MyCloudMusic Squeezes Into Crowded Storage Locker Space

If you are a nascent tech media company it's always a good idea to launch a me-too service that goes head-to-head with both Apple and Google. Or at least, one imagines that was the discussion around the offices of TriPlay, the platform-agnostic cloud computing company behind the just-launched service MyMusicCloud. The service is entering is entering this fray.

On its site the company offers a somewhat nonsensical comparison chart that portends to show the difference between MyMusicCloud and Apple iCloud and Google Music Beta and Amazon Music Player, that, truth be told, feels like an afterthought. To be fair, the TriPlay was likely working on its Music service before iCloud or Google Music launched, so the service itself is likely not a reaction to those offerings. The tagline for the launch though, "Finally, total music freedom," sounds a few months too late.

The promotional video for MyMusicCloud touts the advantages of crowd-based storage lockers in general (it almost looks like a PSA) but doesn't specifically address Apple or Google (or any of the slew of others edging into the space), but rather drops the bomb that -- wait for it -- you can access your music without strangling yourself with USB cords.

MyMusicCloud has a store with 11 million songs int it (prices start at .19 cents a song), but what they (and parent TriPlay) are really selling is storage. As such, your first 2GB are free (which translates to about 500 songs at an average nitrate of 128 kbps), but then you have to purchase one of the storage plans (the comparison chart fails to mention that Google Music is completely free, for the time being). The comparison chart also erroneously states that Google Music doesn't work on Apple devices (there's not native app, but the player is acceptably accessible through Safari's mobile browser) and Google's Music Manager downloads to Mac device with no problem.

So, are there enough people out there who want access to their music everywhere, who trust neither Apple nor Google nor Amazon and are unsatisfied with the other options out there, to support yet more cloud-based music services?

Tokyoflash Kisai Night Vision

When you mention the name Tokyoflash, you would surely know that your brain is in for a rocking good time if you love to figure out how to tell the time through the clever use of puzzles. After all, most Tokyoflash timepieces require a fair bit of IQ in order to decipher the current time, and the Kisai Night Vision does take some getting used to as well if you are so comfortable with analog or digital watches your entire life.

This LED wristwatch will come in a black stainless steel exterior, sporting sub-surface LEDs that are embedded within a hexagonal form factor. Running out of juice? Fret not – as power efficient as LEDs are, they still need power from time to time, and good thing Tokyoflash decided to support USB recharging with this since most devices get their power through a similar route these days as well.

Capable of letting you know not only the time but the date as well, the Kisai Night Vision will sport an integrated alarm with a “light-up animation.” You can choose from three different LED colors – blue, green or red, where it will retail at a promotional rate of $129 a pop. Those who are late to the party will literally pay for their tardiness, to the tune of $149. You know what they say about the early bird.

The Future of Tablet computing

Then came in the laptops, notebooks or mobile computing which took technology a step ahead. It’s fair to say laptops have come a long way since the early 1990s, LCD displays have been replaced with sleek HD screens and the once plus-size machines are now zero sized models. If laptops have evolved so much in that space of time, where can they go from here; especially in this so-called post-PC era where tablets PCs are all set to take over computing world?

One important element of the laptop design has stayed persistent during the past 20 years, the conventional flip lid, protecting the screen and providing a sturdy base for a the keyboard it’s the back-bone of any laptop. But with the emergence of the tablet market, advances in technology and changing materials this could be about to change.

The rise of tablet PCs means laptops must adapt, while tablets and laptops are both suited to particular environments, each could learn from one another. While the clam-shell laptop is tried and tested it does have its drawbacks and limitations, in the future it is very likely that we will see new types of laptops moving away from the clam-shell design. Dual screen and sliding laptops have already made an appearance these early concepts will undoubtedly see many iterations in the coming years, which could see them grab back some of market share tablet PCs have recently taken.

Power, the Achilles heel of laptops, we’ve all been there desperately trying to complete a task before the life in your laptop drains away. Wouldn’t it be amazing if laptops could hold their charge for days on end, unfortunately that’s not going to happen anytime soon. However smarter technologies such as inductive charging could soon put AC adaptors into retirement. For this to happen charging pads will need to be widely adopted, just imagine sitting on the train using your laptop while it charges via the surface you’re using.

Going a little back in time on January 27, 2010, Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ introduced a thin, always-on tablet device that would let people browse the Web, read books, send email, watch movies, and play games. It was also no surprise that the 1.5-pound iPad resembled an iPhone, right down to the single black button nestled below the bright 10-inch screen. But there was more to it that what met the eye. In addition to the lean-back sorts of activities one expects from a tablet, there was a surprising pitch for the iPad as a lean-forward device, one that runs a revamped version of Apple’s iWork productivity apps. In many ways, Jobs claimed, the iPad would be better than pricier laptops and desktops as a tool for high-end word processing and spreadsheets. If anyone missed the point, Apple’s design guru Jonathan gushed in a promotional video that the iPad wasn’t just a cool new way to gobble up media – it was blazing a path to the future of computing.

Even though the iPad looks like an iPhone built for the supersize inhabitants of Pandora, its ambitions are as much about shrinking our laptops as about stretching our smartphones. Yes, the iPad is designed for reading, gaming, and media consumption. But it also represents an ambitious rethinking of how we use computers. No more files and folders, physical keyboards and mouses. Instead, the iPad offers a streamlined yet powerful intuitive experience that’s psychically in tune with our mobile, attention-challenged, super-connected new century. Instant-on power. Lightning-fast multitouch response. Native applications downloaded from a single source that simplifies purchases, organizes updates, and ensures security.

Apple has even developed a custom chip, the A4, that both powers the machine and helps extend its battery life to 10 hours. But don’t call it a netbook, a category Steve Jobs went out of his way to trash as a crummy compromise. The iPad is the first embodiment of an entirely new category, one that Jobs hopes will write the obituary for the computing paradigm that Apple itself helped develop. If Jobs has his way, before long we may be using our laptops primarily as base stations for syncing our iPads.

Thunderbolt, a technology that can be found in Apple desktops and laptops, could be an Ultrabook spec in phase two or three of its roadmap, if Intel has its way. It’s a high-speed transfer technology that’s roughly 22 times the speed of USB 2.0 and can drive external displays as a mini-Displayport. Unfortunately, Thunderbolt is also in the early stages, and the lack of third-party Thunderbolt devices speaks to that sentiment.

The big question now is whether the term Ultrabooks will stick and play out in the way that netbooks and tablets revolutionized their respective categories. One thing you can count on is that Intel will not make the same mistake as it did with the CULV segment. Intel announced a $300 million dollar Ultrabook fund intended to help companies achieve this vision. The Ultrabook spec isn’t merely a list of hardware requirements that Intel hopes its partners will follow. It’s keen on delivering a great user experience as well, which is why the company has put together an army of anthropologists, experimental psychologists, and a Project-Runway-like design team to make all of this come to fruition. And with the amount of effort poured into this category, the CULV section might just be renamed to Ultrabooks.

Accused ‘cannot surf net'

A MAN accused of possessing child pornography has claimed he could not even use a search engine to surf the internet.

The claim was made during a police interview that was played to Bundaberg District Court yesterday on the second day of the trial of Raymond Donald Jay.

A USB stick containing 11 child pornography videos was allegedly found in a safe in Jay's Anderson St home in August 2009.

The court was told Jay, a 36-year-old school bus driver, was the only person who knew the safe's combination and his de facto partner had a key that had gone missing.

The computer was also used by Jay's three stepchildren, who lived at the home.

Jay told police during his interview that he only used the computer for about an hour a week to install Microsoft upgrades, upgrade the antivirus program and look up directions for work on Google Maps.

He said he also used peer-to-peer file sharing site LimeWire to download music.

"I just don't know how to use any of the search engines," Jay claimed in the interview.

He said he got confused by the huge number of results produced by search engines.

The court heard on Wednesday that the child pornography material had been downloaded on the computer using LimeWire and transferred to the USB stick.

The court also heard that in the safe with the USB, about 30 adult pornography DVDs were found during a voluntary police search on August 17, 2009.

Jay also voluntarily handed over the USB to police on the same day.

He said the DVDs had been bought at a sex shop and denied using the computer to view pornography.

"I didn't want the kids to find anything on the computer if I had downloaded it from there," he said.

Jay told police the USB which the child pornography was found on had been missing for months and had never been used.

The trial continues today.

Accused ‘cannot surf net'

A MAN accused of possessing child pornography has claimed he could not even use a search engine to surf the internet.

The claim was made during a police interview that was played to Bundaberg District Court yesterday on the second day of the trial of Raymond Donald Jay.

A USB stick containing 11 child pornography videos was allegedly found in a safe in Jay's Anderson St home in August 2009.

The court was told Jay, a 36-year-old school bus driver, was the only person who knew the safe's combination and his de facto partner had a key that had gone missing.

The computer was also used by Jay's three stepchildren, who lived at the home.

Jay told police during his interview that he only used the computer for about an hour a week to install Microsoft upgrades, upgrade the antivirus program and look up directions for work on Google Maps.

He said he also used peer-to-peer file sharing site LimeWire to download music.

"I just don't know how to use any of the search engines," Jay claimed in the interview.

He said he got confused by the huge number of results produced by search engines.

The court heard on Wednesday that the child pornography material had been downloaded on the computer using LimeWire and transferred to the USB stick.

The court also heard that in the safe with the USB, about 30 adult pornography DVDs were found during a voluntary police search on August 17, 2009.

Jay also voluntarily handed over the USB to police on the same day.

He said the DVDs had been bought at a sex shop and denied using the computer to view pornography.

"I didn't want the kids to find anything on the computer if I had downloaded it from there," he said.

Jay told police the USB which the child pornography was found on had been missing for months and had never been used.

The trial continues today.