By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

What’s up with Sony BMG? Of late, they seem to be open to trying new ideas which, based on their rootkit-like DRM and other issues in the past, seem out of character. First they sign a deal with Amazon MP3 for all DRM-free music, and now this!

Sony’s new deal is with We7, an ad-supported music streaming / download service based in the U.K., with 100k subscribers and over 2m downloads as of February 2008. Sony BMG thus becomes the first major label to sign with We7, which was founded in April 2007. Musician Peter Gabriel is one of its founders.

The We7 service works by dynamically ‘grafting’ ads onto the front of music tracks and albums based on a user’s demographics such as location, age, gender.

According to the press release:

From the end of April, We7’s users will be able to stream music, on demand and for free with a short audio advert before each track, from the extensive Sony BMG catalogue. The label will also make available to stream on demand new releases from its current roster of artists. Initially the streaming service will only be available to existing registered users of We7, before it is rolled out to new subscribers.

Commenting on the announcement, Ged Doherty, Chairman of Sony BMG in the UK and Ireland, said “We are in the business of embracing a multitude of new ways our music can reach audiences. Our deal with We7 is an important step forward in offering fans greater flexibility in how they consume music.”

Steve Purdham, CEO of We7, commented “Today marks a significant leap forward for We7 and the industry as a whole, as Sony BMG lead the way in embracing the on demand streaming model for the benefit of music fans, artists and advertisers alike.”

Peter Gabriel, the musician and founder of We7, added “The digital revolution has provided exciting and extraordinary opportunities in the music business, even though it has been largely written off by many. We7 is a model that will supply free music to the consumer and still provide a stream of revenue to musicians and content owners. We are delighted that Sony BMG are exploring this new world, and are the first forward thinking major to come on board with us.”

As indicated above, initial access to Sony BMG music will be limited, but it’s unclear what “existing registered users” means. Does it mean only those already signed up as of this press release, or does it include those who sign up before the Sony BMG music goes live in April? I sent an email to We7 to find out.

It should also be noted that Sony BMG is only supplying tracks for the streaming part of We7’s service, not the download portion, although Doherty did not rule out a future deal including downloads. He also said that Sony BMG was in talks with other such ad-supported music services - interesting.

By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews

Google has begun offering secondary search boxes within their search results (above). Typical of Google offerings, not everyone is seeing the “feature” yet, as it rolls out to different data centers.

The secondary box restricts the search to the site in question. It seems like the searches that are most likely to bring up the secondary box involves retailers (as above), although The New York Times brings up a secondary box and some say YouTube and Wikipedia do also (though I did not see that result).

How are these sites are chosen? Do they have to pay for this extra search box, or is some algorithm at work?

Since it’s not available in all data centers yet, if you really want to see it now, you can try this data center where the new feature is working.

What do you readers think of this new feature? Try it out and let me know.

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

Sweet! Here are the first pics of the drum kit to be used with Rock Band –the eagerly awaited sequel to Guitar Hero. As you can see from the picture above, the color around each drum (and one on the pedal) will correspond to the way colors are used on the frets of the GH guitar. This will help anyone who has played the guitar in Guitar Hero, although the color order is different.

We Ask: Shouldn’t it be: Green, Red, Yellow Blue, Orange?! Nevertheless, we want one now. (shipping sometime in Fall 2007, although we predict it is more like Christmas.) More details here:
Source: G4

By Alice Hill
RealTech News

Two guys from Brazil demonstrate how to fix the dreaded red rings of death on the Microsoft Xbox 360. Reminds me of the “color” TV we had growing up. Two whacks on the side of the set and you got color. Source: YouTube via 1Pstart.com

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

I have black bruise marks on two of my fingers from playing Guitar Hero I and II way too much over the 4th of July break. And while I love it (obviously) I can’t help feeling a tad restless. That’s why I am especially proud to share some details on the upcoming Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s (coming later this month) and the new guitars shown here for the even more anticipated Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

From Gamespot: Activision also included a few other scraps of information about the upcoming game, saying that it will include “a multiplayer action-inspired battle mode, grueling boss battles, a host of exclusive unlockable content, and visually stunning rock venues.” The publisher also said that it will be offering downloadable content for the game on multiple platforms, and stressed that it has entered into partnerships with “all the major and independent record labels and music publishers to allow unrivaled access to their deep history of music catalogs.”

We Ask: Guitar Hero III sounds great. So what does that make Guitar Hero Encore? Guitar Hero 2.5? And where does that leave Rock Band?

A full list of the unlockable Gibson guitars available in Guitar Hero III follows below:
More

By Michael Santo
Executive Editor, RealTechNews

Admitting that they have been making more console repairs than they would like, Microsoft announced Thursday that they would be extending warranties on Xbox 360 to three years.

The company said it will record a $1.05 billion to $1.15 billion charge for the fourth quarter that ended Saturday to pay for “anticipated costs.”

“We don’t think we’ve been getting the job done,” said Robbie Bach, president of the division. “In the past few months, we have been having to make Xbox 360 console repairs at a rate too high for our liking.” Source: Breitbart.com

We Say: For some reason I think that not only has Microsoft had too many failures for its liking … Xbox 360 owners have had too many failures for their liking …

By Jimmy Daniels
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews

Are you interested in thought controlled video games, and if so, would you be if they adjusted for your thoughts and feelings? Say, you were nervous about something and picked up a game to play, the game would catch the nervousness and make it harder for you to do what you needed to do. When playing Grand Theft Auto, if you were nervous, you would have worse aim than those who are relaxed.

Behind the mask is a sensor that touches the user’s forehead and reads the brain’s electrical signals, then sends them to a wireless receiver inside the saber, which lights up when the user is concentrating. The player maintains focus by channeling thoughts on any fixed mental image, or thinking specifically about keeping the light sword on. When the mind wanders, the wand goes dark.

Technology from NeuroSky and other startups could make video games more mentally stimulating and realistic. It could even enable players to control video game characters or avatars in virtual worlds with nothing but their thoughts. Source: New toys read brain waves

We Say: While I would like to have more control over how fast my character reacts, etc, I think I would just rather use a controller than have some device that decides it should be harder for me to shoot, or steer, etc. They already have a prototype that hooks up to an Xbox 360, PS3 and a Wii, but do we really want mentally taxing games, or do we just want to forget about stuff when we are playing? I would like to be able to play Gears of War better, that’s for sure, sucks when pre-teens kick your butt all the time…

By Alice Hill
RealTechNews

Love it or hate it, the controversial Grand Theft Auto series from Rockstar Games is about to get even more realistic looking. Watch the trailer here. Release date: Oct 2007. Source: Gearfuse.com