press

Firm ditches Facebook for Twitter, claims clicks are bots

Limited Run has a Facebook Page called Limited Pressing, but not for long. After becoming frustrated with Facebook advertising, as well as Facebook itself, the firm has decided to ditch its Facebook Page altogether.

Via a Facebook post, Limited Run announced the plan to delete its Facebook Page "in the next couple of weeks" and explained why. In advance of relaunching its service as Limited Run (previously known as Limited Pressing, as you can see above), which allows labels, musicians, and artists to create their own stores for selling digital and physical products, the company started to experiment … Read more

AP offers subscribers music through Audiosocket

Indie music and the Associated Press -- it's an odd couple, all right. But the AP is launching a new effort aimed at letting its subscribers use contemporary music as soundtracks or background.

Those who use the AP's photo library will now have access to original music via an agreement with Audiosocket, the two companies announced. AP Images, AP's photo licensing unit, will let customers download music for use in creative projects using the digital music licensing company's platform.

Audiosocket President Jenn Miller said the partnership allows content producers to use music that is contemporary and … Read more

Low Latency No. 28: Tablet tease

Microsoft's press conference earlier this week reminded us a lot of what Apple has perfected -- the dramatic press conference. However, after the lights went off, we still had plenty of questions about what the new Microsoft Surface tablets were going to cost and when we could buy them. If Microsoft is using the Apple Playbook, they may have skipped a page or two.

Love it or hate it, Apple has all but mastered the art of the press conference. It's not that they use fancy graphics or a laser-light show, it's mostly because they answer a lot of questions and perhaps most importantly, begin selling the product right away. Cashing in on the excitement of a new product and then allowing the public to buy it immediately is something no other company really does, so it'll be interesting to see if the Surface hype is still churning once it's finally ready to be sold. … Read more

Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know

Note to readers: I originally published the article back in 2008 and have updated it a few times, most recently on June 13, 2012. This article primarily addresses self-publishing a print book, though many of the tips apply to e-books as well. For specific information about publishing an e-book, see my companion article, " How to self-publish an ebook."

I know, I know. This is a column about cutting-edge electronics. So, apologies to gadget-heads as I take a brief sojourn into the land of self-publishing, which has become a lot more high-tech than a lot of people realize.

A few years ago I wrote a book. A novel. "Knife Music." Contrary to what you might think based on my day job, it's not a cyber-thriller, though it is a mystery/thriller with a medical/legal slant.

Its short history is this: I worked on it for several years, acquired a high-powered agent, had some brushes with major publishers, then, crickets.

I could have tried to go for a small publisher, but I was told mine was "a bigger book" with more commercial aspirations and prestigious small publishers were interested in more literary tomes. I also learned that many small publishers were being wiped out by the "self-publishing revolution," a movement that's not so unlike the "citizen journalism" or bloggers' revolt of recent years that's had a major impact on mainstream media, including this publication. The basic premise is anyone can become a small publisher. You call the shots. You retain the rights to your book. And you take home a bigger royalty than you'd normally get from a traditional publisher--if you sell any books. … Read more

Windows Phone swag store full of baby onesies, beer glasses

Apple fans have long had plenty of outlets for displaying their brand loyalty, perhaps most noticeably through Apple logo stickers on the back windows of their Subaru Foresters. Now Windows Phone fans can get in on the nerd pride action with clothes and accessories from the online Windows Phone Gear Store.

The Windows Phone logo done up in the style of an "I heart..." message is available on everything from a large Thermos bottle to an infant bodysuit. You can never be too young for brand loyalty. … Read more

Witness the maturation of Xbox Kinect

LOS ANGELES--If you thought Microsoft's motion-sensing controllerless technology Kinect was going to take a back seat this year, you were wrong. In the minutes leading up to the press conference's start, I first noticed a trio of Kinect sensors slyly facing the stage. It would be a telling premonition of what was in store for the world's fastest-selling electronic gadget.

But while Kinect has garnered more groans than praise in recent months, Microsoft's press conference demonstrated somewhat of a maturation for the motion-control initiative. Whereas Kinect functionality initially seemed forced upon software that didn't necessarily need it, a few interesting implementations may have skeptics turning into believers.… Read more

What to expect from Sony at E3 2012

Coming off what many think was the "winning" press conference at E3 2011, Sony will take the stage Monday night to tell the world what the future holds for the company behind the PlayStation 3.

What's up with the Vita? Without a doubt, last year's shining moment had to be the official debut of the PlayStation Vita, which impressed us on numerous levels, from its performance to its launch lineup. But now that the dust has settled, the Vita hasn't seen much action in terms of high-profile releases and feature additions. … Read more

Where did Flashback start? Blame the blogosphere

The Flashback outbreak has been one of the largest to hit the Mac platform to date, and while some estimates claim the number of Flashback-infected OS X systems has been swiftly dropping since its peak of 600,000 systems on around April 9, others suggest this may not be the case and the infection rate remains relatively high.

This development along with several other recent malware scams in the past few years has been a wake-up call for Mac users to mind their security; however, the security of the Mac platform and even others extends beyond the computer itself.

When … Read more

Comcast has some Xplaining to do

What do you get when you cross Xbox with Xfinity? A double-X rating for obscene power grabs in the video market? Or at least a double-extra-large helping of questions about the potential impact on consumers?

Whatever the answer, it's easy to see why Comcast's recent data-cap announcement set off a flurry of Internet chatter. A week ago Monday, the company said that it would not count Xfinity content viewed on Xbox 360s against customers' monthly data caps. Comcast justified its decision by suggesting at first that the Xfinity content was a streaming-video option exempt from Open Internet considerations. … Read more