meet the beatles

If the walrus was Paul, John was the mule. John Lennon claimed he was the Beatle who typically carried the band’s stash of diet pills in the early years, when the group needed artificial stimulation to get through long nights of multiple sets in the clubs of Hamburg, Germany.

Lennon once joked that he was his own inspiration for the 1966 song ‘Dr. Robert,’ which predated such better-known Beatles drug references as ‘A Day in the Life’ (“I’d love to turn you on”) and the perennially debatable intentions of ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.’ “If you’re down, he’ll pick you up, Dr. Robert,” Lennon sang. “Take a drink from his special cup, Dr. Robert.”

When the song appeared on the UK version of ‘Revolver’ in the summer of 1966 (in America, it was on the ‘Yesterday and Today’ album), many swinging Londoners figured the real Dr. Robert had to be gallery owner Robert Fraser. Fraser, who was friends with all the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and helped advance the careers of Pop artists like Peter Blake and Andy Warhol, was a bon vivant known as “Groovy Bob” for his endless supply of mind-altering substances.

the beatles poster

From rough-hewn working-class Liverpool lads to lovable moptops to psychedelic standard bearers, the Beatles have changed the 1960s just as much as the ’60s changed them. We present this career-spanning collection of our favorite photos — both iconic and seldom-seen — of John, Paul, George and Ringo to honor the most commercially and critically successful band in rock ‘n’ roll history.

Tips on MP3 players and how to choose the best portable media player to fit your music needs. MP3 players are a great way to satiate the varied needs of music aficionados. The portability and huge memory capacity of MP3 players allow music lovers to carry and listen to their favorite music anywhere and anytime. While traveling for long hours or sitting, in some remote place, anyone can listen to their favorite collection of songs through these portable MP3 players. But, in case you are worried with the costs involved in purchasing an MP3 player then put all your worries to rest as these days MP3 players are available at affordable costs.

The portable MP3 players are available in many types to satiate the needs of buyers. They are available as-

• Stand alone players

• Players in Combo to any other electronic gadget like mobiles and watches

• Players as an extension to the storage devices like Mass USB device.

Portable MP3 players can also be classified on the basis of the type of memory storage used in it like hard drive, flash memory and CD/DVD (Compact Disk) format. The size of a MP3 player may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. With the help of high-end technology, manufacturers are today offering MP3 player that can slip in to any pocket size. The storage capacity of these gadgets is also increasing day-by-day with some MP3 players promising to accommodate your entire music library. There has been significant change in the design of MP3 players and the market today offers a plethora of choices to customers.

The increased popularity of MP3 players and the resultant competition in the market has led to the availability of portable MP3 players in a wider price range. To further take the advantage, buyers can buy these gadgets at wholesale prices from the online shops. The online shops save on dealer and distribution costs, which they pass on to customers by offering products at wholesale prices. Portable Deals is one such online shop that offers huge discounts to the customers. One can choose from a comprehensive range of stand alone or combo portable mp3 players which are available at wholesale prices in the shop. The shop also offers 30 days money back guarantee, flat international shipping rates, and discounts on the monthly featured products which can make your shopping more pleasurable.

new mp3 player

Learn about DRM (Digital Rights Management) and getting MP3 downloads online. Illegal distribution of MP3 music has caused the music industry to protect their interests – but is DRM good?

Apple Computer Inc. CEO Steve Jobs has written an open letter on the company’s website about Digital Rights Management (DRM) software and Apple’s stance on its use. The letter comes at a time where tension is growing between consumers and online download sites, with even threats of legal proceedings against Apple because of the FairPlay DRM it adds to its music downloads.

However, Jobs is determined to put a halt to the belief that Apple is pro-DRM. Instead, Jobs points the fingers at record labels. “Since Apple does not own or control any music itself, it must license the rights to distribute music from others, primarily the ‘big four’ music companies: Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI. These four companies control the distribution of over 70% of the world’s music.” the letter reads.

It continues: “When Apple approached these companies to license their music to distribute legally over the Internet, they were extremely cautious and required Apple to protect their music from being illegally copied. The solution was to create a DRM system, which envelopes each song purchased from the iTunes store in special and secret software so that it cannot be played on unauthorized devices.”

Jobs argues in the letter that the need for DRM is not really there, since most music available in legal download services can be bought as an Audio CD with no copy protection at all. It is the CDs, not the download sites, that supply P2P users with ripped music. He paints DRM almost as a waste of time for any company that is forced to deploy it.

“If anything, the technical expertise and overhead required to create, operate and update a DRM system has limited the number of participants selling DRM protected music,” he wrote. “If such requirements were removed, the music industry might experience an influx of new companies willing to invest in innovative new stores and players.”

As for the European backlash against Apple, Jobs writes, “Perhaps those unhappy with the current situation should redirect their energies towards persuading the music companies to sell their music DRM-free. For Europeans, two and a half of the big four music companies are located right in their backyard. The largest, Universal, is 100% owned by Vivendi, a French company. EMI is a British company, and Sony BMG is 50% owned by Bertelsmann, a German company.”

However, it must be said that Apple benefits from the special union of the iPod and iTunes that FairPlay has brought. Besides iTunes, only music services selling DRM-free downloads, like eMusic, actually sell a product that works with the market-dominating iPod. Users who buy iPods and then seek music downloads from major labels only have one (legal) choice.

DRM Free Music

Online collections offer library patrons a wealth of content that might otherwise be unobtainable or inaccessible, combined with technology that can deliver the content directly to a home computer. The library has expanded from a physical destination in the community to a far-reaching, digital network capable of serving a much broader audience than ever before. With so much information and material available in the electronic realm of the Web, how does a library make sure its patrons are aware of the resources available to them?

Even a "veteran library user" like Knoxville Symphony Orchestra violist Katy Gawne can be pleasantly surprised to discover streaming audio, scores, and reference content available via the library's Web site.

Alexander Street is helping libraries promote and publicize their online collections through a suite of marketing tools, available free of charge. From the physical (bookmarks and posters) to the digital (widgets, MARC records, and free downloads), our marketing tools are designed to support the mission of your library.

We echo Gonzaga University's belief that Music Online has "something for every music lover." And helping your patrons discover this fact for themselves is a task we'd like to accomplish together. Our marketing team is here to help, so if you have special requests or ideas please let us know. We will try to accommodate all requests and work with your library to spread the word.

The Free Resources section of our Web site is constantly growing, and we've seen libraries do some very creative things with our marketing tools. If you have ideas, need ideas, or have already successfully promoted your online collections, we'd love to hear from you. And if you haven't already subscribed to the periodic Music Online News, it's a great way to keep up with the latest news and see what other libraries are up to.