Apple introduced the iPod U2 Special Edition as part of a partnership between Apple, U2 and Universal Music Group. The new U2 iPod holds up to 5,000 songs and features a gorgeous black enclosure with a red Click Wheel and custom engraving of U2 band member signatures. the U2 iPod costs $349.

You can also watch the iPod U2 special event at the California Theatre in San Jose, CA, with Steve Jobs, Bono, and The Edge.

Cycling '74 announced the release of Soundflowerbed, a monitoring application for its popular free Soundflower audio routing utility for Mac OS X.Soundflower is a free system extension for Mac OS X 10.2 and 10.3 that allows users to route audio between Core Audio applications. Soundflowerbed resides in the OS X menu bar allowing the user to tap into Soundflower channels and route them to an audio output device. 

Soundflowerbed is available from Cycling '74 web site.

Cycling '74 and Octiv Inc announced Octirama, a Surround Dynamics Processor for Digidesign ProTools Systems. Octirama is the first full-featured, multi-band dynamics processor for 5.1 Surround Mastering for the Digidesign TDM environment. Octirama incorporates sophisticated four- and five-band processing for each of five channels plus sophisticated bass management for precise control of peaks and loudness.

Octirama will be available from Cycling '74 in fourth quarter 2004.

Apple launched a European Union version of its iTunes Music Store, giving music fans in Austria, Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain the same innovative features and breakthrough price of euro 0.99 per song that have made iTunes the number one online music service in the world. The EU iTunes Music Store features over 700,000 songs from all four major music companies and more than 100 independent record labels.

Apple also updated its audio player iTunes to v4.7 wich features best syncs with iPod and iPhoto.

Spectrasonics today has announced the release of Stylus RMX Realtime Groove Module. Stylus RMX is a groove-based virtual instrument plug-in. Stylus RMX is the first product to offer the combined power of Groove Control with Spectrasonics Advanced Groove Engine (S.A.G.E. ) technology giving users dramatic new control over groove production and performance.

Stylus RMX (Audio Unit, RTAS, and VST) is priced $299/249 Euros. More info on the MacMusic softwares section.