Last month Google introduced its $100 Nest Audio smart speaker and Amazon introduced a whole bunch of new Echo smart speakers. Today it was Apple’s turn. Two and a half years after the company released the original HomePod speaker with Siri support, the company has unveiled the HomePod mini which is smaller, cheaper, and serves […]
mp3
freedb is shutting down in March, 2020 (free music database)
There are dozens of applications that make it easy to rip a music CD to your computer, saving digital versions of the tracks as MP3, WAV, FLAC, or other files. But one of the key services many of those applications rely on is set to shut down next year. Freedb is a free online database of […]
How to listen to OverDrive library audiobooks on nearly any mobile device
Many public libraries around the world partner with OverDrive to let you borrow eBooks and audiobooks. While OverDrive lets you listen to audiobooks in a web browser or using mobile apps, there are also other ways to listen. You can burn audiobooks to CDs. Or you can just download use OverDrive’s desktop app to download […]
Microsoft’s holiday Music Deals promotion is crazy good
Microsoft launched Music Deals last month, offering a new crop of deeply discounted MP3 albums every week. Normally that means you can score one DRM-free album of music for $0.99 and about 100 more for $1.99 each. But Microsoft is shaking things up a bit in time for the holidays: For the next 20 days […]
Free audiobooks from your library: OverDrive to use only DRM-free MP3 files
OverDrive is putting another nail in the coffin of DRM with the announcement that it’ll stop offering audiobooks in the WMA format. Soon OverDrive will only sell audiobooks in DRM-free MP3. The company’s primary customers are libraries — but this is still good news for individuals who use those libraries. If you check out eBooks […]
Winamp and Shoutcast live on after Radionomy buys them from AOL
One of the key players in the birth of the MP3 music revolution was scheduled to shut down on December 20th, 2013. But that didn’t happen. If you’ve noticed that the Winamp music player and Shoutcast internet radio service are both still up and running, there’s a reason for that. Internet radio service Radionomy has confirmed […]
Amazon AutoRip gives you free MP3s when you buy CDs… including any you’ve bought for the lat 15 years
Can’t decide whether you’d rather buy a CD or purchase the latest album from Weird Al Yankovic in MP3? Amazon’s new AutoRip service means you don’t have to. When you buy an eligible CD from Amazon, the company will automatically add the MP3 version of the album to your Amazon Cloud Player account, which means […]