Beatles

Beatles coming to iTunes?

As one of my colleagues at Directions on Microsoft pointed out, MacWorld's speculating that the Sept. 5 Apple announcement will include the big news that The Beatles will finally be available on iTunes.

Specifically, my colleague pointed to some comments (scroll down) noting that Apple's promoting the event with the tagline "The Beat Goes On," which appeared twice at the end of the Beatles' final press release, issued on Apr. 10, 1970.

Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone by playing "Lovely Rita", and the solo catalogs of Paul, John, and Ringo have all come to … Read more

Still no Beatles, but Apple adds Lennon

Beatles fans can imagine a world where the iTunes Store can sell Rubber Soul, but today they'll have to settle for a working-class hero.

Apple announced Tuesday that the solo work of John Lennon is now available on The iTunes Store in the DRM-free iTunes Plus format, as part of Apple's agreement with EMI, Lennon's record label. Lennon joins Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as solo artists featured on iTunes, but despite what appeared to be a truce in the bitter battle over the Apple trademarks between the California Mac maker and the famous Apple Records of … Read more

McCartney available on iTunes--Beatles next?

Maybe Steve's amazed at the way it took so long to get Paul McCartney online.

The Beatles legend has a new solo album coming out next month titled "Memory Almost Full," and if you want a digital copy the only place you'll find it is at the iTunes Store, Apple announced Tuesday. With McCartney on board, and an agreement reached over litigation with Apple Records in February, the stage seems set for the long-awaited release of the Beatles' music on iTunes.

CEO Steve Jobs is clearly a Beatles fan (of course, so is just about anybody … Read more

Let it Bii

If you want to let the world know of your love for Mii avatars and the Beatles, then this T-shirt is for you.

Jumping on the Nintendo Wii avatar craze, the "Let It Bii" Nerdy Shirts T-shirt features Nintendo Wii Mii avatars of the Fab Four.

The design is an obvious tribute to the Beatles' Let it Be album, even including a clue that Paul may still be dead. (He's looking straight at you.)

I'd say this falls somewhere after the "Blogito, ergo sum" T-shirt in terms of cleverness, but much higher on the … Read more

Last barrier removed for the Beatles on iTunes

Major record label EMI announced today that they have settled an ongoing copyright dispute with the Beatles that had prevented the label from licensing their music for distribution. In light of EMI's recent deal to release its catalog on iTunes, it appears that there is little left to prevent the Fab Four's back catalog from finally being released online.

Legal issues aside, the band has historically declined offers to sell downloads of its music. Still, with Steve Jobs using the Beatles' music as part of his Macworld demonstration for the iPhone, it's fair to say Apple is … Read more

Sgt. Jobs' Lonely Hearts Club Band? Maybe tomorrow...

Disclaimer: This is NOT an April Fool's Day post!

The EMI Group has announced that on Monday, April 2, Apple head honcho Steve Jobs will be present as the special guest of a major press event in London that will feature an "exciting new digital offering" and a "special live performance" by an undisclosed artist.

Rumor has it, as evidenced in a BBC article, that this may be the long-anticipated announcement that after miles of red tape and trademark bickering, Apple's iTunes Store will finally be selling songs by the Beatles. The EMI Group … Read more

Spy sub means nowhere is safe

It might not be a spy bot per se, but it's still too close for comfort--in fact, it might even be worse because it could sneak up on us under water. Neatorama says this "spy sub," a father-son project featured on Popular Science, was done for $300--but, considering how sophisticated it is, that's a relative bargain.

The remote-controlled sub can reportedly send images from an on-board home-surveillance camera from as deep as 250 feet for more than a quarter-mile. We still don't like the idea of all this spying, but we suspect that another Craver … Read more

Apple planning Super Bowl Beatles ad?

There will, of course, be a football game played on Feb. 4. But we all know half the audience just watches the Super Bowl for the ads, and that's something Apple might be counting on.

The Toronto Sun reported Wednesday that Apple could be ready to announce a three-month deal for Beatles songs on iTunes via a commercial during this year's Super Bowl. Classic Beatles songs have not been available on iTunes while Apple and Apple Records--The Beatles' label--have tussled in court over a trademark dispute. To this point, The Beatles have actually resisted any online music service, … Read more

A taste of honey: More Beatles online

More good news for Beatle-niks: EMI and Apple Corps have released the entire Love album online for free as part of the lead-up to its official release on Tuesday in the United States. To listen, you must log in on The Beatles site with an e-mail and share your location. The site is plotting a map of everyone in the world who has listened online to the album, which is a reinterpretation of the Fab Four's work. Fans can also view a film with interviews of Paul, Ringo, Yoko Ono, George Harrison's widow, Olivia, and producer George Martin.… Read more