Consumerist
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blockbuster
You Will Probably Never See A Blockbuster SD-Card Kiosk
Here's an idea: When your top rivals are renting dirt-cheap DVDs from ubiquitous kiosks, or streaming thousands of films as a free bonus to customers who rent mail-order rmovies, what do you do? If you're Blockbuster, you start a trial run of kiosks that will allow consumers to rent DRM-protected videos on SD cards, and play them back using a proprietary box that will do nothing else. Yeah, that'll show 'em. More » -
itunes
Man Loses All His iTunes, But Apple Gives Them Back
When Nathan switched computers he lost all the music he bought off iTunes, but he got it back by e-mailing Apple's iTunes support at iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com. More » -
music
Google's New Music Search Launches, But Your Buying Options Remain The Same
The new music search capabilities that Google introduced today will make it easier to quickly find a song you can't remember the name of, or sample some tracks from an artist you're interested in. But it's not so much a new service as a more efficient combination of a bunch of services already scattered around the web. More » -
cheap music
Sony Adding All Songs Over Two Years Old To EMusic; EMusic Raising Prices
Although eMusic is a great service—for a flat monthly fee, you get a set number of downloads per month of DRM-free music tracks—it's about to get better. Or maybe worse, depending on the breadth of your musical tastes. Today eMusic will announce that Sony is adding its back catalog of songs to eMusic's library. The bad news is that eMusic also plans to slightly raise prices and/or drop the number of downloads per month. Even if it works out to between 50-60 cents per track, though, that's still far less than iTunes Music Store or Amazon, and probably the cheapest way to grab music from Sony artists without resorting to piracy. More » -
fraud
Watch Out For Fraudulent ITunes Purchases, Whether You Have An ITunes Account Or Not
MyFox New York notes that some people are being hit with fraudulent charges on their bank accounts from the iTunes Music Store, or in some cases from a fake iTunes store. Earlier this month, a reader wote to us with a similar complaint:
More »I woke up this morning to an email stating I had made two $50 gift card purchases [on iTunes Music Store]. I contacted my bank and apple, then did a google search and found that many others had the same thing happen to them.
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censorship
Trent Reznor Compares Apple To, Gasp, Walmart
NIN front man Trent Reznor is angry at Apple for rejecting the new Nine Inch Nails iPhone app update because it contains "objectionable content." The objectionable content referenced is the song 'The Downward Spiral,' which you can buy on iTunes. Reznor posted the rejection letter on NIN's forums, and then launched into a rant about censorship — comparing Apple to Walmart. (NSFW language inside) More » -
tips
How To Delete Your Online Accounts
PC Mag has assembled a list of instructions on how to wipe your account from a long list of websites, including Classmates.com (you'll have to call), Windows Live ID (it's complicated), and Friendster (ha ha ha). In many cases, canceling is as straightforward as clicking a link and authorizing the cancellation, but it's nice to see all the phone numbers and tips collected in one spot. More » -
itunes
ITunes Offers To "Upgrade" The Already DRM-Free Songs You Bought From Amazon?
Update: Mike writes back to say that after reading the comments below, he checked his purchase history and the album is indeed listed there. What's confusing is Mike didn't buy it through iTunes, but through Amazon, but he says that other people did have access to his account and may have purchased it without his knowledge. More » -
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how to
Cancel Cable Without Losing Your Favorite Shows
Cable is one of the first things you should cut to keep expenses down, but that doesn't mean you should ditch your favorite shows. J.D. over at Get Rich Slowly cut his cable bill from $65.82 to $11.30 without missing a single harrowing plot twist. Here's how he did it... More » -
apple
Apple: Give Us Money And We'll Remove DRM From Your Music
Apple has dropped DRM from iTunes — and is offering to remove their DRM from music you already bought for the low, low fee of $0.30 per song. More » -
Warner Brothers forgot to include the advertised iPod-compatible digital file on its Blu-ray copy of "Speed Racer." It's now offering an online trade, where owners of the disc can exchange their PlaysForSure authorization code for an iTunes store redemption code. (When filling out the form, for "Support Request Type" select "Authorization Code and Licenses".) [warnerbros] (Thanks to Sabler!)
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Update: Here's how you can exchange your PlaysForSure code for an iTunes redemption code. Movie fans over at forum.blu-ray.com say Warner Bros' new release of "Speed Racer" promises a digital copy of the movie that will work on iPods, but there's no such thing on the disc—only protected WMV files. [blu-ray.com] (Thanks to Sabler!)
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apple
Morning Deals
- Apple: Refurbished iPod touches on sale, 8GB for $180, 16GB for $240, 32GB for $320
- Amazon: Rewards points upgrade for existing Amazon.com Visa holders
- Apple: Free Select iTunes TV Shows in HD (requires iTunes 8
- Travelocity: United Airlines Sale: Round-trip flights from $108
- Amazon.com: Amazon.com Men's Watch Deals: Timex, Marc Ecko, more from $40 + free shipping
- Sears: Seven7 Women's Jeans for $18 + $6 s&h, more
- Budget Truck Rental: $50 Gift card when paying w/American Express
- Reverie: T-Shirt Sale: Buy 1 TEE get 1 free TEE
- BestBuy: Westinghouse 42" 1080p LCD HDTV and portable DVD Player for $749.99 + shipping
- Drugstore.com: New Customers: Save $5 or $10 off First Order
- Vann's: Panasonic FZ28 10.2MP Digital Camera $340 Shipped
- Amazon: Get Savings of up to 75% off Bargain Books
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wamu
WaMu: You're Lying About Someone Breaking Into Your iTunes Account
WaMu's crack fraud department is at it again, according to reader Kristin. Someone broke into her iTunes account and bought a couple hundred dollars worth of iTunes gift cards with her debit card information. She disputed the charge and WaMu told her not to worry — they'd take care of it. Two months later, while on a trip to Chicago, WaMu reversed the credits, causing Kristin to become severely overdrawn. No amount of protesting will convince WaMu that she wasn't lying about the iTunes break-in. Why? Because she never responded to some mail they sent to her old address.
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above and beyond
Apple Replaces Hundreds Of Dollars In iTunes Purchases After Hard Drive Crashes
Like any responsible computer user, Benny regularly backs up his data. Unfortunately for him, the three Seagate external hard drives he used failed, and he lost about $500 in iTunes purchases. Seagate wanted $1700 to recover the data. Fortunately, Apple saved the day. More » -
complaints
Asking For Lower APR Gets Juniper iTunes Rewards VISA Card Closed Against Man's Will
Thomas writes:If you don't use your Juniper iTunes Rewards VISA (issued by Barclay's) for an entire year, they close the card and report to the credit agencies that you requested to close it. I've learned that when I called to inquire about a lower rate on 2/26, the agent canceled my account.
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movies
Netflix Lifts Restrictions On Downloadable Movie Rentals
Netflix has removed the monthly limits on all but its lowest-cost plan in an apparent attempt to position itself more competitively against Apple, which is expected to announce a downloadable movie rental service tomorrow. Now for as little as $8.99 per month you can watch as many movies on your PC as you can download. More »
itunes
New York, 9:36 PM
Wed Nov 11
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