Last.fm vs. Deezer

It was just yesterday when Last.fm first offered on demand music, beginning in some selected countries. Fans of the social music website will spend even more time on it than they’ve ever done before. It is also a wise step they’ve taken when looking at the competitive landscape because there are several more or less famous on demand music sites that have started in the last months. One of those is Deezer, a French company based in Paris.

The new offers on last.fm are actually not that revolutionary although it is the first time when the social element meets legal on demand music except imeem, which had to delete many copyrighted songs and has therefore lost its initial success.

Me being registered at both the Deezer and the last.fm site, I had the idea to do a little comparison of both to make the choice easier for people new to this.

DEEZER

Problems in iTunes 7.6

Some weird things happened after updating to the new iTunes version, which was released at the Macworld keynote. I’ve never experienced this issue, but now when playing songs in my library over the AirPort Express station, which is connected to the Airport Extreme, iTunes suddenly interrupts and stops playing them. What is more, during that time, I cannot connect to the internet anymore, even with other computers connected to the network. The only reason for this problem I can see at the time is the new update of iTunes because with the earlier version it worked flawlessly. It’s getting really annoying…
Now I want to ask you, bloggers and visitors of my page: Do you also have the above described or similar problems? If yes, do you know something like a work-around? Any comments on the topic are highly appreciated.

UPDATE OF JANUARY 27:

Strange as it seems, after a reinstall of iTunes 7.6 (I tried to install 7.5 again with no luck) it now works without any problems (no interruptions while playing). This is the situation for the German version of iTunes running in Switzerland. I will keep you updated in case I encounter new problems.

Another great song to be introduced by Apple (MacBook Air)

I’ve just watched all the keynote activities going on in San Francisco. Apple brings out – as I predicted – the new, ultra light MacBook Air. When I first saw this, I said: Wow, isn’t that thing cool? (Although the price only allows me to dream of it) And I wanted to know something more about it on Apple’s webpage of course. There, I’ve seen that nice ad about a paper enveloppe, where the new MacBook fits in perfectly. As usual, Apple is delivering high quality and the picture is very clean. What is more, they always pick gorgeous songs relevant to the ad itself. This time, they’ve taken a song by Yael Naïm. It’s called “New Soul” (btw: available through iTunes). Don’t ask me who the singer is, because I’ve never heard of her. But now I think I gotta add another great artist to my iTunes library… (Aren’t they clever?)

Watch the music video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YUxbDEPFiM

Watch the Apple ad on apple.com: http://www.apple.com/macbookair/#ad

Pre-Macworld thoughts

As every year, Apple invites to its great event in San Francisco, where Mac enthusiasts from all over the world participate. Of course, the highlight of the event will again be the great keynote held by Steve Jobs, who is known for releasing innovative and revolutionary products. And people have already begun speculating months before what this year’s sensation(s) could be. Because everyone is writing a let-me-tell-you-what-I-predict article, I will not. The only thing that I can do is write about reliable rumours of the online press so far.

1. New thin subnotebooks with the name MacBook Air (with flash memory, maybe?). Could it be that Apple is going to add a subnotebook to its MacBook family that is ultra-thin and relies on EDGE and Wifi, as it does the iPhone. Because of its lightness it should get the name MacBook Air?

-> A good indication might be the banners with “There’s something in the air” inside the Moscone center, which where hung up there recently:
http://www.macrumors.com/2008/01/11/macworld-san-francisco-theres-something-in-the-air/

2. New version of the iPhone (software). What is certain at the moment is that Apple will bring out a new iPhone firmware with number 1.1.3. This will fix some minor issues and bring improvements. You can now drag icons around on the menu screen as you wish because developers are able to code third-party apps with the new SDK they got at the MacWorld.

-> Screenshot gallery at GearLive: http://www.gearlive.com/gallery/category/C51/

-> Icon-drag-around evidence video at Gizmodo:
http://gizmodo.com/338948/iphone-firmware-113-video-and-evidence-confirms-update-is-real-breaks-unlock-third+party-apps

There are also some rumors going on here in Switzerland that Apple might release the iPhone in February here, this time with 3G inside and the ability to watch TV on-the-go (with the help of the new SDK). This would then mean, that Apple is going to release the new iPhone throughout Europe and maybe not restricted to certain carriers.

3. New iTunes offers in Europe (including new iTunes software): In a new release of iTunes, you would be able to download movies in whole Europe, finally. Offers would vary from buying a movie or just renting it for 24 hours. (Maybe Apple will sell HD movies as well (or just with a higher resolution), but this will take a while as they have to prepare their servers for the rush.)

Another feature could be a YouTube video section directly in iTunes, where you can watch the movies and download them afterwards to your iPod or iPhone.

4. A new, improved Apple TV (therefore the indication “air” = Wifi on the banners). For all the new offers in the iTunes store, a new device has to be created to cover all needs. Many have complained about Apple TV because it was either too limited to certain video formats or there was a lacking internet connection as it is known on PS3 or Wii devices. They would have to rely on the more expensive Mac Mini. Apple could bring out a faster, more compatible Apple TV. Key features would be the seamless integration of iPhones (as remotes or something else) and the internet as an information source for weather information and RSS feeds and the like.

So, maybe I’ve not mentioned all of the ongoing rumors but I’ve certainly picked out the most reasonable ones because the keynote cannot last forever.

Burmese government dramatically raises television fees

The Burmese government has again limited the information possibilities of Burmese people by imposing even higher fees on television and satellite access. Now the mostly poor people there have to pay 166 times more than for a satellite dish than before. That means for an average person today: To get plain satellite access he would have to pay 3 times (!) his yearly income, which is simply impossible. It is hardly possible for people to get information from the outside world as most of them now have to rely upon the state-controlled TV channel MRTV, which shows rather TV soaps than real information.