Here’s a cool new app for the iPhone and iPod touch - say hello to ‘PockerGuitar’, an app that really trumps the air guitar. You can even have guitar sessions with the songs in your iPod as it’s been tested on iPod touch 1.1.1. Installation is easy, PocketGuitar is now included in ModMyiFone.com Sources. via code.google.com

Gibson Guitar continues their reign as the leader in guitar and music technology when they announced their newest guitar, a self tuning and adjusting guitar, aptly named the Robot Guitar. With a touch of a button, the Gibson Robot Guitar automatically tunes to the key you select. You can actually see the knobs on the head of the guitar turn as each string is tuned. Not only do you get automatic key changes but the guitar constantly adjusts itself to remain in tune. You can play for hours and still have perfect intonations.

From the press release:

1. The Gibson Robot Guitar eliminates tuning problems for guitarists. It automatically tunes to standard A440 tuning.
2. It also allows players to access six commonly used altered tuning presets at the push of a button. These tunings were used on many well know hit songs, giving players easy access for the very first time.
3. The Gibson Robot Guitar allows the guitar to be intonated in seconds after string changes, truss rod adjustments or change in weather conditions.
4. Finally, with the locking tuner, single string changes or changing the entire set of strings are an automated breeze.

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The new 2007 Digital Media Survey by Entertainment Media Research concludes that “Illegal Music Downloads” are now at an all time high. They claim that social networks with open music sharing type environments, paired with easy access are a major reason for why illegal downloads are taking off more than ever. Another reason they say is the rising cost of “legal music downloads” - which I think is the main factor. Read [Telegraph.co.uk]

The notorious Russian AllofMP3.com, which sold music at ’super discount rates’, has been officially taken offline now. In it’s place, the site’s owners have spawned a new site - MP3Sparks.com. They are apparently paying royalties to Russian royalty collection agencies just like AllOfMP3 did and those users can use that account information to log-in to the new MP3Sparks site. Read [Times Online]

It’s amazing what Younnat, a.k.a. Oleg Serdyuk, can achieve with some driving gloves and a PC steering wheel game controller. Those embedded sound effects might not be at all realistic as car noises, but they certainly went down well at the VDOH Festival DOM afterparty.

Everyone has been in a frenzy about how some iTunes Music Store items are now DRM free, but your account info is embedded in purchased files. So if your little file did find it’s way onto a P2P, and our friends at the RIAA saw, they would try and track it back to you. But, what if it wasn’t you that did it? What if someone stole, hacked, and invaded your system and put your entire library online that you purchased? There’s too many scenarios where the purchaser could be rendered innocent. That’s why embedding this information on iTMS files is wrong.

Here are the detailed and easy instructions on ‘How to strip your iTunes account information from iTunes Plus tracks’ - Have fun!

Amazon has just confirmed rumors that they will launch a new DRM-free MP3 store later this year. The service has not been named yet but will obviously be competing directly with iTunes Music Store. “Our MP3-only strategy means all the music that customers buy on Amazon is always DRM-free and plays on any device,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. Record label EMI will be joining Amazon in this, although Apple plans to offer DRM-free songs from EMI at a price of $1.29. Amazon will be offering music from over 12,000 record labels, and it will be interesting to see Amazon’s pricing structure. The key here though is: songs you buy that you can do whatever you want with. Read [Yahoo! Finance]

With all of the RIAA’s misbehavior lately. don’t you think it’s time for a boycott? Gizmodo has decided to fire up a boycott, pointing out that they get their money from us (the consumers) and that if we don’t like what they do, we can do something about it.

So don’t buy RIAA controlled music this March. If you’re not sure if a particular artist is on an RIAA label or not, check RIAA Radar and find out.

They also they offer alternatives to buying RIAA controlled music like attending concerts and buying music from emusic.

There’s been lots o’ pressure coming from France, Norway, Germany and the Dutchregarding Apple iTunes DRM issues. So Steve Jobs published an open letter, “Thoughts on Music,” in which be says Apple would get rid of digital rights management technology “in a heartbeat” if only record companies would let them sell unprotected music.

Jobs gives three ways for the digital music industry to be progressive:

A Consumer Ombudsman in Norway has ruled that Apple’s DRM lock on its iPod device and iTunes software is illegal. Now, consumer groups in Germany and France are also joining Norway’s action against Apple.

“This is important because Germany and France are European giants,” Norwegian Consumer Ombudsman Bjoern Erik Thon told news agency Associated Press. “Germany, in particular, is a big market for digital music.”

The Consumer Council says Apple has three options: 1.) license Fairplay to any manufacturer that wants iTunes songs to play on its machines; 2.) it can co-develop an open standard with other companies; 3.) abandon DRM altogether.

According to Out-Law.com, “The news of France and Germany’s support for the Nordic action came as record industry executives admitted to reporters that the major labels may be prepared to perform a U-turn on using DRM technology to control downloaded files.” Interesting…