Now, finally, the Apple/Palm war seems to have ended. With the latest update to Palm Pre's webOS software, the company has come up with a new tactic altogether: forget about iTunes, use Amazon instead.

The back-and-forth between Apple and Palm was getting ugly. A cat and mouse game transpired involving hacks, crippling updates from Apple, and then re-hacks from Palm which did nothing for either company's image. Some felt that Apple had every right to protect their software from being used with other devices - after all, if something went wrong with Pre syncing, consumers could easily blame Apple's software for the troubles. They may even call in for support, not understanding that Apple wouldn't be able to handle issues arising from the use of a competitor's hardware.

Others, however, felt that Apple should open up. With their dominance over the entire digital media player industry, keeping their proprietary software a closed system was a way to make sure that no up-and-comers could ever have a shot at becoming a popular alternative to the iPod or iPhone. Palm, of course, felt this way, too. They complained to the USB-IF saying that consumers should have a right to decide how they use the media they purchase. That is, if they bought content from iTunes, they should be able to sync it to the Pre.

The USB-IF did not agree, though. They sent letters to both companies explaining that Palm's use of Apple's USB vendor code actually violated the group's rules and would need to end. Clearly, Palm lost this round, too - but don't count them out just yet.

Palm Releases webOS 1.2

Yesterday, Palm released an update of the Pre software, webOS. While most of the reporting surrounding the new OS involved the important update which brings paid applications to the Pre's App Catalog, another under-reported feature is actually just as (if not more) important. The Pre now lets you download over-the-air from Amazon's MP3 Store.

According to the Official Palm Blog, the Amazon integration now works over both WAN or Wi-Fi, meaning that you don't need to be hooked up to a PC via USB to purchase music on your Pre. You can do so directly from the device, just like Apple iPod Touch and iPhone users can do through Apple's mobile iTunes Store. Although the iTunes experience overall may have been the preferable option for many users, Amazon at least provides a viable alternative for Pre owners. Amazon's online catalog may still be a few million short of that of Apple's, but often their prices are much more affordable thanks to daily deals and albums that start at $4.99.

While Palm hasn't officially responded to the USB-IF's letter - despite being told they had to do so within a week - it seems that they have, without actually saying so, made their decision. The latest update's release notes do not mention iTunes syncing, and, as many expected, it has not been re-enabled.

It looks like Palm Pre has given up the fight for good, now betting entirely on Amazon. The company's original plan to sync with iTunes was a calculated risk and one which now leaves consumers holding the short end of the stick. How many Pre owners bought the Pre because it synced with iTunes? How many are angry or disappointed because it doesn't now? It may have been better if Palm never went this route to begin with and worked on making the Amazon integration the key selling point from day one. Of course, hindsight is always 20/20. However, their decision may end up having a major impact on the company's future, considering they've essentially bet the farm on webOS, ending support for devices running both the original Palm OS and Windows Mobile. Will giving up on iTunes impact device sales for the struggling company? Or will extricating themselves from this nasty war with Apple end up being the best thing they could have done?

Still, if you are looking for free recipe apps launched or updated in the last month, you would have a hard time finding these in iTunes. In uQuery, however, all it takes is two clicks to filter out older or more expensive apps. While search on uQuery is great, however, the service does not (yet?) provide users with a good way to simply browse the store. You can't, for example, just look at all the new games published in the last week that are available for $0.99 or less.

Earlier this year we wrote about App Engine, another web-based alternative to the App Store. App Engine, however, is currently offline. App Engine basically recreated the App Store on the web - including Apple's layout. App Engine is now offline, making uQuery one of the best web-based alternatives to iTunes, though other alternatives like iphonexe.com are also worth a look.

Tip of the hat to AppScout for bringing uQuery to our attention.

During the presentation, Jobs stressed that the Genius feature in iTunes will now be applied to other areas in iTunes. Jobs also announced that Apple has received over 27 million libraries from its users, each with about 2,000 songs. Building on top of this database, Apple is introducing 'Genius mixes' in iTunes 9. You can now basically create Pandora-like radio stations with the music you already own by giving iTunes a few songs or artists to start out with. Update: Looks like we misunderstood this feature at first. 'Genius mixes' are actually build automatically after Apple looks at your library. iTunes simply creates 12 Genius playlists based on the kind of music you have on your machine (Alternative Mix, Classic Rock Mix, etc.). Users can't control these playlists or even see what song will play next.

The iTunes store is also getting a make-over, though the most important new feature here is that Apple is introducing 'iTunes LPs' - the much rumored 'Cocktail' feature that will bring artwork and liner notes and other 'memorabilia' back to digital music (as long you purchase it through iTunes, of course). The price of these digital LPs will be around $20. Apple is also extending this concept to movies and will bring DVD extras to movies in the iTunes store.

The store itself now looks a lot cleaner, and it does feature the rumored ability to send out tweets and Facebook status updates about songs.

We will have a closer look at the new iTunes and iPhone 3.1 update once Apple releases them later today.

Home Sharing

In addition, Apple announced that users can now share songs, movies, and TV shows with up to 5 authorized computers in a household. Apple always allowed users to share songs on a local network, but this new feature takes this a bit further as it also allows users to automatically transfer purchases between different computers on a home network.

Manage iPhone Apps in iTunes 9

iPhone and iPod touch users will also be happy to hear that iTunes now allows you to manage your apps directly in iTunes, making it far easier to arrange icons on the small screen than ever before. iTunes will now give you an overview of all the pages you have filled with apps on the iPhone and lets your reorganize those apps right from within iTunes. You can also move a complete page around.

iPhone Games

During the second part of the event, Apple gave iPhone and iPod game developers a chance to showcase a number of new games, including the upcoming iPhone version of Madden 2010, Riddim Ribbon (a new take on the Guitar Hero/Tap Tap Revenge music genre and maybe the most interesting game demoed today), Assassin's Creed, and Nova, a new first-person shooter from Gameloft.

iPod News: Cheaper & Bigger

Schiller also announced new prices for the iPod touch: $199 for 8GB, $299 for 32 GB and $399 for 65GB). The 32GB and 64GB version of the touch will now also support OpenGL ES2.0, making games on the iPod a lot smoother. Apples says these iPods are now "50% faster."

As for the iPod classic, the rumors of its demise came a bit too early. Instead of taking it out of Apple's lineup, the classic now features a 160GB hard drive for $250.

The iPod shuffle will now also come in a 2GB version for $59 and Apple introduced a special edition (with 4GB of memory) that is made out of polished stainless steel for $99.

iPod Nano Now With Video Camera

The iPod nano will now get a video camera  - the other iPods, despite all the rumors, will not. Apple also built an FM radio and a pedometer right into the nano, which will also now sport a slightly larger display (2.2 inches). In addition, the nano now has a built-in microphone and speaker. These new iPod nanos will retail for $149 with 8GB of memory and $179 with 16GB.

Maybe the rumors about the delayed cameras for the rest of the iPod lineup were indeed true. It seems odd that Apple would only introduce this feature in the nano.

Tip of the hat to the team at GDGT for providing the best live coverage of the event today!

In an interview with the Guardian, George Harrison's son Dhani even suggested that rights owners create their own Beatles-specific independent music store to sell the remastered versions. If Yoko is right about the catalogue making it to iTunes, it will be interesting to see the pricing negotiated on this epic release.

Greenwood's biggest complaint about MP3s was not quality or sound compression, but rather abundance. He suggests that MP3s make it far too easy for fans to hoard music without "giving it their full attention". In a recent Pitchfork article Eric Harvey suggests the opposite. Says Harvey, "The mp3 may have atomized music into millions of little pieces, but each piece, it seems, found a publicist. The average music fan now has the built-in capacity to double as promoter and distributor in an ever-expanding arena that's making and eliminating rules every minute."

Whether you see them as hoarders or promoters, one thing is certain, the iPod generation is changing how music is consumed. But if they can't depend on tiered pricing for audio quality, how can companies monetize the new music fan? While a Stanford study suggests that the iPod generation prefers the flat sound of an MP3, it doesn't mean today's listeners aren't willing to pay for their music. According to an NPD Group report purchasers of digital music downloads increased by 29% last year with iTunes controlling a quarter of all music sold. Some of the ways fans still generate revenue for bands include streaming music subscriptions, track and album purchases, concerts tickets, merchandise and paid application downloads.

Update, Ed: there can be a big difference in audio quality of MP3s promoted on the Web. For example the quality varied greatly between Radiohead's In Rainbows album and Saul Williams' album (promoted by Trent Reznor). See Kim Gaskins' post on the new Latitude Research blog Life Connected for further analysis.

Photos taken from Dead Air Space

Unlike other mobile streaming music applications, the Android and iPhone applications allow members to cache streaming files for offline listening. In other words, there is no need to download a file for listening. It's an amazing mobile feature for users, but as a free application it would cannibalize Spotify's revenue stream from downloads. However, with the subscription requirement, the company is destined to make money from both downloads and streaming lists.

If the application doesn't make it into the App Store, Spotify has other opportunities to generate revenue with downloads. Ek announced plans in late June to launch a one-click download solution for easier on-site purchases. The company's ability to gain referral sales revenue shows potential, but the access model is less attractive than subscriptions. Spotify could offer a tiered file pricing system without compromising its existing service. The company could continue to stream compressed files for free while offering higher-quality files or rare releases for purchase and download. This option might appeal to diehard music fans, but it certainly doesn't have the cool factor of the mobile applications.

Regardless of Spotify's revenue streams, the company's US release is widely anticipated. Americans are eager to see what UK and Swedish audiences have been raving about. Some of the company's latest 3rd party tools look like amazing additions to the community. Spotify's blog featured the following:

1. SpotifiTunes: Independent web developer Phil Nash's iTunes playlist tool allows you to upload your iTunes library and generate additional links to your favorite artists in Spotify. Members can discover new album releases and sometimes surprising band collaborations from the past.

2. We Are Hunted: The curated We Are Hunted music community created a Spotify playlist complete with the site's top tracks and artists. Once users can cache this on their devices, they'll have the ability to listen to the community's 99 hottest streaming songs in offline mode.

3. Share My Playlists: This site contains almost 4000 pre-compiled Spotify playlists for your listening pleasure. The service offers amazing potential to leverage the popularity of existing celebrity deejays, music bloggers, labels and music properties. Just think about the range this service could offer. From indie electronic labels to Motown, if brands were to release weekly tribute playlists you can bet there would be listeners.

After this sort of a build up for the North American launch, it would be a let down if American audiences thought the service was anything short of fantastic. We won't have to wait long for a reaction, the release is expected before the end of summer.

Nevertheless, in the case of this wedding video, Sony (copyright owners of Forever) chose to capitalize on the clip's success rather than blocking the file. They added a simple pop-up overlay that offers users a chance to purchase the song from iTunes or Amazon. According to YouTube, in the last week, the year-old song has risen to #4 on the iTunes charts and #3 on Amazon.

To Google's glee, Sony's success in working with users is likely to inspire other copyright owners to rethink their past actions with DMCA take-down notices. And this would be a welcome change for many. Take downs have shown a history of hurting user morale, reducing valuable community content and decreasing channels of monetization for content hosts. In the case of the wedding video, while it's obvious that Sony made money, YouTube has likely earned profit from AdWords as well as referral revenue from Amazon and iTunes.

Because Sony left the wedding video up, the community continues to receive free hosting and feedback, the copyright owners profit from their licensed goods, YouTube earns new revenue, and the remix community continues to proliferate. Since last week, some of the remixes and re-creations include the Divorce Entrance Dance, a WIS-TV anchor version and the couple's own appearance on the Today Show.

1. Bandcamp: RWW reviewed Bandcamp earlier and dubbed this service the "MySpace Music Killer". The company offers bands the chance to upload liner notes, album arts and links to their materials through an online DIY store. In this case, interactivity is not bundled with the album downloads, but rather found in a link on the site.

2. Songbird: Songbird is the open-source Mozilla-based music player that offers users a chance to listen to albums while also viewing information about artists through various in-browser plugins. Songbird offers the basic functionality of an "interactive album" with lyrics and album art; however, fans can also add extensions to trade mix tapes, publish their playback histories to Last.FM and publish their listening history to Twitter.

3. Songkick: Songkick is a concert recommendation engine with a music history component. The site allows users to upload concert-related photos, liner notes, poster art, videos and even ticket stubs. The community is a live music wiki updated by those die hard fans who've not only attended the concerts, but also documented the experience. For Bob Dylan alone, the community has uploaded information on 2788 past concerts in 767 cities.

Apart from their interactivity and great social components, one thing that BandCamp, Songbird and Songkick have in common is the fact that they are not Apple. While each of the services are wonderful in their own right, Apple's potential commitment to interactive albums can set an industry-wide precedent on how albums are released. By providing listeners with liner notes, videos and background information, fans may find themselves connecting with their music on a whole new level.

Band history, politics and cultural context can affect whether or not we part with our money. I'm going to take a wild guess that Hasidic Jewish reggae artist Matisyahu's highest download numbers don't come from Muslim music fans. And do you think Radiohead's name-your-own-price In Rainbows album would have made as much money if the group wasn't known for its activism?

The interactive album tells us where artists have come from and how they're using their voices outside of the music. A number of services provide the delivery framework for the information, but only Apple provides direct access to mainstream audiences. Regardless of whether or not the independent labels follow suit, these new band dossiers give us the social narrative we need to make informed choices as consumers.

Here are a few of the them:

• pump was primed: with the iPod, Apple had already familiarized millions of people with iTunes and the idea of buying music and videos content for their devices on iTunes - moving to applications was a natural next step
• it's not just the iPhone: by creating an ecosystem that both iPhone and iPod touch users can tap into, Apple greatly expanded the reach of its app store. Apple says it has shipped over 40 million devices with the iPhone OS on it. This means that, on average, iPhone and iPod touch owners have downloaded an average of around 38 apps per person, which is not an outrageously high number.
• pricing: allowing free apps into the store and distributing them for free was a very smart move by Apple. This allows new users to become comfortable with the App Store concept and gives developers a chance to showcase free versions of their paid applications and games. Also, by allowing developers to charge as little as $0.99 for an app, developers can reach a lot of users while still getting paid for their work.
• international reach: there are App Stores in 77 countries and very little content is restricted to specific countries
• games: almost every application in the list of top paid and free apps (iTunes link) is a game. The iPhone (and the iPhone 3GS even more so) is a great mobile gaming machine and given that most games are quite cheap, who can really say no to the Moron Test or Real Soccer 2009 (which at $0.99 is quite a bargain)?
• low barrier of entry for developers: you don't have to pay to start developing (assuming you have access to a modern Mac), and if you are already a Mac developer, developing for the iPhone OS is relatively easy, as you use the same tools as before.
• a chance to make money: of course, it also helps that Apple provides a central hub for all the apps and at least gives developers the impression that even small development houses or a guy in his parents' basement is playing on the same level as Electronic Arts or Gameloft.

Some things we would like Apple to change/add:

• improve the approval process: it's no secret that the process to get an application into the store is rather arcane and that Apple regularly refuses to let apps into the store for seemingly random reasons.
• "remember this iPhone app" - our own Marshall Kirkpatrick would really like to see Apple add a way to mark apps in the store so that he could buy them later. This could look something like wish lists on Amazon or Newegg
• recommendations: with 65,000 apps, it's very hard to keep an eye on what's new in the store. As of now, Apple hasn't introduced a 'Genius' feature for the App Store and there isn't even an Amazon-like function "others who bought this app also liked these apps" feature
• mark apps you already bought

Can you think of other reasons why the App Store became such a success? And what would you like Apple to add to it or improve? Let us know in the comments.

According to a post on Apple's website, the company is now claiming - for the record - that they will not guarantee other devices will sync with the iTunes software nor will they support those devices.

Here's how the post reads:

Apple designs the hardware and software to provide seamless integration of the iPhone and iPod with iTunes, the iTunes Store, and tens of thousands of apps on the App Store. Apple is aware that some third-parties claim that their digital media players are able to sync with Apple software. However, Apple does not provide support for, or test for compatibility with, non-Apple digital media players and, because software changes over time, newer versions of Apple's iTunes software may no longer provide syncing functionality with non-Apple digital media players.

That sounds like a definite slap in the face to the Pre who may soon see one of their main selling points disappear with a simple update to the iTunes software.

Still, Apple has to be careful not to implement the update in a such way that makes it appear that they've done so just to break the Pre's syncing ability...that would reek of anti-competitiveness and could get them in trouble with the U.S. Department of Justice. However, we know Apple is filled with enough smart people that they could surely think of a way to break it without making it look like they broke it on purpose . The question is, will they really do something that under-handed and sneaky? Or do they just want to create a climate of fear by implying that you can't trust the Pre to always work?

Either way, it doesn't look like good news for Palm.

The user interface of the desktop player, which looks a bit like Mozilla's Songbird, is slightly more complex than it really needs to be, but it also gives you access to a set of powerful tools that go beyond the core recommendation service. The desktop player, for example, includes a CD burner and some rudimentary support for managing portable players. Thanks to its integration with AudioID, Mufin can also easily find MP3 id information for tracks in your collection that haven't been tagged with the right information yet.

Sort by Sound

At the center of the Mufin Player, is, of course, Mufin's recommendation engine, which allows you to quickly build playlists based on the music similarities between songs. Once you import a new song (Mufin can import your iTunes library, by the way), Mufin automatically analyzes the musical qualities of that song. Based on this, Mufin will then recommend similar songs from both your own collection, or based on information from Mufin.com, which currently features about 5 million tracks. Sadly, Mufin only allows you to play 30-second clips from songs it recommends from its own site.

The problem for Mufin, of course, is that most users already have a favorite music jukebox. Mufin's recommendation features are extremely interesting, and we recommend that you give it a try, but if you like Mufin's recommendations, then using the iTunes plugin might be more worthwhile for you in the long run.

mufin player from mufin on Vimeo.

Half the students (32 of 64) skipped the class and listened to the podcast only. The other half attended in person, where they also received a printed handout. A week later, the students were tested on the material.

Podcast Listeners Did Better

The students who downloaded the podcast alone averaged a C (71 out of 100) but those who attended class averaged a D. And those who listened to the podcast and took notes did even better - their average was 77.

Before university classrooms empty out, it's important to note that this is only preliminary research. McKinney's study involved only a single lecture. Also, motivation may have come into play as well. Her experiment didn't count for class credit, so students were encouraged to participate with iTunes gift cards. The high scorer from each group was awarded a $15 gift certificate for use in the online store.

McKinney now plans to further study podcasts in the classroom over the course of an entire semester, instead of just one class. She wonders if students might find podcasts more useful early on in a class, when the material is still new. Still, McKinney is a big believer in the power of technology and its impact on education. "I do think it's a tool," she says. "I think that these kids are programmed differently than kids 20 years ago."

For artists, the Republic Project offers a full range of services, ranging from the in-house design of the artists' web pages on the site, to reputation management and regular updates of the artists' presence on social media and video sharing sites. The Republic Project will not manage tours or sell merchandise, however.

Focus on Video

In order to produce the artists' behind the scenes videos, the Republic Project has teamed up with Flip, which will provide participating artists with its MiniHD camcorders. The Republic Project puts a strong emphasis on the video production and will edit the artists' video in-house. Only those customers who pre-order the artists' albums (or buy them after they are finished) will get access to the full-length videos, while the Republic Project will put teasers on publicly available video sites like YouTube or Vimeo.

Sounds Like a Good Deal

Ryan Swagar, the Republic Project's CEO and Co-Founder told us earlier this week that he believes that his company offers a better deal for both artists and consumers. The Republic Project keeps 30% of the revenues from all sales, which is similar to the cut that Apple takes for songs sold on iTunes - though most of that money tends to go to the labels and not to the artists.

Access to a band's site, with video updates and blog posts during the production of the album, as well as a download of the finished product will cost between $9.99 and $14.99. This is also similar to what other online music stores charge, though that obviously only includes access to the songs and doesn't include the 'box set material' that the Republic Project plans to offer.

We like the ideas behind the Republic Project: connecting artists and fans directly, providing DRM-free music, and helping artists to develop their digital footprint, while also allowing these musicians to bypass the trappings of traditional music deals. In the end, the marketplace will decide if this is something that users want - and that bands want to sign up for - but to us, it looks like the Republic Project has put together a very interesting package. Because of its emphasis on pre-orders, however, its appeal might currently be limited to bands that already have a strong, dedicated fan-base.

"It became very, very evident to me that as technology moves forward, there will come a day where we'll be able to not just create animation based upon our comic books and our characters and stories that we've told, but there will come a time when eventually we'll be able to take existing comic art, the flat, static art, and be able to animate it," said Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada. "So [now] we can put out a product that is not quite a comic book and not quite animation, [but] a wonderful hybrid that incorporates all of our great talents."

X-Men and Spider-Woman are among the first books to take on the new format. No pricing or release date has been set.

While printed works have always held promise on iTunes - and the iPhones and iPods that derive content from it - this new comic format could be the perfect fit for the handheld Apple devices that excel with audio and video.

When you combine the Apple hardware - or any device capable of playing iTunes content - with the geek appeal of Marvel's universe of heroes, this seems like a sure winner for both Marvel and iTunes.

Now, however, thanks to an online version of the App Store which scrapes the content of the store in iTunes, you can quickly browse for applications, read reviews, and see screenshots from any computer that has access to the Internet without ever having to open iTunes.

As Amit Agarwal notes, Apple uses a rather cryptic XML format for delivering the pages in iTunes. However, the developers of the online App Store have found a way to decrypt these XML files and render them as regular HTML.

Limitations

Of course, there are some limitations to this approach. You can't, for example, install apps without using iTunes at some point. The online App Store also doesn't have a search function.

Will Apple Shut it Down?

Of course, given Apple's litigious nature, we don't know if this version of the App Store will be around for a very long time, but it's a great resource if you just want to link to an app in the store, for example, without your users having to open the desktop iTunes app (which, after all, is not available on all operating systems).