It seems Microsoft is sticking to their plans not to introduce a Blu Ray player for Xbox. I have no idea why they would refuse to do when Sony won the format war fair and square but it seem they feel Xbox does not need HD capabilities in order to compete with the PS3 at this point.
Maybe Microsoft is about to roll out their own own alternative HD DVD player. Oh wait, they were partne3rs in the one that lost right. Maybe thats why they don’t want to support Sony, they would be forced to admit that it was a better player and they backed a loser.
At the conclusion of the format wars, also known as when Toshiba formally threw in the towel and officially stopped making the HD DVD players, most stores dramatically marked down all things HD DVD formatted, including the Xbox 360 peripheral device that was sold out by most retailers for about $50.
Microsoft then announced that it was going to halt manufacturing the device and that nothing would replace it. Since that time, the Internet has gone wild with speculation and rumors that Microsoft would eventually come out with a way of incorporating the Blu-ray player into its Xbox 360. Microsoft has stood firmly that there was no way that it would ever incorporate the Sony technology into the Microsoft console game device. Nevertheless, it seems that Microsoft has had to repeatedly reiterate its position each time the rumor resurfaces. As a result, do you strongly think there might be some truth to the rumor?
Everyone loves a cool t-shirt and there seems to be no end to the number of designs you can find online these days. I do quite a bit of shopping online but I don’t buy much for clothing on the web except that I may buy myself some t-shirts on occasion. The last t-shirt order I placed was from T-Shirt Hell, which specializes in offensive t-shirts, and some of the shirts I ordered were a bit much for some people. I guess I have a crude sense of humor and some of my friends took offense at one shirt in particular. I wont go in to details but suffice to say some folks are still kinda sensitive about 9/11 and can’t handle a t-shirt about it yet.
I decided to search the internet to find some new t-shirt websites and I came upon LocalCelebrity.com which offers a great selection of funny mens t-shits and of course they have the same designs for womens t-shirts. I like the Wigga shirts and a few of the Fresh ones as well and I also like their choice of colors in the shirt graphics.
The site is rather simple and straightforward. They offer domestic shipping only so I’ll have to have my t-shirt order delivered to moms house so she can forward it to me here in Jamaica but I think I need some new super fresh t-shirts to brighten up my wardrobe.
I may stick with some of the more plain shirts but no 90s t-shirts or any Shutter Shades for me thank you.
Real Networks and MTV have partnered up to release a new mp3 store under the Rhapsody label. The online music store will feature the latest music releases from the 4 major labels in DRM free format available for download at 99 cents for a single song and $9.99 for an entire album.
I think another DRM free music store will be good for the industry. It will force iTunes and Zune to push more DRM free content in their own stores if this new store takes off. You have to wonder how well another mp3 store will do and what they might offer different from others
Rhapsody America, the Web’s top subscription-based music service, opened a digital download store today, becoming the latest company to challenge the dominance of Apple’s iTunes.
Like other recent challengers — and unlike iTunes — the Rhapsody MP3 store will feature songs that aren’t constrained by anti-copying measures. The four major record labels will provide Rhapsody such songs, which work on any digital music player and can be copied an unlimited number of times. Apple has such music from only one major label.
The store from Rhapsody America, a joint venture of RealNetworks and Viacom’s MTV Networks, offers another indication that the music industry, in its struggle with Apple over the pricing of music, is cultivating a new breed of Apple competitor.
Rhapsody is charging 99 cents for a single and $9.99 for an album, the same pricing as on iTunes.
So of course music and Zune are not my only passsions. As I have mentioned in previous posts I’m very interested in all aspects of internet marketing and specifically search engine optimization. I have been reading about internet marketing online for a number of years but most of that was in newsletters from the big players in the industry. I get the WebPro news emails as well as those from Search Engine Land and some from Internet.com as well but a lot of my new reading is coming from blogs.
it seems to me blogs have some of the most up to date information and you can always find the latest and greatest information about Zune players right here in our blog and you can pick up new marketing tips on all aspects of search marketing and even Pay Per Click campaigns with blogs and it seems everyone has one these days. Blogs seem to work well for lots of things but marketing guys like the folks at RedFly marketing and Reciprocal Consulting seem to understand the strength a blog can be for a business online. I have been reading the ReciprocalConsultingBlog.com site for weeks now and the articles they offer on internet marketing seem to come from some experienced marketing professionals with a wealth of information and knowledge of the industry.
Search marketing and the internet are the new power in advertising and many of the old school businesses are scrambling to remain relevant in a digital age. I understand the newspaper industry is in much turmoil over the changes the internet has forced on them with instant information available online. I wonder who is next.
Description: A thrill ride of melody and transition… Hard rock energy with alternative styling. Not afraid to drift into metal/hardcore influences or to strip down to a intimate alternative setting. Our music thrives on melody, transcending chords and rhythm.
Biography:
Fading out Silence is…
Jonathon Trone: Lead Vocals
Deanna Trone: Keyboard and vocals
Dominic Bellasperanza: Guitar and Bass
Thomas Turner: Drums
A thrill ride of melody and transition. One that will drop you from a cliff and convince you that the impact won’t come, have you experience the shock of a lifetime, then smile and walk away leaving you bleary-eyed and breathless.
That is the goal we try to achieve with every single song we write, and every show we play.
What we want to bring to the listener is a message that is eerily haunting and beautifully hopeful.
Started roughly in 2001, it began as a couple of friends getting together to have fun, but slowly grew into something resembling a dream. When we realized that is could become something more than just a way to put our talent to constructive use, we began pursuing it with all we had. We’ve hit some rough spots along the way, lost members to moves and harder situations, and hit some times where it seemed honestly hopeless. But all the difficulties have helped mature our sound and strengthen our drive to what it is today.
The love and passion, for the art that is music, is still growing and will continue to grow exponentially. It goes beyond just enjoying stepping onto a stage and having fun…it is truly something that when we get together and write, perform, or practice we get lost…lost in a euphoric bliss that can only truly be experienced when we share it with others, which is exactly the desire that drives us.
To all our fans now and the ones to come, thank you so much for the amazing support, we love you dearly! And heres to the future! May you be there with us!
That about sums us up…
Peace and Mercy!
Jonathon
Press
Release:
Fading Out Silence
Fading Out Silence is about filling your mind with music. These alt-rockers have got the tunes to carry out that desire. Fading Out Silence is a versatile band, covering a broad range of emotional impact in its music. The band’s softer side offers melodic textures and intelligent, heartfelt lyricism while the heavier side of the band takes the melody and smarts and delivers them with crunch and punch and hints of metallic energy. Either way, it’s a musical rush of songwriting passion.
Essence of Expression
For Fading Out Silence, writing music is more than just tossing some beats, notes and words together to make people clap their hands. Much more. Music is the embodiment of the human spirit, emotion captured in melody, the communication of inner self to inner self, artist speaking to audience. Music is a reality in and of itself and one inextricably entwined with the mind and heart of man. “It truly is the essence of expression,” says Fading Out Silence. “To take what you’re feeling and mold music around it to fit the mood is one of the most amazing gifts one could have.” Music, declares Fading Out Silence, goes beyond telling others about what happened to you – it’s sharing with them the experience in a way they will truly understand. “To sculpt your experiences into something tangible for someone else to hold is showing people who need hope that there is someone else who understands the pain or love or any other emotion that they are going through.”
Soul of Sound
Music is part of the very fabric of our senses. We can feel the beats vibrate through us. Our ears revel in the music. With a computer program (or something else …) we can even visualize the concept of music. Music can be translated to mathematical formula. Music is everywhere. It’s part of us and part of everything. And that’s exactly Fading Out Silence is here to conquer silence and bring music as a messenger of promise. It’s way more than mere entertainment. “Music is the soul of sound,” says Fading Out Silence. It can shape the world and alter the direction of the future. It can be used for dark purposes and light. It has power and requires responsibility. “With the ability to be a gift one moment and a weapon the next, it is a medium of purpose, and as such the wielder must always be aware of the message’s intent.”
The Artist at Work
Fading Out Silence has shared concert time with 30 Seconds To Mars and has recently completed a pair of CDs, each designed to show off a facet of the band’s musical personality. “Our softer, more indie rock album entitled ‘The Set It to Silent Project’ will be released in November 2007,” according to Fading Out Silence. “Our harder alternative rock album entitled ‘Improv-ed Improvement’ was released in August.” Fading Out Silence is working with A&R Select, the world’s leading artist development firm, based in Los Angeles, CA.
“The diversity of Fading Out Silence’s sound is key to the depth and impact this band has on mind and heart with its serious rock energy.” - A&R Select
Here is a spooky looking skin for you Zune from Decal Girl. This one is cool for5 those of us who believe, or know for fact, that we are not alone. If you belive in aliens and you own a Zune then you should probably buy this Zune skin and show the world not only are you so cool you don;t own an iPod but you also belive in little green me. Now thats cool right?
The first invisibleSHIELD™ was designed sometime in early 2005 by a man with a wrsitwatch who wanted to protect it from scratches while wearing it. The easy to apply urethane protective film offers great additional protection to glass and plastic screens on just about anything. Why they cannot design these things so they don’t scratch as easy as they blows my mind but it seems that just about any sort of portable device you can own has scratching problems.
The invisibleSHIELD™ was designed from urethane plastic for military applications such as protecting the leading edge of helicopter blades from wear and tear. I think we all know just how tough something like that would have to be and placing it over your screen is sure to save it from the toughest scrapes and scratches.
Since their inception Zagg has introduced dozens of new designs which cover everything from iphone cases to pda’s, laptops and of course watches.
With a LifeTime Warranty and 30 Day Money back Guarantee its almost a no risk buy for some added protection on your favorite electronics and a pretty cheap investment at that. I suggest you take a look at the invisibleSHIELD™ when you consider a screen protector for your Zune or other devices.
Here is a well done review by a Canadian of three iPod alternatives available to their market. he chose three devices with wireless fucntionality and some form of online stores. He was not impressed with the fact Microsoft released zune in Canada but the Zune MarketPlace is still not available. It does seem odd that they hav enot had time to prepare the online store for release at the same time.
Another misstep on their part because the MarketPlace seems to be one of the strong features with the Zune and there are a number of us happy with the subscription music model. I still believe its the best choice for me and my desire to search out new music. The Zune stacks up best against the models he’s selected but I think Zune is better than all of them don’t I?
Apple’s iPod so dominates the MP3 field that it has become a kind of black hole into which competitors fall. Manufacturers could make a better MP3 player and it wouldn’t really matter — the iPod is so iconic that to want another brand demands an excuse at best, or expresses a betrayal at worst.
The three players under review here — Microsoft’s Zune, the Sony Wireless Video Walkman and Sandisk’s Sansa Fuze — are worthy iPod competitors in technical terms. They each have minor differences, with some features — such as the inclusion of an FM radio receiver, Bluetooth wireless headphones or larger storage capacity — that vary the overall cost.
So Halloween is a ways away still but some friends of ours have planned a halloween party and guests are required to wear a nice Halloween Costumes. I guess there will be a costume contest with cash prizes for the best costume and things like that. I’m not really a costume kinda guy but I am sorta stuck going to this party and I want to actively participate.
The first thing I did was look for an excuse to not have to wear a silly halloween costume but then I realized the kids would really like it and it may actually be some fun for me too so why not right? When I was a kid my mom made costumes for us but thats probably not going to happen for my kids. We’re not that talented and making a halloween costume would be me picking out something from our existing wardrobe and making customizing it. I could probably make m,y kids into some horrible halloween monsters with some fake blood and props but that may not go over well with some of the other parents at this party so I think I’ll have to find something else for all of us.
Of course those would go best if I dressed the kids in a Chewbacca costume or maybe the Jedi Knight costumes so we can do battle for the party and use our Light Sabres to entertain folks. I can see my youngest son Robby wrecking the place with his Light Sabre and smacking a few of the other kids. He’s a bit rough so he may be better suited for the Chewbacca costume. I think the older one, AJ, will be fine with a weapon but who knows. He’s seen Star Wars and watched the Light Sabre battles between Luke and Darth. He may get carried away with the costume. Then again, I may be the one they need to watch. A Darth Vader costume could be a powerful thing for a Star Wars fan who saw each of the movies in its original release at the movie theater. I remember watching Star Wars at the movie theater in Key West Florida when I was like 8 or 9 I guess. It was a packed house and we had to wait in the longest line I had ever seen.
The cool thing with CostumeCauldron.com and what drew me to their site was the worldwide shipping offered via USPS. I’m still in Negril and getting things shipped here is nearly impossible. I think its cool they take the extra effort to export to those of us not residing in the States. They have a great website and a huge selection of what seem to be higher quality halloween costumes then you find in the Walmart or Target down the street. if I do go to this party I think it may be a Star Wars theme unless the monsters win out and we tear up some old clothes instead.
If you’re buying a halloween costume online this year you should check out the selection at CostumeCauldron.com, it looks like exactly what i need and it may be what you need as well.
I am pretty sure they will not be splitting up the company. Bill may be gone but I am certain he took care of a few things and one of them was to insure his baby was kept together. He’s fought hard to have it remain in one piece and I doubt they will ever do this.
Then again just how big could they get before someone forced them to split?
Conventional wisdom has it that Microsoft’s brass would never choose to break up the company — even in the name of making it more agile.
After all, when Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, as part of the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust case against Redmond, ruled in 2000 that Microsoft should be forced to be halved (into an operating system and application company — a judgement later overruled — Chairman Bill Gates & Co. was dead-set against such a plan.
This T3 Zune 360 concept device is getting a lot of play on the blogs. It seems everyone is interested in the new portable player coming from Microsoft one day. It seems everyone except maybe Microsoft. They have been rather quiet about that and with the recent announcement that we won’t see a new device until 2009 it may be quite some time before we see a Xbox portable Zune 360 thing.
Microsoft have seen how popular Apple have been with their iPhone and iPod, and how great the N-Gage is. It is believed that Microsoft are working on a new Zune Phone and will come with Xbox 360 branding, and they hope that this new gadget will blow the iPhone and N-Gage out of the water in the mobile gaming stakes.
So why would Microsoft think that the N-Gage and iPhone would be threatened by the Xbox 360 Zune Phone. Well the first thing that this new device will have is a huge widescreen display; this is perfect as the device will be able to run Xbox 360-quality games. Ok so we have to tell you that this is just a concept that T3 Magazine has just designed, but if this Microsoft Zune / X-Box 360 / mobile phone hybrid were to be developed, then it could possibly become the greatest handheld gadget on the market.
I’m an avid online shopper and I buy many of my things over the internet. I generally use big shopping sites such as Amazon.com and TigerDirect.com for my electronics and computer equipment. Is shop a number of smaller sites for other things like shoes and sporting goods and I have been known to shop eBay on occasion for unique items or when I need a new toy from some guy who can’t have his anymore. I think the last thing I bought on eBay was a Halo Zune for a giveaway some many months back. i just don’t like dealing with many smaller shops online. Most of them are simply resellers for some other larger shop and they just screw up the process most of the time.
I like everyone else who shops online appreciate the bargains to be had on the web while shopping for just about anything. Most websites offer the best prices on their websites and you can always find a deal on the web over what you might find in a retail store. Some stores now offer their closeouts exclusively online. I like to search for the best price on the web but searching has become a drag with all the junk in the way and when I find a website with a load of deals in one place it makes me smile. I was happy to find a new coupon site today that has an awesome selection of coupons online and some of the best coupons for places like my favorite site Amazon.com as well as many other large shopping sites like Sears and of course kids favorites KB Toys and GameFly to name a few. They have 100’s of different store coupons available and you could probably find a deal or discount on just about anything you buy online. There are no gimmicks or catches to this one and you get the coupons discounts after you click through to the sponsor site and make a purchase online.
You do not have to join their site or supply information to anyone other than the retailer and of course the big players all use secure website so shopping online should be safe and smooth. An online coupons site like this one will come in super handy when the holiday shopping season rolls around and folks start building wish lists and what not. I know I can always use some ideas for what to get and a coupon to the right store may just be the right way to spark some ideas for this Christmas and the gift giving season. I can already see I’ll be doing 100% of my shopping online this year as I am in Jamaica and most of my friends and family are back home in the States. online and securing free shipping seems like my best choice for this year and 1-Coupons.com should be of great help to me and maybe you as well.
I finally gathered enough new music to fill my Zune 30 and I was forced to delete some stuff in order to download some new music to my Zune player. I have more than 30GB of music but I ended up removing my entirte collection and just adding new music I downloaded from Zune MarketPlace. I listened to a ton of new music with my unlimited subscription and most of it was junk.
I can honestly say the only new album I listened to on my Zune that I would buy is from K’naan. His new CD the Dustyfoot Philosopher is plain awesome and I’d buy it if I coiuld find it here in jamaica just so I could burn a few copies and pass them around to show his music to some new people.
I met K’naan at Smile Jamaica Africa Unite 2008 and it was a cool experience. He’s a very sharp young man and going places for sure. I’ll write up a more formal cd review soon come. For now I have some Mims and Usher to delete from my Zune.
This is an advertisement for a website that actually offers free music downloads, well they are as close to free as you may find legally anyway. EZ-Tracks.com is actually a rather simple and straight forward music download site with free access to unlimited mp3 downloads.
The site has over 30,000 legal and free music downloads from some of todays hottest artists and they are all DRM free mp3 files. You can find the latest and greatest tunes on digital downloads from top musicians such as “No Air” from Jordin Sparks and featuring the super popular Chris Brown or “Love in This Club” by the new King of Pop, Usher and featuring the equally hot Young Jeezy. Not bad for free right?
You know there is no such thing as free on the internet and of course you have to sign up to their website and provide your information including a cell phone number so they can send you some ads by phone but thats not such a bad deal for some free legal music downloads is it?
I love the internet and all the wonderful things it allows for people from all over this great big world of ours to do each and every day. I’m never amazed at the seemingly limitless opportunities that the internet presents to all people from all cultures and all countries. The educational possibilities for a student with internet access are nothing short of amazing to say the least and the web has certainly changed the way the world learns. Online learning has reached a whole new level providing services and course study of an astounding number of subjects to new learners every day.
Distance Learning is not for all students and some of us may find learning on the computer to be difficult to say the least but a majority of us are technologically savvy and feel at ease on a computer and to have the ability to take a learning course at our own pace is just what we need to achieve the degree that we seek. I live online and taking an course over the web would probably be best for me if I had the desire to pursue a degree. I don’t think I need one with the state of my own business these days but if I did I would probably take an online course of some form.
I have considered a business degree of some sort and the Business and Management course at KaplanLearning.org.uk would probably fit me well if that were my goal but with my focus on internet business I would probably be better suited to pursue the Internet Marketing Foundation they offer but I think my 10 years experience working from home trumps their degree.
If you are interested in working or learning online then you really should look at what they offer or at least take a look at some other program.
X-Box 360 handheld console on the way?
Fancy rocking some GTA IV on-the-go, if T3 get our way Microsoft’s Zune MP3 player could be going gaming. Check out our artist’s impressions.
A Microsoft Zune / X-Box 360 / mobile phone hybrid? Could this potentially be the greatest handheld gadget in the history of the world?
It’s by no means a reality, but it’s been over a year since Big M big-wigs hinted at this awesome combo. While nothing remains concrete, we at T3 couldn’t wait any longer.
Our artist’s impressions from the future tech feature in this month’s T3 Magazine show the three gadgets brought together in revolutionary harmony.
Our vision features the familiar X logo and coloured buttons of the X-Box with the slim and sleek Zune music player, with a 64GB flash drive and a mobile phone built in for good measure.
Here is a unique program and a great way for Microsoft to get some attention with zune. The Zune podcasting program for schools is a sure way to get more Zune players in owners hands and also a great way to make inroads with schools and parents.
I would like to see the results they post and what the kids think of the Zune as a tool for school.
Students at a rural New Mexico high school made a unique pledge: Right hands raised, they promised to take care of their Zune music players.
Almost all the roughly 100 students at Fort Sumner High School and 25 at South Valley Junior High in Liberty, Mo., were outfitted in February with the Microsoft Corp. gadget, which is like Apple Inc.’s iPod.
The idea was that students would watch videos and listen to podcasts created or recommended by teachers and fellow students — and that would enhance their education experience.
The students were encouraged to have the devices on during class hours, bus rides home and school trips. Teachers at Fort Sumner who identified 20 podcasts that supported their lessons and developed five podcasts of their own got a $400 bonus.
“My main hope is it’s going to save us lost class time,” said English teacher Pam Richards. “We are small, and the kids are involved in so many things.”
For Microsoft, the project showcased its brand and technology and opened the possibility that these and other schools eventually will incorporate Zunes into curriculum.
I’m looking into web based communication tools for my business and while doing so I decided to look into some more professional web conferencing services and tools available to allow stable corporate grade group communications via the web. Yahoo chat and MSN messenger are suitable for one on one communications but I find them limited in group settings and who knows who else can be listening in on those. Online chat services seem to be the favored hunting grounds for hackers, spammers and all the other unfriendlies online and with some of the new business communication needs I have I don’t necessarily want some punk kid listening in on it.
A dedicated video conference service might be nice but probably a little more than I need. It’s not necesssary that I see faces although doing so does allow you to feel out a person in high stakes conversations. Peoples body language and facial expression can often say as much if not more than a persons voice alone. Video conferencing eats up bandwidth I don;t have in my current location so I’ll probably be looking more at an audio conferencing setup for my particular needs if I did chose this solution.
While I was researching and thinking about all of this it came to me what a perfect service this could be for Microsoft on Zune phones or Windows mobile devices with Zune software running. Then Social would be much cooler if we had web conferencing.
Microsoft finally made a good move with the Zune and has decided to extend the DRM on PlaysForsure content until 2011 when it was set to expire on August 2008.
Microsoft caught a lot of heat for this decision and its one of the many missteps the company made in the early stages of Zune. If Microsoft wanted to jump start Zune it would have been smart to just eat the PlaysForSure licenses and have them transfer to Zune. Thats the best way for Microsoft to keep the customer but instead the focused on developing their own close ecosystem and they probably already sent most of those customers over to some other player at this point.
Why announce you’ll extend the license months before? You gotta think most PlaysForSure clients didn’t want to wait untilthe very end and most probably left Microsoft and bought an iPhone or something.
I swear the Zune team is a mole trying to undo what could have been a far better device and platform.
People who bought songs from Microsoft’s now-defunct MSN Music service will get three more years to move the music to new devices and operating systems after a change of course by the company.
Microsoft said it will now support authenticating those tracks, as required by the DRM (digital rights management) technology encoded into the music, through at least the end of 2011. Microsoft will then decide based on demand whether to continue. Don’t Miss!Read the latest WhitePaper - Troubleshooting Remote Site Networks - Best Practices
Songs purchased on the service, offered only in the U.S., used Microsoft’s “PlaysForSure” DRM, which required that the songs gain a license key from Microsoft’s servers if a user transferred the music to a new PC or device.
But MSN Music, one of several online music store efforts by Microsoft, was shut down in November 2006 when the company launched a new one centered around its Zune digital music player.
Does your business need a cash advance or small business? Mine did so I took on some new paid writing gigs recently. If you need more money than should work more. Thats how it’s supposed to work right? Before I went to work I did some looking into cash advance for small business programs and other bad credit business loans. I don’t actually want a loan but I have other interests in the industry and taking a look at the full range of competitors is necessary. There seems to be a lot of competition in the market and few actual service providers. Many of the sites listed for top keywords seem to be affiliate sites
I found MerchantCapitalSouce.com as a source for Business Cash Advance services online and took a look at their website to see what they offered and to see what type of actual services they provide. It seems they are an actual lender with loan programs in the range from $5,000 up to a maximum of $150,000 for your small business to use for all sorts of wonderful things such as inventory, advertising and other forms of expansion for your existing business. Even a succesful start up needs capital for investment in new ideas or emerging markets and seeking loans out online seems to be the rage. Small investors are taking to the web and taking control of their own investment portfolios with small business loans such as these.
If you company is in need of a cash investment and you have had some bad luck at the banks you may consider trying an online loan provider such as MerchantCapitalSouce.com or any of the other cash advance and small business loan services available.
just so I could burn a few copies and pass them around to show his music to some new people.
