Amazon’s download service is the only really serious competition Apple has in the US music download market but, because it’s been limited to the US, we’ve seen none of the benefits. We will soon though.
Amazon has announced that it’s going to rollout its massive library of 3.3 million DRM-free tunes internationally in 2008. It doesn’t hurt that Amazon MP3 is the only download service to offer DRM-free tracks from the Big 4 music labels, as well as content from 33,000 independent labels. And did I mention that they tend to be cheaper than those DRM-free downloads from iTunes?
Most songs available on Amazon MP3 are priced from 89-99 cents, with more than 1m of those 3.3 million tracks in the 89c bin. All of the tracks and albums are encoded at the higher quality 256Kbps rate too.
"We have received thousands of e-mails from Amazon customers around the world asking us when we will make Amazon MP3 available outside of the U.S. They can't wait to choose from the biggest selection of high-quality, low-priced DRM-free MP3 music downloads which play on virtually any music device they own today or will own in the future," said Bill Carr, Amazon.com Vice President of Digital Music. "We are excited to tell those customers today that Amazon MP3 is going international this year."
There’s no specifics on rollout dates for different countries yet but, finally, there's a titanic price war brewing with iTunes and all of that is good for us consumers.-Martin Lynch
Happy birthday LEGO. The wee multi-coloured bricks are celebrating 50 years of being built with, chewed on, thrown about and generally abused by kids [and some adults]. Unlike most of today’s toys, LEGO can take a horrendous amount of abuse and still make a damn fine spaceship. Just the kind of toys we like round at Gizmodo.
Often cited as one of the greatest toy inventions ever, LEGO bricks are still being bought in their millions today and have graduated to robots, USB sticks and even computer games. The brick – in its current form – was launched in 1958 and according to the company, pieces today will still fit with those launched 50 years ago.
There are 2,400 different LEGO brick shapes now and each requires precision manufacturing with moulds allowed a tolerance of no more than one thousandth of a millimetre, so that the bricks stay firmly connected. Here’s your history lesson for the day:
“The LEGO history began in 1932 in Denmark, when Ole Kirk Christansen founded a small factory for wooden toys in the unknown town of Billund in the south of the country. To find a name for his company he organised a competition among his employees. As fate would have it however, he himself came up with the best name: LEGO – a fusion of the Danish words “LEg” and “GOdt” (“play well”).”
Well done Ole. Here’s to another 50. -Martin Lynch
Nothing like a cup of coffee on the go. Except for when you take that first much-anticipated sip and burn your face off.
We’ve all been there with the molten hot coffee, racking up a temperature just short of steam and which never seems to cool down.
You need the Brugo coffee mug. This baby has two chambers: a bottom one for keeping most of the coffee hot and ‘ more aromatic’ and a top chamber that cools the coffee as you sip. According to the makers:
"Compromise no more! The patented, thermodynamic science of BRUGO gives you the power to immediately enjoy the most vibrant flavor at the perfect drinking temperature. And because you only cool each sip, the remaining coffee stays hotter and more aromatic. Plus, BRUGO's elegant design and sleek chrome accents will emphasize your discriminating taste."
And you don’t end up with lips like Donatella Versace. Always a good thing.-Martin Lynch
The whiff of commercial love is in the air people, as St. Valentine's Day approaches like a dark, menacing cloud and men scurry about fearfully, looking for something at least a little bit different from choccies and overpriced flowers.
We recently covered Microsoft’s Valentine’s Day assault with customised Zunes of Love, and now here’s Etchstar willing to do something similar with your iPods. Like most Valentine’s Day promotions, the company is pushing the whole ‘make this year’s Valentine’s Day unforgettable’, while most blokes are trying their hardest not to forget.
The Etchstar offering is a little different though by letting you to choose from a series of licensed Hallmark and other artwork or, allowing you artistic types to upload your own artwork and messages of undying passion, which it will then engrave for you.
You can order the iPod you want from Etchstar or send in your own – although at this late stage you may have to dig that bit deeper in your Wallet Of Love.-Martin Lynch
You may have heard about Prince Charles getting all green recently by giving a different kind of speech at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi.
Rather than burning up a whole mess of fossil fuels to get there, His Royalness beamed in as a life-size 3-D hologram instead. And it looked pretty good too, as you can see from this AP video. Musion Systems' hologram technology, using mirrors, did a decent job of giving the impression that the Prince was in the room, even if all the lights were off and taking questions was not an option during the 6-minute pre-recorded speech.
According to some figures, the Star Trek beaming-in saved 20 tonnes of carbon waste.
The First Royal Hologram said: “Scientists are now saying that the problem of climate change is now so grave and so urgent that we have less than 10 years to slow, stop and reverse greenhouse gas emissions. Common actions are needed in every country to protect the common inheritance that has been given to us by our creator.”
Prince Charles joins a long line of other famous folk that have already used the technology, including Al Gore, Girls Aloud and David Beckham.-Martin Lynch
Often cited as one of the greatest toy inventions ever, LEGO bricks are still being bought in their millions today and have graduated to 
Nothing like a cup of coffee on the go. Except for when you take that first much-anticipated sip and burn your face off. 
Editor and Contributor | Martin Lynch
Contributor | Tamlin Magee
