Continue reading Rhapsody music streaming lands on Android tablets with ‘magazine-style’ app

Rhapsody music streaming lands on Android tablets with ‘magazine-style’ app originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple rose to dominate sales of digital music by more or less mirroring the way consumers acquired music in the physical world — that is, purchasing songs, but providing a greater degree of granularity. This worked well for music and has also held true for apps and best-selling books, but hasn’t been as in step with consumer media acquisition habits for other content.

For example, before Apple brought sales of video material to iTunes, most consumers did not generally own TV shows except for perhaps a few cherished series on DVD. They either watched them as they aired as part of a cable-like subscription or paid a flat monthly fee for the privilege of recording them on a DVR to be viewed after they aired. Furthermore, both Blockbuster physical stores and later Netflix’s DVD by mail feature relied on a system of one-time consumption via rental or subscription that eschewed ownership of movies. And today, Vevo.com offers free streaming of many music videos that Apple still seeks to sell.

Continue reading Switched On: You Tell Me It’s The Institution

Switched On: You Tell Me It’s The Institution originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen all kinds of medical implants over the years, but none that had a musical preference — until now. Researchers at Purdue University have created a pressure sensitive microelectromechanical system (MEMS) that uses sound waves as an energy source. The proof-of-concept has a vibrating cantilever that’s receptive to sound — or music — in the 200 – 500Hz frequency spectrum, which is towards the bottom end of the audible range. The subcutaneous implant converts the low-frequency vibrations into energy, and then stores it in a capacitor. Once the cantilever stops vibrating, it sends an electrical charge to a sensor and takes a pressure reading, the result is then transmitted out via radio waves for monitoring purposes. The immediate real world applications include diagnosing and treating incontinence, but we’re already wondering if that self-powering mp3 player implant could finally become a reality?

Purdue University creates ‘bass’ powered medical implant, knows where it hertz originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Computer meltdown? No backup? Well, at least your tunes are safe. Google Music just gained a new feature that lets you to download your entire library including purchased songs. A simple click in the Music Manager is all it takes to restore your entire collection — or just your purchased music — from the cloud. In addition, the web interface now allows you to select and copy multiple tracks to your device of choice. While there are no limitations when using the Music Manager, purchased items are restricted to two downloads each via the web interface. So next time your system crashes go right ahead — rev up that broadband and fill up those hard drives.

Google Music now lets you download your entire library originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 07:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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After finally getting the OP-1 up for order last January, Teenage Engineering is getting its second product to market — Oplab. The latest offering is meant to compliment its slick synth, but we can see plenty people falling in love with it on its own. The Oplab is a tinker kit and DIY platform, akin to Arduino or Microsoft’s .NET Gadgeteer, but designed explicitly for generating and manipulating sound. The main board, which retails for $299, is home to a trio of USB ports (two of them hosts), three MIDI connections (one in, one out and one sync) and a pair of CV in and CV out jacks. There’s also a bank of switches for changing settings and a host of connectors for plugging in various sensors. The Swedish company is offering a number of add-ons for $49 apiece: an accelerometer (Flip), a piezo microphone (Tap) and a pressure sensor (Poke). Strangely enough, there’s also a $149 a sneaker that has a rubber pouch that you can slip one of the aforementioned sensors into. Hit up the source link for more details and to order yours now.

Teenage Engineering introduces Oplab musical prototyping platform originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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