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Tiscali launches “Music for Life” download service

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Just when you thought there were no companies left jumping on the music download bandwagon, along comes UK ISP Tiscali with their offering.

tiscali-music-for-life-banner

Claiming a catalogue of 6.5 million tracks, including artists such as Johnny Cash, Paul Weller, Temper Trap, The White Stripes, and Adele.

It can boast this number of tracks because it has partnered with eMusic. That means you won’t necessarily get all the latest tunes as you might on services like iTunes, but still have access to a decent range of music. [Read more…]

Originally posted on October 29, 2009 @ 7:58 am

British illegal downloaders could lose Net connection

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Proposals to cut off people who persistently download files illegally from the Internet have been washing around for several years now, but today Lord Mandelson, the UK government’s secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, laid out plans to introduce tough measures to combat illegal filesharing.

Opposed by leading ISPs, who fear that they will be forced to introduce costly and inconvenient monitoring and recording systems, Lord Mandelson did say that he had “no expectation of mass suspensions”, instead outlining a “three strikes” approach whereby persistent offenders would still have the right to appeal if cut off from the Net. [Read more…]

Originally posted on October 29, 2009 @ 9:15 am

Amazon relies on iPhone camera for product matching in new app

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iphone-amazon-appAmazon UK, keen to allow you to buy things from its massive warehouse of products even while on the move, has just announced its new app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Though you’ve been able to access Amazon from the Safari web browser from the word go, the standalone app introduces an interesting new feature: Amazon Remembers.

Using the iPhone/iPod Touch camera, users can find products based on images they’ve snapped. So, you could pop into your local high street store, snap a picture of the exorbitantly-priced gadget, and then get Amazon to find you a cheaper version. [Read more…]

Originally posted on October 26, 2009 @ 7:01 am

Is Google trying to maintain its position in the British psyche?

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google_logo.jpgPerhaps you’ll forgive this thought dump as I make a few personal observations about Google and its place in Britain.

Maybe you have your own thoughts about how Google is trying (officially or otherwise) to maintain its position as premier search engine.

Recently I’ve noticed a trend on TV ads where, instead of providing a direct web address, they invite the viewer to “search online for…”. However, they don’t specify which search engine you should use — merely that you should go online.

Obviously, this approach means that they’re fairly confident that the proposed search term will bring up their website. I wonder if they’re also assuming that most people will use Google?

Last week I saw for the first time a direct ad for Google. At the end of an advert for a pet insurance company, a Google page appeared on screen with the voiceover “Search on Google for Pet Plan”. [Read more…]

Originally posted on October 15, 2009 @ 6:52 am

Shazam music discovery service comes to O2 UK customers

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shazam-logoO2 may still be reeling from its recent loss, but it’s not resting on its laurels, and has partnered with the Shazam music discovery service, finding a new way to make money from its impatient customers.

Some smartphones already have Shazam as an application, so no worries for those users who desperately need to know what that song is, but for those on O2 with lesser handsets, they can now call the 2580 short code, hold their cellphone’s microphone to the source of the music for a few seconds, and then have details of the song texted back to them via SMS. [Read more…]

Originally posted on September 29, 2009 @ 7:28 am