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Music

Apple now has all major labels on board for Apple Radio launch

After more than year of off-and-on negotiations, Apple has now reached deals with all three major music labels, making it increasingly likely that Apple will unveil its free Internet radio service at next week's WWDC event.

The latest deal is with Sony Music, according to industry sources who said the two sides struck a deal Friday morning. Sony had been the lone holdout of the three major music labels, haggling over some details that frustrated execs at the other labels. The world's largest label, Universal Music, was the first to sign on, followed by Warner Music and its publishing arm, Warner/Chappell. … Read more

Justin Bieber to go where no teen singer has gone before

Should you have spent recent weeks obsessing over a strange clicking noise on your Verizon phone, you might not know that Justin Bieber has not been having the most stellar of times.

There's his allegedly on-off-on-maybe-who-knows relationship with Selena Gomez. There was the lassitude in appearing on stage for concerts.

And then he even allegedly fainted backstage.

Now is the time to offer some good news to beleaguered Beliebers. For Justin is to be sent into space.… Read more

Samsung GS4 ad shows how to hold baby and watch LeBron

This is perhaps an even greater philosophical question than: "Why do some people consider cheerleading a sport?"

For today we must consider how to hold a baby and watch the NBA Finals at the same time.

Should we turn on our televisions and hold the baby with both arms? Or does modern man hold his large-screened cell phone in one hand, while cradling baby in the other?

Samsung has a position on this. For its new Galaxy S4 ad insists on the latter pose as the ideal for both man and baby.

This ad, a follow-up to one released on MondayRead more

Singer-songwriter Kelly Rowland's favorite tech

In this week's episode of Hooked Up, Kevin Frazier hangs out with Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and former Destiny's Child member Kelly Rowland at the Kimberly Hotel in New York City. She talks about how she navigates the music world using tech and how tools like SoundCloud have allowed her to give fans a preview of her upcoming album, "Talk A Good Game."

Kelly also talks about connecting with her millions of social media followers, sharing candid moments with Tumblr and Instagram, and her hi-tech watch line for TW Steel.

Also, CNET Editor Brian Tongs breaks … Read more

Bose SoundLink Mini: Tiny $200 Bluetooth speaker delivers big sound (hands-on)

There's a new portable Bluetooth speaker in town -- and it's got the Jawbone Jambox and its wireless brethren squarely in its sights.

Bose today introduced the SoundLink Mini, a $200 wireless speaker that's considerably smaller and less expensive than the company's earlier Bluetooth offering, the SoundLink Bluetooth Mobile Speaker II. That model retails for $300 to $350, depending on whether you opt for a nylon or leather cover flap.

The svelte speaker is 2x7.1x2.3 inches, and it's a looker. The frame is a unibody aluminum enclosure that surrounds tiny stereo drivers at … Read more

QuietComfort 20: Bose introduces its first in-ear headphones with active noise cancellation (hands-on)

Bose has been a go-to choice for noise-canceling headphones since the company's original QuietComfort headphones debuted in 2000. But even as the design has moved from over-the-ear (QC3) to on-ear (QC15), they've remained full-size models -- reasonably travel-friendly, but still somewhat bulky if you're crammed into a coach seat.

But now Bose is shrinking its noise-canceling offering into a much smaller form: the new QuietComfort 20 model. They're the company's first in-ear headphones with active noise cancellation. The QuietComfort 20 headphones will cost $299.95 when they debut later this summer; an iPhone-friendly 20i model … Read more

Why you should always read the small print from Facebook

Please imagine you were to spend Saturday enjoying a little reading on the beach and then, perhaps, a couple of drinks.

Please imagine you decided to waft down to Northern California's Half Moon Bay and wandered into an establishment called Sam's Chowder House.

You may or may not have been with someone you shouldn't have been escorting. Still, you hoped for a little privacy, a little quiet time to contemplate life's ideas and people (small and large), while staring out at the ocean.

You may not have noticed the little yellow signs on the door of … Read more

Dear Apple, is wearing a watch really natural?

Most of us spend our lives sliding on a scale between impossible and gullible.

We're sometimes persuaded so easily, yet, at others, even the most accepted pieces of information can't penetrate our obstinacy.

No, I'm not thinking about global warming, Sharon Stone, or the New York Yankees. I'm musing on this supposed iWatch that Apple may or may not ever create, produce, market or give away as a free gift at Christmas with the purchase of two pink iPhones.

In his epically stoic performance at D11, Apple CEO Tim Cook offered that while Google Glass was &… Read more

Apple reaches iRadio deal with Warner Music, suggesting WWDC launch

Apple struck a licensing deal Sunday with both Warner Music Group and its publishing arm, Warner Chappell, bringing Apple's free Internet radio product that much closer to launching, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

The deal suggests that Apple is working hard to unveil what's been dubbed iRadio at its Worldwide Developers Conference, which begins June 10.

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr declined to comment.

Warner is the first of the major labels to reach deals for both recorded music and publishing, sources say.

Apple last month reached a deal to license music from Universal Music, the world'… Read more

Woz: Apple's tax practices are stinky

Steve Wozniak thinks like Mitt Romney.

Well, a little. It's not that he quite believes corporations are people too. It's more that he thinks corporations should be taxed like people too.

Corporations like Apple, for example.

At a conference in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Woz told Sky News on Thursday: "Criticism of Apple's tax policies is extremely warranted, in my mind, but my explanation is rather long and difficult."

It's a pity he wasn't asked to testify before the Senate last week. Its members seemed to have all day to listen to Tim Cook. … Read more