sampling

They may or may not be the real deal, but somebody has gone to the trouble of creating purported "engineering samples" of Apple's next iPhone, as well as a smaller version of the iPad.

In a pair of reports today, tech site GottaBeMobile offers photos and speculation about both sample devices, which the outlet says come courtesy of "a trusted source inside the Apple supply chain."

Of note, neither of these units is functional or looks anything like a finished product. Instead, the iPhone looks to be nothing more than milled aluminum, while the iPad-like … Read more

Sunday would not be Sunday without a moral conundrum.

Famed rapper and all-around tech businessman 50 Cent is being sued by Robert Poindexter of the R&B band The Persuaders for allegedly sampling one of his band's tracks and then not paying for the sample.

It was TMZ that first espied the legal papers.They reportedly refer to the rapper as "50 Cents."

The song in question, "Love Gonna Pack Up And Walk Out," was allegedly sampled on a 2009 track called "Redrum" and then included on a mixtape called "War … Read more

Much like Lego is attempting to expand its audience into the uncharted world of girls, Kraft is trying to get adults to eat Jell-O outside of shots at frat parties.

Kraft's new line of Jell-O Temptations products features flavors like lemon meringue pie, chocolate truffle indulgence, and raspberry cheesecake. I guess that might turn off kids who are used to simpler Jell-O tastes like grape and cherry.… Read more

Whether you're an aspiring producer or just itching to drop a beat, Beatlab makes it fast, easy, and fun to forge a quick track.

Many of us march to our own rhythm, sometimes unconsciously. We see it everywhere: commuters bobbing their heads on the way to work, students lost in their music players, or even those who beatbox under their breath when they think no one else is watching. Don't kid yourself; we know you've done it, too, at some point. Artists, musicians, and producers consciously try to tap into this rhythm when they are brainstorming or … Read more

Apple has finally rolled out the 90-second samples on songs that are longer than 2.5 minutes, sold in the United States, and that iTunes has managed to equip with the longer preview.

Some bloggers and iTunes users have questioned why longer previews don't accompany every song. As first reported in August by CNET, Apple approached the top four recording companies last summer about the longer samples that iTunes users can hear to test-drive songs before buying. Researchers say that longer song samples stimulate sales.

According to several music industry sources, Apple has only acquired licenses to the longer … Read more

iTunes is finally letting its song previews play just a little bit longer.

Apple has, as promised, begun extending the length of song samples from 30 seconds to 90 seconds at the iTunes Store in the U.S. Many samples of the site's top-selling singles, such as The Black Eyed Peas' "The Time (Dirty Bit)" and Coldplay's "Christmas Lights," were available tonight in the longer format.

The length of song samples has been found to be key to a consumer's decision to purchase music online. Researchers at Robert Morris University reported last year … Read more

Apple's letter to music labels about the company's adoption of 90-second song samples sounded brash and uncompromising, reminiscent of how the company once seemed to negotiate with the music industry.

Apple wrote in e-mails to an undisclosed number of music industry executives--made public on Tuesday--that it would soon offer longer samples for songs that are at least two-and-a-half minutes in length. For shorter songs, iTunes would continue to offer 30-second previews, the company wrote. CNET broke the news in August that Apple planned to offer longer samples.

What raised eyebrows about Apple's note was that … Read more

Longer song samples are finally on their way to iTunes.

An Apple spokesman confirmed for CNET this evening a report by Symphonic Distribution, a digital music distributor, that iTunes would soon be extending the length of song samples from 30 seconds to 90 seconds for songs that are at least two-and-a-half minutes in length. Shorter songs would continue to offer the 30-second sample.

Apple notified the top music labels and other business partners in the music industry about the change today.

The samples are, of course, the snippets of music that Apple offers to iTunes users so they can determine … Read more

Apple's plan to extend the length of song samples doesn't appear to be dead.

"We are in active negotiations with Apple," about the length of song samples, said Hanna Pantle, a spokeswoman for Broadcast Music Inc., (BMI) one of the performing-rights organizations that collects royalties on behalf of songwriters and music publishers. She declined to provide any details.

At BMI's rival, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), a spokesman declined to comment. A source close to the company, however, said Apple has a license with ASCAP that doesn't appear to put … Read more