Long, long day for me. Yes, yes It's DMusical Notes and I'm exhausted once again. Been working the early bird shift this week and writing these articles late at night. Brain is fried lessee what I got in my sack for you kiddies...

hmm...

a coupla balls.

BA DA BUUMP

Ok, that was a good one. Yeah...
Hey, what race is Michael Jackson grouped in?

It doesn't matter as long as Jason Priestly isn't driving!

Bwaaaa HA HA HA HAH HA! Yeah that was funny how about this?

What's crappy, popular and dead in under 400 days?

Drowning Pool.

BWAAAAA HA HA HA HA... alright Joe Comedy Theatre is over. Let's get us a going to some news.

RealONE ups the Ante
Credit CNet News

RealNetworks on Tuesday introduced a new digital media player that supports all the major file formats and expanded its subscription programming to include college sports.
The Seattle-based company launched a "universal" media player, called RealOne, which will stream audio and video files compressed in all the dominant formats, including MP3, Windows Media and QuickTime MPEG-4, as well as 50 others. In addition, the latest player gives consumers the ability to mix music playlists, burn CDs or play DVDs from their desktops. The advancements, including universal playback features, cost consumers $19.95 or are available free to RealOne SuperPass subscribers, who pay roughly $9.95 per month.

In a play to amass more subscribers, RealNetworks also bolstered programming for RealOne SuperPass by offering live audio broadcasts of college sports in partnership with the College Sports Network, which previously held a deal with Yahoo.

RealNetworks’ media-agnostic player comes on the heels of the introduction of Helix, the company's open-source answer to the multimedia server market. In late July, RealNetworks released significant parts of its technology to the open-source development organization called Helix to give developers of devices and applications more freedom to build support for Real's formats.

RealNetworks is opening its arms to various formats in an effort to create a more convenient player for consumers, who often operate rival players from Microsoft and Apple Computer to play files encoded in Windows Media and QuickTime. That consumers can play the various media in one platform is quintessential, analysts say.

"It’s a real win for the consumers because it means that they no longer need to be concerned about how the media is formatted," IDC analyst Susan Kevorkian said.

Real's advancements are the latest in an industry bubbling over with progress. Earlier this month, AOL Time Warner updated its popular Winamp MP3 player with new video capabilities. And earlier this summer, Apple introduced a new version of its player supporting the latest compression standard MPEG-4. Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft is set to launch a new test version of its Windows Media Player on Sept. 4.

Real's biggest competition, Windows Media, is automatically ingratiated with a wide audience because Microsoft's Windows, the most widely used operating system, uses Windows Media as its default media player. Analysts say Real's latest player may give it equal footing with Microsoft in coming months because for the software giant's latest release, Windows Media 9, consumers will have to update their players.

By supporting various formats, RealNetworks aims to broaden popularity for its player.

There's more to that article click on the title link these days to get the rest. Now one has to ask themself... self... why the heck would RealONE decide to go more mainstream multiformat? Well self... it's because they are probably doing poorly and with the new FREE Winamp 3.0 things can only look down for the RealONE team.

Morpheus 2: Great new Taste
Credit CNet news

File-swapping company StreamCast Networks released a long-awaited new version of its Morpheus software Tuesday, in a bid to recapture its once-unrivaled online popularity.
The Morpheus 2.0 software is StreamCast's first full release of new software since it was knocked unexpectedly offline in February. Since that time, the company has been distributing a hastily written replacement that has drawn criticism for being more difficult to use.

The new version, originally expected to be released months ago, adds back most of the easy-to-use features of the older version, although in a very different form.

"We'd set expectations at a very high level, and we didn't deliver," said StreamCast CEO Steve Griffin. "We're hoping (people online) will give us another chance over the next few weeks."

Even if the new software brings Morpheus back on a par with Kazaa, the Australia-based service that has far outstripped its file-swapping rivals since last spring, StreamCast's future is clouded at best.

The company is still being sued by the major record labels and movie studios, and the case has badly drained StreamCast's coffers even before going to court. The company already parted ways with one high-profile attorney after legal bills began climbing too high.

StreamCast also has been slowly shedding employees over the past few months, although the privately held company hasn't made any official layoff announcements. It has officially hired an outside public relations staff and Washington lobbyist, however. From a financial standpoint, the company "absolutely has the staying power to go for years," Griffin said.

The company, which continues to distribute the file-swapping software without charge, is hoping to begin drawing revenue through a shopping affiliate program. Working with a company called Wurld Media, StreamCast has set up a "Shop" area in its software that refers file-swappers to companies such as Travelocity.com and Tower Records.

The software itself has built back in most of the features expected from a modern file-swapping program. Like the version released quickly in February, it is based on open-source Gnutella file-swapping technology. The company originally used the FastTrack technology also found in the Kazaa technology, but switched after a billing dispute with the FastTrack creators.

The new Morpheus contains a new feature called "chaining," designed to lessen the load on the Gnutella network when many people are looking for the same file. Using this, a person can start downloading a given file from someone else who has just begun downloading the same item from another source, instead of everyone going to the same place at the same time and overloading a network link.

The software also includes the ability to download bits of the same file from several places at once, a now-common download speeding technique called "swarming." New search features are added that allow swappers to narrow their search beyond simple titles or artists’ names, and a media player downloaded separately from the full program allows people to build playlists or manage media services inside Morpheus itself.

Consumer reviews on Download.com, a software aggregation site owned by CNET Networks, publisher of News.com, were initially mixed. A good number of people praised quick downloads with the new architecture. Many complained that it used too many computer resources and returned few search results, however.

"Needs to be updated, and fast, if it wants to stick around," wrote a Morpheus user going by the name "Bushpatrol." "I recommend waiting for the next update before you move up to 2.0."

The new software, which was quietly released last weekend, will be updated several times over the next few weeks as people make their concerns known, Griffin said.

Same old stuff. Anyone test it out yet? If anyone's got the free time to download and write a review on the new Morpheus I'll happily post it! Otherwise I'm stickign with WinMX.

LOVEly lawsuits
Credit Yahoo News

A trial in a closely watched breach of contract case pitting rock star Courtney Love against Universal Music was postponed on Tuesday as the two sides continue talks to reach an out-of-court settlement.


Reuters Photo



Sources familiar with talks said the case is likely to be resolved, rendering a trial unlikely.

Officials for Universal Music, the world's biggest record company and a unit of Vivendi Universal, declined comment. Love's attorney, Barry Cappello, also declined comment.

The case's roots date back to December 1999 when Love, the widow of Nirvana's late bandleader Kurt Cobain, decided to stop recording for Geffen, a unit of Universal Music.

Last year, Geffen/Universal Music sued Love, seeking millions of dollars in damages for five undelivered albums. Love countersued, also in 2001, claiming she was cheated out of substantial royalties.

Universal's complaint and Love's cross-complaint will be tried together if the case goes to trial. A trial date of Sept 3 was set Tuesday.

If Love were to reach a deal, it would be the second high-profile member of a pop artist coalition challenging record industry practices to quietly settle a dispute that had thrust them into the vanguard of the activist movement.

In June, Grammy-winning trio Dixie Chicks -- also members of the Recording Artists Coalition (RAC) made up of Don Henley, Billy Joel, Sheryl Crow and several others -- settled a suit with Sony Corp ( news - web sites)'s Sony Music Entertainment, 10 months after accusing their record label of "systematic thievery."

Love is also part of the group, which staged a series of fund-raising concerts on the eve of the Grammy Awards last February, but suffered a big setback last week when a state senator withdrew a controversial bill he had authored on behalf of the artists.

ANOTHER LOVE SUIT

In a separate bitter dispute in Seattle, Love is suing the remaining members of Cobain's grunge band Nirvana over ownership of the group's recordings and songs in the case worth millions of dollars in royalties.

Irish superstar Bono of the group U2 has been asked to testify for Love, while the band's former band members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic questioned Courtney's mental stability in court papers filed this year.

Love recently submitted a written settlement proposal, but Nirvana's lawyer, Kelly Corr, on Tuesday said he told Love's lawyers upon receipt of the proposal that he considered it "one-sided and unreasonable."

"Krist and Dave would like to settle this case if possible because they'd like to get the music out to fans," he said.

A hearing on a motion to dismiss Love's suit is set for Aug. 30. If denied, the case is set to go to trial Sept. 30.

Love's lawyer in that case, O. Yale Lewis, was not immediately available for comment.

This article shows her good deeds and her bad ones. I still say she has no right to Nirvana's money. She's wealthy as it is. She doesn't need Nirvana money to raise her child especially since Kris Novalaselic is starving to death on the street.

Yee-ap that's it for today... it's short today... Yes the news is too. Can't help it. Nothing out there. But here's some little bits of Other News that are interesting.

The Human Diamond
Credit Yahoo News

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. - Diamonds are forever will hold new meaning for people hoping to have precious gems made from carbon captured during their cremations.

Funeral homes, including four in the Chicago area, have signed up to offer the memorial diamonds, which will start at about $4,000 for a quarter-carat.

Greg Herro, chief executive of Elk Grove Village-based Life Gem, acknowledges some will consider it a "pretty wacky idea."

But Jack French, a Joliet man who suffers from emphysema, said he would like his remains fashioned into diamonds so his wife and five children have something besides his few personal possessions.

"This will be something that is beautiful, has value and comes right from me," French said.

Doug Ahlgrim, director of Ahlgrim & Sons Funeral Services' four Chicago-area locations, is training his staff to explain the new product.

"This is sorely needed for families who choose cremation," Ahlgrim said. "An urn is beautiful in its own right, but you certainly can't take it wherever you go."

Life Gem said two funeral homes in New York and one in Wisconsin also have agreed to be vendors of the gem service.

The process begins when technicians collect the carbon created when a body is cremated and have it turned into graphite. The graphite is then sent to a lab in Germany that creates the stones by simulating the intense pressure and temperature needed to make diamonds.

Life Gem's process should work, said Kenneth Poeppelmeier, a Northwestern University chemistry professor.

"At first I thought, 'This is odd, but it's a well-developed science,'" Poeppelmeier said. "Then the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is an odd, well-developed science a lot of people would appreciate."

The process does not appear to violate state laws regulating crematoriums, said Kim Kuntzman, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

O&A... fired again?
Credit Yahoo News

In the almost-anything-goes world of radio, home to Howard Stern and Don Imus, a pair of New York shock jocks discovered what goes too far: sex inside St. Patrick's Cathedral.



Opie and Anthony, co-hosts of WNEW-FM's popular afternoon drive-time program, remained off the air for a second day Tuesday while a 350,000-member Catholic group pushed for their station to get its license revoked. The pair allegedly broadcast a live, eyewitness account of a couple having sex in the landmark Manhattan church.

"Nothing would make us happier than for WNEW's license to be revoked," said William Donohue, head of the Catholic League, which has also demanded a hefty fine for WNEW's parent company. The station is one of 180 owned nationwide by Infinity Broadcasting.

FCC ( news - web sites) Commissioner Michael Copps, saying he had received hundreds of outraged phone calls and e-mails, promised that the complaints were "on the fast track" for consideration by his agency.

If they prove true, he said, "this commission should consider the strongest enforcement action possible against this station, up to and including revocation."

The incident occurred last Thursday, when a Virginia couple was arrested after allegedly having sex in a vestibule just a few feet from worshippers in the church. The encounter was described as it happened during the "Opie and Anthony" show.

It was part of a regular feature where couples can win prizes for having sex in risky places.

Brian Florence, 37, of Quantico, Va., and Loretta Lynn Harper, 35, of Alexandria, Va., were arrested on charges of public lewdness. Show producer Paul Mercurio, 42, who called via cell phone and described their actions, was charged with acting in concert.

The Virginia pair was due back in court Wednesday. Their attorney, Miranda Fritz, has said they were only simulating sex.

Infinity, after allowing its DJs back on the air Friday afternoon, decided to remove Greg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia beginning Monday.

"We will continue to look into the matter," said Dana McClintock, a spokesman for Infinity Broadcasting, adding that "Opie and Anthony" reruns would air indefinitely.

The show is nationally syndicated in 17 markets outside New York City, including Cleveland, Dallas, Las Vegas, New Orleans and Washington, D.C.

Over the past decade, the standards for broadcasting have coarsened, led by the envelope-pushing antics of Stern, Imus and a legion of imitators.

But Opie and Anthony went beyond most. In 1998, they were fired from a Massachusetts station after announcing on April Fool's Day that Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino had died in a car crash.

Last year, ads for their program were yanked from 40 Westchester County buses after officials discovered that their "WOW" logo was a code encouraging women to doff their tops.

And two months ago, the FCC imposed a $21,000 fine on Infinity after citing three "indecent" bits that appeared on the show between November 2000 and January 2001, one involving incest.

Wow... I wish somebody I know would die so I can make them into a Diamond... that's so cool. I hope to turn my entire family into diamonds and then I'll sell them... Muaah ha ha ha I'm EVIL!

Yeah... This lack of sleep thing is making me sound weirder than normal.

Opie and Anthony are two crazy bastards, it's not a half bad show. How dare they even compare Don Imus to Howard Stern... what the hell is wrong with this writer?

Alright, alright time to go kids.

Joe

. . . Turning people into diamonds; what's next? I know a few candidates that could be made into fool's gold. . .

First post!

.

I might start a shooting gallery for saying this, but I'm going to:

I personally thought (and still do) that Courtney Love played a part in Kurt Cobain's death and to see her now trying to ruin Dave and Kris makes me sick. They were my no.1 band for a long time during my guitar years and I like many was upset by his untimely death. I had a chance to read the investigator's reports many years ago and nothing Courtney has done since to him or herself has waived my opinion of her. So shoot me.

Stick with WinMX for now Joe, if the RIAA manage to torpedo the p2p systems in the spotlight (which strangely enough doesnt seem to mention WinMX very much) then MX is next.

O&A are kinda hackneyed Stern clones, but Anthony's impressions are hysterical. I think they were syndicated all over the country, but I would imagine most of those stations have dropped them like a hot potato. Everyone cries that it's free speech and censorship, but maybe they really F'd up by doing this in a church where state has been removed from the picture. Time will tell, but this has seriously pissed off a huge number of NYers (personally, I don't care much either way, heretical lapsed Catholic bastard that I am )

I want to know why someone wants to be come a diamond. I would sell their ass as soon as they were finished cooking or whatever. It's like asking someone to drag an urn of your ashes around. Hey, you think Joan Rivers sells people's asses on the Home Shopping Network? You never did ask where the carbon came from before....

uuuuh, it costs $4,000 for a quarter-carat, do you really think you could sell your crappy cremated diamond for that much?

If one of my family members is famous? Yup...

The problem with Morpheus is that instead of improving Gnucleus, they infested it with spyware. Now Gnutella users are reluctant.