best

When will iTunes replace Wal-Mart as No. 1 music retailer?

Apple's iTunes will likely whip past Wal-Mart Stores to become the largest U.S. music retailer sometime this year.

The NPD Group issued a report Tuesday that said Apple had outpaced Best Buy and Target to become the No. 2 U.S. music retailer. Unless the downward trend in CD sales suddenly reverses, Apple will be No. 1, said Russ Crupnick, the NPD Group's president of Music.

"Digital sales were up close to 50 percent and CD sales were down 20 percent last year," Crupnick said. "Even at half that growth rate in digital sales, … Read more

Once Soundtrack wins an Oscar

The story of how Once went from a low budget indie film to an Oscar nomination (and win!) is arguably more compelling than the movie itself. But its simple storyline and amazing soundtrack is why it deserves such praise. Last night, Glen Hansard and girlfriend, Once co-star, and singing partner Marketa Irgl?va (a.k.a. Swell Season) took home the Oscar for Best Original Song. If you haven't heard "Falling Slowing" yet, it's only two clicks away. Here's our review:

"Ireland's Frames have built one of the more lovely and melancholy pop … Read more

This week in laptops

While some sectors of tech were reliving the years 2001 through 2003, the world of laptops soldiered on, driven by the harsh master that is Moore's law. Intel's 45-nanometer Penryn chips crept into several laptops, including the Dell XPS M1730 and two Acer Aspires. Meanwhile, Best Buy is currently showing a one- to two-week delay on MacBook Pros--we'll let you connect the dots.

In other component news, Nvidia was met with yawns when it revealed the specs for two mainstream notebook video cards. A supersecret start-up called Montalvo Systems just might be on the verge of … Read more

Best Buy running low on MacBooks ahead of new arrivals?

A back order of MacBooks at Best Buy could be yet another sign that Apple has new notebooks around the corner.

Best Buy is showing a one- to two-week delay on both 15.4-inch $1,999 MacBook Pros--the exact configuration that was rumored to be on tap earlier this month--as well as 13.3-inch MacBooks. AppleInsider has also heard from a reseller who claims orders are "trickling in" in preparation for a new launch.

Rumors of new notebooks have been swirling for weeks as a confluence of different events point to the possibility of new MacBook Pros. Intel … Read more

Where all your Valentine are belong to us

EPISODE 36

Today, we talk about Valentine Day's best and worst dates with ace reporter Caroline McCarthy. Also, Time Warner and Viacom are coming to Hulu, Spielberg's new video game Boom Blox, and EA's GameShow. We also hear from some our loyal listeners about Optimash Prime.

Listen now: Download today's podcast

Buzz Out Loud 659: Microsoft: No means yes

EPISODE 659

AMD is solid at retail, now the bad news

Advanced Micro Devices may have been demoted on Dell's Web site (though three AMD-based notebook models are still listed). But its chips aren't collector's items yet.

A quick inventory of Best Buy, the largest U.S. electronics retailer, is telling. A search on the reseller's Web site greets you with a page full of AMD-based notebooks. Ten to be exact. Some are fairly attractive too. Many are models in Dell's svelte Inspiron line. (Correction: not Dell's XPS line). Granted, Best Buy may not have the turnover of Dell's Web site but it's … Read more

When is a bargain laptop not a bargain?

Update [2/11/08]: We've heard from Best Buy, and the company tells us this laptop will be available for $1,199 starting Sunday, February 17. That represents an excellent value, and mitigates our disappointment over the original jump from the MSRP of $1,350 to the current $1,699.

Late last year, Gateway told us about its plans to bring a low-cost, high-quality gaming laptop to Best Buy stores as a retail-only exclusive. The system has arrived, and we were initially impressed with its price and performance, but now there seems to be some funny stuff going on … Read more

Netflix says no to HD DVD

Word was out this morning that Netflix was giving up on HD DVD, but now Netflix is getting personal about it. I just received the following e-mail:

Dear David,

You're receiving this e-mail because you have asked to receive high-definition movies in the HD DVD format. As you may have heard, most of the major movie studios have recently decided to release their high-definition movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format. In order to provide the best selection of high-definition titles for our members, we have decided to go exclusively with Blu-ray as well.

While we will continue to make … Read more