Distorted-Loop.com

Snow Patrol have introduced the band’s second iPhone app, a free one, which marks the release of the act’s ‘Up To Now’ album.

The application offers the following features:

Make A Snowflake – every snowflake is unique, and your App can be too. Use your finger and the tools provided to create your own snowflake, then save and use it as your own personalized navigation within the app. You can even export the snowflake and use it as your online avatar.

SnowPatrol.com News Feed – keep up to date with the latest Snow Patrol news via the app. Any updates to the website will be fed directly to your app. Read the rest of this entry »

Shazam today introduced its new Shazam Encore app to the App Store, offering many new features at a one-off cost of £2.99/ €3.99/$4.99. The company’s existing free app – of which over 10 million copies have been downloaded thus far – will also remain available, the company said.

“Since our launch on the App Store, Shazam has achieved a huge following with iPhone and iPod touch users and is now one of the most popular music apps in the world,” said Andrew Fisher, CEO of Shazam.  “We have listened to our iPhone and iPod touch users and have created a new app which answers their requests to take them on an enhanced music journey that will change the way music lovers experience and learn about music.”

Shazam Encore is filled with new functionality, including:

Read the rest of this entry »

Some may recall our early experiments in iPod DJ clubbing at the Playlist Club; with the arrival of the iPhone we’ve been looking forward to something like Touch DJ – but Apple’s been sitting on the approval of the new App, for some unexplained reason.

Developers, Amidio put together this video to voice their frustration over Apple’s App Store approval process.
Read the rest of this entry »

Slate analyzes Microsoft’s marketing of Windows 7 over the years, and finds it wanting. Incidentally, according to the NPD groups’ weekly tracking service, Windows 7 software unit sales in the U.S. increased 234% over Windows Vista’s first few days of sales.

However, hoped for uptick in PC demand didn’t take place after the launch of Windows 7 in late October and is unlikely to do so in 2009 due to most Windows Vista users not needing to replace their PCs in order to upgrade to Windows 7, while some users are waiting for Microsoft to release Windows 7′s first service pack, according to sources at Taiwanese PC vendors.

Returning to the ads theme – Windows 7 ads have lost the internet meme wow factor in the last week, while Apple’s own spots remain in the top ten ads online.

AdAge reports: “The Mac vs. Microsoft battle of the operating systems has been taken to the viral video sphere, and Apple emerged victorious this week. Microsoft’s Windows 7 campaign drops off the chart, while Apple’s newest “Get a Mac” creative hangs on in the No. 4 spot.”

It seems Microsoft’s future hangs with the Win 7 early adopters – will they love, or loathe the new OS? We’ve heard from the critics (and Microsoft PR), now lets see how the market goes.

Meanwhile, over at Amazon, we see the various flavours of Windows 7 decline in sales importance in the charts (though, to be fair, that’s also happening to Apple’s Snow Leopard.

A final nail? Check out CNN, who note that “Vista Sold More PC’s Than Windows 7 did“, pointing out that hardware makers haven’t seen much of an up-tick in PC sales on the new OS release.

HMV is continuing its attempt to take on iTunes, now launching its online music store, HMV Digital, in Canada.

HMVdigital.ca offers millions of tracks for download in MP3 format, free of DRM and playable on any digital media player equipped with MP3 support. Because it’s a Canadian site, it’s available in English and French.

The cross-platform service is accessed via a Web browser, and – unlike iTunes – lets users download previously purchased tracks for free in the event a collection is lost or damaged.

Sometimes you got to sweat as an Apple journalist – watch Macworld’s Dan Moran pretty much tell Fox he doesn’t really know what Apple is planning with iTunes, beyond the rumours he’s read on 9 to 5 Mac.

Don your eye patch and join a motley band of scientists, friends and followers hiding out in the depths of London Bridge’s atmospheric SHUNT Lounge for an extraordinary voyage through the strange seas of particle physics.

With 50,000 tonnes of super pure water and a crew of expert navigators from Queen Mary University of London, and Imperial College London, Super K Sonic Booooum is a mind blowing installation demonstrating the visual equivalent of a massive sonic boom.

A remarkable fusion of water, light and science, the installation – developed by award winning curator Nelly Ben Hayoun – is inspired by physicists at the Super-Kamiokande (Super K) neutrino observatory, a massive subterranean scientific instrument used – amongst other things – to discover traces of exploding stars out there in the universe. Read the rest of this entry »

EMI may soon offer fans live recordings of gigs they attend as they walk out the door of the show, with the company today introducing Abbey Road Live, a new live music recording and instant production service.

Abbey Road Live will offer fans the chance to purchase high quality recordings of music events, instantly, at concert venues

Recordings will be made available in range of formats including CD, DVD and digital devices or via secure digital delivery to home computers or mobile handsets

Mixed and mastered on site by a dedicated crew of experts, the recordings will be made available in a range of formats including CD, DVD and USBs or via secure digital delivery to home computers or mobile handsets as streams or downloads.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Automobiles will soon be linking up with servers in the cloud to enable everything from crowdsourced pothole detection, personalized radio stations, video selections that include YouTube and even video streams from the front windows of other cars.

“A consortium of tech companies called ng Connect showed off a functional concept version of a Toyota Prius on Tuesday that includes multiple LCD screens, an app platform similar to the one for the iPhone, and a high speed LTE internet connection that promises to make 3G feel like dial-up. The set-up turns the car into a Wi-Fi hot spot, plays movies on demand, and lets passengers frag each other in multi-player games.”

More here

This rather interesting graphic speaks volumes, including news that iTunes users spend on average $7 at the store on each transaction and much more. *Thanks to Steve Clayton*