Buy Windows Products 
Buy Mac Products As a new owner of an iPhone, I am very happy with the whole experience. The device is great.
As a media geek, I’m finding it difficult to something basic. And Apple seems to be working against me. Here’s what’s frustrating:
I want to be able to update the media on my iPhone over-the-air. I want my Podcasts to be updated automatically, without having to sync with my PC. I also want to be able to email radio shows automatically recorded as MP3 files (using Replay A/V) to my iPhone, and then play them. (Think TiVo for the radio – on your phone!) For me, this would be the coolest. But no luck 🙁
On the Podcast side, an app called Podcaster promised to do just that sort of thing, but was rejected from the Apple store for no apparent reason.
On the Radio show side, Replay A/V is able to send me emails with links to download radio shows automatically recorded by my home PC. I was hoping to be able to send myself radio shows to listen to on my iPhone. But alas, Safari is “unable to download” files from these links. (The links are generated by YouSendIt, which is integrated into Replay A/V).
So, here are my theories:
Stupidity: Is Apple so dumb as to disallow significant over-the-air media transfers for no good reason?
Evil: Is Apple disabling this capability in order to enable their own service?
Weak: Is Apple being bullied by AT&T to disallow too much 3G data traffic? (Another app that let you use your iPhone as a laptop modem was also killed by Apple.)
This is also puzzling given the Pandora player, which is also a media downloader, and works great on the iPhone. There’s no way Apple could kill the Pandora app though, as it would create a huge outrage.
These uncertainties should be troubling to anyone seriously considering developing media enabled apps for the iPhone. And the authoritarian, opaque, random policies behind the app store really need to end, otherwise all the development talent will go to Android or some other truly open platform, the coolness of the iPhone notwithstanding.
Posts Tagged: mp3
iPhone Media Downloads – is Apple Stupid, Evil, or Weak?
Net Radio Reprieve
Custom radio services like Pandora or last.fm won’t have to shutter – yet. Sound Exchange has agreed to not enforce the new rates right away, most likely trying to head off congressional intervention.
Read the wired magazine article here.
Silent Radio Day
Today is Radio Silence Day, when thousands of online radio music stations go silent to protest the upcoming increase in music fees. This canard promoted by the RIAA basically insures that any internet radio station goes out of business. Not only will fees increase, but they are retroactive to the past 18 months!
Pandora says it best. Read their home page here:
http://pandora.com/
Mad yet? Call your congressman!
FAIR USE? Sort of.
Ars Technica has a nice analysis of the new pro-consumer FAIR USE bill being proposed in the USA. It’s a start, but there’s still a long way to go before true “fair use” recording rights are protected.
Basically, the bill gives hardware companies an exemption, but does nothing for software. To me, it seems like a way to get the content companies and the hardware companies on the same side, and then crush the software companies, where all the true innovation is taking place.
Go read the entire article.
New First-ever Streaming Flash Video and MP3 recorder
Forget the XM and Sirius merger, the really big news is Replay Media Catcher, a hot new utility that captures MySpace video and MP3s, as well as lots of other premium audio and video content from sites like ABC.com, NBC.com, and thousands more. The technological breakthrough is the ability to capture streaming Flash, which nobody has been able to do before. Go to www.replay-media-catcher.com to download a free trial copy and check it out!
Here’s the official press release if you’d like to learn more:
New Streaming Media Recorder Captures Previously Unrecordable Online Video and Audio
February 21, 2007, San Anselmo, CA – Applian Technologies today announced the release of Replay Media Catcher, the first ever Online Video and Audio recorder for streaming Flash and MP3 sites. Replay Media Catcher allows customers to capture perfect digital reproductions from previously unrecordable premium destinations like ABC.com, NBC.com, MySpace™ and thousands of others, as well as popular places like YouTube™ and Google Video.
Replay Media Catcher uses a simple one-click recording interface. Customers just click the Start Recording button, and then play the streaming Flash video or MP3 audio to capture. Once Replay Media Catcher detects the media stream, it will continue to save a playable video or audio file on the PC hard drive, and the customer can then go in search of other media to record. Replay Media Catcher is able to record multiple streams simultaneously, limited only by the speed of the customer’s internet connection. Also included is FLV Player, which lets customers watch their recorded videos.
“Replay Media Catcher is the first ever production software to be able to capture RTMP Streaming Flash streams used by many of the top-tier content sites,” said Bill Dettering, CEO of Applian Technologies. “These unprotected, unencrypted files have been previously impossible to record for your personal use, and now Replay Media Catcher makes it possible to archive and enjoy more great online video without having to be connected to the internet.”
Replay Media Catcher is ready for download and immediate purchase from replay-media-catcher.com for $39.95. A free demo is also available. Replay Media Catcher requires a PC running Windows.
About Applian Technologies
Applian Technologies was started by Bill Dettering in 1997. In 2001, Bill created Replay Radio to be able to record and enjoy his favorite radio programs during his long daily commute to Silicon Valley. Now, several years after the launch of Replay Radio, Applian is recognized as the global leader in online recording software. Other popular Applian products include the Audio Video Streaming Capture Suite, Replay AV 8, Replay Music, Replay Converter, and Replay Screencast. Learn more about Applian Technologies and all their products at http://www.Applian.com.
YouSendIt and Applian Partnership
Replay A/V is going to have an interface to YouSendIt, so you can send recordings to yourself from one PC to another device. How cool is that!
Here’s the Press Release:
YouSendIt, Applian Partner to Record and Deliver Large Streaming Media Files Via the Web
Partnership Allows Customers to Retrieve Recorded Online Media Anywhere
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. & SAN ANSELMO, Calif. — YouSendIt, Inc., the leader in web-based file delivery for business and Applian Technologies, the global leader in software products for recording streaming media, today announced a partnership that will allow Applian customers to retrieve their recorded media anywhere they have Internet access. The combined offering will enable users to capture, convert and send media with Applian’s Replay A/V 8 and YouSendIt’s Web based file transfer service.
The YouSendIt Plug-In for Applian’s Replay A/V 8 is the first to allow users to send streaming media files directly from within the application. Customers can set up file transfer to start automatically after the recording is completed.
“YouSendIt is known to be very easy to use,” says Ivan Koon, CEO, YouSendIt. “The integration into Replay A/V 8 allows users to send files directly from within the application, eliminating the pain associated with using FTP or burning a CD and sending it via overnight mail.”
“We are excited to partner with YouSendIt — building the ease of use, speed, reliability and security of YouSendIt’s solution into Replay A/V 8 will help our customers record, convert and then retrieve their favorite recordings anywhere they have Internet access,” said Bill Dettering, CEO, Applian. “The combined solution will be the most powerful and versatile recording program on the market. Our customers will now be able to enjoy their favorite shows wherever and whenever they like.”
Replay A/V makes it easy to record all types of online media. Several hundred thousand Applian customers already benefit from the ability to record almost any streaming audio and video instantaneously, or schedule recordings to happen automatically later. The integrated Replay Media Guide lets users pick shows to record with a single click. Replay A/V is the only software that combines Stream Capture, Audio Recording and an Enhanced Podcast Client in one easy-to-use interface.
The Replay A/V YouSendIt integration will allow users to receive captured streaming media files anywhere. For example, a home PC can record a radio show, and customers will be able to listen to that show while at work or travelling.
Replay A/V with YouSendIt service will be available in March 2007, with a beta version in February.
About YouSendIt
YouSendIt is the leader in file delivery for business. The company is based in Mountain View, CA and offers professionals in small and medium businesses a reliable solution to move and track large files. Proprietary technology and enterprise-level server farms on both coasts guarantee excellent response and reliability. YouSendIt offers three business subscription plans and a pay-per-use plan, in addition to a free service. With over two and a half million registered users from 220 countries, YouSendIt transfers over 1 million files per day — over 400 million to date. YouSendIt is led by its CEO, Ivan Koon, former SVP, Enterprise Intelligent Documents Business Unit at Adobe, and funded by Alloy Ventures and Sevin Rosen Funds.
For more information and to send a big file via YouSendIt, please visit http://www.yousendit.com.
About Applian Technologies
Applian Technologies is recognized as the global leader in software products for recording streaming media. Other popular Applian products include the Audio Video Streaming Capture Suite, Replay Music, Replay Converter, and Replay Screencast. Learn more about Applian Technologies and all their products at http://www.Applian.com
Contacts:
YouSendIt,
Inc. Florian Brody,
650-265-0520 (Media) Sr. Director Marketing Communications [email protected] or Atomic PR (for YouSendIt) Mike Barash,
415-402-0230 (Media) [email protected] or Applian Technologies Leslie Bee,
415-608-2263 (Media) Director of Marketing [email protected]
Replay A/V 8 Released
The long awaited update to Replay A/V is here! Version 8 offers several usability enhancements, and offers unparalleled support for Flash (FLV) Videos from sites like YouTube, MySpace, Gogle Video and more. And it’s still the best way to record all your favorite radio shows.
– Resizeable window
– Fully integrated with Replay Converter
– Improved URL finder: more supported network cards and also finds downloaded videos from the browser cache
– YouTube, Google Video and customizations for other video download sites
– TV Tuner card and Webcam support
– New MediaPaks let you record all the popular shows in interest categories like Politics, Business or Technology with a single click.
– Custom MP3 tags
– new simplified interface
– Over 60 enhancements!
If you already own Replay A/V, you can learn more and upgrade for just $9.95 from here:
http://www.applian.com/replay-av/upgrade8.php
Check it out!
PERFORM act will kill Internet Radio
I just received this email from iPAc (reprinted in full):
Few power plays are as blatant and harmful as the PERFORM Act (S. 2644)
from northern California’s own Dianne Feinstein. Simply put, PEFORM revokes
your right to tape radio shows while imposing draconian DRM on all internet
radio.
The Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) explicitly allows a person to record
radio programs for their own personal use. In exchange, we all pay a
Hollywood Cartel tax on some blank CDs and tapes. It’s a bill that has
served us well for over a decade, but now with advanced satellite radio
receivers that allow paying subscribers to time shift their favorite
programs the Hollywood Cartels are asking for ‘backsies’ on the AHRA.
Always eager to please her real constituents in Hollywood, Dianne Feinstein
stepped up to the plate and introduced PERFORM.
But, if overturning the AHRA wasn’t enough, Feinstein slipped in a
provision that changes the Copyright Act to force Internet radio stations
to impose the most severe and draconian DRM possible. All of the Internet
radio stations that you know and love will be forced to abandon MP3
streams. Innovative companies like Pandora are already heavily burdened and
taxed by the DMCA, forcing them to spends additional money to license DRM
is an undue burden.
Who does Dianne Feinstein represent? Is it Northern California, the
economic engine for the entire state and the nation? Or is it Southern
California, the repressive monopolists that seek to limit expression and
technology?
You can find out how you can stop Senator Feinstein’s PERFORM Act at
http://ipaction.org/action/perform
Thanks very much for your continued support of IPac.
Sincerely,
Jake Fisher
Executive Director
IPac.org
Finetune vs. Pandora
Just got wind of an interesting new Music/Radio site: Finetune. Check it out!
You can build playlists, and then let others listen to them. Plus, it can build custom radio stations based upon a favorite artist and it’s playlist data.
The design is neat, and once you know it’s a radio site, it’s a great way to start listening with no hassles. And if you want to become a DJ, building your own 45 track (or more) playlist/station is easy.
And it works great with Replay Music too.
Check it out!
Just how sensitive are they?
The RIAA shows an “abundance of sensitivity.”