iDunzo.com

Sony’s Sudden Outbreak Of Common Sense

January 11th, 2008 by iDunzo

Wow, that didn’t take long. Barely days after Sony’s announcement about its peculiar plan to sell unprotected MP3s through a brick-and-mortar-store gift card system, it’s relented and announced that it will begin selling portions of its music catalog as unprotected MP3s through — who else? Amazon.com.

Good! I guess the generally negative press and a big fat thumbs down from consumers in general had something to do with it. Or, maybe — maybe — it had at least provisionally planned to do something like this for a while and was just seeing what it could get away with first.

Either way, this is something of a milestone: Every single major record label in the United States is now delivering at least some of their catalog through a digital download system with no device restrictions at all.

Even a couple of years ago that would have been unthinkable, but I suspect it’s about the only way left to fly at this point. The reasons are pretty plain: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Music + News + Technology | Comments Off on Sony’s Sudden Outbreak Of Common Sense

What song is this? First Backwards. Then Forward. Crazy.

December 29th, 2007 by iDunzo

Ok. This is really cool. The guy over at OneManSho can sing backwards.

Watch this video. Seriously. It’s truly amazing.

First he sings backwards while the video is playing forward in real time, then about 1:19 into the video, it reverses speed to reveal the song:

Taken from the YouTube video page:

This took a heck of a lot of work, and is dedicated to those who told me I have too much time on my hands in my 200 impressions video – this goes to prove you right! Wait… oh well.

I would have to agree, this guy has a lot of time on his hands but I really enjoyed this little diddy. Thanks OneManSho!

Posted in Geekery + Music + Videos | Comments Off on What song is this? First Backwards. Then Forward. Crazy.

Mac Users Pay For Music, PC Owners Steal It

December 21st, 2007 by iDunzo

According to market researcher NPD, PC owners are too cheap to pay for music downloads, while Mac users have an Apple-shaped halo when it comes to piracy: 50% of them have paid to download music versus just 16% of PC users.

Side note for the fanboys, Macs are PC’s too – Personal Computer’s. Maybe I should have said Mac verses Windows? Arrrg!

The report also tries to claim that Mac owners are buying more CDs than their PC brethren, but the figures are so close – 32% against 28% – it seems statistically insignificant.

The difference between 50 and 16, though, is big.

Who knows why? Are Mac people more honest? Higher earning? Or are they just too stupid to work out BitTorrent?

Posted in Apple + Microsoft + Music + Technology | 1 Comment »

Bone Conducting Headphones: Cum On Feel The Noize

December 19th, 2007 by iDunzo

The Zelco Outi bone conducting headphones comprises a pair of vibrators and a four-level amplifier which together send the sound waves into the bone and cartilage behind the ear.

Input is via a standard 3.5mm jack, and the set comes bundled with a USB charger and AC adapter: fully charged you’ll get up to eight hours listening time.

I have a hard time believing this kind of sound delivery will give anything like the fidelity of normal headphones, but it won’t batter your eardrums quite so much.

Apparently when Popular Mechanics tested the kit, the reviewer noted that the bass feel is much more speaker-like: “both intense and felt through your entire body”.

Now if you want to really rattle your bones, turn your volume up to 11 (insert Spinal Tap reference) and Cum On Feel The Noize:

Don’t you just love the smell of metal in the morning? \m/

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$19,000 Speakers Are Taller Than You

December 18th, 2007 by iDunzo

The Nucleus Reference 5LS speakers from Anthony Gallo Acoustics will cost you around $122 USD per inch. The catch?

The speakers are six and a half feet tall.

The pair weighs in at $19,000 USD, and each cabinet has 12 subwoofers at the back and a combination of eight mid range and seven tweeters at the front.

I almost fell asleep reading the specifications.

Like all high end audio gadgets, there is plenty of nonsense to get any audiophile excited: “spherical enclosure technology”,”carbon fiber” and my personal favorite: “rear-firing 4 inch drivers”.

I almost want to try these out, if only for the perverse pleasure of hooking such monsters up to a tiny Apple iPod Shuffle.

Posted in Apple + Music + Technology + Toys & Gadgets | Comments Off on $19,000 Speakers Are Taller Than You

Wal-Mart Kills DRM

December 3rd, 2007 by iDunzo

Wal-Mart has ordered record labels to kill off DRM once and for all. The market or at least the one that matters most has spoken.

The mega-retailer is mandating that suppliers provide MP3 versions of everything, according to Billboard. Most have already complied, its article suggests, with Sony BMG the predictable holdout.

Let us forget for a moment that Wal-Mart’s online music store is a joke. When Wal-Mart tells content publishers to jump, they don’t ask how high: they just do it. No-one wants to be taken off that particular shelf.

Posted in Music + Technology + Web | Comments Off on Wal-Mart Kills DRM