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Release Date: August 05, 2009
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iTunes New Music Releases

Release Date: September 29, 2009
Genre: Rock
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  • Pretty Hate Machine

    • 8 out of 10
    • Nine Inch Nails
    • For years I wanted to make music that sounded like something between Love and Rockets and Ministry. In 1989, Trent Reznor beat me to it with this genre-defining album, and it smacked me upside the hea
  • Odyssey Number Five

    • 10 out of 10
    • Powderfinger
    • Guitar-driven rock out of Australia, Powderfinger has not seen much exposure in the States, but should get a nod for their toe-tapping songs. Building off their previous release, "Internationalist" (
  • So Jealous

    • 8 out of 10
    • 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

  • Hello

    • 8 out of 10
    • Poe
    • Poe rocked my world with "Angry Johnny" (I want to kill you/I want to blow you/Away) and "Trigger Happy Jack" (Trigger Happy Jack/ You're gonna blow/But I'm gonna get off/Before you go), as powe

  • The Life Pursuit

    • 8 out of 10
    • Belle & Sebastian
    • The Life Pursuit is a sort of Reeses Peanut Butter Cup. You get Belle & Sebastian's peanut butter (its wistful, often irresistible pop) dipped in a 'Have A Nice Day!' and glam 70s chocol

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News

Apple Enforces Trademark on the Word ‘Pod’

Apple has sent cease-and-desist letters to two companies whose products use the word "Pod" in their names, despite the fact that one of them bears no resemblance to its iconic MP3 player and isn't even sold to consumers. Dave Ellison's company, Mach5Products, makes the Profit Pod, an infrared scanner that records the usage of arcade videogames. It's installed in the machines and is likely never even noticed by their users.

"I'm not going to change the name -- it's not like they offered us anything for it," Mr. Ellison told the Financial Times. A blog at ZDNet offers part of Apple's letter, which says: "Both devices receive and transmit data and are used with computers, both are used in connection with video games, and both have other similar components. Moreover, it has not gone unnoticed that, like Apple's IPOD device, the PROFIT POD product is a small, flat, round corned rectangular device with a display screen."


The Profit Pod

Another business owner, Terry Wilson, makes TightPods, which are covers that protect laptops, MP3 players and other electronic devices. After she filed for a trademark on the name, Apple sent her a letter explaining its own trademark filings for the word "pod."

According to another ZDNet blog, Ms. Wilson's response was to tell Apple that she will either remove the reference to MP3 players from her trademark filing, or that she will split with the company the cost of removing the offending word from her business, which she estimates at US$20,000. While she waits for Apple's response, she said she's prepared to go to court and defend her trademark if she has to.

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