John Mellencamp is not an iPod fan

If you happen to believe John Mellencamp, the Internet is the equivalent of the A-Bomb.

"I think the Internet is the most dangerous thing invented since the atomic bomb," he said last week at the Grammy Museum, as reported by Canada's The Globe and Mail. "It's destroyed the music business. It's going to destroy the movie business."

Oh, and that little doohickey called the iPod that happens to be all the rage? He listened to one of the remastered Beatles tracks on CD, then he listened to the same song on an iPod.

"You could barely even recognize it as the same song. You could tell it was those guys singing, but the warmth and quality of what the artist intended for us to hear was so vastly different," he lamented.

And, Mellencamp is quite sure that rock and roll will go the way of the dodo, since no one will listen to it any longer. It's not like there's a store where people could easily buy his entire music catalog, along with other rock and roll gems.

[Via Edible Apple]
TUAWJohn Mellencamp is not an iPod fan originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Scammers steal from PayPal accounts of iTunes users

Yesterday reports were flying in that a “major security hole” in iTunes accounts linked to PayPal was being exploited. The problem turns out not to be a “major security hole” associated with iTunes accounts but rather a phishing scam that’s actually pretty common. The scammers found a way to charge thousands of dollars to iTunes [...]Scammers steal from PayPal accounts of iTunes users is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

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At last, Steve Jobs may demolish old home

1984 wasn't just a landmark year for Apple, but it was also the year that Steve Jobs bought an aging mansion. Jobs lived in the house, originally built in the 1920s, for 10 years then rented it out. Since 2001, he's tried to get the mansion torn down to build a new home, saying that it was "
one of the biggest abominations of a house I've ever seen," but preservationists stopped him. He even tried to give it away in 2005, but that didn't succeed.

AppleInsider reports that Uphold Our Heritage has dropped its appeal of a demolition permit issued to Jobs in 2009. The group wanted two residents to dismantle and move the house two miles away, then open it to the public once a year, which actually falls in line with the original demolition terms from December 2004. However, the couple who wanted to do this had a number of stipulations for both Jobs and the town, the Menlo Park Almanac reported, and they later dropped their bid. Other attempts to salvage the home were blocked due to Uphold challenging Jobs in court. Historically significant parts of the home will be removed and preserved, per the 2009 permit.

AppleInsider produced a photo gallery of the house last year after a photographer noticed that the house's gates, doors and windows were entirely open.

TUAWAt last, Steve Jobs may demolish old home originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 23 Aug 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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BlackBerry Torch Is More Evolution Than Revolution for RIM

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BlackBerry App World gets a much-needed overhaul

Filed under: BlackBerry
Unlike iPhone and iPod touch users I know, BlackBerry owners tend to be plenty happy with the built-in array of apps RIM ships on their smartphones. That's probably a good thing, because BlackBerry App World had some fairly big shortcomings when compared to the App Store.

RIM hopes the release of App World 2.0 brings the experience more in line with competitors -- and at first glance, I'd say it does. For starters, App World is now fully searchable and categorized for easy browsing. Top 25 groupings have been added, as have options to filter free and paid apps.

Developers are also able to sell cheaper apps now, with sub-$2 price points available. One more big-time change is that users can now pay for those apps with a major credit card instead of PayPal, and some will even be able to post app purchases directly to their monthly cellular bill (depending on their carrier, of course).

With lower prices and better discovery options, App World 2.0 should encourage BlackBerry users to take the plunge and install some of the thousands of add-on apps available for their smartphones.BlackBerry App World gets a much-needed overhaul originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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Age of Empires Online -- the next iteration of the famous franchise is kinda, um, FarmVille...

Filed under: Games, Social Software

Do not adjust your monitor -- it's meant to look cartoony!

Age of Empires Online, the long-awaited update to one of the most famous RTS franchises, is coming, along with a truly massive deviation from its usual format. Yes, it's still an RTS; yes, there are still buildings and military and a campaign -- but that's where the similarities end!.

Age of Empires Online is actually closer to FarmVille than an Age of Empires title. Your city is saved online, accessible from anywhere (the game will be digitally distributed, so you can log in from anywhere). You will carry out quests, which will take the form of single- and multi-player cooperative missions. Of course there's in-game chat too, so you can talk to your friends while you play. Basically, it's a social MMO, but with 'real' RTS gameplay tacked on. Watch the video on its website to see some actual gameplay.

I'm not quite sure what to make of it all. The FAQ has tantalizing yet thoroughly useless hints at what to expect. There's no sign of what it will cost, but I presume it will be free, if it wants to compete with FarmVille. That opens another kettle of fish: as a full RTS, it must be cost inga lot more than other Flash-based MMOs to develop... how will they monetize it?

Age of Empires Online is slated for release sometime in 2011. You can try your chances, like me, and sign up for the Closed Beta, though! (The beta sign-up survey asks if you've played FarmVille and Mafia Wars, incidentally...)

Oh, and apparently this is a Windows PC exclusive -- I had so hoped for a mobile title to challenge Civilization for Facebook...Age of Empires Online -- the next iteration of the famous franchise is kinda, um, FarmVille... originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 17 Aug 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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