eMusic Goes to Europe

By Geoff Duncan Published September 12, 2006

Online music service eMusic is famous for two main things. First, it spurns DRM: all the music available via eMusic is in an unencrypted MP3 format (192 Kbps VBR) which works on darn near any music player on the market, whether PlaysForSure, iPod, or powered by hampsters on little wire wheels. Second, by offering unencumbered music and a growing pool of 1.7 million independent and major label selections, eMusic has established itself as perhaps the leading alternative music service to Apple’s ubiquitous iTunes Music Store, commanding about 10 percent of the music download market.

Today, eMusic announced it is launching service in Europe, and in doing so becomes the first digital music download service available throughout all 25 member nations of the European Union, with tracks priced as low as €0.23 (17p in the U.K.).

Recommended Videos

“The monopoly of iTunes in Europe is over,” said David Pakman, eMusic president and CEO, in a statement. “European consumers, fed up with homogeneous music and services focused only on mainstream pop can now discover a wealth of music created to transcend rules, boundaries. and commercialism.”

eMusic’s subscription offerers in Europe will mirror the three-tiered plan in the U.S., with Basic, Plus, and Premium plans. The Basic Plan (£8.99/€12.99) covers 40 downloads a month; the Plus plan (£11.99/€16.99 offers 65 downloads a month, and the Premium (£14.99/€20.99 plan offers 90 downloads a month. Once downloaded, users effectively “own” the tracks: they can burn them to CDs, transfer them to laptops, portable players, and other computers, and make as many copies of the tracks as they like for personal use (although, of course, re-distribution is prohibited). Subscribers can keep their tracks even if they cancel their subscriptions.

eMusic has also announced a co-marketing arrangement with SanDisk, whereby European buyers of SanDisk’s Sansa m200, c200, and e200 portable music players get 50 free eMusic music downloads.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Geoff Duncan writes, programs, edits, plays music, and delights in making software misbehave. He's probably the only member…

Computing

How to change margins in Google Docs

Laptop Working from Home

When you create a document in Google Docs, you may need to adjust the space between the edge of the page and the content --- the margins. For instance, many professors have requirements for the margin sizes you must use for college papers.

You can easily change the left, right, top, and bottom margins in Google Docs and have a few different ways to do it.

Computing

What is Microsoft Teams? How to use the collaboration app

A close-up of someone using Microsoft Teams on a laptop for a videoconference.

Online team collaboration is the new norm as companies spread their workforce across the globe. Gone are the days of primarily relying on group emails, as teams can now work together in real time using an instant chat-style interface, no matter where they are.

Using Microsoft Teams affords video conferencing, real-time discussions, document sharing and editing, and more for companies and corporations. It's one of many collaboration tools designed to bring company workers together in an online space. It’s not designed for communicating with family and friends, but for colleagues and clients.

Computing

Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

A person using a laptop that displays various Microsoft Office apps.

For the last few decades, Microsoft Word has been the de facto standard for word processors across the working world. That's finally starting to shift, and it looks like one of Google's productivity apps is the heir apparent. The company's Google Docs solution (or to be specific, the integrated word processor) is cross-platform and interoperable, automatically syncs, is easily shareable, and perhaps best of all, is free.

However, using Google Docs proves it still has a long way to go before it can match all of Word's features -- Microsoft has been developing its word processor for over 30 years, after all, and millions still use Microsoft Word. Will Google Docs' low barrier to entry and cross-platform functionality win out? Let's break down each word processor in terms of features and capabilities to help you determine which is best for your needs.
How does each word processing program compare?
To put it lightly, Microsoft Word has an incredible advantage over Google Docs in terms of raw technical capability. From relatively humble beginnings in the 1980s, Microsoft has added new tools and options in each successive version. Most of the essential editing tools are available in Google Docs, but users who are used to Word will find it limited.