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Promotion deal pushing music companies to switch to DRM-free MP3 format

(NEWSER) - Pepsi and Amazon aren’t music producers, but they may inspire large-scale changes in the industry, Reuters says. The two companies will launch a music download promotion of MP3 songs during the Super Bowl next year, a deal pushing music titans like Warner Music and Sony BMG to consider distributing songs in the same format, which bypasses digital rights management technology. More»

Unlocked phones will be 'irreparably damaged' by upgrade

(NEWSER) - IPhones that have been unlocked to work on cellular networks other than AT&T may be damaged "irreparably" by an iPhone software update being released this week, Apple warned yesterday. What's worse, the company says the unlocking also voids the warranty, so users would have to pay for replacements out of pocket. One of the features included in the update will enable users to buy music over a WiFi connection. More»

Flash lovers, rejoice!

(NEWSER) - Surely you’ve heard by know that Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet isn’t an iPad killer . But it does have a few desirable traits that the iPad doesn’t. The Huffington Post lists six of them:

• It supports Flash: Many iPad and iPhone users wish that Apple would take a page from Amazon’s playbook when it comes to this.
• It’s cheaper: A Kindle Fire (which does not offer 3G) will run you $199. For the cheapest iPad 2 model, which also does not offer 3G, you’ll shell out $499.

Facebook founder tops Steve Jobs, Rupert Murdoch

(NEWSER) - Frighteningly enough, Mark Zuckerberg tops Vanity Fair 's list of this year's most influential people of the Information Age. The top 5 of its 100:

1. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook: His company is valued at around $25 billion, has more than 500 million members, runs 176 billion banner ads a month, and is looking at $2 billion in revenue this year.
2. Steve Jobs, Apple: He's already saved the music business, now he's looking to do the same for the publishing industry with the iPad. And sales of his market-dominating iPhone will likely top $20 billion this year.

Apple to announce revamped version of Apple TV with Netflix

(NEWSER) - Amazon and Apple are both planning major pushes into the online TV business, insiders say. Apple will announce today a new set-top box that will deliver TV to consumers and include movies from Netflix, reports Bloomberg . Apple will offer 99-cent rentals of TV shows through its revamped, $99 version of AppleTV, the sources say. More»