NPR Music Free App – The free NPR Music app has been revamped and now works on iPads, iPhones and iPod Touch (Touches?). The home screen has links to featured stories, stations, headlines and archived video and audio performances and interviews. You can navigate around with a variety of buttons, and the iPad version also offers articles, videos, programs, genres, favorites, search and settings buttons. You can get archived programs of All Songs Considered, World Cafe, Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz, JazzSet, Mountain Stage, etc.
LG & Samsung Named Energy Star Partners of the Year – LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics have been named 2012 Energy Star Partners of the Year by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Both were honored for contributions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by manufacturing energy-efficient products and helping to educate consumers about those products. 15 LG home electronics and appliance products were part of the Energy Star Most Efficient Program, which is designed to advance energy efficiency by giving this designation to the top 5% of products in certain categories. Along with Keep American Beautiful and Waste Management, LG collected over 10 million pounds of unused electronic products for responsible recycling in 2011, while encouraging consumers to replace their recycled electronics with Energy Star-qualified products. Samsung received their partnership in the Product Manufacturing Category by offering 960 Energy Star-qualified models in various product categories, including more TVs than all other consumer electronics brands. This is the fourth consecutive year Samsung has been honored for their energy-efficient products.
Universal Electronics Sues Universal Remote Control – Global wireless control technology firm Universal Electronics has filed a patent infringement suit against Universal Remote Control for infringement of four U.S patents. UEI’s broad portfolio of patented technologies and database of infrared control software had been adopted by many Fortune 500 companies. Their wireless control products are sold under the One For All brand name.
C/NET Audio Myths – C/NET has a new guide to cutting thru the hypes in home audio marketing. In a nutshell: “I won’t hear a difference – as with those magazines that claim all amps, speakers, CD players sound alike. Nonsense; compare any two different components side by side and you’ll hear a difference with the same source material. Amp Wattage – OK, you need bigger amps to power less efficient speakers, but aside from that wattage ratings are mostly rubbish. Speaker wattage ratings – Read them as “minimum wattage rating;” you’re more likely to damage speakers by using an amp of too low wattage and playing it too loudly. Small speakers – they don’t really perform the same as larger speakers; you can’t overcome basic physics. Subs can go anywhere – Usually true, but make sure it is a sub – many so-called subwoofers today produce nowhere near the extreme low frequencies of a genuine subwoofer. (And make sure the crossover to your main speakers is smooth and unnoticed.)
Wayne Shorter – In Memoriam
Rememberance of the artist
