EverGreen has launched a cool new product that makes a cool fashion statement… especially if you find your original iPod headset to be to mundane, these neon cable (in blue, pink or citrus green) will flash according to the music you listen to.

It also works with other DAPs and you only need 2 AAA batteries to power it.

I surely need one of these..I would love to use them while I am hanging out in the dark.

Reuters have reported that Microsoft Corp. may have a chance to take market share from the iPod as a Reuters survey showed 35 percent of those interested in its Zune device would be replacing an existing digital music player.

Microsoft, the world’s No. 1 software company, two weeks ago began selling the Zune, which analysts have called its most serious effort yet to compete with Apple Computer Inc.’s (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) iPod, the best-selling player by far.

Apple has sold more than 70 million iPods since its introduction in October 2001, and the iPod now commands more than a 70 percent share of the U.S. market for MP3 players, as they are also known. Microsoft has itself acknowledged that it may take years for its Zune effort to take effect.

Zune was off to a quick start, grabbing 9 percent of the U.S. digital music player market in its first week of sales, taking the No. 2 spot from SanDisk Corp.’s (SNDK.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Sansa, market researcher NPD Group said on Wednesday. Apple remained the market leader with 63 percent unit share, NPD said.

According to the Reuters survey, which was conducted over the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Apple remained the leader by a large margin, with about 70 percent of respondents answering unprompted that they would likely buy an iPod.

When given a list of MP3 players from which to choose, 80 percent of respondents chose the iPod. Some 7 percent of those given a list of players that also included Microsoft’s player, picked Zune.

Among those expressing a preference for the Zune, some 35 percent were replacing an existing player while 18 percent of those who voiced an interest in the iPod were upgrading.

Some among the 35 percent were likely already customers of Microsoft’s PlaysForSure initiative, which allows consumers to choose from a selection of devices and music stores which are mutually compatible, Gartner analyst Mike McGuire said.

NVIDIA Corporation said Monday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire iPod chipmaker PortalPlayer, Inc. in a cash for stock transaction.

Under terms of the agreement, which have been approved by the Board of Directors of each company, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based graphics technologies developer will pay $13.50 in cash for each outstanding share of PortalPlayer common stock.

The deal represents a total purchase price of approximately $357 million, or approximately $161 million net of cash on PortalPlayer’s balance sheet as of September 30, 2006.

PortalPlayer, which was founded in 1999, is widely recognized for its high-performance system-on-chip (SoC) technology that power some of the world’s most recognizable portable digital music players, including Apple Computer’s iPods.

Although PortalPlayer recently lost its socket in Apple’s flash memory-based iPod nano line to Samsung Electronics Co., the San Jose, Calif.-based company maintained its seat in updated fifth-generation video iPod players that were introduced at the same time.

Interestingly, it has been reported that NVIDIA will succeed Broadcom as the graphics chip supplier for Apple’s next-generation video iPod players, which are widely rumored to sport improved video capabilities, larger display screens and a new touch interface.

“Based on our analysis, we believe Nvidia is designed into the next-generation video iPod socket at the expense of Broadcom,” American Technology Research analyst Satya Chillara told clients in a research note released this July.

“We believe the Nvidia chip adds 3D graphics functionality in addition to all of the existing features that Broadcom supported with the existing video iPod,” Chillara added.

In its announcement on Monday, NVIDIA said it expects the acquisition of PortalPlayer to accelerate its ongoing investment in its handheld product strategy.

“Modern mobile devices are miniaturized yet powerful multimedia computers. At the core of their architectures are complex Application Processors integrating microprocessors, system logic, networking, and multimedia processors,” said NVIDIA chief executive Jen-Hsun Huang. “With the products created through this combination, we intend to drive the next digital revolution, where the mobile device becomes our most personal computer.”

NVIDIA’s $357 million purchase price represents approximately a 19 percent premium to the 20-day average closing price of PortalPlayer through Friday, November 3, 2006. The deal is still subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

Source: AppleInsider

A hacker known for cracking the copy-protection technology in DVDs claims to have unlocked the playback restrictions of Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod and iTunes music products and plans to license his code to others.

The move by Jon Lech Johansen, also known as “DVD Jon,” could pit the 22-year-old against Apple’s lawyers, experts say, but if successful could free users from some restrictions Apple and its rivals place on digital music.

Today, songs purchased from Apple’s online iTunes Music Store can’t be played on portable devices made by other companies. Songs purchased from many other online music stores also won’t work on iPods because they similarly use a form of copy-protection that Apple doesn’t support.

Johansen said he has developed a way to get around those restrictions by creating code that mimics Apple’s copy-protection system. But unlike his previous work, which he usually posts for free, the Norway native plans to capitalize on his efforts through his Redwood Shores-based DoubleTwist Ventures, said the company’s only other employee, managing director Monique Farantzos.

An unnamed client will soon use the technology so its copy-protected content will be playable on iPods, she said, declining to give any specifics.

“There’s a certain amount of trouble that Apple can give us, but not enough to stop this,” Farantzos said Tuesday. “We believe we’re on good legal ground, and our attorneys have given us the green light on this.”

Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said the company was declining to comment.

A few others, including RealNetworks Inc.’s RealPlayer Music Store, have also tried to circumvent Apple’s copy-protection technology, called FairPlay, but haven’t gained much traction.

Fred von Lohmann, a staff attorney at the privacy-advocacy group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Johansen is treading carefully this time, consulting with lawyers, but isn’t necessarily cleared from a legal fight over copy-protection laws.

“There is a lot of untested legal ground surrounding reverse engineering,” he said.

Johansen became a hero to hackers at age 15, when he posted software called DeCSS to unlock the Content Scrambling System, or CSS, the film industry used on DVD movies to prevent illegal copying. The act made Johansen, who was then living in Norway, a folk hero among hackers.

After the film industry complained, Norwegian authorities charged him with data break-in, but Johansen was acquitted.

He has since become a strong advocate of the open-source philosophy of making software code freely available for inspection and sharing.A hacker known for cracking the copy-protection technology in DVDs claims to have unlocked the playback restrictions of Apple Computer Inc.’s iPod and iTunes music products and plans to license his code to others.

The move by Jon Lech Johansen, also known as “DVD Jon,” could pit the 22-year-old against Apple’s lawyers, experts say, but if successful could free users from some restrictions Apple and its rivals place on digital music.

Today, songs purchased from Apple’s online iTunes Music Store can’t be played on portable devices made by other companies. Songs purchased from many other online music stores also won’t work on iPods because they similarly use a form of copy-protection that Apple doesn’t support.

Johansen said he has developed a way to get around those restrictions by creating code that mimics Apple’s copy-protection system. But unlike his previous work, which he usually posts for free, the Norway native plans to capitalize on his efforts through his Redwood Shores-based DoubleTwist Ventures, said the company’s only other employee, managing director Monique Farantzos.

An unnamed client will soon use the technology so its copy-protected content will be playable on iPods, she said, declining to give any specifics.

“There’s a certain amount of trouble that Apple can give us, but not enough to stop this,” Farantzos said Tuesday. “We believe we’re on good legal ground, and our attorneys have given us the green light on this.”

Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said the company was declining to comment.

A few others, including RealNetworks Inc.’s RealPlayer Music Store, have also tried to circumvent Apple’s copy-protection technology, called FairPlay, but haven’t gained much traction.

Fred von Lohmann, a staff attorney at the privacy-advocacy group, Electronic Frontier Foundation, said Johansen is treading carefully this time, consulting with lawyers, but isn’t necessarily cleared from a legal fight over copy-protection laws.

“There is a lot of untested legal ground surrounding reverse engineering,” he said.

Johansen became a hero to hackers at age 15, when he posted software called DeCSS to unlock the Content Scrambling System, or CSS, the film industry used on DVD movies to prevent illegal copying. The act made Johansen, who was then living in Norway, a folk hero among hackers.

After the film industry complained, Norwegian authorities charged him with data break-in, but Johansen was acquitted.

He has since become a strong advocate of the open-source philosophy of making software code freely available for inspection and sharing.

Greenhouse presented at the WPC Expo a new dock-speaker for iPod. The GH-SPA-440 supports now the latest iPods and outputs 2×40W. You can use it on batteries or connected to a power outlet.

On Friday, Rockstar Bono and celebrity Oprah Winfrey are expected to launch the long-rumored red-colored iPod as part of the Product Red AIDS charity initiative. Project Red, founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver, Chairman of DATA, is designed to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world’s most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT) RED branded products.

AppleInsider reports that Friday’s edition of the “The Oprah Winfrey Show” will publicly unveil the iPod nano Red, a special edition of Apple’s popular flash player. It will be available in a single 4GB model for $199–the same price as the other 4GB models–and will be sold by Apple alongside its other iPod models. Like all participating merchants, Apple will reportedly donate a portion of its sales–about $10, according to the report–from each sale directly to The Global Fund, which helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Choose the iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED Special Edition and Apple will give $10 of its purchase price to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa.
Volume, meet virtue

You make choices every day, from the clothes you wear to the music you play. Now making a choice means making a difference. The iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED holds up to 1,000 songs, 25,000 photos(1), and a little hope. That’s because $10 from every iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED sold goes directly to the Global Fund to fight AIDS in Africa. Which means your iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED sounds good and does good at the same time.
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