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What Happened To Pandora?

Pandora is having some serious troubles. It seems to most like they should be making money with the constant advertising interrupting their music selection, but with the current and outdated copyright laws, they’re hemorrhaging cash.

 

At $.99 a song, music is cheap…For one individual. But imagine buying thousands of songs for millions of unpaying customers? Welcome to the world of bullshit copyright math.

Now, Pandora doesn’t have to pay quite that much per song per person, but the current laws require them to pay out huge royalty fees demanded  by record companies.

That means that the small sum they earn from paid customers and advertising simply can’t cover the costs. The music companies charge enormous fees, and it’s legal.

Another issue? Yep. They’re losing a ton of money to Spotify and other new services. There’s literally nothing they can do. So how will they survive? They’re reaching out to the US government to change aging copyright laws. They are lobbying for the exact opposite of what content providers lobbied for last year (SOPA). Unfortunately it’s unlikely that they will succeed.

Why is it unfortunate? Less stringent copyright laws would mean more high quality content on the web, and savings for consumers. IF the government could cut down royalties, more small production companies could use better music, music would be cheaper to purchase, and Pandora could stay afloat. But that’s not going to happen with millions of dollars being spent to keep progress at a standstill by major corporations. Pandora might as well give up now.

Much larger companies (i.e Google) have fought and lost in this area. The sad truth is that only a rebellion of the people, and a mass of people contacting their representatives could actually reverse this trends. We are resigned for now, and likely years to come to accept the outdated copyright system (and if the media corps have their way, we will see even tighter restrictions).

10 of the Best Games For The iPhone

So you’ve got a brand new iPhone 5. It’s not worth anything without a solid base of apps to use on it. Whether you’re a new iPhone user, or you’ve been on the platform for years, I guarantee you’ll find a new game off of this list. This is based off of testing hundreds of games, so take my word that these are some of the best games for iOS.

10. Bejeweled 2: Bejeweled 2 is a fun take on the original with several different gameplay modes that enhance the original design of the game. The game looks great on the iphone, and controlling it with touch is actually better than the original design of clicking. This is a game that, although before its’ time, was practically built for touch.

9. Tetris: Tetris is also a surprisingly great adaptation. I have gotten really good at Tetris using arrow keys, and the space bar, so I figured that touch controls would be weird. I was incorrect though. It requires more focus because you actually need to look at the controls, which means no Netflix and Tetris (my bad habit late on weekends), but as a standalone game, the app is awesome. My longest games have lasted about 25 minutes, but my scores are getting higher.

8. Wiki Game: This is a great game for those who watch a lot of jeopardy, love random facts, and are good at making connections. This game has been expanded to include dozens of levels in different gameplay modes. The ultimate goal of the game is to get from the start page on a modified Wikipedia, to the destination page in the least amount of clicks, fastest time, or whatever the goal is in one of the 5+ gameplay modes.

7. Apache 3D Sim: On sale right now for $1, but So Worth $3! This game brings a detailed and responsive flight sim to the iPhone. Several detailed locations stretch on for hundreds of miles with plenty of things to blow up. 15 Missions provide some fun goals, although I could never get past level 9. For those who just want to blow stuff up without being blown out of the sky, give free flight mode a try. The graphics look great for an iphone game, and the amount of things you can do within the game is huge, although there is only one helicopter you can use. This game is “a blast”, and definately worthy of this list.

*See our List of The Best Classic Games Brought over to the iPhone here*

6. Air Tycoon 2: This role-playing game is extremely detailed, and allows you to control nearly any aspect of your own airline. There are hundreds of real destinations, a ton of actual planes, and areas that really do affect real airlines. If you’re looking for a business situation game for iphone, look no further. The detail, and the quality of this Sim put it on top in my mind.

5. Fight Night: You don’t need to like boxing to like this game. The graphics are decent, but  the intuitive controls and fun premise make this game a blast.

4. NBA 2K 12: This is another game like Fight Night. Liking basketball helps, but it’s not a requirement. The competition and control you have over the team make it a fantastic game. The graphics look great, and the learning curve is not steep. If you dream of an NBA Championship for you and your favorite team (I’m a Knicks Fan), you can make it happen. Who would have thought that the Knicks would have won four championships in a row? So it’s not realistic, but it’s fun.

3. Zynga Poker: Live like a high roller. This is one of the few games where I have ever made an in-app purchase. I’ve dramatically improved my poker skills while playing, and since you have an account, you an keep on growing and growing (or shrinking) your stack of chips. Competing with real people gives me motivation, and a sense of accomplishment when I win a three round tournament because I beat out 500+ people. This is an extremely addicting game, but it’s a much cheaper option to real gambling.

2. LogosQuiz: Are you a pop culture wiz? A master of all brands? Business Savy? Put your skills to the test with LogosQuiz which easily secures the second best spot. In the game, you are given part of a logo and you must identify the brand. There are hundreds of brands in around 10 levels. When you get a bunch right, you get a hint which you can use to identify one you don’t know. The brands get progressively more remote, but the fun never subsides. This is an INCREDIBLE game.

1. Unblock Me: I’ve written about Unblockme before. It’s a really cheap and addicting puzzle game that will keep you occupied for hours. It’s great for airplane rides, but you can also use it when you have a short train ride, or basically anywhere because levels are quick but there are a ton. The controlling is incredibly intuitive although the graphics are simple. Get the free app and you won’t be disappointed.

Check these apps out, and be sure to stop by The App Store Chronicle daily (or subscribe to our daily email) so you can stay ahead of the tech curve.

Tim Cook Says Sorry about Maps Sucking

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook did something truly original. He apologized. It’s not just Apple that doesn’t usually apologize. CEOs in general these days fail to take responsibility.  I think it’s a real class act for Tim Cook to set a new example and apologize for the “frustration [maps] has caused our customers”. Tim went as far as recommending temporarily using third party apps including (ironically)Google’s Maps web app which was removed from iOS in iOS 6. Tim concluded with a kind commitment ”Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard”. I believe that Cook believes in this, and it’s nice to see such a smart standard-bearer even after the death of Jobs. The Full letter is posted below.

Original Location

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO

Ignore this: 6UD56NB5QZWV

Will the Galaxy Note 2 Fit in Pockets? and other Note 2 Answers Revealed

Samsung recently released their second galaxy note , known as the galaxy not

 

e two, and people have been wondering a lot. So as someone who has used the note a lot, and seen the note 2, I thought I’d dispel some of those myths and answer some questions. Got any more questions? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll answer them there.

 

Will the Galaxy Note II Fit in pockets?

Yes. Definitely. It seems huge, and it is, but any (male) clothing article could fit it in its’ pockets. And most female articles of clothing as well. The older, thicker note f

it into my tightest pair of jeans easily, and had room. The new device is thinner, and only 1/2 an inch larger which is literally minuscule on this device. There should be no problems there.

 

Is the screen better?

That’s a challenging question to answer. While the screen’s pixelage (amount of pixels) is supposedly lower, the screen uses a new design to hide pixels and make it look of a higher quality. But, it’s still the same old (not really that old) AMOLED Display. [Read more...]

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