Support Our Site
Get Better Gear!
- Notability For iPad: Much More Than A Note Taking App from Ginger Labs, Inc, US$0.99
- Scosche’s RH656m Headphones With Microphone Are Wonderful from Scosche, US$129.99
- IPEVO’s Typi Folio Case & Keyboard for iPad is First-rate from IPEVO, US$79.99
- Scosche’s boomSTREAM BT Speaker: Features & Compromises from Scosche, US$99.95
- FX Photo Studio HD: iPad Painting of Effects Made Easy from MacPhun LLC, US1.99
Top 5 Free Apps
iTunes New Music Releases
Top 5 Paid Apps
Discover New Music
- The Who
Quadrophenia is everything that Tommy wanted to be, a rock opera that told a story, but one where every song could still stand alone. It was also Pete Townshend's farewell tribute to the Mod
- Massive Attack
"Black Milk" knocks me off my feet in this collection of moody and eclectic songs. Massive Attack uses samples and keyboards in a very unique way, but not all the songs pack the same punch.
- Ray LaMontagne
At first, Ray LaMontagne might strike you as just another breathy-voiced knockoff of folk/rock guitarists like John Mayer and Jack Johnson. But he's actually got a better voice than either, he tell
- Tegan and Sara
So Jealous is the third album from these sisters, and easily the one to single out for an introduction to their music. Some people may not get on board with their vocal styles, which are slightly
- Spoon
Gimme Fiction by Spoon is a terrific album by an Austin band that I was lucky enough to catch on an Austin radio station during a Christmas visit.
Reader Specials
Visit Deals On The Web for the best deals on all consumer electronics, iPods, and more!
Just a Peek
Hi-Def FM Radio Tags That Song
Sunday, September 30th, 2007 at 4:00 PM - by Vern Seward
Did you see this? I know this has been around for awhile, but there is something significant going on here.
Apple and a company called iBiquity Digital teamed up to provide a service to folks with digital HD radio that will let people "tag" a song they hear for purchase at the iTunes Store.
The service is called iTunes Tagging and its pretty cool technology. Because it is digital radio, information about each song played is streamed to your receiver. If the receiver has the ability to store a small amount of data it can store the info on any song you tag. When you sync your radio with your computer any stored song located on the iTunes Store is made available for you to buy.
This answers a nagging problem with any non-subscription music service: How do average Joes and Jills find new music?
This service also gives radio, in general, a huge shot in the arm. I dont know about you, but the only reason I turn on a radio these days is to receive the signal from my iPods FM transmitter, and maybe check the weather for pop-up hurricanes. (This IS Florida after all.)� I used to listen to radio all the time, but commercials started taking up more airtime. It got so that 15 to 20 minutes of every hour was taken up by loud, annoying ads that insulted my intelligence and left me deaf. Even National Public Radio (NPR) had these increasingly frequent fund raising telethons where they came just short of begging the public for money. (I think NPR should be fully funded by tax dollars as it is one of the few easily accessible public services, but thats just my opinion.)
Fed up with the ad jibber-jabber I wound up turning the radio off altogether and fired up CDs and, now, my iPod when I want music.
Hi-Def Radio could change that by offering CD quality tunes and fewer commercials, and now, iTunes Tagging. It would certainly be an attraction to me even if I only occasionally turn the radio on.
One thing I sorely miss is discovering new music, and radio, for all of its problems, was the best way to get introduced to new stuff without having to go through a lot of effort: just turn on the radio and listen.
Of course, this begs the question to be asked: How will Apple support Digital Radio?
You may (or may not) know already that Apple has included hardware in iPhones that will let you receive FM radio. Will the iPhone pick up Digital FM radio?
I dont have a clue, but it does seem like a reasonable thing to do.
There you are out in the wild, jamming to a new tune on your iPhone. Since to song rocked you tag it. The next time to fire up iTunes on your iPhone a list of tagged songs appear and iTunes asks you which, if any, you would like to buy. You buy them all, they get downloaded into your iPhone, you jam to new tunes that automagically get synced to your Mac or PC at home, and all is right with the world.
Whats not to like about a scenario like that? All I can say is, bring it on.
Vern Seward is a writer who currently lives in Orlando, FL. He’s been a Mac fan since Atari Computers folded, but has worked with computers of nearly every type for 20 years.
Recent Headlines
- Reading, Writing, & Saving the World
- Free Retro Gaming for iOS - Activision’s Kaboom!
- Apple Adds Chomp Bits to iOS 6 App Store Discovery
- Notability For iPad: Much More Than A Note Taking App
- Scosche’s RH656m Headphones With Microphone Are Wonderful
- Tim Cook & Larry Page Reportedly Discuss Patents
- Analysis: Amazon Kindle Fire Sold Out, Kindle Fire 2 Pic Leaked
Post Your Comments