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The UK is finally making it legal to rip a CD on June 1st
After a lengthy two-year legislative process, the UK is nearly ready to drag its copyright law into the digital era. The country's Intellectual Property Office has published the final version of copyright exceptions that make it legal to rip CDs and otherwise shift formats. As of June 1st, Brits can copy media as much as they like for personal use. Institutions can also make duplicates for backups or research, and the Secretary of State can tell copyright holders to make content accessible if paying for an alternative format isn't practical. Out-and-out piracy is still forbidden, of course, but the new measures should let locals modernize their media collections without feeling a twinge of guilt. [Image credit: Jonathon Colman, Flickr]
UK set to legalize CD and DVD copying for personal use
The fact that it hasn't technically been legal may not have stopped many folks in the UK from ripping their CDs all these years, but it looks like there may soon be a tad less anarchy involved in that process. Reuters is reporting that the British government will announce tomorrow that it plans to legalize the copying of CDs and DVDs onto computers or portable media players for personal use -- a move that will bring it up to speed with most other European countries (and the US and Canada). Of course, the key words there are "personal use." You still won't be legally allowed to share that music over the internet after you copy it without permission, and it's not yet clear how the new rules will apply to DVDs (or Blu-rays) with copy protection measures -- although the British Video Association unsurprisingly doesn't seem too pleased with the changes regardless, calling them "extremely damaging."
mCubed's RipNAS Statement now available in Europe
mCubed's RipNAS Statement may be unique, but it isn't apt to be widely adopted -- at least not with price points like this. Hailed as the first SSD-based CD ripping NAS device, the product is also available in a traditional HDD form, though both handle automatic ripping, NAS duties and media streaming. Within, you'll find a dual-core Atom CPU, gigabit Ethernet, a TEAC DVD drive, four USB 2.0 sockets and a fanless design. The pain? €1,795 ($2,500) for the 3TB HDD version, or €3,295 ($4,590) for the 500GB SSD model. If you're unfazed by sticker shock, you can pick yours up right now over in Europe.
RipNAS Statement: world's first SSD-based CD ripping NAS device
We'll be perfectly honest with you -- the Atom-powered RipNAS definitely caught our interest when it launched with practically no major competitors back in February. Now, the RipNAS family has grown by two with the introduction of the Statement SSD and Statement HDD. We're told that the former is the world's first SSD-based CD ripping NAS device, and we've absolutely no reason to believe otherwise. The totally silent, all-silver box is based on the Windows Home Server OS and handles a cornucopia of tasks: CD ripping, media streaming and networked file storage. Internal specifications include a dual-core Atom CPU, 2GB of RAM and four USB 2.0 ports. The Statement SSD arrives in a 500GB configuration (2 x 250GB SSDs), while the Statement HDD holds 3TB by way of two 1.5TB drives; mum's the word on pricing, but don't bank on 'em being cheap.
mCubed's Atom-powered RipNAS combines CD ripper with NAS drive
Not that we haven't seen Atom-based NAS devices before, but we've yet to see one with an integrated optical drive. Looking to serve a unique niche that still hasn't transferred that CD collection to HDD, the RipNAS combines an audio CD ripper with oodles of network-accessible storage space, and as if that wasn't enough, there's also media streaming abilities baked in. The whole unit is fanless in nature and requires no external keyboard / PC in order to rip files to your favorite lossless format, retrieve all associated metadata and automatically re-rip tracks if errors are detected. Initially, the box is being served with 640GB of internal storage space along with a number of USB ports for external expansion. Sadly, such a specialized box won't run you cheap, with the sticker hovering around €1,095 ($1,415) right now in Europe.
The Ripserver may make your CD collection history
Gigantic, festering CD collection got you down? Need some solution to get all of that music onto a hard drive, but simply don't have the patience or skill to use iTunes and an external hard drive? Well you're in luck, because the Ripserver is here. Acting as a completely stand-alone solution, this handsome black or white box lets you rip and store your music without any additional hardware or software. The RAID 1 device comes in 500GB or 1TB configurations, rips as FLAC files or MP3s (with adjustable bit rates), functions as a NAS device with UPnP support, supports connectivity with additional USB drives, and is DNLA compliant. The Ripserver runs a Linux build atop an Epia 1GHZ CPU, with 512MB of RAM, and boasts VGA, USB, and PS2 ports. The 500GB will run you £599 (or around $1,189), and the 1TB £699 ($1,388) -- both are shipping now.
Brennan intros JB7 Micro Jukebox with lossless CD ripping
There's already a good number of options out there for those wanting to rip CDs without the hassle of a computer, but the number of those that give you lossless CD ripping is quite a bit more limited. Those not willing to accept any compromises now have one more lossless-happy system to consider, however, with Brennan recently introducing its new JB7 Micro Jukebox. Available in 20GB, 40GB, or 80GB versions (and with or without added bookshelf speakers), the system boasts 60W of RMS power and packs a USB port that'll accommodate an iPod or a USB hard drive. Unfortunately, there's no Internet connectivity (wireless or otherwise), but the system does at least come pre-loaded with a database 2.2 million track names, which can be updated quarterly via a CD that Brennan distributes. Look for it to set you back £259 (or roughly $500) for the standalone 20GB unit, with prices running up to £388 (or $760) for the 80GB unit complete with speakers.[Via Randomly Accessed]
Toshiba's gigabeat U202 supports direct-to-MP3 ripping
If you passed on Toshiba's first few U-series DAPs due to their lively color schemes and substitutable feature sets, the new 2GB U202 goes a long ways to correct both of those quibbles. The exceedingly simplistic device dons a silver / black motif, an uncomplicated "PlusPad" control scheme, and a 1.1-inch color OLED display. Furthermore, this unit sports the same 20-hour battery life, FM tuner, and MP3 / WMA / WAV playback capabilities as its predecessor, but the newfangled direct-to-MP3 CD ripping ability enables users to "record audio tracks digitally from a CD player directly to the gigabeat." Consider it yours in one to two weeks for $99.99.
