GoKawiil
Tech News
Apple's original iPod, launched Nov. 10, 2001 at $400, could hold between 1,000 and 2,000 songs and came bundled with white earbuds. To mark the device's 25th anniversary, Apple Music's website now hosts a hidden, functional mockup of the first-generation iPod on its 404 error page, complete with a playable song selection and scroll wheel.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the original iPod's launch, Apple built a fully interactive virtual version of the device into Apple Music's website, triggered when a broken page is loaded. The recreation includes a working click wheel, a library of over 1,000 playable 90-second song snippets, and even the hidden Brick game from the original device.
Sony has introduced three new Walkman digital music players running Android 16: the NW-WM1ZM3, NW-WM1AM3 and NW-ZX900, priced from $1,900 to $5,900. The top model, a gold-plated unit with 256GB storage, supports formats like FLAC, DSD and Apple Lossless, and includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and roughly 30 hours of battery life.
A Verge newsletter recounts how portable digital music began with the MPMan F10 in Asia in March 1998, followed months later by the Diamond Rio PMP300 in the West, which gained attention after the RIAA sued Diamond Multimedia over MP3 piracy concerns. Both devices shipped with just 32MB of storage, enough for about 12 songs, and featured clunky monochrome displays.
Winamp, the once-dominant MP3 player from the late 1990s known for its llama mascot, is returning to relevance through a partnership with streaming platform Deezer. The two companies plan to launch a subscription-based streaming service next year, positioning Winamp as a competitor to established players like Spotify.
A developer released VODForge, a free and open-source desktop application that lets users download YouTube videos and playlists as MP4 files or MP3 audio. The app runs locally, offering controls for quality, download queues, metadata, and cover art without requiring an online converter or command-line tools. It is MIT licensed, requires no account, and ships signed and notarized for macOS with Authenticode signing on Windows.
SoundCloud has begun testing a beta feature letting artists sell tracks directly from their profiles, keeping fans from having to visit third-party sites like Bandcamp or Beatport. The company takes no cut of these sales, so all proceeds go to musicians, and buyers receive files in whatever format the artist uploads, such as MP3 or WAV. The feature is initially limited to 200 Artist Pro creators in the US, with a wider rollout planned for later this fall.