The MP3 Player Turns 10, Still Listens to Boyz II Men Occasionally

Ah, to be young again. Today marks the anniversary of the first device built with dedicated storage coupled with built-in mp3 decoding, the venerable MPMan F10, built by Saehan Information Systems in 1998. Featuring a luxurious 32MB of storage, this player could hold about eight songs, required transfer of files via a serial cable, and went for the very respectable price of $250. Largely unheralded in the US, the MPMan paved the way for the popular Rio PMP300, built by Diamond Multimedia.

Of course, things have changed a little since those halcyon days. Some have changed for better, some for worse. Still, it's always good to remember where we originally came from and be thankful. Cheers, Saehan Information Systems! Now, where did I put my serial cable? I want to crank up some Ace of Base, kick back, and play some GoldenEye on my N64.

Rolly Ready For US; I Still Don't Get It

Okay, I understand that this is not a gadget for everyone. I understand I'm not the target market here. But here's the burning question for me; who the hell is the target market? What looney tune has gone into a focus group for Sony and specifically said, "I want a little egg-shaped thing, that plays music, and dances. That'd be right up my alley." Even more questionable, what Sony executive has thought, "Hmmm, focus group said they want a dancing musical egg. Let's do it! And... here's the real kicker...let's do it for 400 bucks!" Then he gave himself a high five. Just listen to this:

"Rolly has the ability to attract your attention as soon as you turn it on," said Brennan Mullin, vice president of marketing for audio at Sony Electronics. "It's a tremendous example of what can happen when entertainment and technology merge."

You know what else has the ability to attract my attention? The loss of four hundred bucks from my bank account! Anyway, the Rolly comes preloaded with 3 song-and-dance numbers ("Also Sprach Zarathustra," Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" and Earth Wind and Fire's "Boogie Wonderland") the ability to program your own dances, 2GB of memory, and a lingering sense of sadness that the money you just spent could've gotten you another somewhat popular Sony appliance.

[Sony's Rolly Rolls Into US]

Napster Sheds It's DRM, Runs Around Nude

Watch your back, iTunes. Napster have opened their new web store today, and along with it, a brand spanking new pricing structure. Starting right this second, all tracks are $0.99 apiece, albums are $9.99, and all of it is totally DRM free. Even better, the almost all of the tracks are enocded in mp3 at the pretty decent bitrate of 256Kbps, along with high resolution artwork (at least 1000 x 1000 pixels).

For those of you still digging the all-you-can-eat subscription models, they is also still available for $13 (Online) & $15 (To Go) a month, although obviously these will carry the same DRM restrictions that they had before. Namely, protected WMA format, and the files expire when your subscription is up.

Unfortunately, not all the news is peachy keen. Napster will not be allowing people who have bought files in the older protected formats to upgrade to the new DRM-free tracks, due to label restrictions. Oh well, I'm sure nothing bad will ever happen with those tracks.

[Napster Web Store]

Fizz Cup Is Bringing Ice-Cream + Soda Back

I can't think of the number of times that I've been out on the town and thought, "I really need an ice-cream float, like right now." This is officially known as the Ice-Cream Conundrum. Well worry no more! The Earth has assigned it's finest scientists onto the task of solving the Ice-Cream Conundrum, and here is the result. The Fizz Cup is a unique way to enjoy the pleasures of an ice-cream soda on the go without having to construct a time machine, travel back to the 50's and find a local soda fountain. All yours for the price of $13.50 for a 6-pack of Fizz Cups - think of all the money you'll save on time machine components alone!

[Fizz Cup]

Firefox RC 1 Hits The Wires

Firefox 3 Release Candidate 1 has just been dropped on the masses, and features a handful of interface changes, some security enhancements, and upgraded speed and stability for AJAX-heavy sites like Gmail. I'm really glad RC1 has hit, because it means that extension makers will now start the process to add Firefox 3 compatibility to their wonderful work. Seriously, Firefox is good, but it is the extensions that make it great. So if you're still lingering on the memory-hogging hambeast of Firefox 2, Firefox 3 RC 1 is here to save you. Hop to it!

[Firefox 3 RC1]

I'm Afraid I Can't Let You Apply That Wallpaper, Dave

2001: A Space Odyssey is an awesome movie, and features one of the coolest sentient computers to ever feature in a movie; the HAL-9000. Are you a Stanley Kubrick fan? Does your computer sing "Daisy" in a creepy way when it gets a BSOD or kernel panic? If so, this is the wallpaper for you. Just remember, don't ever plot against it where it can hear you. Once it knows your plans, things just go from bad to worse.

[Deviant Art] (use the download link on the left sidebar)

Tenori-On Is Awesome, Musical, Nerdish

Yamaha, you have tickled me today. The Tenori-On, a new drool-worthy gadget thinly disguised as a "digital musical instrument" creates visible music, which dances across it's 16 x 16 LED matrix screen. By pressing different LED buttons, you can create notes which can then be further manipulated by pressing the controllers on the side of the screen, altering pitch, tempo, loop control and more. Playing the Tenori-On is fascinating, because can be done not only by listening to the notes, but by watching the screen and using patterns and shapes to form music. Hard to explain, but easy and beautiful to watch.

Now, all you music nerds whose jaws just dropped to the floor, let me say this: the Tenori-On is only available in extremely limited quantities, for a measly sum of $1200. Orders are on a first come, first served basis, so register now if you'd like to pick up a unit.

[Yamaha's Tenori-On]