Research firm Ipsos has released a new study on the digital music industry, the results of which position Apple as the leader. Some 82 percent of American music downloaders are familiar with iTunes, versus a next-best figure of 76 percent for Napster. Some 38 percent of downloaders think of iTunes first when it comes to digital music, and while most major online outlets have had their name recognition increase during 2007, only iTunes showed a substantial growth in use past the first 30 days, up to 24 percent last year from 18 percent in 2006. Services such as Rhapsody and Walmart.com saw their 30-day-plus use decrease.

The number of people who view iTunes as the best music service increased from 41 to 50 percent, giving it overwhelming dominance, as Napster remained in second place despite miniscule popularity of just 10 percent.

Of note is that the social networking site MySpace, which has featured free music streaming and downloads for some time, has seen its popularity decline despite an increasing number of people being aware of its existence. The company recently announced the beginnings of MySpace Music, a site which will put tracks from Warner, Universal and Sony BMG up for commercial sale.

via http://www.ipodnn.com/articles/08/04/08/ipsos.hard.grip.by.itunes/

Back in 2005 I was suddenly (and inexplicably) struck by the urge to see if I could modify a gramophone (or phonograph, as I believe it’s referred to in the US) to be compatible with devices like my mp3 player or anything else that takes a 3.5mm jack. On investigating, I found a reproduction gramophone for sale on Ebay for £30 (about $50), and in a fit of ‘what-the-hell’ ended up ordering one. With the delivery of one extremely large box I had my gramophone.

Fortunately, I found I was able to produce an excellent result with far less effort or complexity than I had anticipated: if you have a few basic tools, simple components and soldering skills (oh, and a gramophone) you should have no trouble with this build. See below for my reasons and experiences, a summary of how it was built, and an analysis of the final product.

Why?

There are various ways to rationalise it - for instance, since it makes use of mechanical amplification rather than electrical, it doesn’t need batteries or a plug and saves power. In reality, though, I made it because it was fun, and because I liked the idea of adapting an archaic tool to a similar, modern problem. Plus, a gramophone horn has a certain character and style that impersonal speakers lack.

First Attempt

Unfortunately, graduation combined with my usual procrastination to mean I put off the project and eventually led to me doing a fairly shoddy job, which I was never happy with. The initial build was considerably simpler than the final version presented here; while I was thinking about how to construct it, a friend pointed out that the size of a headphone speaker that I’d dissected was roughly equal to the size of the opening to which the soundbox is normally attached. The quick application of some copper tape, araldite and silver paint later and I had a very basic working system. The problem was, it looked pretty ugly (I’d done my bets to sculpt the araldite, but it still looked remarkably like a blob), and the volume left a lot to be desired.

Not being particually proud of the result, it was only a matter of time before I decided to try again. Step one involved several hours with a heavy file to remove the araldite and everything else I’d added, which put me back at the starting point determined to do a better job.

Design and Build

For my proper design, I decided to focus on modifying the soundbox. The way the model of gramophone I have works is that the the record turns, causing a needle held in a groove to vibrate. These vibrations pass up the needle to the soundbox. Inside the soundbox, the end of the needle’s holder is connected to a thin metallic membrane about 4cm across; this is the first stage of amplification, as the vibrating needle causes the membrane to vibrate as well, producing faint sound waves which are amplified by the resonant quality of the small metal casing around the vibrating membrane. The soundbox is connected to the brass horn of the gramophone, which further resonates and amplifies the sound into what is that is then projected into the room.

My gramophone came with an HMV soundbox, the top plate of which is held on by three small screws. Removing these gave access to the inside, which I proceeded to gut, removing the tympanic membrane and snapping off the needle holder by wiggling it back and forth until the metal fatigued and broke, which left me with a hollow metallic container with a somewhat jagged hole at the bottom. At this stage I did some initial tests, confirming that a speaker inside the now-empty soundbox would give me sufficient volume without any additional amplification.

Obviously, I needed something to create sound, replacing the tympanic membrane. Fortunately, Maplin sell some nice thin mylar speakers, and I found the 55mm one suited me nicely; it’s be larger than the original foil disc because it has a solid frame and sits snugly inside the soundbox (whereas the foil could only be held in place by the needle holder, not touching the sides to avoid damping any vibrations), about 5mm closer to the front than the original membrane.

The next step was to smooth and enlarge the hole through which the needle-holder had entered; it was already quite large, so it didn’t take too much work with a small file to smooth it off. I also filed down the thread on the 3.5mm mono jack I planned to use as the input, so that it fitted snugly into the soundbox, leaving the connector poking out nicely.

Since the soundbox had some fretwork at the back and I didn’t particually want the wiring to be visible, I glued a circle of kitchen foil to a larger circle of paper, and glued it to the bottom so that the metallic foil was visible through the metal fretwork. A couple of pieces of carboard glued together provided a platform on which to rest the speaker (which otherwise had a tendency to rattle inside the box when closed up).

I recommend soldering a pair of wires to the jack before soldering/glueing the jack in place (you can push them through the hole as you slide the jack in); I didn’t, which required a degree of dexterity with a hot soldering iron (and some swearing) when it came to attaching said wires. I held the jack in place with the liberal use of superglue before slotting it in, bending the arms outwards so that they would resist any force pulling the jack outwards, and adding a couple of dabs of solder to make sure it wouldn’t budge. The only thing left was to solder the wires to the speaker, screw the top back onto the soundbox, and christen the project by digging out some Elgar for the occasion.

Volume: The volume is mostly good, though not quite perfect: if you plug in an iPod you were previously listening on headphones, then the volume from a meter or so away is a little less loud than when you had the earbuds in - you need to increase the volume a couple of notches to get it back to the same level. It’s only noticeable if you’re doing a direct comparison, though; the gramophone is perfectly able to fill a room at medium volume setting, and maxing out the volume on your portable player produces a suitably impressive racket. The loss is probably due to a decrease in the resonant properties of the soundbox caused by swapping out the tympanic membrane for a speaker. Without adding electronic amplification (which would pretty much ruin the whole point), the only way to increase the volume for a given input is to change the gramophone itself - my one is a cheap reproduction; a different horn might give more volume.

Sound quality: There is a notable difference between the sound produced by the gramophone and a normal speaker; while it’s hard to characterise the exact difference the music from the gramophone does seem slightly ‘flatter’, perhaps because the horn is amplifying the midrange more than the extremes. It’s not unpleasant, though, and definitely gives the output its own tone.

Looks: The final product looks very fine indeed - one advantage I hadn’t anticipated is that when not plugged in the protruding jack rests on the turntable rather like the needle would in a real gramophone (though to play it it has to be turned sideways to make room to plug in a device or extension cable). The only downside is that I’ve found the jack has a tendency to scuff the felt on the turntable, which has left a small but noticeable bare patch; I’ll probably add a discreet piece of plastic to rest it on at some point.

Extensions

Since I’m happy with the result I probably won’t make any modifications beyond this (though I can’t quite rule out a completely new project including a music player build into the base with some sort of archaic display and controls). There were a couple of ideas I had during the build that I discarded as unnecessary that others might want to incorporate:

Active Amplification: When I first started, I was concerned that I might not be able to get the volume I needed for a practical build (particularly with my original setup, where a portable music player needed to be turned up to its maximum volume to get a respectable sound out of the thing). If this had proved to be the case I anticipated adding a small amplifier inside the case, pulling the recharging component from a cheap wind-up torch or radio to power the amplifier (since the turntable is wound up with a detachable crank slotting in through the side). Fortunately it wasn’t necessary, so I didn’t have to dismantle the beautiful clockwork turntable drive.

Volume Control: Until quite a late stage I toyed with including a simple volume control sticking out of the back out the soundbox using a potentiometer. While it would have been a simple addition in the end I decided it was unnecessary since I’d just keep it turned to maximum (and none of the potentiometers I had on hand had a narrow enough knob to fit through the grill).

Conclusion

Overall I’m very pleased with the piece - it looks great, works well and was a very simple build, all things considered. One advantage this design has is that because only the soundbox has been modified it can be used with any gramophone sized to take an HMV soundbox without any need for modification or damage. The only problem now is that it’s pretty big, and takes up rather a lot of space in my flat.

via  http://www.r-hansen.com/tech/gram.html

Investment research firm Piper Jaffray today held a conference call regarding teenage spending habits and statistics, which brought to light several figures about Apple devices and services. Of the students surveyed, the report found that 87-percent owned an MP3 player, and of those, 86-percent are iPod owners. This also reflected in the students’ choice of music store, with iTunes sitting at 79-percent. The advent of other iPod-compatible music stores eroded iTunes’ share slightly from 89-percent.About 6-percent of students polled also revealed they own an iPhone, with an additional 9-percent saying they plan to own one within six months. This indicates that the iPhone’s share has doubled from last fall, which Piper Jaffray believes could indicate that Apple will slightly exceed its goal of 10-percent market saturation.

In terms of competition, Real Networks’ Rhapsody service is used by 2-percent of students polled, while Microsoft’s Zune is the next most popular MP3 player, with 3-percent share.

via http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/04/08/apple.popular.with.teens/

We reported last month on Apple’s announcement that games on the iPhone will soon be a very accessible reality. Spore and Super Monkey Ball demos were exciting enough, but there is now video floating around of Quake 3 Arena being played on the iPod Touch, ported in its entirety by the independent game developer HermitWorks.

As the video demonstrates with a 2-player versus match, the game will utilize the accelerometer of Apple’s handheld gadgets for movement, and players will merely tap the touchscreen to shoot. Though details are currently scarce, the video has FPS and Quake fans both salivating and suspicious. While the former group exclaims through comments that this may be the greatest thing ever created period ever infinity, the latter is squinting close at their computer screens and assuring it’s a fake, merely a gameplay video someone is pantomiming the actions on.

Their reasoning is not especially convincing to the non-skeptic, however, so until further details or gamer testimonies are released I’d say it’s safe to be enthused. Unless you don’t own an iPhone or iPod Touch, in which case you should probably put your emotional stock in jealousy.

- Jillian Werner

 via http://news.gotgame.com/gamers-convulse-over-ipod-touch-quake-3/

In this episode we show you how to charge your iPod (or other mp3 player) for up to 20 minutes using electrolytes derived from Gatorade or Powerade which are then stored within the cells of an onion.

You will need:

1. 1 White onion
2. 2 cups of Gatorade
3. Screwdriver
4. iPod and USB cable

Disclaimer: This and other videos produced by HouseholdHacker are controlled experiments performed by professionals and unless you are an expert should NOT be attempted at home if you don’t know what you are doing!

via http://www.householdhacker.com/?p=7

From: www.attackr.com JeremyD  In March, Apple released the much anticipated Apple TV, which allows you to stream media files from your computer and view them on your television (along with several other features). If you don’t want to stream, you can also store the media files on the unit’s hard drive. The current price of the unit (which can be seen here) is $300. If you find that price to be a little high, but still want to be able to view your videos or listen to your music, this article is for you. To demonstrate what I’ve done, I filmed me setting it up. You watch the video if you want. Basically what I did was take a composite video cable. I’m not exactly sure what kind of video cable it is (other than that its composite), so I can’t really help you out on finding one. I can, however, offer you a picture of it.

I simply plug one end of the cable into the headphones port on my iPod and the other end (which is composite) into my TV. Plugging the composite video into your TV can be a little confusing, because you can’t plug it in like you normally do.

This diagram (click that) helps explain what cables go where in your TV. Basically, the plugs on your TV will be in this order: Red, White, Yellow. Plug the cables in this order: Yellow, White, Red. If that makes no sense to you at all….definitely check out the diagram I made. Now you’ve got the cable set up. Woo hoo go you.

Now you need to set your iPod up. Don’t worry, this doesn’t involve hacking your iPod and it won’t void your warranty. From the main screen of your iPod, go to Video. From there, go to Video Settings. Scroll to “TV Out” and make it “Ask” instead of “Off”.

Now scroll down to TV Signal and make sure its “NTSC” if you live in North America/Japan or “PAL” if you live anywhere else. If you’re not sure what setting it should be, check this out.

So after you’ve got your iPod set up, back out to Video menu and go pick a video to watch. I chose an episode of Invader Zim (as you may or may not have seen in the video I linked earlier in the article).

Before the video starts, it’ll prompt you to select either “TV On” or “TV Off”. Obviously we want “TV On”. Now turn on your TV and go to wherever you go when you use your video games, VCR, etc. (usually theres an input or game button on your remote. Hit that.)

You are now enjoying your ipod videos for free on your TV.

via  http://blogs.digitalmediaonlineinc.com/howtoripdvd/entry/20080408

Forget about MySpace. Music groups are now turning to branded search engines to reach their fans online.

By using the special search engines, fans earn points that can be redeemed for band swag, like T-shirts, posters, and autographed guitars, as well as etched iPods and other electronics, movie tickets, music, and books.

Ted Nugent fans can even win a hunting trip with the carnivorous rocker.

“It makes the bands look tech-savvy. They don’t look so old and legacy-like,” says Hab Haddad, vice president of business development at music management firm McGhee Entertainment. The firm represents Ted Nugent, Hootie and the Blowfish, and KISS, a favorite among Internet searchers, apparently.

Barry Manilow’s site is also pretty popular, says Ron Leshem, vice president of marketing at Prodege, the firm that creates and markets the sites. KISS and Manilow are each “getting a check every month in the multiple thousand-dollar range,” he says.

The KISS search site has a nice big picture of the photogenic band in all their face-painted glory, and a search box for Web, news, images, or video searches for anything your heart desires. The results are powered by Google and Ask. It gets about 20,000 unique visitors a month, according to Leshem.

You earn “Swag Bucks” as you search on the site, or any of the other approximately 80 celebrity-branded search sites, which include Beyonce, Wynonna Judd, Willie Nelson, Hilary Duff, the Indiana Pacers, the Indianapolis Colts, and New England Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss.

For 45 Swag Bucks you can get a $5 credit at Starbucks; 325 Swag Bucks gets you KISS fragrance for men; and for 2,500 Swag Bucks you can get a Gene Simmons Gold Record (Rare Production Sample).

It’s unclear how many searches you have to conduct to get a point. People tend to win about five times a day, and you can get matching Swag Bucks for referring friends, according to Leshem.

For the band management firms, signing up for a branded search site is a no-brainer. They earn, on average, 15 cents per click on a sponsored link; they get traffic to the bands’ other Web sites through a toolbar fans can install; and they get rid of promotional items from tours that are just laying around the band office, says Haddad.

I’m waiting for the Spinal Tap search site, myself

via  http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9913701-7.html?tag=nefd.top

Tansee has already updated all products,such as the product Tansee iPod Transfer can transfer songs by playlists now.
Tansee iPod Transfer -Solution for iPod!
http://www.globalshareware.com…ee-iPod-Transfer.html

An ultimate application for transferring songs and videos from your iPod to a Windows based PC, you can search songs or videos by title, artist, album, genre…

Tansee iPod Transfer is a sound of blessing for frustrated Apple’s iTune users who can’t copy music files from iPod to pc desktop or laptop since iTune blocks iPod-to-computer song transfer.

With Tansee iPod Transfer, iPod users can transfer iPod Songs to PC easily. Tansee iPod Transfer utilizes iPod’s internal database to display your iPod’s files instantly.

Tansee iPod Transfer is fully compatible with all existing iPods including iPod, iPod Photo, iPod mini, iPod shuffle, iPod nano and iPod video.

New!!! Tansee iPod Transfer can transfer songs by playlists now.Enjoy it now!

via http://www.globalshareware.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=14&threadid=143&enterthread=y

I  have just finished reading an opinion piece that, even by the lenient standards of opinion pieces, does a severe injustice to Apple, Inc.The sensationalist attack starts with the article’s title: “The Pusher of Cupertino.” The author, James Daley (who apparently works for The Independent newspaper of the U.K., though the piece appears on the MacNewsWorld Web site), goes on to speculate that Apple sabotages its iPods with software updates with the intent of disabling them.

His sources for this very serious accusation are the unfortunate iPod experiences of his wife and the anecdotal stories of friends and people on unnamed Internet forums. No facts, figures or studies, despite his claim of a “growing body of evidence.”

Daley even admits in his first sentence that “there’s no solid evidence that Apple deliberately kills iPods through software updates,” but the entire piece is predicated on the assumed truth of that allegation.

He is upset because his two-year-old iPod has started to malfunction. His wife has had several iPods, including a 30 GB fifth-generation model that went south.

Meanwhile, her iPod Nano still works fine despite being over two years old because, Daley implies, it has never been synced with a computer. According to his theory, syncing iPods exposes them to the deadly software updates.

Oddly enough, Daley says that despite his suspicions about Apple, he will almost certainly buy another iPod because he “loves” it. But he again faults Apple. The allure of the iPod has seduced him beyond reason: “Even though I know I should take my business elsewhere, it’s an addiction.”

Another 30 GB iPod his wife bought “never-used” almost immediately began having issues. “Short of it being a defective unit, the only obvious explanation was that it was struggling to get to grips with the newer software,” Daley says. How could he be certain his wife simply didn’t receive a defective unit, a considerably more obvious explanation than his software sabotage theory?

I happen to have a 30 GB fifth-generation iPod that I bought in January 2006. I sync it with my Mac frequently. I install every software update. Yet it still works.

I’m not saying my experience proves anything, but neither does Daley’s. I can’t say with certainty Apple is not sabotaging iPods to get people to replace them with new ones. After all, the company did brick unlocked iPhones. But as a journalist I’d need solid proof before I’d accuse a company of this degree of wrongdoing.

Perhaps a significant percentage of iPods do fail after two years. But how many last three years? Or four?

For that matter, what’s the failure rate of competing MP3 players? Better than Apple’s? Worse? The same? Daley offers us no data, just unsubstantiated opinion.

I too have read complaints that iPods don’t last much longer than two years, but I haven’t seen any research that gives hard numbers on what customers can expect. And I certainly have never read any suggestions that Apple is deliberately killing iPods.

There’s usually nothing wrong with offering up some opinions based on anecdotal evidence. You want to complain about the shorter-than-expected life span of your iPods, fine.

But Daley is accusing Apple of a criminal act. I think that calls for stronger facts than his wife’s conspiracy theories, his friends’ problems and some rants he read in a few Internet forums.

via http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/business/appleaday/blog/2008/04/allegation_that_apple_delibera.html

If you thought your iPod touch was expensive, then you might be in for a surprise when you learn about this gold-plated touch. David Beckham of soccer (or football as it is known in the rest of the world) fame received a golden iPod touch from his teammates after participating in his 100th national club appearance. Engadget is reporting that this iPod touch is worth over 600 English pounds (or $1,188 US dollars). Of course they didn’t skimp on the iPod itself, as you can see it is the 32 GB model.

via  http://www.tuaw.com/2008/04/02/david-beckham-receives-a-golden-apple/