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iTunes tip: Organize your music for better Cover Flow

iTunes is a database application that stores, sorts, and plays media, and like any database, the more organized it is, the more powerful it can be. Find out how to get your songs organized for more efficient playback in iTunes and on your iOS devices.

I'm sure we've all been there. We're rifling through our iTunes Library in Cover Flow view looking for the perfect album to jam out to while finally doing the dishes when we see the same album art show up for the same artist as if it's two different records. In other … Read more

Gorillaz iPad-produced album drops Christmas Day for free

As expected after a report in music magazine NME back in November, Gorillaz front man and songwriter Damon Albarn has produced the latest Gorillaz album on an iPad and will release it Christmas Day for free.

The album will be a digital download, free to users on Christmas Day with a free music video from one of the songs on the new album available Christmas Eve. Albern, interviewed in Perth Now, said, "If I left it until the new year to release it, then the cynics out there would say, 'Oh well, it's been tampered with.' But if … Read more

Pic Shrinker

Uploading images is to Net newbies what parallel parking is to new drivers: it takes a lot of trial and error to get it right. And Megabyte-size snapshots hog Facebook bandwidth. Fileminimizer Pictures 3 from Balesio is a free tool that promises to help solve both issues. It resizes image files by up to 98 percent without zipping and without sacrificing quality. Its Facebook Uploader Module also makes it easy to post your pictures on Facebook.

Fileminimizer's interface is businesslike but attractive, with subtle but effective use of color and highlighting to differentiate the various icons and controls. Most … Read more

Amazon music sale: $1.99 MP3 albums (and how to get one free)

Looking to stock that iPod with some new tunes? Amazon has some downright unbeatable deals on some downright decent (in some cases excellent) albums.

For a mere $1.99, you can snag any of the following:

"Band of Joy," Robert Plant "Battle Studies," John Mayer "Dark Side of the Moon," Pink Floyd "High Violet," The National "Hurley," Weezer "Kaleidoscope Heart," Sara Bareilles "Power to the People - The Hits," John Lennon "The Fame Monster," Lady Gaga "The Suburbs," Arcade Fire "This Is Happening,"Read more

The 404 710: Where you can buy me love (podcast)

Apple teased the media earlier this week about an important announcement about iTunes, and after several hours of tech pundits forecasting the news, The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple has finally come to an agreement to offer the works of The Beatles for sale in iTunes. Yes, that's it. No cloud-based content, no 90-second previews, and definitely no new hardware.

The iconic band's entire catalog is available for purchase, however, for $149 and it comes with exclusive video of the band's first U.S. concert, "live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964."  You can also purchase single albums for $12.99, double albums for $19.99, and individual songs for $1.29 each, ending the long litigation between Apple Inc. and Apple Corps, The Beatles' record company

Did you know that Apple will also refund your money if you're unhappy with the purchase of an app in the iTunes Store? We didn't know either, but Apple lets you do just that in a few simple steps: just log into your iTunes account, click on "purchase history," "report a problem" with the lackluster app, and Apple will refund your purchase price. You do need to fill out a form detailing the reason for the refund, and "this app blows" won't fly, so get creative!

If you're as much of an Apple fanboy as Wilson is, then you should probably buy a ticket for London ASAP, because an original Apple-1 computer hand-built by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak will be auctioned off at Christie's in London on November 23. It's one of 200 original computers sold out of Steve's garage in 1976, and even includes an invoice from the salesman and a typed letter from Jobs to the original owner.

The bill for the sale reads $666.66, although the Apple-1 motherboard, 8KB of RAM, and a series of interfaces is expected to grab anywhere from $160,000 to $250,000 and beyond.

Thanksgiving is a week and a half away, which means some bargain hunters are already packing their sleeping bags to camp out for Black Friday, the infamous day after Thanksgiving when retailers advertise heavily discounted prices on a variety of products. Wal-Mart has already posted its list of Black Friday items on sale, but you can also get free shipping through December 20, if waking up at 3 a.m. and standing next to Wilson for four hours doesn't sound like fun to you.

Join us after the break for Kenley's rant on the Wiimedia Foundation's plea for public donations, and don't forget to leave us a call-back at 1-866-404-CNET. Jeff's back on the show tomorrow, so we can't guarantee yours will sift through his filter of hate, but your chances will definitely increase if you send a video voice mail instead! Use this one as an example, and send yours to the404(at)cnet(dot)com when you're finished!

Episode 710 Subscribe in iTunes audio | Suscribe to iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS VideoRead more

New Gorillaz album to be produced on an iPad

Mega-famous Gorillaz front man and songwriter Damon Albarn has revealed that he has been recording the next Gorillaz album on his iPad. Remember how the iPad is just a device for consumption?

Reported in music magazine NME on November 13, Albarn says, "I've made it on an iPad--I hope I'll be making the first record on an iPad."

The album, according to NME, could be released before Christmas this year.

Albarn continued, saying, "I fell in love with my iPad as soon as I got it, so I've made a completely different kind of … Read more

Create iPhoto Smart Albums for iPhone 4 camera organization

If you have a Mac and an iPhone 4, this trick is for you. iOS currently provides no way to tell if the photos you've taken were from the front camera or the rear camera on your iPhone 4. Using iPhoto Smart Albums, you easily keep them organized.

This hint is fairly basic, but you will need a Mac running iPhoto '09 and an iPhone 4 running iOS 4.1. For those of us who use both of the iPhone 4's cameras prolifically, this hint is an easy way to sort your photos based on which camera you … Read more

Get over 1,000 MP3 albums for $5 apiece

Got five bucks to spare? Then you're in trouble, because choosing one of Amazon's thousand-plus $5 MP3 albums is darn near impossible.

This represents a considerable expansion of the company's regular $5-album promotion, which I think usually tops out at 50 each month.

Until the end of August, you can choose from a seriously impressive library of pop, rock, alternative, greatest hits, country, dance, classical, and other genres.

I mean, there's something for everyone here. Huey Lewis, Lady Gaga, Belle & Sebastian, Coldplay, Kenny Rogers, John Coltrane, Brahms, and Shakira. There's even the Phineas and Ferb soundtrack! (… Read more

Picnik's editor now built into Picasa Web Albums

It was only a matter of time, but three months after acquiring Web-based photo editor Picnik, Google has gotten around to integrating the service into Picasa Web Albums.

Now, if a Picasa Web Albums user wants to make a quick edit to a photo, they can do so without leaving the photo page. Previously a user would have needed the software version of Picasa installed, or to use an external editor (such as Picnik)--both of which made for a disjointed experience.

While a seemingly minor move, it's the first step by Google to integrate the Picnik editor into … Read more