Ad: Manage updates with the Download App
ie8 fix

pono

The perfect-sound myth

I remember just before the CD was introduced 30 years ago thinking that digital audio would be a giant leap forward in fidelity, but as soon as I heard a few CDs I knew digital wouldn't do a thing to make music sound more realistic. The CD was vastly better than LPs and cassettes in terms of noise and distortion, but voices still didn't sound like they do in real life, and pianos didn't sound as big and powerful as they do in Carnegie Hall. That mystified me; those early digital recordings were compression-free, and I was … Read more

The 404 1,139: Where we nap our way to the top (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Neil Young introduces his own Pono audio system, could rival Apple.

- Stop showing me your stupid Internet face.

- Top face pullers gurning for the UK title.

- Life-sized pictures of Google Street View screenshots printed and wheatpasted IRL.

- Nerdy art uses computer messages to poke fun.

- If you have time tomorrow, check out Field Trip Day for Android users across the country.

- Connect with Ty Pendlebury on Twitter.

Bathroom break video: People acting irrationally to a telephone.… Read more

Rocker Neil Young challenging MP3s with new audio format

Get ready, MP3s: Rocker Neil Young and his electric-powered Lincoln Continental are coming for you.

According to "Rolling Stone," Young has applied for a series of trademarks on what appears to be potential names for a new high-definition audio format that the musician is creating.

The project appears to be the result of Young's long-standing dissatisfaction with the quality of MP3s.

"They might sound like great song titles, but '21st Century Record Player,' 'Earth Storage,' and 'Thanks for Listening' aren't new Neil Young tunes," "the magazine wrote. "They're trademarks that the … Read more