Microsoft gives Universal a slice of Zune sales
In an attempt to gain advantages for its Zune music player over the almighty iPod, Microsoft has agreed a new deal with Universal Music.
This deal with give Universal a cut of the profits from sales of Microsoft’s iPod rival, the Zune. In return, Microsoft will receive rights to distribute content to Zune’s users for limited wireless sharing.
This could be a gamechanger for Apple, which has so far avoided cutting this sort of deal with content owners.
Interview with Martin Stiksel of last.fm
Last.fm has become one of my very favourite web apps – it helps me find new music and figure out what I've been listening to most (Cocteau Twins, for the record).
I recently hooked up with Martin Stiksel, one of the company's founders, in last.fm's new offices near Old Street in London, to discuss progress to date and to find out more about the service.
The interview with Martin is right after the jump...
Xbox gears up for online video downloads
Owners of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 will soon be able to watch and download a range of movies and TV shows through their consoles.
Microsoft has announced that it plans to rival Apple by renting and selling downloaded movies and TV shows through Xbox Live, though the video service may well be more about the console wars with Sony's PS3 and Nintendo's Wii.
Audible’s losses grow, rolls out new marketing plans
Podcasting company Audible has reported widening losses in Q3, despite turning a profit at its UK subsidiary and seeing growth in subscribers.
36 greatest Bill Gates quotes, just for Apple fanboys
Digg.com is having one of its Apple fanboy days, where every other story on the Digg homepage could have been submitted by the Apple PR department.
A story published by Wired on Steve Jobs' best quotes illustrates this, making it onto the Digg homepage and racking up hundreds of diggs in next to no time. As I write, there are no less than four pro-Apple stories in the top ten of Digg's technology homepage. Wisdom of crowds, huh?
We wondered what would happen if we balanced this view with a similar piece on Macboy nemesis Bill Gates. After the jump we've culled a bunch of Bill's quotes, 36 in total, including a gem about spider monkeys.
Let the flaming begin...
Steve Wozniak interviewed by The Guardian
Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, aka ‘The Woz’, is here in London and doing a little PR to promote the release of his new biography. While we’ve yet to bump into him in the local Borders our neighbours over at The Guardian have published a great interview with him.
Snippets from the interview after the jump...
Tube could be giant viral music network
London Underground commuters would interact using mobile phones and station-side wireless hubs under a project aiming to turn the tube transport system into a city-wide song-swapping network.
Apple's iPod is five years old today
It is five years to the day that Apple launched the almighty iPod. The device has undoubtedly transformed the way many of us buy and listen to music. In the last five years, 68 million iPods have been sold, and the company holds a staggering 75% share of the market.
Alongside the iPod's success, its companion service iTunes now holds 88% of the legal music download market and is now more than breaking even, according to Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer.
Apple to release two iPod phones?
According to Apple Insider, two new iPod–based mobile phones could be released within the next few months, initially in small quantities to test the waters.
Apple appeared to confirm such rumours last month, when they registered the trademark for the name ‘iPhone’ in the US, after months of speculation about the product.
iPod killers for Christmas 2006?
Richard Menta at mp3newswire has been reviewing potential ‘iPod killers’ since 2004 and he rounds up the potential challengers for Apple’s crown in the run up to the Christmas shopping season.
Of the 149 portable MP3 players he has reported on in the past two years, not one has yet managed to dent the popularity of Apple’s device, which has become a generic name for the MP3 player.
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Web 2.0
Graham Charlton
Strategy & Planning
