brown

Motorola on Thursday said it will split into two separate companies in the first quarter of 2011, roughly a year from now.

The company had initially planned to spin off the mobile devices unit on its own. Now Motorola plans to spin off the mobile devices and home units into one company led by Sanjay Jha, co-CEO of Motorola. Jha will have a portfolio of mobile devices and home entertainment technology such as the company's set-top boxes.

The second company will comprise Motorola's enterprise mobility solutions and networks businesses (statement). That company will be led by Motorola co-CEO … Read more

I attended a fascinating panel discussion, "Behind The Glass: Audio Production in the 21st Century" at the Audio Engineering Society convention in New York City on Sunday.

The panelists were all prominent record producers and engineers: Tony Brown (Elvis Presley, Emmy Lou Harris); Jimmy Douglass (Jay-Z, the Rolling Stones); Dave Hewitt (Simon and Garfunkel, U2); Ryan Hewitt (Avett Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers); George Massenburg (Linda Ronstadt, Lyle Lovett); Ann Mincieli (Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston); and Russ Titelman (Stevie Winwood, Eric Clapton). These people know from where they speak!

Moderator Howard Massey led the panel through a discussion of the problems facing the record industry, with a primary focus on sound quality. Massey co-authored (with Geoff Emerick) my favorite Beatles book of all time, "Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles." He also has a new book coming out, "Behind the Glass, Volume II: Top Producers Tell How They Craft the Hits" a collection of interviews with top record producers and audio engineers.

It seems like the main problem comes from record company pressure to make perfect recordings. Vocalists' off-pitch and out-of-time singing is tweaked with Auto-Tune; music-making is largely technology-based. That is, technology has replaced musical talent, and singers like Britney Spears were cited many times as to where it's all headed. Not so musically talented, her music has to be patched together in the studio. There's not a lot of there there.

Jimmy Douglass talked about the overuse of dynamic range compression, admitting that since most music is listened to over crappy computer speakers or cheap earbuds, compression is required to make it sound acceptable. Sad, but true. … Read more

That beautiful silvery comet you saw in the sky recently was actually astronaut urine. No joke. We also avoid talking about pee for most of the show. Bing is still on the rise and Facebook is making money. Wow. Things are looking up all over. Just be careful when you look up. There's astronaut pee up there.

Facebook grows and makes money http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8258117.stm

Bing grabs 10 percent of search market http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-10354394-75.html… Read more

Amazon.com's Kindle may be the most-popular e-reader on the market, but that doesn't mean everyone is happy with it.

Amazon announced earlier this week that it will, in fact, sell a Kindle version of "Da Vinci Code" author Dan Brown's latest novel, "The Lost Symbol." The book is slated for release on September 15.

The Kindle version of "The Lost Symbol" was in limbo since Amazon first placed the hardcover version on its site for preorder. Its publisher, Random House, was concerned with releasing a Kindle version on the same day as the hardcover version. The company reasoned that with such a low price ($9.99 on the Kindle) compared with the hardcover version, which Amazon is currently offering for $16.17, that Kindle sales would cannibalize hardcover sales.

Random House's issues set the stage for what could have been a major battle between Amazon and publishers. Dan Brown's book promises to be a bestseller the day it's released. Random House might have had some leverage.

But after entering into discussions with Amazon, Random House announced last week that it had approved a Kindle version.

"Now that all of our security and logistical issues surrounding the e-book of 'The Lost Symbol' have been resolved, the e-book will be released simultaneously with the hardcover on September 15," the publisher announced. It didn't elaborate on what those issues were.… Read more

Donte Stallworth, wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, recently served 30 days in jail for the DUI manslaughter of 59-year-old Mario Reyes in Miami. Stallworth's blood alcohol level was 0.126, far in excess of the legal limit.

Last Thursday, the NFL suspended him for the upcoming season.

Stallworth officially accepted his suspension with good grace. His public statement read: "Regardless of the length of my suspension, I will carry the burden of Mr. Reyes' death for the rest of my life."

It continued: "I will use the period of my suspension to reflect, fulfill my … Read more

Last week, at this here mental-research facility, we asked the question, YouTube, how much are you making off Jill and Kevin's wedding? And those fine boffins over at the Tube have decided to answer--kind of, at least.

In an announcement entitled, "I now pronounce you monetized: a YouTube video case study," posted by Chris LaRosa, technical account manager, and Ali Sandler, music partner manager, the Tubers' hoops are cocked at the joy of the video's success (now more than 12 million views).

They also were rather happy with the performance of "Forever," the Chris … Read more

Reports of heat-related discolorations appearing on the white model of the iPhone 3GS are surfacing on the internet.

According to Wired.com's Gadget Lab some white iPhones are getting so warm that their plastic cases are discoloring to pink or brown. The article continues with other examples and suggests that the issue could be related to faulty power-management software in iPhone OS 3.0.

Other Web sites reporting the issue include Nowhere Else, Le Journal du Geek, iLounge.com and Engaget. We've previously covered heating complaints linked to Wi-Fi on the iPhone 3G and you can find the … Read more

Gordon Brown, Britain's prime minister, is backing efforts by copyright holders to combat digital piracy and protect premium content on the Web, according to reports.

"We need to support the creation and availability of high-quality content," Brown said Friday as he addressed an audience at the Digital Britain Summit in London, according to a report on news site BrandRepublic.com. "We will support the legal framework that enables the private sector to create content."

According to other sites covering the summit, Gordon didn't outline plans on how his government intended to do that.

The … Read more

One of my favorite parts about the holiday season is the combination of flavors. I love the smells of cinnamon and cloves, the freshly baked breads, hearty stews, and gingerbread cookies. A couple of weeks ago, I decided to celebrate the season by making one of my favorites: apple pie.

No sooner had I started, however, than I came to the realization that my brown sugar was completely rock-solid. I had a dinner to cook for and I was in a time crunch, so I ended up just having to scrap the whole box and buy a new one. The … Read more