by Jay Garrett on December 6, 2009
Apple is looking to acquire audio streaming company Lala – if they get the deal then this could free up all of that prime real-estate on your various hard-drives if, like me, you have 50 days or more’s worth of constant music sat in digital audio form.
The move could also improve your music’s sound quality (by allowing larger files) and let you upgrade your computer without losing ratings, playlists and DRM tunes.
Lala is a Stateside service with a nine million-track audio database in the cloud.
Even more tempting for Apple, though, could be Lala’s licenses allowing it to offer free online Music Lockers.
You allow Lala to forage through your iTunes and/or Windows Media library and it will helpfully create a virtual library in its servers.
You can then stream any of those tunes from Lala from free – and at higher qualities than those 64kbps MP3s you still have with all that treble hissing everytime a high-hat is hit.
I can’t really see any major downside – although I’d still be tempted to keep my collection backed up, just in case.
But the thought of having my settings and ratings still there after reinstalling iTunes, all the duplicates removed (as long as it recognises different versions and remasters!), no more DRM-limited or corrupt tunes; and decent quality streams (128kbps, going to 192kpbs and possibly higher).
If you were Apple would you be snapping this up no matter how much Lala is asking for?
by Jay Garrett on May 20, 2009
Genuine free Wi-Fi is thin on the ground…. errr….. air.
Those places that do offer ‘free wi-fi’ will stand over you until you buy a coffee, beer or bun.
That could be about to change with the introduction of Freerunner.
Freerunner has been thought-up by Owen Geddes, one of the people responsible for The Cloud network.
No need for a subscription as Freerunner is a solution for the UK, offering free to use access points in venues geared towards the community.
I’m talkin bout libraries (the few that are left), transport hubs (stations), community centres and schools.
Freerunner is also offering its Wi-Fi solution to commercial venues too for a charge – but a charge that’s just a third of the current rate set by other operators.
That means you can stop after that sixth extra-large-double-whip-caramel-macchiato.
‘Back in 2002, free, open access points were popping up all over the place and there was a real buzz about the potential of public Wi-Fi,’ says Owen Geddes, CEO of Freerunner. ‘Since then, networks have been locked down and access for a day can cost more than your home broadband costs in a month. Our vision is to give consumers free public Wi-Fi access whether they are in the the centre of London, the community centre at the end of their road or the local café in Hartlepool.’
The Freerunner network is based on Open Source technology, with distributed network architecture, no data centres and no single point of failure, which should mean reliability, a faster connection and a low operating cost.
The north east of the country will be the first to get in on the action.
If Freerunner takes off, which it really should, expect to see it down your street very soon.
Apple is looking to acquire audio streaming company Lala – if they get the deal then this could free up all of that prime real-estate on your various hard-drives if, like me, you have 50 days or more’s worth of constant music sat in digital audio form. ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=9c1c8848-c9a5-4d9f-a75e-9750fd9fad87)
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