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Jay Z's bid to buy a Spotify competitor is back on (update: done!)
You might be expecting a riff on one of Jay Z's lyrics to preface the news that stockholders have apparently approved Hova's bid for music-streaming outfit Aspiro. Sorry, it's not happening; instead, the excellent photo above will just have to suffice. Anyhow, with today's looming deadline to make a decision, Swedish news outlet E24 reports that Aspiro's minority shareholders have decided it was best to accept the 464 million Krona (roughly $56 million) bid from S. Carter Enterprises' "Project Panther." Next up? Most likely, an official announcement from both parties and then something from a governing trade body saying that the sale's been approved. If you need something to do until then, you could always dig an old Samsung phone out of the drawer, fire up the Magna Carta app and remind yourself of Jay's last streaming move. Update (3/13): Jay Z's Project Panther Bidco announced today that it acquired enough shares to take over Aspiro. [Image credit: Getty Images]
Jay Z might not get his own Spotify rival after all
Jay Z's purchase of Tidal, the streaming service with better audio quality than rivals like Spotify, is not a fait accompli after all. Over 10 percent of investors in Swedish owner Aspiro have rejected the bid, enough to block the sale. The minority shareholders association said that so far, Jay Z hasn't responded by either acquiring a smaller share, raising his bid or withdrawing it altogether, adding that "the motive for the bidder's passivity is shrouded in mystery." The group rejected the $56 million offer despite the fact that it would have netted them a 59 percent gain at the time of the offer. Perhaps they figure they can do better, but if more investors withdraw support by the March 11th deadline, the whole thing could be null and void.
UK to build the world's first tidal lagoon power plants
It's easy to forget that it's possible to generate electricity not by burning coal or splitting atoms, but using the power of the sea. One company has thought long and hard about the process and is set to change the way Britain generates its renewable energy. Under new plans, Tidal Lagoon Power hopes to build the world's first lagoon power plants, creating six giant structures -- four of which will be built in Wales, with two in England -- that will harness powerful coastal tides and generate as much as 8 percent of the UK's total power.
Led Zeppelin's full catalog is now streaming on Rdio and Tidal (update)
The musical stylings of Jimmy Page and Robert Plant have been available on Spotify for well over a year, but now they're streaming at Rdio and Tidal, too. Led Zeppelin's entire decade-spanning catalog includes the 40th anniversary deluxe edition of Physical Graffiti from both music repositories. If you prefer Tidal's hi-fi option, the company says this the first time the legendary rock band's work has been available for lossless streaming. And if you're looking for a place to start, Tidal has a nice synopsis of all of those albums right here. Update: Deezer, Rhapsody and Slacker, too! [Image credit: Heinrich Klaffs/Flickr]
Jay Z is buying Spotify rival Tidal for $56 million
So this is something. The Scandinavian press is buzzing right now with the news that Jay Z is buying the Norwegian company behind the high-quality music streaming service Tidal. The rapper and entrepreneur made a 464 million Krona (roughly $56 million) bid which the company's reviewing board has already reviewed. It's recommending all its shareholders accept the offer.
Qualcomm's universal media streaming comes to SoundCloud
Qualcomm's AllPlay universal media streaming hasn't had quite as much traction as technologies like DLNA or Apple's AirPlay, but it's definitely gaining some momentum in the new year. The mobile chip maker has unveiled a new round of both hardware and service partners that will let you use AllPlay, some of which you'll definitely recognize. Both SoundCloud and Tidal plan to offer support later this year, making sure that you can hear remixes, podcasts and pristine-sounding songs on a wide range of networked speakers and stereos. Chinese and Korean listeners, meanwhile, will be happy to know that QQ Music and KT Music are also on deck.
Tidal brings pristine streaming music to nearly every device you own
You can already check out Deezer Elite if you want high-quality streaming music, but it's only available on Sonos devices. That's not very useful when you're away from home, is it? Thankfully, Aspiro has stepped in to fill that void with a far more accessible service, Tidal. The offering brings lossless internet tunes to Android, iOS, the web and seemingly every networked media player on the planet; the company has deals to support gear from 34 home audio companies, including Sonos and Denon. Tidal also has a few incentives to come back besides new albums, including articles, music videos and a Shazam-style song recognition feature. You can give Tidal a spin today, but be prepared to cough up some cash for that no-compromise sound. It costs $20 per month in the US (£20 in the UK), or about twice as much as many run-of-the-mill services.
US launches first commercial tidal power project this summer, Maine to reap moon's gravitational benefits
Solar may be the green energy source that's been hogging the headlines lately, but there are other fossil-fuel free ways that can help meet society's electrical needs. One of these is tidal power, and the US is set to start harnessing the ocean's electricity-generating potential this summer with the TidGen Cobscook Bay project -- the first such commercial project in the States. Located just off the coast of Eastport, Maine, turbines will be placed in 50-100 feet deep water to take advantage of the 100 billion tons of water that flow in and out of Cobscook Bay each day. When the project goes live, it'll feed into the public power grid and generate enough juice to power between 75 and 100 homes, and the plan is to eventually install enough turbines to generate 3MW of power -- which should cover the needs of over 1,000 homes and businesses. There's more info, plus plenty of political self-congratulation in the source below.
Inhabitat's Week in Green: self-sustaining airships, turbine base jumpers, and the Sahara's solar oasis
Each week our friends at Inhabitat recap the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us -- it's the Week in Green. This week opened with the exciting news that Norway and Jordan signed an agreement create a flourishing solar oasis in the scorching Sahara Desert. India also made waves as they announced the first tidal plant in Asia, and we took a look at a novel wind power tech that eschews noisy turbines for piezoelectric pads. We also rounded up our favorite wind-powered gadgets that don't blow, and you won't believe the latest extreme sport: wind turbine base jumping! In other news, green transportation took to the skies as we showcased a futuristic airship that generates its own fuel and a hydrogen-powered UAV that can stay aloft for up to a week. Meanwhile, back on earth we heard several major auto manufactures make exciting announcements as Chevrolet unveiled tech that could double the Volt's battery life and Toyota pulled back the curtain on an upgraded electric motor that requires less rare earth metals. This week we also shined a light on the world of energy-efficient illumination with our Green Lighting 101 guide, and we were blinded by the brilliance of Mischer Traxler's repurposed Relumine desk lamps. Finally, from the realm of wearable tech we brought you the solar-powered Androcell backpack that backs up your data, and we tested a handy alphabet flash card app for tech-savvy tots.
DMC's 5-inch Copia color e-reader landing this fall for $99, others to follow
It's fairly safe to say that DMC Worldwide's Copia e-reader family won't exactly make that estimated Spring 2010 ship date, but a new report over at The Wall Street Journal is cluing us in on a bit of a revised outlook. As of now, the first Copia suite of e-readers will "hit stores this fall in time for the holiday season," a suite that'll presumably include the 5-inch color (LCD) Wave 5 for $99, a 7-inch Wave 7 for $129, a 10-inch Ocean Color for $299 and a pair of E Ink-based options for $49 (Tidal) / $159 (Tidal WiFi). It doesn't seem as if the two Waves will include any sort of wireless connectivity, and given the LCD display, we're sure that battery life will be nowhere near as good as the marginally-more-expensive Kindle. That said, the user interface does look rather striking from afar, and if these manage to slip a bit further in price before that magical day in December, you could very well see a rush to stuff stockings with a member of this here family. Give those links below a poke if you're on the prowl for more detailed specifications.
Copia promises to blend e-books and social networking into set of new readers
Brace yourself, more e-readers on your way! First up the open platform: DMC Worldwide announces Copia, a social networking / e-book store hybrid that's gearing up hit private beta status this month and public beta in March. With that out of the way, let's talk hardware. Lower on the list of gear is the keyboard-laden Tidal with a 6-inch, 600 x 800 screen and 2GB internal storage. Just above that is the Tidal Touch with a 9-inch, 768 x 1024 screen, earphone / mic jack, 4GB internal upgradeable to microSD. And then we've got Ocean, which comes in 6-inch (600 x 800 pixels) and 9-inch (768 x 1024 pixels) variants and both feature capacitive touchscreens, 802.11b/g WiFi, tilt sensors, 4GB internal storage expandable via microSD, and some form of earphone / mic jack. Both Tidal Touch and Ocean 9 have optional 3G connectivity (that in the process halves internal storage to 2GB and nixing the microSD slot). Prices reportedly range between two and three Benjamins and will hit availability status online in April, followed by retail in June. Presser? You guessed right, it's after the break. %Gallery-81650%
How would your DS fare ... in a volcano?
That's one of the many tough questions Robert Falcon asks over at modojo.com. He decided to analyze the DS and PSP's ability to survive various natural disasters, including floods, earthquakes, and blizzards. Keep in mind that if your DS Lite somehow manages to find its way into a pit of boiling lava, you need to take pictures so we can post them. Seriously, that stuff is blogging gold.On a slightly more serious tack, has anyone had a DS or DS Lite miraculously survive when it had no right doing so? Let us know![Thanks, Justin!]
