February 08, 2006, 5:38 PM PST
Razr on the cheap
Posted by: Kent German

Remember when the Motorola Razr V3 cost more than a plane ticket to Hawaii? Back in late 2004 when Cingular first introduced the phone, it could charge anything it wanted. And Cingular did, demanding a whopping $449. Of course, that didn't stop droves of people from buying the phone, and it soon topped the cell phone charts. Well, now, just over a year later, T-Mobile now has a buy-one-get-one-free offer. For just $199, you can get two Razrs, either the magenta or silver model. Good things come to those who wait.

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February 08, 2006, 4:31 PM PST
Million Dollar Homepage guy's only on minute 14
Posted by: Molly Wood

Alex Tew, creator and profit-reaper of the Million Dollar Homepage, is busy insisting that he has other ventures going that are much more substantive than pixel-by-pixel ad sales. Dude, who cares about substantive ideas? You just made a million dollars off poker, porn, and loan-shark ads! Onward into the abyss!

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February 08, 2006, 4:28 PM PST
Showtime shows show up on iTunes
Posted by: Molly Wood

Wow, premium content on iTunes! The Showtime Networks shows Sleeper Cell, Weeds, and Fat Actress are now available for download on iTunes for the nonpremium show price of $1.99. Next up: Skinemax?

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February 08, 2006, 3:57 PM PST
Long arm of the law smacks into the Net
Posted by: Molly Wood

Congress: Hey, wow, guys, this Internet thing turned out to be a lot bigger than we thought it would be when we wrote the Telecommunications Act of 1996! Maybe we should, like, update our legislation to encompass current issues and business concerns!
Internet: Oh, no.

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February 08, 2006, 1:54 PM PST
Songbird, the "open source iTunes killer"
Posted by: James Kim

The preview version of Songbird, an open-source alternative to DRM-laden jukeboxes such as iTunes and Windows Media Player, launched today and is available at songbirdnest.com. Boing Boing has more information, including an interview with Rob Lord, team leader of the Songbird project; here's a mirror site for the 7MB-plus Songbird download.

We like the prospect of a do-it-all audio jukebox in the open-source space with its focus being free of any DRM rules or restrictions. The minimal interface reminds us of iTunes but with more options and choices. The source list includes a folder of current online music stores such as Connect, Amazon, eMusic, and so on, as well as good sources for podcasts and radio stations. A couple of missing ingredients: video support and a graphical equalizer. It will surely get better and more useful over time. Currently, the software is available for Windows only.

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February 08, 2006, 1:06 PM PST
The iPod and world domination
Posted by: Jasmine France

I came across the unusual speaker system pictured at left while perusing TechDigest, a U.K.-based site that has a witty way with words. There's nothing particularly striking about the iPal speaker system other than its weird design, but the article itself caught my eye. It humorously pokes fun at the iPod monopoly. Remember when we American capitalists used to think monopolies were a bad thing? Based on the raucous cheers during the Macworld keynote at the news that iTunes enjoys an 83 percent market share, I gather we've grown rather passive about this whole monopoly thing. Ah well...what is one to expect when multimedia corporations and communications conglomerates are merging left and right? (By the way, AT&T, I'm still going to call it Pac Bell.)

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February 08, 2006, 10:25 AM PST
Sony prices and dates Blu-ray discs, DVD/UMD bundles
Posted by: David Rudden

Sony released some pricing details yesterday on its studio titles for the upcoming Blu-ray format. New releases will retail for $23.45, while catalog titles, such as the Van Damme-Rodman classic Double Team will sell for $17.95. Also of note is Sony's plan to bundle DVDs with its UMD (Sony's proprietary PSP disc) counterpart. The combos will work out to $28.95, which is considerably cheaper than the $40-plus you'd have to pay to buy them separately. Sony is considering applying the combo ethic to Blu-ray as well, likely depending on how well the current-gen ones fare at retail. Expect to see Blu-ray titles hit store shelves in the summer and the first wave of DVD/UMD combos on March 28.

Source: CNET News

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