Love it or hate it, the Zune isn’t the hit Microsoft hoped that it would be. The current $14.95 a month Zune Pass subscription model hasn’t been attracting enough subscribers, so in an effort to generate more revenue, Microsoft will offer subscribers 10 free tracks to keep each month. 10 free songs a month isn’t a bad idea, but it’s not enough to really lure in a whole new audience. Says Adam Sohn of Microsoft:

Microsoft marketing director Adam Sohn said that Microsoft saw some boost when it targeted its advertising specifically around subscriptions but said that the total number of subscribers is less than the company would like.

“It’s not grown as fast as we’d like it so we think this will give it a shot in the arm,” Sohn said, declining to say how many Zune Pass subscribers Microsoft currently has.

I give the Zune another 12 to 16 months before Microsoft pulls the plug. What say you?

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I was just looking through Etsy user Edmdesigns’ store, and I must say - she does fine work. If you’re into the steampunk stuff we cover, like that spectacular ergonomic keyboard and non-functional headset, then you’ll go ape shit for some of the designs she’s come up with.

From steampunk cufflinks to steampunk bow ties, this store has 217 items for sale and all of them are creative DIY pieces you can wear or pretend you made. Whatever works best at cocktail parties.

Link (Thanks, Ricky)

Tomorrow, you can be like Vince and get a hold of Google’s G1 phone. Walmart will start selling the G1 phone at a discounted price starting Wednesday. It plans to sell the phone for $148.88 in 550 different stores, competing with T-Mobile’s price tag of $179.99.

But alas, with cellphones there is always a catch. Whether you’re a new customer or an existing customer eligible for an upgrade, you’ve got to sign up for a two-year agreement. That’s how they get you. That’s how the cellphone companies get all of us. The corporate fat cats win again, I want my G1!

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The Google team has long dreamed of the possibility of carrying the Earth around in its pocket. Now, Google Earth is official; the team’s dream has come true. With an iPhone or iPod touch, it’s no problem flying from Bermuda to the Bahamas or any other locale mentioned in the Beach Boys’ song, Kokomo. Whether this global imagery software will become of any use to its users or just another app to pass time while waiting for the bus remains to be said, but we can’t wait to climb Mount Everest from the safety of our cozy office chairs.

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Wearing a tuxedo without these cuff links should be a crime. Artist Laura Swingle hand crafts these highly detailed clay Nintendo cartridges in to a variety of jewelery pieces. Laura’s Etsy shop offers a limitless supply of creativity as she is open to taking requests on turning any two games into these cuff links, so long as she can find the cover art online.

Besides the popular Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, TETRIS, Super Mario Bros 3, Paper Boy, Bubble Bobble, Zelda (gold cartridge), Dr. Mario and Metroid games we all know and love, Laura will also accept requests for Sony PlayStation games. The cuff links range from $19-$22 dollars depending on how much of a pain in the ass your order is to fulfill. So, don’t go too crazy and try to request a Lester the Unlikely pair of cuff links: it’s just not happening.

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So yeah, while I’m addicted to Facebook, I don’t have an iPhone. But alas, I hear many good things about the just-released Facebook 2.0 application for the iPhone. From the above screenshot, it looks just like the web-based version. But why speculate? I turned to Boggle master/blogger Andrea Rosen to find out:

VV: You just downloaded the app. First impressions?

Rosen: The old app only allowed you to look at status updates in your news feed. I’m glad they waited for the Facebook redesign to add more to the main feed–the new navigation options (separating your news feed into sections) are really phone-friendly–it makes everything easier to digest.

VV: How’s the navigation? Much easier than before? Any complaints?

Rosen: You can also access notifications, which is new and makes checking your wall posts, tagged photos much simpler on the go. My main complaint about the former iteration of the app was that you couldn’t see all of a user’s tagged photos. Now you can and the navigation is much like the iPhone’s own photo browse application. Overall, this is a massive improvement.

VV: What’s a “Downtown Julie Brown?”

Rosen: A vagina.

There you have it! One of the best vagina-based apps on the market!

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The rumor that Amazon will be launching a music and movie store for Android-based cellphones has been confirmed by Vince. Like Vince mentions, this will make Amazon a direct competitor to Apple’s iTunes Music Store. The Apple advertisement team is probably hard at work making up some nice bashes they can throw in Amazon’s direction.  I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how this one plays out.

Oh snap! Today will mostly consist of news about Google’s Android platform and the T-Mobile G1 smartphone. The latest rumor to hit our inbox involves the almighty Amazon.com and content distribution. Apparently, Amazon could be releasing a music and movie store just for Android-based cellphones. That would instantly make Amazon a direct competitor to Apple’s iTunes Music Store and we’re not talking sibling rivalry here. Right now it’s too early to tell if there’s truth to this but hopefully, come the end of the day, we’ll really know what’s up.

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Everyone is going crazy over this new Genius feature. Even Kevin Rose of Digg is getting wet just thinking about making playlists related to his favorite artist, Jack Johnson.  Well, the wait is over, iTunes 8 is out. Hit the jump to take a peek at the highlighted features.

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We just can’t get enough of the goodies that keep showing up in the iPhone App Store. The latest rumored application is the iHologram by David O’Reilly. It creates a holographic-like effect on the iPhone by performing real time adjustments to the image based on rotation, similar to the fake beer app.

Seems pretty cool, huh? You’ll be disappointed to know it’s a fake. Yea, It turns out that the iHologram is faker than Steve Fosset’s death. Actually, we’re still not so sure about that one.

“The iHologram app was not real. It was an illustration of an idea I had which I believe could work with the technology (combining anamorphosis and motion sensing). Unfortunately I’m just an ideas person, I can show how things should look, but I’m no hardcore programmer.”

Only time will tell if this app or Steve Fosset’s body will show up in the App Store. If I had to choose what one would show up first, it’d have to be the body. With an attitude like O’Reilly’s, this app will never see the light of day.

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