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Maine mulling cancer warning labels on cellphones, manufacturers mulling warning label on Maine
The debate on whether mobile phones are slowly turning us into a world of ailment-riddled weaklings rages on in the scientific community, but at least one state may be ready to step up the ominous, non-actionable warnings anyway. A representative in Maine has apparently persuaded her colleagues to let her bring up a proposal during January's session of the state legislature that would require warnings on devices about the alleged link between RF emissions and brain cancer, strongly advising users to keep the devices away from their heads and bodies. At best, this seems premature, and at worst, it runs a risk of breeding a nation of 24 / 7 Bluetooth headset users -- but the politician responsible for the movement seems to have it figured out: she holds her own phone away from her head while using it and turns it off unless she's expecting a call. Could someone in her district please let us know what kind of archaic voice-only device she's using?
HDMI logos updated: version numbers out, supported features in
A response to cable sellers marking hardware v1.4 compliant before a test was even available or just another way for Monster Cable to ratchet up prices, we're not sure, but HDMI Licensing, LLC has reworked the packaging requirements for all new cables and products. Cable packaging must lose version numbers starting today, while HDMI-equipped components can only use version numbers in conjunction with listing specific features supported, and lose version numbers entirely starting January 1, 2012. The picture above features logos you'll find on certified hardware going forward, while we can appreciate being tied to supported features and not just version numbers that may or may not fully apply (*cough cough* remember the "HDMI 1.3" PS3Fat?) there's no way things get any less confusing when hooking up the new 4K or 3D capable HDTVs.
Apple says iTunes LPs don't cost labels $10,000, will be available to indies
Well, that $10,000 "production fee" Apple was said to be charging labels for iTunes LPs certainly seemed a little over the top in more ways than one, and it looks like the company has now come out and denied that it's the case at all, saying flat out that "there is no production fee charged by Apple." What's more, it also says that iTunes LPs will in fact be available to indie labels, noting that it's "releasing the open specs for iTunes LP soon, allowing both major and indie labels to create their own." Of course, that premium price for the iTunes LPs themselves is still totally in place, although the open specs could potentially at least lead to some more interesting options if the labels decide to really run with 'em.[Via Macworld]
Major labels show eagerness to fail with new CMX digital audio format
Let's think about this, shall we? How did Sony's ATRAC format do? How did all those DRM-laced formats fare? Call us zany, but we've got a feeling an all new format developed by the astoundingly brilliant (ahem) minds at the world's largest record labels is apt to follow the aforementioned formats right on down to Irrelevant Boulevard. According to Times Online, Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are currently looking to go head-to-head with Apple's own "Cocktail" by introducing a CMX format (codenamed) that will "give music fans a computerized version of the sleeve notes that come as standard with a CD, including lyrics and artwork, and videos." Reportedly, the format is expected to launch in November in an effort to boost whole album downloads (as opposed to singles), and while the labels approached Apple in order to gain its support, the Cupertino-based company purportedly decided to concoct its own mixture. Oh, and you can pretty much consider this extra DOA should iTunes not support it; fair or not, that's just the way it is.[Via Guardian]
TUAW First Look: Cellar puts your wine collection in your pocket
Beverage choice should be simple: coffee or tea to rev up, wine or beer to spin down (App Store links). Of course, when it comes to drink choices, there's definitely an app for that: from the makers of espresso-instructions app Barista, we now have the $0.99 Cellar (under App Store review and appearing momentarily). Cellar's slick UI and quick data entry make keeping track of your wine library almost as fun as actually drinking the wine you collect.When you start up Cellar, you face an empty winerack; you can add bottles one by one, entering both vintage details and customizing the look/label of the bottles with photos of the bottle labels. You can adjust the number of bottles of each kind of vino you have stored away, and then as you polish them off the 'empties' are stored in the Garage area of the app for reference or repurchase.Cellars isn't an industrial-strength wine database or collection manager (My Wine or Velvet Vine Wine Pro might be better choices there, or a general-purpose database like Bento), but it is a handy way to remember what you've bought and liked. I'd like to see future versions support importing label images from the photo library (for iPod touch users) or download them from online wine libraries. Update: Apparently the library-select feature is already in place for iPod touch users. Readers also suggest checking out Drync for higher-end wine cellar management.Cellar's $0.99 introductory price won't last for long. Check out the gallery for more Cellar shots.%Gallery-67042%
NYT: Music execs operate 'in fear of Apple'
In today's New York Times, Tim Arango tells a story of a heated conversation between Sony Music's Rolf Schmidt-Holtz and Steve Jobs on Christmas Eve -- one that "ricocheted around the music industry." Apparently, before the announcement at Macworld, all the labels except Sony had agreed to a new pricing deal. Sony wanted the new pricing to take effect immediately after the announcement, but Jobs wanted a longer rollout. After the phone call, according to the Times, Sony agreed to the longer waiting period. During this time, Jobs was allegedly on medical leave, recuperating at home from his much-publicized illness. Arango notes that Jobs' point-man on music industry relations, Eddie Cue, and Apple's entire staff "do their best to follow Mr. Jobs's style in their own negotiating." That is to say: Hardball. Music executives, according to an unnamed source, are afraid of angering Apple, as Apple can single-handedly remove a label's catalog from the iTunes store, angering the label's customers. At the same time, Apple can claim that their hands were tied, the decision wasn't theirs, and that all the ire should be directed at the music industry. Such a thing hasn't happened -- yet -- but the threat is there, and real. The labels, on the other hand, feel like they brought Apple back from the dead, blessing the company with content. Even so, David Card of Forrester Research offered an interesting coda to the story: "if it weren't for Apple, God knows how bad the music industry would be," he said. [Via 9-to-5 Mac.]
Transistors on paper become a reality
Check it, nerds. A team over at the Universidade Nova de Lisboa has reportedly figured out a way to use paper (yes, paper) as an interstrate component of a Field Effect Transistor (FET). In testing, the group "fabricated the devices on both sides of the paper sheet," thus causing the paper to act as the "electric insulator and as the substrate" simultaneously. Remarkably, results showed that performance actually rivaled that of best-in-class oxide thin film transistors, giving revived hope for the realm of disposable devices like paper displays, labels, intelligent packaging, tracking tags, etc. The findings are scheduled to be published this September, after which we're sure any firms interested in taking this stuff commercial will be putting their best foot forward.[Via Scientific Blogging]
Avery releases free Design Pro for Mac
Avery Office Products, the purveyor of labels, blank business cards, binder dividers, greeting cards, and iron-on t-shirt transfers, has released a free application called Design Pro for Mac.This software was demoed at Macworld Expo in January and is now available for download (registration required) from the Avery website. Design Pro contains over 2,000 clip art and photo images, as well as over 1,300 pre-designed templates for various projects. It is integrated with iPhoto as well, so you can use all of your own photos to create CD/DVD labels, birthday cards, and other fun projects. If you're burning your own music CDs, Design Pro can grab playlist or tune information from iTunes, and it's also able to use your Address Book for doing mail merges. Avery Design Pro for Mac requires Mac OS X 10.4 or 10.5. Be aware - the download is 262MB in size![via Macworld]
Manage your holiday mailing list with Address Book
There's something about hand writing the names and address of each of your holiday card and gift recipients. That "something special" is frustration! Hand cramps, errors, wasted envelopes. How pleasant.Forget all that and let Apple's Address Book take care of it for you.First, create a new Smart Group. I went through my list of contacts and identified the lucky few who will receive cards from me this year (jealous?). In the note field of each, I added the keyword "holiday."Next, I selected "New smart group..." from the File menu and set the criteria to be "Note contains 'holiday'." Next, I named the Smart Group "Holiday" and presto! My list was complete. In the future, I can add new contacts to the list by simply typing "holiday" in their notes field.Now to print. Address Book prints directly to standard Avery labels. With your new Smart Group selected, simply select "Print." The print dialog box appears. First, set the "Style" menu to "Mailing Labels." Then, click the "Layout" tab and select the labels you're using. Then click print and you're all done!
Edgar Bronfman admits to "inadvertently" going to war with music consumers
By now, we're pretty certain you know how Warner Music's head honcho feels about DRM and its necessity in the digital download space, but apparently, the man behind not one, but two CE-Oh Noes has experienced some form of epiphany. MacUser has it that Edgar Bronfman admitted that the music industry "used to fool itself" by thinking that its content was "perfect just exactly as it was" while speaking at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Macau. He went on to say that it was widely believed that the business would "remain blissfully unaffected even as the world of interactivity, constant connection and file sharing was exploding." He also noted that it essentially went to war "inadvertently" with consumers by "denying them what they wanted and could otherwise find." The conversation was used in part to urge mobile operators to not make the same mistakes again, and while we applaud such a figure for coming forward with a bit of hard truth, it remains to be seen if these sentiments will reverberate further or simply fall on deaf ears.[Via mocoNews]
iTunes UK pwns competition for artist pay
Pretend you're a struggling musician. How much money would you rather take home for each track sold? £0.70 or £0.005? Not even a close contest, is it? Jacqui Cheng of Infinite Loop writes about a huge disparity between UK music services. iTunes just totally pwns the competition when it comes to artist and label payments. Cheng links to this Macworld story which suggests that iTunes is doing a far better job of getting money to artists than many other online music stores. If I were a struggling UK musician (as opposed to a person who can merely carry a tune in a bucket, or perhaps two buckets) I know where I'd spend my marketing dollars and which service I'd be promoting the hell out of.
Apple to iTunes partners: feel free to drop your DRM as well
According to notices that Apple has been purportedly been sending around to its various content partners for the iTunes store, it doesn't seem like EMI will be alone in its newfound DRM-free status for long. "Many of you have reached out to iTunes to find out how you can make your songs available higher quality and DRM-free. Starting next month, iTunes will begin offering higher-quality, DRM-free music and DRM-free music videos to all customers." While not terribly clear, this seems to imply that anyone who wants to -- and we know plenty of indie labels have expressed interest -- can opt for high-bitrate and DRM-free versions of their content when iTunes launches the option next month. We would hope that labels would also have the option to ban DRM altogether, even on 99 cent songs, but it seems unlikely at this point.
Found Footage: Organizing Files with Labels and Smart Folders
To be honest I've never really gotten the Finder's colored labels. That is to say, I've never really understood how to use them to good effect. However, this video tutorial from Living With Mac convinced me I need to take another look at the usefulness of labels, particularly when combined with Smart Folders. The idea is rather simple, but also potentially powerful. Label your files for different project names, or with different status designations (e.g. "needs to be finished", "waiting for" (some other information or person), "archive") then create Smart Folders that search for those labels. That way your files can remain in appropriate (hierarchical) folders, yet can be temporarily grouped according to status, project, etc. As mentioned in the video, this can also be a good way of "Getting Things Done." I'll warn you the video is perhaps a little under-rehearsed, but nonetheless it has some great tips you can use right now.
Verbatim adds background color to LightScribe discs
Nothing adds a dash of holiday cheer like a little color to brighten things up, or at least that's the mantra Verbatim is banking on you believing as it "ramps up shipments" of its recently-unveiled LightScribe-compatible CD-Rs. While we figured color would come this way awhile back, we were honestly hoping for actual color etching technology to be a part of LightScribe by now, but we guess a spindle of "red, green, blue, yellow and orange discs" will have to suffice for the time being. Notably, these discs utilize the same ole LightScribe burner you've already got, but adding color silkscreens to your laser drawings certainly won't prove cheap, as these stocking stuffers will run you $19.99 for a 25-pack.[Via Chip Chick]
RIAA petitions to lower artist royalties, weakens piracy arguments
Sure, the RIAA hasn't exactly been on the good side of the general public since, oh, this century began, but it sure isn't doing itself any favors with this latest hint of persuasion. While the agency has fought grandmothers, children, and cash-strapped citizens quite vigorously to "ensure artists are getting due payment," it has seemingly opened up a chink in its own armor by pleading with judges to "lower artist royalties." While we fully understand the need to keep pirates at bay, leading us on to believe that the RIAA was actually acting in the (gasp) artist's best interest was dodgy to say the least, as its currently petitioning the panel of federal government Copyright Royalty Judges to "lower the rates paid to publishers and songwriters for the use of lyrics and melodies in applications like cellphone ringtones and other digital recordings." The RIAA's executive VP and General Counsel Steven Marks even went so far as to proclaim his hopes that rates would be reevaluated so "record companies can continue to create the sound recordings that drive revenues for music publishers." We're surely not ones to judge a man's character (nor an album by its jacket), but it doesn't seem that the dear ole musicians are really the ones atop the RIAA's list of concerns, now does it?[Thanks, Nimro]
Hey Folders! adds colored folders to Finder
Hey Folders! is a handy utility from the maker of Mail.Appetizer that extends the Finder's colored label feature to labeled folders themselves. As you can see, the entire folder icon takes on the color of the label, though files (fortunately) do not receive the colored overlay treatment (I wager that would result in some really funky looking icons). Hey Folders! requires a small amount of manual work to get it to start with each login, however, as you simply need to add it to your startup items if you want it to augment your finder 24/7 (it's a background process known as a daemon; it won't appear in the dock or menubar - only in a process list like Activity Monitor). Full instructions are listed at the Hey Folders! site. Note: at the moment, Hey Folders! is PPC only, but the developer told me a Universal Binary version is 'coming soon.'Hey Folders! is offered as freeware from Bronson Beta.
Jobs close to winning iTMS pricing war?
The New York Post is reporting that the record companies "might be on the verge" of finally throwing in the towel on the fight for variable pricing in the iTMS. The labels are reportedly pulling out all the stops, with some executives even telling the Post that they are considering allowing their label's deal to simply run out so they could pull their catalog from the store. With neither side backing down, and the subscription model not even an option in Jobs' eyes, it sounds like things might get interesting soon as every label's contract is due for renewal within the next couple of months. Oddly, the Post forgot to mention that, even with the current iTMS flat-rate $.99/song model, the labels are already raking in far more cash with each song and album sold than with traditional CDs.While Engadget sounds like they're clamoring for an iTMS subscription model that revokes your entire library the moment you decide to cancel service, I have to say I'm hopeful that Jobs can successfully stick it to the labels and make them deal with a pricing model that actual *gasp* favors consumers. Stay tuned for more iTMS drama as it unfolds.
Sirius in the clear for S50 sales
After a little legal scare with the four major music labels, Sirius can finally market its S50 music player without fear of legal consequences. The labels had argued that the player's recording capabilities were a violation of previous agreements, and had threatened to take Sirius to court to halt the sale of the player. EMI was the last to come around, just giving their blessing today, following Warner, Vivendi and Sony-BMG who agreed to the player last month. Unfortunately, things still sound tense between Sirius and the labels. No details of the agreement have been divulged, but it only applies to the S50 for now, and with XM and Sirius coming up for renewal of their music licenses, neither are out of the woods yet.
