mp3

From a combo taser/MP3 player to a computer mouse/VoIP phone, these Frankengadgets never should have seen the light of day.

Today's Patch Tuesday fixes from Microsoft include six critical bulletins that head off potential attacks involving poisoned media files and Web pages, along with wireless and TCP/IP security holes. An under-attack FTP flaw remains unfixed.

You own an iPod but you hate iTunes. You love iTunes but you wish you could run it on your non-Apple player. You'd love to have the lyrics to your songs handy in iTunes (we'll help you do that if you promise to give fair warning to your coworkers that you could burst into song at any time). We've got the answers for you.

Recently, Brit-pop superstar Lily Allen performed a nifty acoustic cover of Britney Spears' Womanizer . Alas, it's not available any online stores I'm aware of. The only place to hear the track is YouTube. That doesn't suit my mobile, iPhone-driven lifestyle. So until Lily's people deem fit to let me buy the track, I'm "borrowing" it from YouTube. The site that makes this possible? Video 2 MP3, which converts any video into an MP3.

It's fairly easy to convert iTunes Plus purchases (i.e. the DRM-free versions of songs) to the universally compatible MP3 format. Here's how.

You don't have to wait for iTunes to join the DRM-free music revolution. Plenty of online music stores offer huge selections of DRM-free music at reasonable prices. Even better, these songs are sold in formats compatible with iPods, Zunes, and most portable audio devices. Here are 10 sites worth a look.

Taiwanese MP3 manufacturer Luxpro has filed a lawsuit against Apple claiming the Cupertino, Calif.-based company achieved its dominance in the MP3 market through monopolistic behavior.

MySpace, the popular social-networking site, plans to turn up the volume in the online music market when its joint venture with the biggest music industry players finally delivers its much-awaited service.