Itunes

Apple's iTunes 11 arrived this week, and it's pretty slick. But did you know you can also buy music, movies, shows and books for the iPhone and iPad from other digital stores? Google, through the Google Play store, and Amazon.com are two of Apple's fiercest rivals when it comes to selling digital content, and for good reason: They have good products, and sometimes they have them at lower prices. The same goes for Android users: They too can buy their digital goods from outlets other than Google Play.

New music from Daft Punk appears -- finally -- to be coming. After teasing fans earlier this month with a mysterious 15-second television commercial aired during "Saturday Night Live,"the French disco-pop duo evidently made its new studio album available for pre-order Saturday on iTunes. Apparently due out in the United States on May 21 from Columbia Records, the long-awaited disc is to be called "Random Access Memories" and contains 13 tracks, none of whose titles is currently listed on iTunes.

The latest version of Apple's music player, iTunes 11, which was expected this month, won't be available until the end of November, the company said. The update is to add several features, change some portions of iTunes' design and, most important, better integrate it with iCloud, the Cupertino-based company's cloud-computing service. But Apple failed to meet its late-October deadline for the update, telling CNET this week that it hopes to release iTunes 11 next month. "The new iTunes is taking longer than expected, and we wanted to take a little extra time to get it right," Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told CNET . "We look forward to releasing this new version of iTunes with its dramatically simpler and cleaner interface, and seamless integration with iCloud, before the end of November.

CUPERTINO, Calif. -- There was little of the expected fireworks at Apple's annual meeting Wednesday as shareholders overwhelming reelected all board members and backed the company's position on several proposed changes to Apple's bylaws. However, shareholders hoping for word of a rumored stock split, or news that Apple might increase its dividends or buy back more of its stock, were disappointed. Chief Executive Tim Cook said the company continues to discuss its growing cash balance, and that he shared investors' concern about a share price that has plunged more than 30% from last summer.

Choruses of "Don't Let Me Download" from the Beatles may finally come to end with the Fab Four's catalog reportedly going up on iTunes shortly. An agreement for legal downloading of the group's cherished catalog of more than 200 songs recorded from 1962 to '70 is about to be announced by Steve Jobs' Apple Inc., the Beatles' Apple Corps and EMI/Capitol Records, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday, while also cautioning that plans could change...

Apple's iTunes 11 arrived last week, and with it a good number of changes, including an interface redesign. But one change you might not have noticed is the software's new logo. In iTunes 11, Apple has changed the color of the beamed eighth music notes from black to silver, matching up with the logo's existing outer border and with the design of the Mac App Store's logo. For comparison, here's the previous logo . This is a subtle change, but it's noteworthy considering it's the first time in more than two years since Apple has tinkered with the icon.

At a Wednesday morning press conference in San Francisco dominated by iPhone 5 news, Apple also announced that it would open up iTunes to Facebook and Twitter integration in October, among other changes the company will make to its online marketplace. The move effectively shelves Apple's previous internal efforts at creating its own social network for music listeners, called Ping. Instead, iTunes users will be able to "like" songs and "share" their iTunes purchases on Facebook and Twitter.

Phillip Lüpke likes to jam to and buy electronic music. Now he won't have to pay for it -- at least for a few years. Lüpke won an iTunes gift card worth $13,525 for downloading the 25 billionth song from Apple Inc.'s digital store Wednesday. The 22-year-old from Hover, Germany, said he got a call from Apple but at first didn't believe that he had won a gift card with 10,000 euros on it. That's roughly $13,525 based on today's exchange rate. "I was very surprised. First, I didn't believe that it's the truth, but Apple called me and yeah it's true," Lüpke told the Times in an online conversation, adding a smiley emoticon.

Twenty years ago, you might've given your friend an album for their birthday from a Tower Records retail store. Starting today, you can send them iTunes credit through Facebook, along with song suggestions and a birthday wish.  Facebook on Monday announced that people can now use its Facebook Gifts service to send each other credit for iTunes, the digital Apple store for music, movies and other digital content. In late September, Facebook launched Gifts as another way to generate revenue, hoping to capitalize on the many birthday and congratulatory wishes users send each other every day. Now, when you go to a friend's profile or click their birthday reminder, you'll see a birthday cake icon that you can click to begin the process of buying them a present through Facebook Gifts.

Apple expanded its iTunes Store to Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and nine other countries Wednesday, but  the tech giant did not include India or China in its latest expansion into Asia. The Cupertino, Calif., company announced the expansion of the digital store Wednesday, saying it will hit the new areas with more than 20 million songs, including local and international music. The other countries included in Apple's expansion are Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macao, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Apple has agreed to hand out more than $100 million in iTunes store credits to settle a lawsuit alleging that its iPhone and iPad apps allowed children to make purchases without their parent's knowledge or consent. The lawsuit, which was filed by five parents two years ago, alleged that Apple did not create parental controls to keep children from buying extra features sold within a video games app. The parents who filed the lawsuit said they didn't realize their children were charging their accounts until they were billed.

Robert Reid frequently gets sick when he travels. He has suffered dehydration, heat exhaustion, food poisoning and bronchitis. "I thought I was dying when I had several days of bronchitis in Vietnam," said Reid, the U.S. Lonely Planet editor. "Same for when I had a tropical fungus growing out of my toe. " Getting sick on a trip is no fun. Hotels sometimes take over in an emergency, and many airlines and airports offer medical services on the ground and in the air. But travelers should not depend on these.

The Grammys gave out awards in 81 categories Sunday, but it may be a full week or two until we know who some of the real winners were. The performance-heavy telecast is largely just one  3½-hour concert, and if past Grammy Awards are any indication, it can lead to major sales victories for those who appear.  Last year, for instance, after Adele's "21" was named album of the year, she managed to earn the biggest sales week of her career, as...

Apple has sold its 25 billionth song through its iTunes digital store, and to celebrate the occasion, the company said it is giving the man who purchased the song an iTunes gift card worth about $13,525. To be precise, the gift card is worth 10,000 euros because the winner, Phillip Lüpke, is from Germany. Apple didn't give too many details about Lüpke other than the $0.99 song he purchased, which was “Monkey Drums,” the Goksel Vancin Remix, by Chase Buch. A version of " Monkey Drums " can be heard on YouTube.  QUIZ: Test your Apple knowledge With most iTunes songs costing $1.29 before tax,  Lüpke will be able to use the gift card to buy more than 10,400 songs -- although he could of course use it for movies and TV shows.

Phillip Lüpke likes to jam to and buy electronic music. Now he won't have to pay for it -- at least for a few years. Lüpke won an iTunes gift card worth $13,525 for downloading the 25 billionth song from Apple Inc.'s digital store Wednesday. The 22-year-old from Hover, Germany, said he got a call from Apple but at first didn't believe that he had won a gift card with 10,000 euros on it. That's roughly $13,525 based on today's exchange rate. "I was very surprised. First, I didn't believe that it's the truth, but Apple called me and yeah it's true," Lüpke told the Times in an online conversation, adding a smiley emoticon.

The common image of an indie musician may be one of up-and-coming rock or hip-hop artists turning to self-funded videos and social media to scrape together a following, but singer Dawn Richard is bringing a rare, independent-minded approach to contemporary R&B. After flourishing in groups under the tutelage of hip-hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, Richard released her debut solo album, "GoldenHeart," last Tuesday and it quickly soared to No. 1 on...

Apple has agreed to hand out more than $100 million in iTunes store credits to settle a lawsuit alleging that its iPhone and iPad apps allowed children to make purchases without their parent's knowledge or consent. The lawsuit, which was filed by five parents two years ago, alleged that Apple did not create parental controls to keep children from buying extra features sold within a video games app. The parents who filed the lawsuit said they didn't realize their children were charging their accounts until they were billed.

Not that long ago, premiering a star-driven Sundance Film Festival movie on a video-on-demand channel was an admission of failure. But last year's festival produced two huge on-demand hits, Richard Gere's crime drama "Arbitrage" and Kirsten Dunst's wedding comedy "Bachelorette," which collectively generated nearly $30 million in revenue, mostly from VOD. With the nation's most prominent film festival kicking off Thursday in Park City, Utah,...

Apple's iTunes 11 arrived last week, and with it a good number of changes, including an interface redesign. But one change you might not have noticed is the software's new logo. In iTunes 11, Apple has changed the color of the beamed eighth music notes from black to silver, matching up with the logo's existing outer border and with the design of the Mac App Store's logo. For comparison, here's the previous logo . This is a subtle change, but it's noteworthy considering it's the first time in more than two years since Apple has tinkered with the icon.