Technology & Gadget Blog

We all know stealing music is lame and I’m an avid iTunes user — I like the option of purchasing songs without having to buy the whole CD. Unfortunately bricks-’n'-mortar music stores have suffered because of this availability.

With the holidays fast approaching, I was in the mood to search for tunes to add to my Christmas playlist and I heard about a brand new digital download site. HMV Canada has finally joined the tech world and created a site for you to browse and download music, similar to iTunes (although still in the Beta stage). The benefits of the HMV site is that you have a longer preview time of songs, and it creates a mini-playlist of recently browsed songs. And like iTunes, most songs are $0.99 a download, with the current chart toppers selling for $1.29 each.

I’m really glad HMV decided to do this, not only because I had a blast working at the stores throughout my high school years, but because HMV is a British corporation that invests largely in the Canadian market and not within the US. Even though I love Apple, I’d rather support a company that gives back more to the Canadian economy.

Check it out at hmvdigital.ca

I’m a TiVo fanatic. Ever since I brought the wonderful little box into my apartment, I’ve been hooked. How did I enjoy life before the magic of digital TV recording? I just don’t know. Whether it’s to watch junk reality shows like MTV’s The Real World, or record my fave movie that is inconveniently airing at 4am, my TiVo has become a reliable pal.

Well, TiVo has just made my life even easier. When I was away in Boston this past weekend, my little video buddy recorded a plethora of programs and I’m having a hard time trying to watch them all. And now, I’ve just found out this fascinating little program: iTiVo. That’s right, folks. You can now transfer your recorded programs from your video box to your iTunes account on your Mac computer. From there, you can upload the content onto your iPod or iPhone. How cool is that? Now there’s no reason for you to fall behind on your fave TV shows, even when you’re on the road.

Check out the details here, as well as instructions on how to download the instruction manual.

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