Open the PDF file in the viewer, click on File – Export to Image and the dialog opens up where you can set the pages to convert, the image type to convert to and the destination folder. More importantly, the ‘Export Mode’ setting allows you to designate the number of image files for the subject PDF file. The ‘Page Zoom’, ‘Resolution’ and ‘Page Background’ also allow added finishing touches.
As im sure most people are aware, Apple released new products yesterday and here at Crenk I wanted to just quickly run through them. RAck. r
Magic Mouse
Here it is: the new Magic Mouse, a single button mouse (with a software-controlled right click option) and a touch sensitive top surface that allows you to touch the mouse to pinch, scroll, and drag, just like a trackpad. The mouse uses two AA batteries and lasts 4 months on one change.
It costs $69 and is available at the end of October.
iMac
Fastest iMac yet. Big LEDC-backlit displays in 21,5 and 27 Inch 16:9 aspect ration. Wireless keyboard and mouse standard (check that mouse!). Fastest iMac yet. No surprise there.
The New Macbook
The new MacBook has a durable unibody enclosure (aluminum or plastic?), 1,08 inch thin, light at just 4.7 pounds, 7 hour battery. 13 inch LED backlit display and glass multi-touch display.
The New Mac Mini
up to 2,66Ghz with up to 4GB memory. Faster than ever. NVIDIA GeForce 9400M graphics processor for graphics and Wi-Fi built in. Optional 500GB hardisk.
Apple (AAPL) will begin selling iPhones in China at the end of this month, company executives said during today’s Q3 earnings call. Apple will be launching with China Unicom and this is going to obviously be a great opportunity for Apple to gain even more market share in the smartphone market.
New details:
Apple will have 1,000 points of sale.
Plans will range in price from $18/month to $100/month.
With higher-priced plans, users will get their iPhones “free.”
Apple has created at least three separate prototypes of its tablet computer. Let’s call it “iPad.”
Version 1 was designed with a 7” screen, which was judged to be too small. The latest version has a 10.7” screen.
It runs iPhone OS.
There have been reports that it looks like an iPhone. They’re sort of true. It looks like an iPhone 3G, complete with a curved back.
It will come in two different variations: one with 3G networking capabilities, and one without 3G networking capabilities. Think of the 3G version as a bigscreen iPhone 3GS, and the non-3G version as a bigscreen iPod touch.
Screen resolutions will obviously jump considerably from the iPhone and iPod touch 480×320-pixel displays, enabling easy reading of full-sized book and magazine pages, plus cropped newspaper pages. Expect something like 5-6 times the resolution of an iPod touch or iPhone screen (720p or thereabouts) and 7 times the touchable surface area.
It is designed to expand the iPhone and iPod touch media concept to its next potential level: as a slate-like replacement for books and magazines, plus all of the media, gaming, app, and web functionality of the iPhone and iPod touch.
It is not meant to compete with netbooks. It’s an iPhone OS media player and light communication device.
Apple is currently planning to announce it on or before January 19, 2010, and to use an iPhone-like hype buildup period to start selling it in May or June.
It is apparently awaiting a final green light from Steve Jobs; chances of it appearing in the market are believed to be 80% at this point.
O2 has had the exclusivity for the iPhone since launching in the UK back in November 2007. Now that is set to change with Orange announcing its plans to sell the iPhone very soon.
Orange UK and Apple have reached an agreement to bring iPhone 3G and 3GS to Orange UK customers later this year. Orange globally now offers iPhone in 28 countries and territories.
Orange, which has the largest 3G network covering more people in the UK than any other operator, will sell iPhone in all Orange direct channels including Orange shops, the Orange webshop and Orange telesales channels, as well as selected high street partners.
This is great news for consumers who are interested in getting the iPhone but didnt want to switch to O2. A pre-registration site for customers to register their interest has been launched at www.Orange.co.uk/iPhone. More information on pricing, tariffs and availability dates is set to be released “in due course”.
I find it funny how there are a lot of skins for Mac like skins on products, however there doesnt seem to be many people making Windows skins for Mac’s. Anyways, here is a new skin for Windows Live Messenger which makes it look like Apple Mac OS Snow Leopard. This is the first Apple theme plus! skin that works with Windows Live Messenger 9 or 14.
This Snow Leopard 1.0.2 skin for Windows Live Messenger 2009 has already had over 1 million downloads despite being in beta.
Most people im sure would probably agree that Apple’s iTunes software isnt a lightweight application. I was wanting to put together a great list of free alternatives to iTunes that are actually worth checking out.
Foobar 2000 – A digital music management program for Windows users. It works with Windows 2000,Windows Vists, Windows XP and Windows XP 64 bit edition. To use this program you will need 32 MB of RAM and a display with at least an 800 X 600 resolution. This program is compatible with MP1-4, MPC, AAC, WAV, SND, WMA, Ogg Valis, WavPack, AIFF, CDDA, FIAC/Ogs FLAC and AU. It also supports full Unicode and Replay Gain. Other great features include third party development potential and keyboard shortcut that are fully customizable.
Froddle Pod – Froddle is not as feature rich as iTunes but it provides access to the main features that iPod owners need: It can copy music and videos from and to an iPod which is definitely the main feature that any iTunes alternative should support. The software can also backup and restore all data that is stored on an iPod. Another feature is music normalization for all or selected music on the iPod.
Songbird – Built on the Firefox platform and works with iPods and other media players. In addition to many great features, Songbird has a plenty of add-ons, and because it’s open source, clever programmers will be adding more as time goes on.
YamiPod An interesting iTunes alternative, because you don’t have to install it on your computer at all. Just copy it to your iPod’s hard disk and then you can manage your songs from any computer running Mac OS X, Windows or Linux.
Winamp – Sometimes called the grandfather of Windows music players, Winamp is a full featured music manager, with integrated iPod support and will even play iTunes protected files if QuickTime is installed.
Amarok – A great iTunes alternative for Linux and Unix users. It works with a wide variety of portable music players including: iPod, Creative Zen players, iRiver iFP and T players, Nomad players, generic MTP players and generic USB players. Some of the features that this program has that you are going to love include: album covers, wikipedia integration, last.fm integration, superior visual effects, lyrics support and music tracking capabilities.
Banshee – Linux users are going to enjoy what Banshee has to offer. This free download allows you to do everything that you want to do with your digital music. You can import music, organize music, play it back, share it and rip it on a CD. This is a great program for people who love their music and who want to actively manage it.
Cog – Most people using Mac OSX feel that iTunes is the best option because it was designed for this platform. However, Cog is worth a look for Mac users, because it addresses many of the limitations that iTunes has. It can be used with the following file types: Ogg vorbis, Monkeys Audio, MP3, Wavpack, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Musepack, AAC and WAV/AIFF. Some of the features that make it a worthy alternative to iTunes include: gapless playback, auto updating, preferences, Growl support, global hot keys, seeking, feedback forms, last.fm support, and smart shuffle.
Apple’s has more news for us, and they are going to make it official this Wednesday, September 9 at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. So, what’s going to be? New versions for iPod Touch with cameras included (maybe including iPod nano) and new features for iTunes.
There are a lot of rumors, which unfortunately are only that, just rumors. Marco Arment made a few guesses around all those and here’s a quick review about what he said:
New iPod touch version with the following features: camera, double the storage capacities, and new pricing: 8 GB for u$s149, 16 GB for u$s199, 32 GB for u$s249, 64 GB for u$s349.
New iPod nano version with camera. But they will offer only one model: 8gb for u$s99
iPod classic out of the market.
New pricing for the iPod shuffle: u$s59.
You want more? iTunes will include new social network features; and this event will possibly have a special guest: Steve Jobs.
Yes, I didn’t mention anything about the Apple Tablet. Seems that there’s not going to be any announce around that, and they could possibly wait until next year to say something official about it.
Apple is currently offering corporations Mac OS X Server v.10.6 “Snow Leopard” for a free trial.
Mac OS X Server v.10.6 “Snow Leopard” has everything you need to deliver standards-based workgroup and Internet services, providing an ideal solution for education, small businesses, and large enterprises. The amazing features in Snow Leopard Server make it easy to share contacts and calendars, collaborate on projects, access information remotely, create and distribute podcasts, and more.
Snow Leopard Server offers countless behind-the-scenes features, which greatly reduce IT time and effort, improve compatibility in mixed environments, enhance support for iPhone and iPod touch users, and boost the already robust security of Mac OS X Server. With a full 64-bit operating system, Mac OS X Server is designed to maximize the computing potential of today’s Xserve and Mac Pro systems and dramatically increases the total number of simultaneous system processes, threads, and network connections that the server can utilize. Designed to handle the most demanding server operations, Snow Leopard Server is up to twice as fast as its predecessor.
All you need to do to receive your copy is fill out the form located here. You must be a USA citizen however.
There has been a lot of talk this morning about Spotify getting their new iPhone application accepted into the iTunes store. I know we have talked a lot about Spotify recently including them entering into the Chinese market, USA market, and how to use Spotify if your based in the USA or any other country. However, today’s news is probably bigger than all of these.
The company’s iPhone application has been approved for the App Store ahead of competitors Rhapsody and Grooveshark. PaidContent UK reports that Apple has notified Spotify that its app will appear in the store shortly. In late July there was fear that the Swedish site’s iPhone service would be denied due to the fact that it was seen as a threat to iTunes.
Unlike many other iPhone music apps, Spotify’s iPhone service offers users the ability to select tracks and listen to them in an offline playlist. The ability to cache files is a huge asset to those who commute to work without a wireless connection.
With today’s announcement, Spotify’s audiences in the UK, Sweden, Norway, Spain, France and Finland will be more likely to pay for the company’s premium service.
This is a very interesting decision by Apple who recently blocked Google Voice from entering the app store because it basically provided free phone calls via the iPhone. I dont think Spotify is a future competitor to iTunes because they are offering completely different products. iTunes provides a platform to purchase digital products, while Spotify is strict music streaming service. However, im very surprised that Apple didnt make an agreement with Spotify and accept them into their iTunes store but only if iTunes because a default download provider for the music on the service (like 7digital currently).
The first ever augmented reality app has appeared in the Apple App store for the iPhone. I know – what the hell is Augmented Reality or AR as it’s often called? Basically, it’s a layer of digital information displayed over real information.
The app is called ‘Metro Paris Subway’ and what it does is use the iPhone’s GPS, compass and camera all together to give you information about your surroundings when in the city. Basically, you point your camera at a certain location and details of local shops, restaurants and tourist locations will pop up as you can see in the screenshot. It gives you direction and distance also.
This kind of technology wasn’t expected until Apple released an updated version of the iPhone OS in a few months.
It’s cool and everything, but for some reason I can’t see it catching on in this form. People like their GPS and it suits them fine. As soon as the novelty wears off they will retreat back to GPS. You don’t need AR to tell you where to go – GPS does a better job at twice the speed with half the effort. However, if you do get this app (which bear in mind will only work in Paris) then don’t worry about discarding it after purchase as it costs a reasonable 99c – I was expecting it to cost $30!
Today finding the music you want, when you want it has been channeled to using sites like the Amazon store or iTunes. Sometimes, when looming for an obscure song that is not mainstream, you’d be lucky to find it. This frustrating experience paired with the perceived greedines of corporate music labels has forced many of us to find our music on peer to peer networks or bitorrent sites such the Pirate Bay.
The first ever augmented reality app has appeared in the
