Into Tech

Music lovers have waited a long time to get their mitts on DRM-free music [without pirating] and the recent deal between Apple and EMI seemed to be the answer.

Hell, most people don’t even mind forking out the extra 20p per track - a higher quality track too - for the privilege of being able to do what they like with them. But, there’s a shadow looming.

According to Ars Technica, Apple is embedding your name, account and email details in every DRM-free track you download. Why? The likely scenario seems to be that if the tunes you pay for end up on a P2P file sharing site online, or your mates iTunes catalogue, then they’ll be able to nab you for copyright infringement.

OK, we all know that a tool will arrive online to remove that incriminating info but until then what the hell is Apple playing at? The company is refusing to say – for now – but considering the amount of anger this move is causing, I’d be surprised if Apple didn’t make an official statement this week.-Martin Lynch

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That’s the claim of a new study, presented to heart specialists by a bright 17-year a schoolkid in the US.

In a study of 100 patients with pacemakers, Jay Thaker - with some help from a leading cardiologist - said that electrical interference occurred half the time when an iPod was held a few inches from the patient’s chest for just 5-10 seconds. It also occurred sometimes at distances up to 18in away. The result was that the pacemaker’s telemetry device misread the heart’s pacing and, in one case, stopped a pacemaker altogether.

Considering that the mean age of these patients was 77, I’m not sure Apple will be all that worried about losing a key customer segment. As for you old timers, beware all hugs and embraces from nieces and nephews.-Martin Lynch

ipod health apple music

CHICAGO (Reuters) - iPods can cause cardiac implantable
pacemakers to malfunction by interfering with the
electromagnetic equipment monitoring the heart, according to a
study presented by a 17-year-old high school student to a
meeting of heart specialists on Thursday.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - iPods can cause cardiac implantable
pacemakers to malfunction by interfering with the
electromagnetic equipment monitoring the heart, according to a
study presented by a 17-year-old high school student to a
meeting of heart specialists on Thursday.

A survey commissioned by Scooter Computer has claimed that people waste £1.25bn every year on gadgets that are never used. Fear and ignorance are classed as the top reasons why we don’t get on with our new toys. And, why we tend to dump them in a corner, never to be seen again. The average cost of these unwanted gadgets is £120.

In numbers terms, it means that one in every five gadgets is not used. Top of the list – surprisingly, I guess - is the iPod, followed by digital cameras, software, sat-navs and mobile phones. The survey was commissioned to see just what we do with gadgets we get as gifts and the worst offenders are 35-44-year olds.

Even sadder for them is that pensioners often fare better with iPods and cameras because they have more time to work them out. -Martin Lynch

ipod gadgets digital camera phone

My ideal restaurant experience tends to be when someone else picks up the tab but, for others, they need a little bit more to get the most out of their nosh.

The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire is now one of the world’s most renowned restaurants, thanks to the mad genius of owner/chef Heston Blumenthal.

The man who’s never adverse to a bit of experimentation has decided iPods and music will enhance its menu. A new dish called ‘Sound of The Sea’ comes with iPods on the side. It is comprised of seaweed, seafood and tapioca, comes served in a wooden box with a surround of sand and seashells and diners are requested to listen to sounds of the sea on the iPods as they chow down.

Talking to Square Meal, Blumenthal said:

“I did a series of tests with Charles Spence at Oxford University three years ago, which revealed that sound can really enhance the sense of taste. We ate an oyster while listening to the sea and it tasted stronger and saltier than when we ate it while listening to barnyard noises, for example.”

No, you don’t get to keep the iPods.-Martin Lynch

ipod food cooking music

Apple sells more than 10 million iPods in the first three months of 2007, helping the firm to a 88% rise in profits.

Regular MP3 tunes are typically converted at 128kbps, which is pretty poor compared to CD quality. The difference might be harder to hear in earphones but hook your MP3 player to a decent hi-fi system and the quality shortfall is noticeable.

Creative Labs, the force behind PC audio, has not given up its efforts to stay sharp in the digital music scene by launching some products that will put some ‘oomph’ back in your MP3 audio, without encoding tunes at a higher bitrate.

They use the company’s X-Fi Xtreme Fidelity audio standard. The two main features in this are X-Fi Crystalizer which enhances the audio quality and X-Fi CMSS-3D which converts audio to surround sound. Be warned, prices here are conversions so expect this bunch to cost more here by 10-20% - at least.

First up is the big boy of the bunch: the shiny X-Fi Sound System i600 [above]. This is a 2.1 speaker system for iPods, with a compact subwoofer. A pricey £198.

Jump now for details and photos of the rest of Creative’s 2007 line-up.-Martin Lynch

The Creative Xdock is an iPod dock for playing tunes in X-Fi sound quality. It also has a video output and supports DTS interactive sound, allowing you to watch iPod videos on your TV while hooking it up to your surround sound receiver. Cost: £109

Next is the Creative Xmod Wireless which can be connected to a PC or music player and the X-Fi Wireless Receiver which can be placed around the house to hear to tunes. The Receiver can also be used with the Xdock. The Xmod Wireless costs £122 and the X-Fi Wireless Receiver £53.

The Creative PlayDock i500 is a portable docking speaker system that will also charge your iPods. There are two full range speaker drivers and a sub-woofer. It comes with a remote and runs off the mains or 8 C-class batteries for up to 16 hours. It costs £99.

The compact Creative TravelSound i plays and charges and comes with a USB slot for transferring tunes, photos and data files. It boasts four full-range NeoTitanium microdrivers and uses the Creative Wide Stereo Effect for a wider sound filed. Video and photo files can be viewed by hooking it up to a TV. It run off mains or four AA batteries for up to 25 hours with music. It costs £66.

ipod creative audio hi-fi MP3

Someone’s figured out a way to combine gadget obsession with chocoholism, and it doesn’t bode well for people with self-control issues. A company called “Corporate Gift Showcase” will sell you many pounds of chocolate molded into the shape of iPods, BlackBerries, laptops and HDTVs. They’re ostensibly meant to be as gifts from companies purchased in bulk, but there’s nothing stopping you from ordering 1,000 chocolate remote controls. That’s right, nothing stopping you. So what are you waiting for?! –Adam Frucci

Product Page [via CrunchGear]

Someone’s figured out a way to combine gadget obsession with chocoholism, and it doesn’t bode well for people with self-control issues. A company called “Corporate Gift Showcase” will sell you many pounds of chocolate molded into the shape of iPods, BlackBerries, laptops and HDTVs. They’re ostensibly meant to be as gifts from companies purchased in bulk, but there’s nothing stopping you from ordering 1,000 chocolate remote controls. That’s right, nothing stopping you. So what are you waiting for?! –Adam Frucci

Product Page [via CrunchGear]