On May 30, Apple officially launched iTunes Plus, billed as "DRM-free music tracks featuring high-quality 256kbps AAC encoding for audio quality virtually indistinguishable from the original recordings." The initial material available from the iTunes Plus section of the iTunes Media Store is, for the moment, limited to EMI artists, although other labels have announced pending deals with Apple. The "improved" songs sell for $1.29 rather than the standard 99¢.
McIntosh Laboratory announced its $6000 MS750 music server on May 30. The second music server in McIntosh's line, the MS750 incorporates a 750GB hard drive and integrated Web interface capabilities. McIntosh estimates that the MS750 is capable of storing 2700 CDs at full resolution, or about 12,000 songs.
The <A HREF="http://blog.stereophile.com/he2007/">Home Entertainment Show 2007</A> held May 11—13, 2007, at the Grand Hyatt New York Hotel in New York City, will be remembered by exhibitors, consumers, and visiting media as a well-attended showcase of some of the finest home-entertainment products available.
I suppose, if he wanted to, Ariel could stop for a bit and take a look into last year, to read of how Kristina Roman saw things — <a href="http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/062206krlucky/">from her lucky charms perspective</a>. It wouldn't be absolutely necessary, but it might prove interesting. I, as you know, enjoy the casual look back.
Forty years ago today, June 1, 1967, The Beatles taught the world what innovation really sounded like.
Huckleberry wants to become spokescat for a high-end car manufacturer. Here he's posing for the hood medallion.
Bagheera knows what the exercycle is really for.
'Fess up, you've never seen a map of the United Federation of Planets, have you?
Sales are flat!