Mayor Michael Bloomberg & Spider-Man Team Up on iPad

In a real-life Marvel cross-over team up; Spider-Man joined forces with New York City's Mayor-for-life Michael Bloomberg to fight the City's 9.3% unemployment rate.

An eight-page comic follows an out of work Peter Parker as his job hunt starts in the City's Subway system and a chance encounter with Mayor Bloomberg at the City Hall station (we're assuming the comic stays true to its source and it was on the 4, 5, 6 or R lines).

The comic was commissioned at the request of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment to spread the word of Workforce 1 Career Centers; the City's free to the public job resource center.

As Joe Quesada, Marvel Entertainment's Editor-in-Chief, said, "Even New York's most famous superhero needs a day job."

Available as a free Marvel Comics in-app purchase on iTunes for all iOS devices.

via Reuters

The Beatles on iTunes

Well, tomorrow is here and according to the clock designated 10AM New York, we're about an hour away from the big announcement. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that today's announcement will bring The Beatles catalog to the iTunes Store, a move that will bring one of music's all-time most profitable franchises to a digital retailer for the first time ever.

The negotiations between Apple, EMI, and members of the band have been an on-going saga that seems to be coming to a close.

The truth is this would be a tepid announcement on Apple's part as more and more customers are hoping for a lot more from the world's largest music retailer (I'm looking at you Lala). It would be great to hear that Apple will allow you to stream your content to any via the cloud, offer a subscription a la Zune Pass, or even just offer iOS syncing via wifi.

Well here's hoping to something with a little more substance.

UPDATE: Engadget is reporting that The Beatles page on iTunes went live about 5 minutes ago. So ummm... yeah get there. Screen cap from Engadget below:

via The Wall Street Journal

Full disclosure: I have purchased The Beatles catalog more than once and would probably buy it on iTunes as well.

ITunes Music Preview Times Now Tripled!

Image hosted at http://maci75.wordpress.com

The iTunes Store truly revolutionized the way we consume music online. Downloading your music was no longer an admission of guilt but rather a proclamation that you were the future of music sales.

Hyperbole? Not really; especially when you consider that the iTunes Store accounts for the majority of music purchases in the US. ITunes managed to do this by offering people a 30-second preview of every song in their catalog allowing you to try before you buy. Now, at least according to TechCrunch, it seems like Apple will be serving up 90-second previews for songs longer than 2-minutes and 30-seconds.

Will this mark the beginning of streaming music direct from the cloud? Probably. I just hope it comes sooner than later because I miss having my music library anywhere I went. I miss lala.

Rumor Time: iPod Nano - Touch?

We're two days away from Apple's "Music" event (scheduled for Wednesday September 1st) and that can only mean: more rumors!

We've already glossed over an iPod Touch sporting a Retina Display and dual cameras (for Facetime without an iPhone), 99-cent movie/tv show rentals on iTunes, a more cloud-centric iTunes, and now all but confirmed, a new touchscreen iPod Nano.

Last week Engadget had reported the emergence of a new iPod Nano or iPod Shuffle that was only a 1.7-inch touchscreen. The case above from Alibaba.com suggests that this mysterious micro version of the Touch may be real.

PMB feels it could be a new touchscreen Shuffle as it's about due for a refresh and the tiny, no button interface of the current Shuffle was less than a hit. Also, trading the Nano's video camera (which at the $150 price range) that allows Apple to compete with the Flip camcorder for a 1.7-inch touchscreen would be a step backwards in our opinion.

Alibaba via Engadget

Rumor Time: Apple TV/ iTV 99-cent Rentals coming to iTunes Store

Image originally posted on www.slipperybrick.com

It's almost September, which can only mean one thing: Apple Event - Apple Rumors! It's always a fun time around an Apple Event, the rumor mill is churning double time and this year's "Music/iPod" keynote does not disappoint.

Already we've heard plenty of rumors regarding a new iPod Touch featuring a Retina Display and front facing camera, which of course means Facetime that doesn't require an iPhone. We're also hearing about a new 7-inch iPad, but I wouldn't hold my breath on this one.

The other seemingly yearly ritual is of a much needed update to the Apple TV line. First Engadget reported that the new Apple TV will not feature 1080i or 1080p playback but will offer apps similar to those found on the iPhone/iPod Touch. They also announced a rebranding of the device to iTV. It's been years since there's been any significant update to the Apple TV line, so we're hoping that this is true.

The biggest, understated, rumor of the year is the reported deal to bring 99 cent 48-hour rentals to the iTunes Store. This would be the biggest innovation to how we consume television (at least here in the US). According to Bloomberg, Apple is in advanced talks with several media outlets on getting this deal done in time for their September Keynote (Bloomberg is also saying it'll take place on Sept. 7th).

Just to get an idea of just what kind of impact this could have on cable companies; if you watched 3 shows Monday - Friday at 99 cents each you're monthly viewing would run just under $60 ($59.40 per month). UNDER $60! I wish my current cable bill was even $100 per month. Here's to hope.

Bloomberg via TUAW

UPDATE: Gizmodo.com reports that the Music Apple Keynote will be held September 1st in San Francisco. That was fast.

Ono says, 'Oh No!'

Originally posted at SilverlingingOpticians

Growing up on of the first gadgets that I became enamored with was my father's stereo and record player. The records the wall unit's recessed shelf became my own treasure chest of classic rock, Motown, Stax Records, and The Beatles.

At this time in my life I was drawn to The Beatles' Yellow Submarine album (I'm sure it was the album artwork - tripping on acid and being 6 are eerily the same) and it instilled a deep love for music. Today, more than ever, I continue to be a Beatles fan as I dabble in music production/engineering - their recording techniques truly changed the way music was made and heard.

So no surprises I've been keeping up with the ongoing soap opera that is downloading The Beatles records legally via an online music store. Well if you've been waiting for the day (as I have), you can pretty much continue to wait. In what I can only describe as an effort to ensure no one will ever be able to make legal digital downloads of the Beatles catalog available to fans (new and old), Yoko Ono again cites an impasse (though never says what it is) in their dealings with Apple's iTunes Store.

Although, to be fair the deal would have to get approval from two living members and the two surviving widows of George Harrison and John Lennon, Ono (Lennon's widow) has been the most vocal of her resistance to making the catalog available for digital distribution. Hell to be honest I'm amazed that Beatles Rock Band ever made it for sale. Time and time again, Ono has alluded to John somehow being against the conversion from physical media to digital distribution (often being quoted as it being "what John would've wanted").

As a music lover, an iPod owner, and having spent too much on more than one "re-release" of the Beatles catalog, Yoko here me out for a second: If John were alive, he'd want a divorce and Olivia Munn.

via 9-5 Mac

Holy Hot Dang Batman! IPhone 'Jailbreaking' No Longer 'Illegal'

This one comes in from the U.S. Copyright Office, a ruling was released today stating that "jailbreaking" your iPhone is not, as Steve Jobs had once put it, "illegal." The ruling clearly address the installation of "non authorized" software such as firmware, software, DVD content, and E-books!

I make that determination at the conclusion of a rulemaking proceeding conducted by the Register of Copyrights, who makes a recommendation to me. Based on that proceeding and the Register’s recommendation, I am to determine whether the prohibition on circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works is causing or is likely to cause adverse effects on the ability of users of any particular classes of copyrighted works to make noninfringing uses of those works. The classes of works that I designated in the previous proceeding expire at the end of the current proceeding unless proponents of a class prove their case once again.

Hooray for consumers' rights!

via U.S. Copyright Office

Reminders: Apple iOS4 Goes Live

Hey Poor Macs, a friendly reminder for those of you with an iPhone 3GS/3G, Apple's iOS4 goes live in a few minutes. Run to iTunes at 1PM EST for the update.

Hat tip: Kaiser_Machead via Twitter

UPDATE:
The update is free for both iPhone users AND iPod Touch users. (iOS4 update will only work with 2nd gen iPod Touch or later.)

Apple Buys Lala

Well it's official; the New York Times reports that Apple's acquisition of digital music service Lala is now official. It's a done deal! This could very well change the way we all consume music going forward.

A little background; Lala is a music service that allows users to create personal online "stations" and access them via internet. What sets Lala apart is the ability to upload YOUR music onto their cloud and stream to any web enabled device.

Now as the Times made clear; Apple did not buy label licenses to stream music online- the rights to stream were nontransferable, instead it's a near certainty that Apple bought the technology (servers) and talent (engineers) that make it all work. This could only mean that Apple hopes to incorporate the cloud model to future versions of the iTunes service.

The possibility of seeing an Apple approve method of backing up your iTunes purchases onto their cloud has arrived. What's worse than losing your music? Losing gigabytes worth that you've invested real money on - something we do NOT approve of at The Poor Mac's Blog.

We'll keep you posted.

Apple's for the Children

First let me just extend a big "THANK YOU" to Gizmodo.com for the picture. I don't think anything quite sums up this piece quite like The Breakfast Club holding up an iPhone.

Piper Jaffray & Co. released their annual survey of America's teens to get pulse of consumer spending habits; big surprise: the youngs love Apple!

Here's a basic run down of what the Office of No-Shit uncovered:
1. 15% of the teens surveyed own an iPhone. That's an increase from 8% last year.
2. 22% plan on buying an iPhone within the next 6 months.
3. 87% (up a whole percent from last year) already own iPods - all flavors.
4. Of the 40% of teens that legally download music; 93% of them use iTunes.

So in case you have trouble wrapping your head around what all this means - if you're planning on shopping for any youngin's in your life chances are you'll be swinging by the local Apple Store this holiday season.

via AppleInsider