EZ-PR

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Thanks to EZ-PR for sponsoring The Loop’s RSS feed this week.

Want great press for your startup, app or company? EZPR specializes in getting great stories written about what you’re working on. Call 646-569-9027 or email Ed Zitron to get started.

The rumored Apple-branded gaming joypad

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PocketGamer wrote this today: Long rumoured – and hoped for – GDC 2013 has finally provided confirmation that Apple will release its own dedicated game controller. Nope.

Roaming network for subscription music services

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Fred Wilson:

It is also in the consumer’s interest. Just yesterday my friend Kirk found some new music because he follows me on Rdio. But I can’t do the same thing with my friends who are on Spotify. Because all of these services are silos, by definition of their paid business model. If a roaming network existed, there would be more social music discovery, listening, and, I believe, uptake of the paid subscription model by consumers.

If Apple ever does a subscription service, I think most people would default to using what they offer. Considering Apple is the most popular music distributor in the world, and if most people used their service, it seems likely it would turn into just what Fred described — except all on one service.

Facebook phone

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It seems clear by the invite that their entering the mobile space in one way or another.

Les Paul Custom Lite

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The beauty of this gorgeous black Les Paul Custom Lite is more than skin deep, and Gibson USA has also packed added versatility into the traditional formula. Two of Gibson’s most popular humbucking pickups from the Modern Classics series offer all the tone that made the Les Paul legendary in the first place, plus added single-coil sounds thanks to the coil-splitting mini-toggle switch added in place of the second tone control.

Amplified: Fully Bearded Child

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Jim and Dan talk about Apple’s broken promise (iCloud), Google Reader, Fever, NetNewsWire, Black Pixel, Newsfire, iTunes Purchase fraud, WifiSLAM, the value of Apple stock, guitars, and more.

Sponsored by Shutterstock (use code DANSENTME3 for 30% off), and Shopify, and Harvest (use code 5BY5 for 50% off).

Úll Conference

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This is a great conference with one of the best speaker line-ups I’ve seen. Don Melton, Matt Gemmell, Matthew Panzarino and many others, including me, will be there. Go sign-up and we’ll see you there.

Media companies demand Google pay for news

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Portuguese media companies, struggling through the worst recession since the 1970s, are pressing Google to pay for content on its news search engine, echoing similar demands elsewhere in Europe.

I’m not sure I understand the demands by these media companies. Google links to the articles which should bring in traffic to the sites, enabling them to make money. I don’t see any ads on Google News, so it doesn’t appear they are making money from it.

Bend over to get a refund

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“I went into my local store to return my Astro pants and Invert crops, both purchased this month. I was asked to BEND OVER in order to determine sheerness. The sales associate then perused my butt in the dim lighting of the change room and deemed them “not sheer”.

Wow Lululemon.

Google Plus

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The only country where Google+ is top of the social networking category is Albania.

What the hell is going on in Albania?

Fever: A personal Google Reader replacement

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I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Shaun Inman’s great Fever feed reader. With all the talk about finding a replacement for Google Reader, Fever should be high on your list.

Forecast

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A new weather service from the people behind the Dark Sky app. This is really nice.

Tabular: Tablature editor for the Mac

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Tabular is a brand new tablature editor that lets you read and write music for guitar, bass, drums and much more. It’s the best way to learn new songs, write your own songs and run through practice exercises for nearly any kind of stringed instrument or drum kit.

It’s a nice looking app. I haven’t tried it yet, but it looks well done.

T-Mobile will sell iPhone via installment plan

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T-Mobile USA Inc. will begin selling the iPhone 5 on April 12, letting customers buy the Apple Inc. (AAPL) device via an installment plan that dispenses with the industry’s typical long-term contracts.

Qualifying buyers can get the phone for $99.99 down, plus monthly payments, T-Mobile said today at an event in New York. Service for the phone starts at $50 per month for unlimited calls and 500 megabytes of data.