Zune

Locking up and turning into bricks!

Call it the Zunepocolypse. Call it Y2K 9 years late. 

Chances are, though, if you’ve got a Zune 30, it’s a doorstop. 

Here’s Microsoft’s official word:

We were made aware of a widespread issue facing owners of Zune 30 devices this morning.  We have a technical team working hard to isolate the issue right now and will update everyone as much as possible.  Thanks for your patience while we get to the bottom of this.

Got a Zune? Feel free to vent about it in the comments!

Sony today announced the release of musika, an original music visualizer game, on the iTunes Store for play on Apple’s fifth generation iPod.

musika creates beautiful visuals using the title of any song. Users can play along by pressing the center button in time with the letters in the song’s name to advance to more difficult levels displaying different visual effects.

musika was created by NanaOn-Sha President Masaya Matsuura, the creative force behind the music video game ‘PaRappa the Rapper’ for the original PlayStation. The title has been developed in collaboration with Method Solutions for the iPod.

“The iPod is a device that revolutionized music and it is now poised to be a progressive gaming platform,” said Masaya Matsuura, President of NanaOn-Sha. “Many years ago Apple’s tools first opened my eyes to the power of music and multimedia, so it’s exciting to release my first game for this device.”

musika is now available for purchase through the iTunes(R) Store for $4.99.
 

Based on what I’ve seen, it looks seriously droolworthy.

This is what cell phones are going to look like in five years, intelligently combining mobile features with music and Internet services. It’s too bad we’ll have to wait five years for something like this to be affordable, though.

The iPhone combines three products — a mobile phone, a widescreen iPod with touch controls, and a cutting-edge Internet communications device. Based on what we’ve seen so far, it looks like it will redefine the state of the art of both mobile phones and MP3 players.

While the iPhone’s price ($499 plus a 2-year contract) may put it out of the reach of many musicians, it’s clear that the technology is something that musicians will have to face. Digital music is becoming more important than ever, as is mobile technology, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the technology in the iPhone is copied by other manufacturers within a few years.

The iPhone has been one of the most hyped new product introductions in recent years, but, in this case, it looks like the technology really is revolutionary.

Here’s Apple’s ad introducing the iPhone:

Apple

The billionth song Speed of Sound was purchased as part of Coldplay’s X&Y album by Alex Ostrovsky from West Bloomfield, Michigan. He will receive a 20-inch iMac, 10 fifth generation iPods and a $10,000 gift card good for any item on the iTunes Music Store. In addition, Apple will establish a scholarship to the world-renowned Juilliard School of Music in his name to commemorate this milestone.

“I hope that every customer, artist and music company executive takes a moment today to reflect on what we’ve achieved together during the past three years,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Over one billion songs have now been legally purchased and downloaded around the globe, representing a major force against music piracy and the future of music distribution as we move from CDs to the Internet.”

Hype or not, Apple’s milestone demonstrates both the increasing importance of digital downloads to the world of music, and the domination the company has achieved of this market.

The Mayo Clinic warns that portable music devices put your hearing at risk.

“With the older devices, like the Walkman, if you turned them up all the way, they sounded very bad, so people didn’t do it. Now, they don’t sound bad at maximum volume, and that could pose a problem,” says Jodi Cook, Ph.D., director of the hearing aid program at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Apple

“iPod nano is the biggest revolution since the original iPod,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “iPod nano is a full-featured iPod in an impossibly small size, and it’s going to change the rules for the entire portable music market.”

The iPod nano features an portable, lightweight design with a color screen, Apple’s Click Wheel and the ability to hold 1,000 songs or 25,000 photos.

The iPod nano is available immediately in a 4GB model priced at just $249 and a 2GB model priced at just $199, with both models available in white or black designs.

The iPod nano features optional accessories including lanyard headphones, which integrate the headphone cables into the lanyard, so users can wear their iPod nano around their neck without dangling headphone cables. For customers looking to personalize their iPod nano with colors, an optional set of iPod nano Tubes in pink, purple, blue, green and clear offers protection in a sheer casing while enabling full operation of all functions including the Click Wheel. Optional armbands available in gray, pink, blue, red and green allow users to wear their iPod nano as the ultimate fashion and sports accessory.

iPod nano features the same 30-pin dock connector as the iPod and iPod mini, allowing it to work with a wide range of over 1,000 accessories developed for iPod, including home stereo speakers and iPod car adapters for an incredible music experience at home or in the car.

iPod nano features up to 14 hours battery life* and completely skip-free playback, as well as new stopwatch, world clock and screen lock applications.

Pricing & Availability

The 4GB and 2GB white and black models of iPod nano for Mac or Windows are available worldwide immediately for a suggested retail price of $249 (US) and $199 (US), through the Apple Store, Apple’s retail stores and Apple Authorized Resellers. All iPod nano models include earbud headphones, a USB 2.0 cable and a CD with iTunes for Mac and Windows computers.

New optional accessories designed for iPod nano with the following suggested retail prices include: Lanyard headphones for $39 (US), armbands in five colors each for $29 (US), dock for $29 (US) and a set of iPod nano Tubes in five different colors for $29 (US) and will be available within the next 30 days.

iPod nano requires a Mac with a USB 2.0 port and Mac OS® X version 10.3.4 or later and iTunes 4.9 (or later); or a Windows PC with a USB 2.0 port and Windows 2000, XP Home or Professional (SP2) and iTunes 4.9 (or later).