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Duke Nukem 1 and 2 now available for Mac on GOG.com
Ever since they first announced that they'd be carrying Mac games, GOG.com has steadily added to the amount of retro titles on offer, making some really great old games available for our favorite platform. And today's edition is no slouch, either: They've put the original Duke Nukem and its sequel up for grabs for US$5.99 for the pair, complete with the original manual and soundtrack for both as well. That's a great deal, and who wouldn't want to have this gaming legend sitting on their Mac ready to play? Just like all of GOG.com's games, these are DRM-free, and I believe you also get the Windows versions as well. Pretty solid deal for two classic games, and another good offering in GOG.com's constantly growing Mac library.
Indie Royale Stuffing Bundle crams together Dream Machine, Puzzle Agent 2 and more
Before the holidays have you engorged to the point where the only game you can play is called nap, Indie Royale wanted to proposition you with a new tempting smorgasbord of indie games. The Indie Royale Stuffing Bundle groups together Dream Machine: Chapters 1-3, Puzzle Agent 2, Anomaly: Warzone Earth, Children of the Nile and Adventure Apes and the Mayan Mystery. Dream Machine uses cardboard and clay to tell the story of Victor Neff and his wife who just moved into an apartment building that just isn't quite right. (Dream Machine is a five-part series, so keep in mind you won't get the entire award-winning point-and-click adventure experience in this bundle.) Puzzle Agent 2 is the 2011 sequel to Telltale Games' and Graham Annable's original adventure/puzzle outing and Pilot Program winner. Anomaly: Warzone Earth you've probably heard of since it's on every platform ever invented, while Adventure Apes and the Mayan Mystery is a Metroidvania game with lots of exploration. Finally, Children of the Nile is a city-building sim set in ancient Egypt – the Enhanced Edition is a Steam key, while the Desura/DRM-free code included in the bundle is based on the 2004 original, Immortal Cities: Children of the Nile.
Louis CK to offer HBO show as DRM-free download, chip away at cable content deals
With certain exceptions, HBO has developed a reputation for being protective of where and how its content goes digital. That makes Louis CK's plans for a 2013 comedy special a slight jolt to the system, even though it's not his first digital release linked to the channel. While HBO will get a first crack at airing the show, which will be recorded during Louis' ongoing tour, the comedian now plans to post the production online a few months afterwards using the same successful formula that has become his calling card: $5, no DRM and no region restrictions. The offering doesn't overhaul the industry, but it undoubtedly wrests control from the network as soon as the download link goes live. Think of Louis as making a small crack in cable TV's content wall.
Bundle in a Box is DRM-free in Deep Space, with DRM (Death Ray Manta)
Bundle in a Box offers pay-what-you-want pricing, starting at $0.99, on a digital box full of DRM-free games – except for that one DRM game in the current Deep Space bundle.Death Ray Manta is available exclusively via the Bundle in a Box right now, alongside Space Giraffe, The Wreckless, Dark Scavenger and Armalyte, and special content for Droidscape: Basilica when that drops in the final quarter of 2012 for iOS and Android. Paying more than the average ($4.59 as of this writing) gets you Sol: Exodus, Miner Wars Arena, RobotRiot and Armalyte Extras. As the total number of sales increases, more goodies for everyone are unlocked as well.So far Deep Space has sold more than 1,500 bundles, with 11 days left to buy. Sales benefit the Hellenic Centre for Mental Health and Treatment of Child and Family and the Indie Dev Grant.
iPod owners notified of RealNetworks-related lawsuit's class action status, given chance to cash in (updated: not Real)
Remember the 2005 lawsuit over Apple's effort to keep RealNetworks' Harmony DRM off of the iPod, calling the countermeasures an abuse that locked customers into Apple's FairPlay copy protection and the iTunes Store? You're forgiven if you don't -- the complaint was filed in 2005. Even with iTunes having gone primarily DRM-free over three years ago, though, owners of iPods bought between September 12th, 2006 and March 31st, 2009 are just now getting notices that they qualify for a slice of any damages if they register and Rhapsody's former owner the class action group wins in court. Of course, there's no guarantee that RealNetworks former Rhapsody users will win and get you music money to feed your iPod, iPod classic, iPod nano or iPod touch, but unless you're planning to sue Apple yourself, there's no penalty for a legitimate claim. Update: RealNetworks has chipped in to let us know that it's "not involved in any way" with the lawsuit, which is actually an independent complaint centered around the Rhapsody users themselves. RealNetworks hasn't embroiled itself in a legal fight with Apple to date.
Sci-fi publisher announces Tor and Forge will go DRM-free with all e-book titles
Science fiction is often said to foresee the future, and today, that news couldn't ring more true. Tom Doherty Associates, a subsidiary of Macmillan and publisher of popular sci-fi and fantasy brands such as Tor and Forge, today announced that as of early July, all of its current e-books will be distributed without DRM restrictions. The company's president, Tom Doherty, revealed the shift as a long-time request of both its readers and authors -- which unsurprisingly, are a rather tech-savvy bunch. In addition to the move affecting all of Doherty's current sales channels, the move will allow the publisher to seek out independent e-book dealers that sell only DRM-free titles. While the move is unlikely to extend to the rest of Macmillan's properties anytime soon, just leave it to the sci-fi community to show others the way forward. Perhaps the future isn't gonna be so scary after all.
7digital music store offers Windows Phone users 18 million tracks for purchase
In news that can be filed under "better late than never," 7digital has finally brought its impressive music store to the Windows Phone platform. The company has previously promised a January arrival for its eponymous app, which now offers 18 million song tracks for sale. As you'd expect, it offers shoppers with 30 second previews of each track, and purchased music will automatically sync to one's mobile device. The Windows Phone version of 7digital now joins its Android, BlackBerry and iOS counterparts, but unique to this release is a Metro interface and support for Live Tiles -- which allows users to pin their favorite artists, tracks and albums to the home screen. Shoppers will discover a variable pricing scheme for the DRM-free music, where the majority of albums sell between $5 and $12. Inquiring minds will find the full PR after the break.
Witcher 1: Enhanced Edition now on OSX, Witcher 2: EE gets free backup on GOG.com
The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut is now available for OSX via Steam for $9.99, CD Projekt has just announced. The port requires OSX 10.6.8 or newer, an Intel Core 2 Duo (or better) and roughly 11 gigs of free space. Since it's a SteamPlay title, users who have purchased The Witcher: Enhanced Edition Director's Cut from Steam on PC will automatically receive the OSX version, and vice versa.CD Projekt also announced that every copy of The Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition includes a complimentary, DRM-free backup copy at GOG.com, regardless of where the game is actually purchased. Said backups also include any extras that may have been included with whatever version of Witcher 2: Enhanced Edition you purchased, such as art books and soundtracks.
Ditching DRM could reduce piracy, prices, inconvenience
This may run counter to what your common sense tells you but, a new paper out of Duke and Rice University says that ditching DRM could actually reduce piracy. The study, which relied on analytical modeling, showed that while copy protection made illegally sharing content more difficult it had a significantly negative impact on legal users. In fact, the researchers say, "only the legal users pay the price and suffer from the restrictions [of DRM]." Many consumers simply choose to pirate music and movies because doing simple things, like backing up a media collection, is difficult with DRMed content. Even the most effective DRM is eventually broken, and fails to deter those already determined to steal. Meanwhile, abandoning these restrictions could increase competition and drive down prices (as well as remove a serious inconvenience), encouraging more people to legitimately purchase content. You can check out the November-December issue of Marketing Science for more details.
Sprint Music Plus app gives users yet another mobile jam portal... if you're cool with RealNetworks
Tired of waiting for Google Music? How tired? If you've been pushed to your wit's end, and you're willing to give RealNetworks one last chance to actually impress you, Sprint's got a new service for you to dip your toes into. Sprint Music Plus is a newfangled app that can be accessed via the carrier's website and on Android / BlackBerry handsets, serving as a "single, convenient destination for customers to discover, purchase and play individual and bundled offers of full track music, albums, ringtones and ringback tones." Naturally, everything in here is DRM-free, and aside from being a hub for transactions, it doubles as a media management tool where playlists can be created and new content can be recommended based on prior purchases. We're told that customers can receive a discount if angling for a bundle -- which includes a full track, ringtone and ringback tone -- with $0.69 to $1.29 (per tune, mind you) being thrown straight to your Sprint bill. Care to give it a spin? Android users can head just past the break for a QR code, while everyone else can give those source links a hit.
MOD Systems' Download2Go kiosks now hawking DRM-free music
You'll need to pop into a Quick Chek in New York or New Jersey to take advantage for now, but if you and iTunes just aren't on speaking terms, a hear-to-heart with a MOD Systems' Download2Go kiosk may be your best alternative. Planted in ten locations across aforementioned states, these kiosks work a lot like the movie-equipped ones that were installed in various Blockbuster locations and in 30 US airports, but rather than hosting the newest chick flicks, these are loaded down with singles, albums and other things you may enjoy on your so-called MP3 player. You can get a general idea of how it works with a film just after the break, but whatever you do, make sure you bring an unloaded SD card or USB drive.
GOG offers community favorites for half off this weekend
Assuming you're still buying games from GOG.com after last week's shutdown stunt, there are some excellent deals to be had this week on the site's "Community Favorites" list. All of the games on the list are half off, which means you can pick up Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition or Myst: Masterpiece Edition for just three bucks, and Psychonauts or Syberia for just five. Sure, the site may have played a little too hard on your heartstrings with its fake story of shutting down for good just to promote a site revamp, but everybody appreciates cheap, classic PC games, right? And even if not, you can always go grab one of those iPhone games instead -- that's a great sale, too.
Nokia's all you can download Comes with Music service is finally DRM free... in China (updated)
We've been browbeating Nokia for using DRM to "protect" its Comes with Music offering ever since the service launched back in December of 2007 -- a time when the industry was just beginning to shed its DRM shackles. Now get this, the idle talk is over, Nokia just launched its all-you-can-eat (for 12, 18, or 24 months, typically) Comes with Music service in China without any DRM at all. India is on deck as Nokia looks to hook more emerging markets on the (kind of) free music drug. That means you no longer have to strip the DRM illegally to play your downloaded content on devices other than your main PC and Nokia Comes with Music handset. And yes, you can keep the tracks for life after your CWM subscription expires. At launch, Chinese consumers will have a choice of eight (ok, seven really) CWM handsets (X6 32GB and X6 16GB, 5230, 5330, 5800w, 6700s, E52 and E72i) with prices starting at a local equivalent of €140 (the CWM service fee is baked in to the cost, mind you) excluding taxes and subsidies. Suspiciously, Nokia's not making the usual boast about the millions of tracks available in the CWM catalog. It is, however, reassuringly supported by all the Big 4 music labels in addition to some Chinese indies, as you'd expect. Sorry, no word on when they'll strip the DRM from its European CWM stores and we're still not clear when CWM will finally see a US launch. Hopefully soon as a service like this could go over very, very well Stateside -- a market that Nokia is desperate to crack. Get on to the other side of the break for the full press release. Update: We met with Jyrki Rosenberg, Director of Music at Nokia, who shed a bit more light on the offering. Unfortunately, while DRM-free music aligns with Nokia's global vision, he had nothing to announce for the US or Europe today. And as you might expect, the onus to go DRM-free in China was in part driven by rampant, local piracy concerns -- recovery of any revenue was better than nothing at all in the eyes of the Big Four. Jyrki also told us that Chinese CWM subscriptions will be 1 year in length but the terms of renewal are still being hammered out. We also know that the music catalog numbers in the "hundreds of thousands" at launch (comparable to competing services in the region, according to Jyrki) and is growing every day. Privacy advocates will be happy to hear that the 256kbps MP3 files are "clean" -- in other words, no user data is embedded in the files unlike the practices of Apple and Walmart, among others.
Nokia Ovi Music store slowly shedding its DRM shackles globally
While not widely touted, Nokia's Ovi Music store is on track to make Nokia's music catalog DRM-free globally. This was first mentioned in December at Nokia's Capital Market Days event. Keep in mind that we're talking about Nokia's a la carte music download service, not its all you can eat Comes with Music offering that lets you keep all the tracks you can download in the first year but locks them to a single Nokia handset and PC for life. Russia's Ovi Music store was the first to go DRM-free back in November while adding single sign-on with other Ovi services during the revamp process. Now we're hearing that India has quietly joined suit with its Nokia Music store becoming the DRM-free Ovi Music incarnation. Nokia is apparently focusing on growth markets first on its way to more western markets but it's a good sign that its fair use debilitating DRM is on the way out -- a good thing for consumers and a change, like free Ovi Maps, that makes Nokia handsets just a bit more attractive.
Amazon Kindle gets its DRM stripped (for the time being)
If there is one near universal gripe folks have with the Kindle, it's the DRM-laden files. It's no wonder, then, that the thing has been a lightning rod for the "information wants to be free crowd," almost since the beginning. Sure, we've seen Mobipocket, .epub, and .pdf files used on the device, but if you really want to bedevil Bezos the thing to do would be to altogether circumvent the DRM from your Amazon e-books -- and it looks like an Israeli hacker named Labba has done just that. For the time being, the hack, which allows you to convert your legally obtained e-books to unencrypted PDF files, is available as a Python script. We're sure that the process will be streamlined for us civilians soon enough -- let's just hope that it happens before the hole gets plugged and your e-reader auto-updated. This is one way to keep hold of your legally purchased Orwell, eh?
Apple iTunes LP format gets dissected, explained
Did you hear the news? Apple "resurrected" the LP! It turns out that a complete reversal of millions of music lover's listening habits has been accomplished by throwing some images, videos, interviews, and DRM-free 256Kbps AAC audiofiles into a WebKit package playable in iTunes. OK, so maybe we are a little jaded -- our busy 21st century lives generally don't afford us the time to stare glassy-eyed at our computer screen (any more than we have the time to stare glassy-eyed at 12-inch album covers while sitting on the floor of our incense-soaked Haight-Ashbury crash pads). But if you're morbidly curious about the inner workings of the new iTunes LP format, an experience accomplished via HTML 4.01, CSS and JS, hit the read link for the down-and-dirty tear down from web developer Jay Robinson. And who knows? You just might learn something. [Via Daring Fireball]
RIAA says consumers shouldn't expect DRM servers to run forever
Man, these Copyright Office triennial DMCA hearings seem to be some kind of competition for media-industry lawyers to present ridiculous arguments -- just a couple months after the MPAA tried to convince us that videotaping DVDs was an acceptable alternative to ripping, the RIAA's claiming that consumers shouldn't expect their DRM servers to stay online and allow them to play their music to play forever. No joke. The argument comes as the Copyright Office decides whether or not to allow a DMCA exemption for breaking DRM, and RIAA lawyer Steven Metalitz's position is that copyright owners shouldn't be required to "provide consumers with perpetual access to creative works," since "no other product or service providers are held to such lofty standards." Of course, that's only partially true, since properly maintained physical media and DRM-free content theoretically can be played forever, but why acknowledge reality when you can jack up your legal bills making completely absurd arguments that make your porcine, slowly-decaying clients seem even more doomed than before?
Video: Bookeen Cybook Opus ebook reader gets handled and adored
The guys and gals at MobileRead have scored hands-on time with the Cybook Opus and early impressions are good. They were smitten with the ergonomics of the device and its "gorgeous" 5-inch e-ink display, but oddly neglected to point out any weaknesses. Equipped with an accelerometer, 1GB of storage, microSD expansion slot, and a user-replaceable battery, the Opus is able to read PDF and ePUB files -- with or without DRM -- and organize them into folders. There are rumors of a €250 ($349) asking price, but the exact details of when and where it will be available remain unknown. Click through for a video of the reader doing its thing or hit the read links for more extensive coverage.[Via Slashgear]Read - MobileRead exclusive : sneak preview of the Bookeen OpusRead - Cybook Opus: Discovering the reader, video
iTunes Store's new pricing scheme affects the charts, that Lightspeed Champion guy expresses surprise
An interesting sidenote on the intersection of music and commerce: Billboard reported last week that the iTunes Store's new variable pricing plan has had a bit of an impact on sales rankings on individual tracks, giving $.99 songs an advantage over their $1.29 counterparts. According to the magazine, numbers for Wednesday, April 8, show that the iTunes Top 100 chart had 40 songs at the $1.29 price point, and 60 at $0.99 -- the premium songs slid an average of 5.3 places, while the $0.99 songs gained roughly 2.5 chart positions. On Thursday the trend continued, with the 53 songs priced at $0.99 rising roughly 1.66 places on the chart, while the remaining songs -- priced at $1.29 -- lost an average of two chart positions. None of which answers the most pressing question: When will Miley Cyrus's reign of terror come to an end?
iTunes Store now infected with variable pricing, Amazon still $0.99
As promised, variable pricing has now been implemented at the iTunes music store. Already, we're seeing most of the top 10 singles and 33 of the top 100 hitting the top price-point of $1.29 (encoded as DRM-free 256kbps AAC). Interesting as Amazon's uncomfortably similar top 10 list has all these tracks priced at $0.99 (encoded as DRM-free 256kbps VBR MP3). A handful of tracks (nine in the top 100) do hit the higher $1.29 price further down Amazon's list. Now, if you believe Steve (someone who originally postured against this price structure), then it appears that the music labels are charging Apple more for the rights to sell its music than Amazon based on this quote attributed to Jobs in the Apple press release from January: in April, based on what the music labels charge Apple, songs on iTunes will be available at one of three price points-69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29-with many more songs priced at 69 cents than $1.29. Regardless, we know where we'll be purchasing our Miley Cyrus from now on. [Thanks, Jesse]Read -- January "Changes Coming to the iTunes Store" press releaseRead -- iTunes top songs [Warning: iTunes App link]Read -- Amazon top songs
