Pepsi and Amazon are negotiating a deal to give away up to 1 billion songs during a music-giveaway promotion that will launch during the 2008 Superbowl on February 3rd, according to Billboard Magazine. The deal is reminiscent of the early iTunes-Pepsi promotional giveaways that were launched at the 2004 and 2005 Superbowls.
In the upcoming promotion, however, Amazon will replace Apple as the music distributor, providing MP3s from their DRM-free Music Store which launched as an early Beta in September. Amazon's DRM-free store works on Macs and integrates remarkably well with iTunes.
The negotiations also serve as a push for several labels to join the DRM-free movement, since the promotion is sure to attract a large number of customers. Wal-Mart is also forcing the issue by alerting Warner Music Group and Sony BMG that they will pull all of their Windows Media Audio (DRM) format music from Wal-Mart's site by January if the labels have not yet provided their music in MP3 format.
At present, the labels offering DRM-free music are fragmented across stores. EMI was first to announce the launch of DRM-free music in iTunes, while Universal is offering DRM free music to everyone but iTunes.
Wednesday November 13, 2024 2:09 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 next month, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well....
Thursday November 14, 2024 4:19 pm PST by Juli Clover
The M4 MacBook Pro models feature quantum dot display technology, according to display analyst Ross Young. Apple used a quantum dot film instead of a red KSF phosphor film, a change that provides more vibrant, accurate color results.
Young says that Apple has opted for KSF for prior MacBook Pro models because it doesn't use toxic element cadmium (typical for quantum dot) and is more...
Wednesday November 13, 2024 11:01 am PST by Juli Clover
A trio of Apple customers this month filed a class action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the Cupertino company of violating California consumer protection laws and false advertising for continuing to sell AirPods Pro models that had ongoing issues with crackling or static sounds.
A few months after the AirPods Pro came out in October 2019, buyers began to complain about crackling, rattling, ...
Thursday November 14, 2024 2:54 am PST by Tim Hardwick
Google has launched its dedicated Gemini artificial intelligence app for iPhone users, expanding beyond the previous limited integration within the main Google app. The standalone app offers enhanced functionality, including support for Gemini Live and iOS-specific features like Dynamic Island integration.
The new app allows iPhone users to interact with Google's AI through text or voice...
Wednesday November 13, 2024 11:59 am PST by Juli Clover
Apple last week replaced the M3 Max MacBook Pro with the new M4 Max MacBook Pro, and we picked up one of the new high-end MacBook Pro machines to see how it compares to the prior model with both benchmarks and real-world tests.
We tested an M4 Max with a 16-core CPU, 40-core GPU, and 48GB RAM against an M3 Max MacBook Pro with similar specs. The two machines look similar, but the display on...
Thursday November 14, 2024 2:19 pm PST by Juli Clover
With iOS 18, Apple introduced a feature that causes the iPhone to reboot every three days, security researchers have confirmed (via TechCrunch). In a demo video, security researcher Jiska Classen proved that an iPhone left untouched for 72 hours will automatically restart, and Graykey manufacturer also Magnet Forensics wrote a blog post about the feature.
After a reboot, an iPhone is more...
