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Laura Sydell
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Laura Sydell

Sunday

Taj Mahal: Still Cooking Up 'Heirloom Music' His Own Way

Taj Mahal is credited with helping popularize American blues over the course of his five-decade career. Jay Blakesberg/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jay Blakesberg/Courtesy of the artist

Music News

Taj Mahal: Still Cooking Up 'Heirloom Music' His Own Way

The Massachusetts-born, San Francisco Bay Area-based guitarist and singer has mixed styles since he first came on the scene in the late 1960s. A new 15-CD set traces his career from the beginning; NPR's Laura Sydell visits some of his old Bay Area haunts with him.

Taj Mahal: Still Cooking Up 'Heirloom Music' His Own Way

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Thursday

Game Console Ouya Lures Buyers With $99 Price Tag

The Ouya game console and controller. Games are sold through something like an app store, allowing customers to sample them before buying. Courtesy of Ouya hide caption

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Courtesy of Ouya

Business

Game Console Ouya Lures Buyers With $99 Price Tag

A $99 video game console funded through Kickstarter went on sale this week. Ouya is significantly cheaper than the big-brand consoles and also relies on a different business model. Games are sold through something like an app store, allowing customers to sample them before buying.

Game Console Ouya Lures Buyers With $99 Price Tag

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Saturday

Pandora Buys A Radio Station, Songwriters' Group Calls It A 'Stunt'

Blake Morgan's songs were played some 28,000 times over a 90-day period on Pandora, earning $1.62 in royalties. Jim Herrington/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jim Herrington/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

Pandora Buys A Radio Station, Songwriters' Group Calls It A 'Stunt'

This week, the Internet radio broadcaster bought a radio station in Rapid City, S.D., in an effort to get the more favorable royalty rates given to terrestrial broadcasters. But the move has songwriters and composers up in arms.

Pandora Buys A Radio Station, Songwriters' Group Calls It A 'Stunt'

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Thursday

Business

Gamers Converge On LA For Electronic Entertainment Expo

The biggest players in the video gaming industry are attending E3. Gamers have been anticipating the unveiling of new products from Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo and other companies.

Gamers Converge On LA For Electronic Entertainment Expo

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Tuesday

Business

Competitors Try To Chip Away At Pandora's Audience

On Monday, Apple announced iRadio — its entry into the crowded field of music streaming services. iTunes has become the top music retailer by selling song files. But no one in the music business thinks the iTunes model is the future. Pandora is the oldest and most successful streaming service so far. But it's been a disappointment to investors.

Competitors Try To Chip Away At Pandora's Audience

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Monday

Music

Apple's Music Streaming Service Smaller Than Anticipated

Apple announced its much-anticipated entry into the increasingly crowded field of music streaming services on Monday. But what was rumored to have been called "iRadio" is now "iTunes Radio" and the streaming service will be integrated with Apple's music app. It's less of a stand-alone music streaming service than people were expecting.

Apple's Music Streaming Service Smaller Than Anticipated

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Tuesday

Business

Apple: Price-Fixing Charges 'Not True'

Lawyers for Apple will be back in court again Tuesday defending the company against government charges that it conspired with publishers to fix e-book prices. All the major publishing houses settled months ago with the Justice Department. In opening statements, Apple's lawyer said the company won't settle because it did nothing wrong.

Apple: Price-Fixing Charges 'Not True'

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Monday

Business

Apple Gets Day In Court Over Alleged E-Book Price Fixing

Computer giant Apple goes on trial Monday, accused by the government in a civil action of colluding with publishers to fix the price of e-books. Five publishers have settled with federal authorities already on the price-fixing charges. Apple denies the charges. All Things Considered host Audie Cornish talks with NPR's Laura Sydell, who is at the trial.

Apple Gets Day In Court Over Alleged E-Book Price Fixing

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Wednesday

Business

Microsoft Unveils Its New Xbox One

Microsoft has designs on your living room. The software giant's new game console — Xbox One — uses speech-recognition technology and physical commands. Not just to control games, but also your TV, Skype and recorded video. Microsoft demonstrated the new device Tuesday.

From 'Morning Edition': Hear Laura Sydell's Report On The New XBox

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Monday

An Xbox 360 video presentation at the E3 Media and Business Summit in Los Angeles in 2008. Microsoft is scheduled to introduce its newest Xbox on Tuesday.

An Xbox 360 video presentation at the E3 Media and Business Summit in Los Angeles in 2008. Microsoft is scheduled to introduce its newest Xbox on Tuesday. Ric Francis/AP hide caption

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Ric Francis/AP

All Tech Considered

With New Xbox, Microsoft Makes A Bigger Play For Living Room

Microsoft has had few blockbuster successes in recent years. On Tuesday, when the tech giant is scheduled to introduce its new Xbox, it will be targeting more than just hard-core gamers. Analysts say Microsoft will also be aiming to make its console the center of entertainment in your living room.

With New Xbox, Microsoft Makes A Bigger Play For Living Room

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Wednesday

Google Launches A Streaming Music Service

Chris Yerga, engineering director for Android at Google Inc., speaks at the company's I/O Annual Developers Conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

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David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Record

Google Launches A Streaming Music Service

On Wednesday the company launched All Access, a paid subscription service that will put it in direct competition with Spotify and Pandora.

Google Launches A Streaming Music Service

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Thursday

Consumers Facing Subscription Service Overload Will Only Get More Choices

YouTube is expected to announce a subscription service for special channels this week. Jeff Chiu/ASSOCIATED PRESS hide caption

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Jeff Chiu/ASSOCIATED PRESS

All Tech Considered

Consumers Facing Subscription Service Overload Will Only Get More Choices

Consumers already have an abundance of choice when it comes to entertainment and news subscriptions. But analysts say it's still early days for all the digital subscription offerings we'll have to pay for.

Consumers Facing Subscription Service Overload Will Only Get More Choices

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Monday

Monday

Blazing The Trail For Female Programmers

Ester Gerston and Gloria Ruth Gordon, early programmers working on the ENIAC computer in 1946. U.S. Army hide caption

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U.S. Army

All Tech Considered

Blazing The Trail For Female Programmers

Only about 20 percent of all computer programmers are women, but one pioneering CEO is trying to change that. Blazing Cloud's Sarah Allen hopes that making women in the field more visible to each other will help young women see a path for themselves in this fast-growing profession.

Blazing The Trail For Female Programmers

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Tuesday

Crowdsourcing Creativity At The Cinema

Twitter co-founder Biz Stone is one of five celebrity directors taking part in a Canon-sponsored experiment called Project Imaginat10n. His short film, the inspiration for which was crowdsourced via the Internet and social media, focuses on familial loss and the process of grieving. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Movies

Crowdsourcing Creativity At The Cinema

The Canon-sponsored Project Imaginat10n used social media to crowdsource images and ideas to produce five short films. It's an idea director Ron Howard says other artists would be foolish to ignore.

Crowdsourcing Creativity At The Cinema

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