Apple Inc.

Customers examine a display at an Apple computer store, in Boston, Monday, July 21, 2008. Apple Inc. says its fiscal third-quarter profit climbed 31 percent from a year ago. It was helped by demand for its Macintosh computers and iPod media players...

The Final Days of DRM: Yahoo Music Store Closing, Will Eat Your Purchased Music

Digital Rights Management technology is dying, it's becoming understood that hobbling tunes to enforce scarcity isn't the best way to monetize the music business online. What about all the suckers who bought DRM laden music in recent years, though? When the Yahoo! Music Store closes its doors this fall, the company announced today, past customers dependent on their music "phoning home" to get license approval before playing are out of luck. They'll be able to continue playing purchased tracks on a single computer, until they make any changes to their operating system...

More AOL Cost-Cutting: Dumping Properties; Cutting Back On Blogs (TWX)

AOL is "sunsetting" (i.e. killing or trying to sell) some of its underperforming units, including Bluestring, Xdrive, AOL Pictures and MyMobile. TechCrunch has the memo, issued last week, by EVP Kevin Conroy, who oversees the company's product group. Conroy's unit will now focus on projects like its Truveo video search, though PaidContent notes that Tim Tuttle, who ran Truveo before AOL acquired it two years and has been managing it since, is now just an advisor.

Meanwhile AOL is also telling bloggers who contribute to its Weblogs group to stop writing, at least for now. Blogs going dark include Diylife.com, The Unofficial Apple Weblog, and DownloadSquad...

Well-known Zune tattoo fan gives up on MS  

MacNN - Jul 23 12:18 PM

Microsoft's most ardent supporter of the Zune is giving up on the player despite having gone to the extent of receiving three Zune-themed tattoos, according to a statement by the fan himself. Having earned a reputation as one of the most avid early adopters, Steven Smith now says he will hide the tattoos and largely exit the community after disappo...