today

In past years, I often bought a full album because I heard one or two tracks I liked on the radio, only to find that the entire record was a letdown. One way to cure this problem is to offer larger free samples, like game demos that last more than a level.

On Tuesday, David Byrne and Brian Eno released their new record, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today. It's available, in its entirety, as an online stream. They are encouraging anybody who wants to embed it in a Web site to do so.

If you're a fan, … Read more

Gannett Co., which operates 23 television stations and 85 newspapers in the U.S. including USA Today, has signed on to AOL's Platform-A as its digital advertising partner. More specifically, it'll be using Platform-A's Adtech, marking the U.S. debut of the formerly Europe-only division.

When the deal has rolled out completely, it'll encompass all of Gannett's local news markets for both print and broadcast, USAToday.com, and other Web properties that the company owns. No target date was provided. But it's a big deal for AOL, considering the reach of USA Today as … Read more

A Billboard story this weekend discussed the rise of flash memory drives and bracelets as a medium for album releases. I knew that Willie Nelson had experimented with selling USB bracelets of live recordings, but artists like the Mars Volta and Ringo Starr are also offering new albums on USB. So far, because they're more expensive to produce than a CD, most artists are selling them as niche products for the biggest fans--for example, the Mars Volta is offering a monthly download to fans who pay $30 for the USB version of their last album, The Bedlam in Goliath, … Read more

What's more open than open? Wide-open!

USA Today ran a story Thursday morning with the headline "AT&T flings cellphone network wide open." The story quoted AT&T Mobility President Ralph de la Vega as saying: "You can use any handset on our network you want. We don't prohibit it, or even police it."

Sounds like a dramatic change in policy, right? Perhaps in response to recent moves from Verizon and Google to promote open networks ahead of the bidding on the 700MHz spectrum auction? Well, actually, no. It's how AT&… Read more

Aside from keeping you in touch with your colleagues and friends, your Windows Mobile device might also be your portable music player, personal calendar, gaming machine, and, of course, your mobile gateway to the Internet.

No matter how many uses you already have for your portable device, there's always more to discover. Become a master of mobile technology with this collection of downloads designed for Windows Mobile users on the go.… Read more

USA Today is the subject of a lot of blogger commentary today due to its new Web site, which features community features like profiles and blog spaces for registered users, the capability for users to vote stories up (but not down), and open comment threads on every story. The paper's Web site also says it will be recruiting readers to send in their news: "We're going to be asking you to send us your photos... [so] you can be part of covering the story."

In addition, USAToday.com has been redesigned and modernized. It's a … Read more