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doubleTwist to Compete with iTunes Music Store using Amazon MP3s

Bart Sailsbury — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:45:15 -0500

In what most likely is a nonevent, the media management company doubleTwist last week introduced the standalone application doubleTwist, which provides access to Amazon’s MP3 downloads. Billed as an iTunes competitor, doubleTwist will allow you to download music and, just like you can if you downloaded at Amazon or Lala or most other online music providers, put them on any device capable of playing MP3s--including an Apple iPod. Wow!

doubleTwist has an iTunes-familiar interface. You can download music (only music, and only from Amazon), but doubleTwist will allow you to manage your music, photos, and movies (which doubleTwist cleverly snatches from your iTunes library). The interface is familiar to iTunes users, but definitely more utilitarian.

A strength of doubleTwist may be its ability to manage your media on a variety of devices, such as the Palm Pre, BlackBerry, the Amazon Kindle, the Sony PSP, and Windows Media devices. But, alas, iPod/iPhone support is only available for Windows users at present. doubleTwist claims to transcode your files to the necessary format before loading to a mobile device.

The market for online music delivery is definitely heating up, with Microsoft’s streaming music venture in the UK, and the impending entry of Spotify into the United States. Given that most existing services are web-based (including Amazon’s), it’s not clear how attractive a machine-based alternative will prove.

Image Credit: doubleTwist

Apple Pushes More Unnecessary Software Updates

Justin Kerr — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:13:05 -0500

Apple has been called out in the past for using its software updater to push unwanted applications out to Windows users, but apparently all the bad press wasn’t enough to teach them a lesson claims ZDNet blogger Ed Bott. Apparently Apple has taken to forcing out its new “iPhone Configuration Utility” using their automated Software Updater, and even systems that have never come in contact with an iPhone before are being targeted.

Upon further testing he was able to confirm that this update was being suggested out to every system that had allowed the Apple Software Updater to become installed, and suggests users keep a close eye on it to avoid downloading applications they don’t need. It’s bad enough Apple keeps trying to force Safari on Windows users, but iPhone configuration utilities for those without iPhones? That’s low.

Has Apple’s has crossed the line this time?

"iPod Mechanic" Behind Bars for iPod Scam

Paul Lilly — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 20:05:31 -0500

As another reminder that crime doesn't pay, 23-year-old Nicholas Woodhams, also known as the "iPod Mechanic," faces 13 months in prison after pleading guilty to mail fraud and money laundering charges. Woodhams was also ordered to pay $648,568 in restitution to Apple and $8,066.85 to the U.S. Postal Service, Arstechnica reports.

According to the lawsuit, Woodhams ran a scam of exploiting Apple's advance replacement system for the iPod shuffle and reselling them through his own website. He also allegedly exploited Apple's iPod Warranty Service Program to get Apple to repair out-of-warranty iPods.

Woodhams' scam proved rather lucrative, but it's all going back. In addition to the above jail time and fines, Woodhams must forfeit about $750,000 worth of criminally acquired assets, including his house in Michigan, an Audi S4, an Ariel Atom 2, a Honda motocyle, and over $500,000 in cash. Ouch.

US Trade Officials to Investigate Memory Chips in Gadgets from Apple, RIM

Pulkit Chandna — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 09:35:19 -0500

Taking cognizance of a complaint filed by Pennsylvania-based BTG International in July, the U.S. International Trade Commission has announced it will launch a probe into the use of Samsung Nand flash-memory chips in gadgets from Apple, RIM, Sony, etc. BTG International claims that certain Samsung Nand flash-memory chips found in a host of consumer electronics devices, including the iPhone, iPod, MacBook Air, Blackberry Storm, and various Sony camcorders, infringe on five out of its patents. The said patents relate to the storage of multiple bits of information per cell, which appreciably increases the storage capacity of flash memory while keeping it inexpensive. BTG is praying for a ban on the import of all devices containing the Samsung chips at issue.

Image Credit: Nikkeibp

Zune HD Prices Purportedly Leaked

Andy Salisbury — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:17:57 -0500

According to a recent info leak from Best Buy’s inventory system, we expect that the Zune HD will cost only $220 for the 16GB model and $290 for the 32GB model.

For those keeping tabs, this puts Microsoft at a huge advantage over Apple. Currently the iPod Touch costs $229, $299 and $399 for the 8GB, 16GB and 32GB models (respectively). Apple may or may not change prices around once the Zune HD hits store shelves, but as of right now things are looking solid up in Redmond.

Image Credit: Gizmodo

Custom Firmware Rocks! How to Hack Gadgets with New Software

Alex Castle, Norman Chan, and Dave Murphy — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:30:00 -0500

While we're big fans of the proven awesomeness of open-source software, we don't automatically download every free application that's labeled as an open-source project. What make more sense is the use of open-source as the tool that effects some kind of massive or otherwise unreachable change in a common device. Case in point is open-source firmware, named not for any philosophical belief behind its creation, but because few would want to heft the banner for these changes themselves. After all, creativity comes from a wide range of sources and inputs--as does software testers. You sure wouldn't want to be the one person working on third-party iPhone firmware, bricking device after device in a quest to add additional functionality that Apple didn't first design.

But that kind of unintended funcitonality is the sole benefit to open-source firmware. Throw those aspirations of community membership and open-source allegiance out the window: You want to increase the power of your device akin to a Sim tinkering his or her hardware to gain mechanical skill points. There's no shame in that. In fact, you can accomplish much by adopting third-party firmware in place of standard manufacturer packages. For example, building increased sound codecs into your MP3 player of choice, or adding on-screen level meters to your digital SLR. You can even turn your router into a bridge, perfect for extending the range of your neighbor's wireless signal so you can thieve his connection from additional locations in your apartment. You can also brick your device.

We jest, but only partially. For the danger of running third-party firmware--safe as many of the packages can seem to be--is that you could render your device of choice unusable. It happens to "real" firmware upgrades; it can happen to "unofficial" firmware upgrades as well, only I venture that you'll probably find more problems in the latter scenario than with a manufacturer's tried-and-tested update. But still, the benefits can often outweigh the risks, especially if you're looking to extend your legacy devices with additional features. An entire ocean of open-source firmware fixes awaits your perusal -- we take a look at some outstanding examples of open-source firmware, and teach you how to install them on your own gadgets!

MP3 Players

For most people, an MP3 player serves a pretty narrow purpose: it plays music, maybe a video here or there if you’ve got a newer model, and might have a handful of applications. All in all, though, MP3 players are rarely treated as anything more than tiny, portable jukeboxes, which is a shame, because as gadgets they’ve got the potential for so much more. That’s why, in this article, we show you how to install custom Rockbox firmware and breathe new life into your trusty old MP3 player.

Sony's PSP

For as long as Sony’s PlayStation Portable has been on the market, it’s been a juicy target for hackers. With burly hardware (for a handheld) and a gorgeous screen, it just begs to play homebrew, and lots of PSP owners have cracked their devices to do just that. Unfortunately, Sony has had other plans for their handheld, and has released dozens of firmware updates and several hardware revisions to make it harder to hack the PSPs handheld.

As such, there’s no one hack that works on all PSP, and in fact some PSPs are completely unhackable. There is, however, one fairly easy method that works on most consoles, which is what we illustrate in this article.

BIOS

OpenBIOS and Coreboot are two examples of the open source world's answer to proprietary BIOS firmware. Flashing your motherboard with either of these can be an anxiety-inducing process, but you should be able to tap into faster loading speeds if you're successful. Everyone wants a speedy, netbook-style BIOS loadup, right?

Routers

Third-party router software has been around for a while, but we can’t help but keep recommending it to users who want to add undocumented features to their home network. Our favorite router firmware package is still Tomato, which we favor for its compatibility with a wide range of router brands and models, user-friendly interface, and powerful feature set. We show you how to upgrade your router’s firmware to the newest version of Tomato and then configure the Quality of Service settings to manage your network traffic.

E-readers

Yes, you can even get open-source firmware for your electronic reader. The pickings aren't vast, but firmware like OpenInkPot can update your device with new settings and better performance, as well as give you access to additional software reader options, eliminate the necessity of DRM for your device, and even add Wi-Fi capabilities to a network-incompatible E-reader.

Point and Shoot Digital Cameras

We love point-and-shoot pocket cameras for their small size and ease of use, but we lament their relatively paltry feature sets when compared to more expensive DSLR models. The good news, for owners of the popular Canon PowerShot cameras, is that your consumer-grade gadget can be upgraded with custom software to endow it with professional features like RAW image recording and live histogram feedback. CHDK (Canon Hack Development Kit) is an easy-to-install software package created by a savvy group of programmers to supercharge the Canon PowerShot. We show you how to safely install and configure this free firmware add-on with no risk to your camera.

SLRs

The Canon 5D Mark II camera is pretty impressive in its own right, given the kind of video that this full-frame, digital SLR can shoot. But don't let it be said that accomplishment ever got in the way of open-source innovation. That's where the open-source firmware package Magic Lantern comes into play. Amongst the features it adds to this jam-packed camera include on-screen audio meters (ideal for the amateur filmmaker), manual gain control, zebra stripes, and crop marks for different aspect ratios.

Digital Media Players

Western Digital's WDTV is kind of like a magic media streaming box. You plug any USB storage device (Flash key, portable hard drive, etc) into its two USB ports and it'll play any movie, picture, or audio file that it finds, outputting your media to your big screen TV via HDMI. Western Digital has done a great job updating its own official firmware to boost compatibility with almost every media format you can think of (yes, including MKV packages with subtitles), but the open-source offering takes the WDTV's functionality even further. B-Rad's WDLXTV firmware adds support for USB optical drives, USB hubs, limited ethernet connectivity, custom GUIs, and an application package that turns the WDTV into a mini-server!

Anything Else?

This is just a brief introduction to the world of open-source firmware. Hopefully it's gotten you stewing about all the different electronic devices you can hack in the comfort of your own dwelling. But just in case you need a little more inspiration, is anyone else out there running open-source firmware that deserves mentioning? Leave a comment to help flush out the list for your fellow readers!

How-To: Install RockBox on your MP3 player

Alex Castle — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:51:18 -0500

For most people, an MP3 player serves a pretty narrow purpose: it plays music, maybe a video here or there if you’ve got a newer model, and might have a handful of applications. All in all, though, MP3 players are rarely treated as anything more than tiny, portable jukeboxes, which is a shame, because as gadgets they’ve got the potential for so much more. That’s why, in this article, we’re going to show you how to install custom Rockbox firmware and breathe new life into your trusty old MP3 player.

Rockbox is an open source replacement firmware for MP3 players. It supports a wide range of MP3 players, including many (but not all) players from Apple, Archos, Cowon, iriver, Olympus, SanDisk and Toshiba. Before reading any further, check out the chart at the top of the Rockbox homepage to see whether your specific model is supported or not. If it’s not, you are sadly out of luck, for the time being.

Why Rockbox?

The big question on your mind is probably “why should I install Rockbox on my iPod? The standard interface works pretty well.” Well, aside from the simple nerd cred associated with “hacking” something you own, RockBox affords you with a whole bevy of additional features, including the following:

Customizable User Interface

RockBox lets you pick from a big list of user-created themes for the various supported MP3 players. These changes are both cosmetic, with custom fonts and backgrounds, as well as functional, including the ability to select the contents and layout of the “now playing” screen. You could, for instance, decide that you want an omni-informative display setup, with meters for volume, battery life, a “next track” display and everything else under the sun, or you might want simple display, with nothing but the artist and track name.

Additional Functionality

Rockbox allows you to expand the functionality of your MP3 player in several core ways. For instance, with Rockbox firmware, an old iPod photo (the one before the iPod video) is actually capable of playing .mpeg video files. Many players can play music and video in more formats and containers than are supported by default, such as FLAC and Matroska. Additionally, Rockbox can add voice to menus, and supports voice recognition, to make it easier for people with impaired vision to use MP3 players.

Apps, Apps, Apps

Like the game consoles we’ve already discussed, most MP3 players don’t allow you to run any homebrew code, confining you to apps which they’ve approved (and, in some cases, which you’ve paid for.) With Rockbox, you get access to an enormous catalog of apps, written mostly by hobbyists, which you can load onto your player for added functionality or just to have some fun. The standard Rockbox install includes a bunch of apps and games, including classics like minesweeper, Sudoku and Doom.

Doom

Did we mention that you can play Doom? On a funky, old school iPod? Sure, trying to play Doom on a greyscale iPod screen is enough to make your eyes commit ritual seppuku, but the novelty factor alone is sure to keep you blasting demons with a click wheel for a few minutes at least. Also: remember that nerd cred thing? This is how you get it.

I’m sold. How do I install it?

First, you’ll need to go to the Rockbox website and download the Rockbox Utility, which includes an automatic installer tool which works with any of the supported MP3 players.

Simply run the utility, and it will automatically detect that this is the first time it’s been run and will ask if you want to install Rockbox on a new device. Plug your device into your computer, then select whichever drive letter has been assigned to it, and specify what model it is. Click OK.

The Rockbox utility will now allow you to customize your Rockbox installation. Generally, clicking Complete Installation is advisable, as it will also install the full set of extra plugins to allow you to get the most out of your hacked MP3 player.

Sit tight for a bit while the installation completes, then select whichever theme you want installed on your MP3 player.

And that’s pretty much it; you’ve now got a hacked MP3 player. You can change your theme whenever you feel like it, using the RockBox utility, and you can read the official documentation for your player to find out how you can customize your player using the extensive options menu.

Creative Zii Egg Plaszma Runs on Android, Uses Flexible StemCell Architecture

Andy Salisbury — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:07:20 -0500

Thanks to a recent announcement, we now know that Creative’s new Zii Egg Plaszma (read: open source iPod Touch) will be the first to boast a flexible StemCell system architecture, which will make use of 24 floating-point processors.

The Egg, which is shipping out to developers now in a $399 SDK is being marketed as an Android-friendly “handheld computer,” that has many features similar to Apple’s offering, but beefed up in a few areas. Most notably, it features a full-sized SD card slot, a rear facing HD video camera, a front facing VGA camera, Flash Lite support, GPS, WiFi, and it has enough power under the hood to output 1080p video.

The Egg will likely retail for $199, but there’s no official as to when we can expect it on store shelves.

Image Credit: Creative