Happy Friday and … happy Halloween. This week’s KMB Communications is full of audio and smart home technology news treats with no tricks.
News this week focuses on the anniversary of the iPod, new JBL Classic loudspeakers, Amazon reaffirming its position in the smart home market; Eminem’s former engineer prosecuted for selling tracks, Firefox attempt to bring the classic Internet era back, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups rule Halloween.
KMB Communications Technology Week in Review for Oct. 26-30 summary:
- Apple Celebrates 25 Years of the iPod with a Virtual Comeback. The Real Thing is Still Dead from eCoustics
- JBL Unveils L150 Classic Flagship Loudspeaker at $9,999 per Pair from CE Pro
- Amazon Looks to Defend its Smart-Home Turf with New Devices from LinkedIn
- Firefox Tries to Bring Back the Internet’s ‘Good old Days’ from LinkedIn
- Former Eminem Engineer Pleads Guilty to Track Leaks from Mixonline (Mix Magazine)
- Repeat! Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups Take the 2026 SCN Halloween Candy Showdown from SCN’s AVNetwork
Apple iPod Marks Its 25th Anniversary
Starting the week off with some audio and smart home technology news, eCoustics posted a story on Apple marking the 25th anniversary of its transformative iPod. The story recalls the original iPod was introduced in 2001, and the $399 product offered 5GB of storage and the ability to store approximately 1,000 songs.
The problem with the celebration of the much-heralded product, according to eCoustics, is that is that Apple is asking people to visit a broken web page. The broken page displays an original iPod that allows visitors to spin the now famous interface dial to check out portions of songs from popular artists of that era such as Coldplay and U2.
The page also offers a surprise. Otherwise, eCoustics says, the celebration isn’t really a comeback for the original iPod.
JBL Introduces L150 Classic Loudspeakers
Going deeper into audiophile nostalgia, CE Pro has a story on the newly announced L150 loudspeakers. The new flagship model in the company’s classic line of products feature 15-inch woofers and a ported cabinet design.
Rounding out the rest of the L150’s driver array, CE Pro says the speaker incorporates a 6.5-inch midrange driver, and a 1-inch tweeter that is located within a waveguide that utilizes an acoustics lens.
The $9,999-per-pair speakers also include front panel low- and high-frequency attenuation controls, and a low-frequency extension rating of 30.5Hz.
Amazon Expands Its Smart-Home Lineup
Closing out the audio and smart home technology news in KMB Communications Technology Week in Review is a post from LinkedIn.
On Wednesday Oct. 28, the story says, Amazon introduced its latest smart home products powered by its Alexa AI assistant. The new products include a digital photo frame and new Echo speakers.
LinkedIn points out the new Amazon products follow a recent smart home announcement from Apple, and an earlier release of Kindles, tablets, and Ring video doorbells that it had announced not long ago.
Firefox Revisits the Internet’s Earlier Days
The public’s desire to get back to simple technology times extends beyond home audio. LinkedIn posted a story on Mozilla’s new Firefox ad campaign that focuses on the earlier days of the Internet.
The post says that Mozilla is promoting Firefox tracker blocking and more user control capabilities. LinkedIn also notes that Mozilla CEO Anthony Enzor-DeMeo is emphasizing a new design and AI partnership with Mistral that provides options for those not comfortable with the use of AI.
Former Eminem Engineer Pleads Guilty to Track Leaks
Looking at other news, Mix Magazine is reporting that former Eminem recording engineer Joseph Strange pleaded guilty to selling unreleased tracks made by the famous rap star.
Strange worked at Eminem’s private studio for 14 years until he was let go, and he was one of a handful of people that had access to a safe that held password-protected hard drives that stored unreleased material.
The Mixonline story goes on to say that court documents reveal that while working for the rapper Strange copied demo files and rough drafts that were recorded between 1999 and 2018. After he was let go, Strange sold those stolen files to fans online in 2024 for approximately $50,000.
Not long afterwards the files were released online. A search of Strange’s home found handwritten lyric sheets that were taken from the studio, a VHS tape of an unreleased music video, and a hard drive with about 12,000 copied audio files.
With Strange’s guilty plea he is awaiting sentencing in federal court in January 2027.
Reese’s Wins SCN’s Halloween Candy Showdown
Closing out the KMB Technology Week in Review for Oct. 26-30 with some non-audio and smart home technology news is the results of System Contractor News’ (SCN) AVNetwork website’s Halloween candy poll.
For the second year in a row in SCN’s Halloween Candy Showdown, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup were declared as the top Halloween candy by the publication’s readers.
In the end, AVNetwork’s post points out the deciding face off for Halloween Candy supremacy came down to 2024 champion Snickers and the defending champion Reese’s. Ultimately, the final battle pitted two champions against one another where the defending champs would come out on top.
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