Reuters reports that Microsoft announced a partnership with OD2 to launch a European online music service.
This new service is reported to be Europe's "first major a la carte online download service."
Starting Thursday, songs are available to UK users of Windows Media Player 9 at a cost of 0.99 euros or 75 pence from a library of 200,000 songs. (Other countries will follow in September.) No monthly subscription fee is required unlike previous European offerings. According to CNet, the new service will be integrated into Windows Media Player's premium services section.
This may represent the product of previous hints from Bill Gates that Microsoft was "exploring ways to develop a music download service similar to Apple Computer's iTunes that would tie into the software giant's multimedia applications".
Apple users are presently unable to use Apple's iTunes Music service outside of the United States. While talks of brining the service to Europe are reportedly underway, one rumor has placed the European launch of Apple's music service into next year.
Wednesday October 28, 2026 10:11 am PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today announced a new high-end MacBook Pro, which is available in 14-inch and 16-inch sizes. The new device has a PROLED XDR display that supports touch gestures, and a glowing rear Apple logo.
Pricing on the MacBook Pro starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch model and $3,399 for the 16-inch model.
Apple says the MacBook Pro has the "world's best display in a pro laptop." The PROLED...
Thursday October 29, 2026 1:47 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
While the new iPad mini has an OLED display, the device does not support ProMotion, meaning the display's refresh rate is limited to 60Hz instead of 120Hz.
ProMotion support would have allowed for the iPad mini's refresh rate to automatically adjust from 10Hz to 120Hz depending on the content being displayed, but evidently Apple has kept the feature exclusive to the iPad Pro among iPad...
Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:49 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple opened pre-orders for five new products on Wednesday, October 28, including its first touchscreen MacBook Pro models.
Pre-orders opened for the following new products:
iPad mini with OLED display and A20 Pro chip
iMac with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with M6 chip
14-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen
16-inch MacBook Pro with OLED touchscreen
Pre-orders for the iPad mini,...
