technology

While the music industry spent a few weeks hammering Kickstarter millionaire Amanda Palmer for not paying musicians (she finally caved and is paying now), the company recently introduced a new set of rules for their Hardware And Product Design category to protect customers and to try and define what the site is actually to be used for in […]

It is not exactly controversial to say that musicians and artists have an adoration for Apple products, and the AltPress staff are no different. We all work on Apple computers here at the office and I have definitely tweeted from the AP account on my iPhone a multitude of times (and, admittedly, I have owned […]

Instagram 3.0 was released today. Instagram says they “focused on the browsing experience” for the newest upgrade, which includes: A map-browsing feature that allows users to view photos on a map rather than through scrolling. Geotagging and placing your photos on the map is optional More consistent layouts throughout Larger photos in grid display A […]

Google+ have announced that they intend to make “live hangout concerts sound more like the stage” with their new audio-enhancing “Studio Mode” feature. Added with musicians who stream their live music through Google+ Hangouts On Air in mind, the new feature optimizes audio quality for music by streaming “in stereo at a higher bitrate through […]

Amazon Inc. has announced several improvements to its cloud-based music service, Cloud Player.  They include licensing deals with “Sony Music Entertainment, EMI Music, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, and more than 150 independent distributors, aggregators and music publishers” that will allow users access to and ability to store more music than before and upgrades […]

Working to take a piece of a market mainly dominated by Ticketmaster, online ticketing platform Ticketleap relaunched today with a new design that encourages more social interaction and updated apps for iOS and Android. The new design has a standardized template for every event with seating charts, a map and the ability to socialize about […]

No Doubt's case against Activision Publishing Inc. over the use of its likeness in the Band Hero video game–which dates back to 2009–will be heard by a jury. Via Associated Press: “The ruling by Superior Court Judge Ramona See rejected a motion by Activision's lawyers to dismiss several claims from the case, including fraud, violation […]

Facebook is making serious moves to enter the smartphone business in 2013, according to a report from the New York Times' technology blog, Bits. The story notes that this will be the third attempt at phone manufacturing from the social networking giant—after a scrubbed first attempt in 2010 and a second, a partnership between Facebook […]

The RIAA has claimed defunct file-sharing service LimeWire owes it $72 trillion in damages for some 11,000 violations of copyright infringement from users distributing and downloading pirated music. Via Computer World: “In a scathing ruling filed earlier this month, Judge Kimba Wood of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York flatly […]

If you bought an iPod between Sept. 12, 2006 and March 31, 2009 chances are you're listed in a class-action lawsuit against Apple from RealNetworks. Via CNN: “The company, which developed Real Player and the service Harmony, has officially enlisted iPod owners in a class-action lawsuit against Apple — though you do have the right to […]

YouTube could be in trouble in Germany after a Hamburg court ruled the video sharing site was responsible for content users upload to the site, including copyrighted music. Via BBC News: “It wants the video site to install filters that spot when users try to post music clips whose rights are held by royalty collection […]

(Image: Mashable) Since Facebook's mandatory switch to Timeline at the end of March, artist profiles on the social network have seen a steep drop in traffic. Via Digital Music News: “We saw marked declines heading into Facebook's official switch to Timeline. But it now looks like Timeline is eviscerating the Facebook artist app, or at […]

The Motion Picture Association of America is seeking a new judgment on what constitutes copyright infringement, seeking those who embed copyrighted material via YouTube or other sources, not just those who host it. Via Arstechnica: “The Motion Picture Association of America is squaring off against a coalition of Internet giants and public interest groups over […]

Popular photo sharing/editing mobile app Instagram has been acquired by social media behemoth Facebook for $1 billion. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted the following to his profile: “I’m excited to share the news that we’ve agreed to acquire Instagram and that their talented team will be joining Facebook. For years, we’ve focused on building the […]

A brand new app for Mac computers called Flutter allows users to control music from iTunes and Spotify with the wave of their hand. The wave is picked up by the computer's buit-in webcam and pauses and plays music. Via The Huffington Post: “Gesture technology is such an exciting field of computing because no one […]

Megaupload, one of the largest onilne storage and file delivery services on the Internet, has been shut down due to allegations of piracy. The FBI and the Justice Department, citing some $500 million in lost income of copyright holders from pirated music, films and other media hosted on the site, indicted six defendants, according to […]