Apple's iCloud music service will automatically mirror your iTunes library using 'high-quality' tracks?

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/05/27/apples-icloud-music-service-will-automatically-mirror-your-itun/

There's been so much chatter about Apple iCloud that you'd think the streaming music service had already been announced and the deals inked. But it's still just a rumor until an Apple executive takes the stage and unleashes the Amazon Cloud Player and Google Music competitor in a spate of superlatives. That hasn't stopped Businessweek from stepping up with a good summary of all that is "known" thus far, while giving us some insight into the particulars of how the service will work and the motivations to make it happen. One revelation, sourced from three people in the know, claims that Apple will scan customers' iTunes libraries (hello, LaLa) and quickly mirror the contents on Apple's own servers -- no massive DSL-choking upload required. And Apple will do you the solid of "replacing" any low bitrate tracks with the "high-quality" versions it stores in its fully licensed music locker for streaming to your connected devices.

Of course, this value-add won't come free and will certainly require a subscription fee. The cost to the consumer, though, is still very much unclear as is the service's integration with Apple's $99 per year MobileMe sham. And you know those rumors about MobileMe being offered as a free service? We wouldn't be surprised if it stays at $99 with iCloud being announced as a "free" feature update; aka, an $8.25 per month music subscription that also provides web access to your synced bookmarks, contacts, email, and calendar. Regardless, it's this subscription model that has the major labels so enthusiastic as it will finally allow them to extort fees for all that pirated audio you may have stumbled upon since Napster was loosed on an unprepared music industry a decade ago. All signs point to WWDC for this to get official but we're sure to hear more -- much more -- before the event kicks off on June 6th.

Apple's iCloud music service will automatically mirror your iTunes library using 'high-quality' tracks? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 May 2011 03:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Convergence - The Present Tsunami Hitting Advertising | ClickZ http://bit.ly/mj5aD2

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WebMD for iPhone and Android Is a Dynamic Mobile Health Compendium [App Of The Day]

Source: http://lifehacker.com/5805317/webmd-for-iphone-and-android-is-a-dynamic-mobile-health-compendium

Whether you're trying to figure out what's wrong with you (health-wise), locate a pharmacy or hospital, learning about drugs and treatments, or track your health problems, WebMD is an extremely comprehensive solution for all of those tasks.

While probably an enormous time-waster for hypochondriacs, if you're trying to figure out what's ailing you, WebMD's mobile app for iPhone and Android is helpful. You can specify symptoms easily by tapping the part of the body where they exist, and then once you've finished adding them all the app will identify some possible problems. You can then save those conditions for later to keep track of what you've discovered—perhaps for when you're seeing a real doctor to verify.

The WebMD app also lets you check out drugs and treatments, so you can learn more about them, and provides photo and video content to help you learn about things like CPR. Additionally, if you're looking for a local pharmacy or healthcare provider, it'll help you search using your current location (or any other location you want).

The only potentially major downside is that the app is a little slow to launch, but that seems to be more of a problem on older hardware. On the iPhone 4, it loads in just a few seconds.

WebMD is available for free, right now, on iPhone and Android.

WebMD for iPhone (iTunes App Store) and Android (Android Marketplace)

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You can follow Adam Dachis, the author of this post, on Twitter and Facebook.  If you'd like to contact him, Twitter is the most effective means of doing so.

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Space Archeologists Discover a Thousand Egyptian Tombs Hidden in Tanis [Video]

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5805387/space-archeologists-discover-a-thousand-egyptian-tombs-in-tanis

Dr Sarah Parcak thinks that "excavating a pyramid is the dream of every archaeologist" but that Indiana Jones is "old school". Well, she must know. After all, she has discovered two pyramids and 1000 tombs. From space.

Two pyramids, one thousand tombs and 3000 ancient settlements. That's what Parcak—an Egyptologist from the University of Alabama in Birmingham—and her team have discovered without even moving from their armchairs. Using infrared satellite imagery, the team has been looking for archeological rests in Tanis, the legendary city Northeast of the Nile delta, which became the capital of Egypt during the 21st dynasty.

And while there's no Map Room in the real Tanis, the satellite—which takes photos from a 435-mile (700km) orbit—is so accurate that it can clearly create a map with the streets and every building buried in the soil. In fact, it can tell if a tomb has been looted or not, distinguishing objects one meter in diameter and even identify materials under the surface of the desert.

Their discoveries have been shocking, revealing a dimension that nobody imagined and it's now considered one of the most important sites in Egypt. Dr Parcak believes that this is just the beginning of her work, which has been already confirmed by test excavations in the area:

They'd excavated a 3,000-year-old house that the satellite imagery had shown and the outline of the structure matched the satellite imagery almost perfectly. That was real validation of the technology.

She believes that, by making them understand the sites as a whole and have a clear idea of where they are getting in, the work can be more selective and focus on the important sites.

It is indeed impressive. The only thing I don't like: "We have moved from Indy," she said. Fine, but can you use a whip and, more importantly, have you found the bloody Ark? That's what I want to know. [Egypt's Lost Cities via BBC

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I'm A Little in Love With My New iPad Arcade Machine [Video]

Source: http://kotaku.com/5805409/im-a-little-in-love-with-my-new-ipad-arcade-machine

Last night I sat in front of an arcade machine in a darkened room of my house and played '80s arcade games until well past midnight.

While I haven't given up on the idea of building a little arcade in my home, Ion's iCade does a good enough job of replicating a form of the experience on an iPad or iPad 2 to at least temporarily satisfy that urge.

The $99 iCade, which starts shipping from ThinkGeek on June 9, is essentially an iPad Bluetooth arcade controller housed in a smartly designed box that looks just like an 80s arcade machine. There's even a bit of fake wood paneling and a light-up coin return slot.

The kit showed up at my house yesterday afternoon in a nondescript cardboard box. Inside was a collection of wood panels, the hard plastic box housing the joystick and buttons, and a small sack of bolts.

It took about ten minutes to screw together the iCade, and resulted in only one, plastic-breaking mistake (turned out it wasn't a big deal). Once assembled, I lifted the lid of the iCade, slid my iPad into the holder and read the instructions.

The iCade is really just a fancy dock and controller for your iPad. It doesn't power your Apple device or provide a monitor or even come with a game. But Ion so nails the aesthetic and feel of those old arcade machines that it doesn't matter. Besides you can string the Apple charger into the iCade and plug it into a wall to charge as you play.

Since the device doesn't come with any games you'll have to do some downloading to get any practical use out of the iCade. Ion suggests you download Atari's Greatest Hits, a collection of Atari arcade and console games that supports their controller.

The collection is free to download and includes one free game (Missile Command was the freebie when I downloaded it last night, but it sounds like they switch it sometimes. Pong was the previous freebie.) The collection includes more than 100 games, but you have to pay to play them. I ended up splurging and getting the entire collection for $15.

The iCade, when paired with a supported game, is a marvel to play on. I set it up on my kitchen table and sat in front of it for hours playing Crystal Castle, Red Baron, Millipede and others. My only regret was that the system doesn't have more support on iTunes. Games like Pac-Man, Dig-Dug and Space Invaders, all available through the online store, simply don't support Bluetooth controllers.

So while I think the iCade is well worth the $99, you may want to consider whether you're a fan of Atari games before picking it up. I'd like to think that down the line more developers will add support for the device, or Bluetooth controllers in general, but there's really no way to be sure.

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