Melrose blog

5 Amazon Cloud Drive Alternatives

s new online storage service that lets you stream up to 5GB of your own music files for free. Some in the music industry believe Amazon needs to license rights from the major labels before letting you stream the music you bought and paid for (and just happens to be sitting on Amazon's servers) to your personal devices.So far, only Sony is saying , although other industry insiders feel the same way, according to .

Sony, it's worth noting, recently unveiled its own . Other companies are expected to offer similar services in the future, includingand . The big guns are getting into music streaming just in time, too.Market research firm NPD Group in November said American music fans are now .

Despite all the hullaballoo over Amazon's plans, streaming music from the clouds has been available for years through services such as .So if Amazon's service isn't for you (I'm looking at you iPhone owners), here's a look at five alternatives to .

This online sync and backup service rolled out a music player in 2008 that lets you play your music in a Web browser or on your iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.SugarSync has a free plan that gives you 5GB of free online storage.

Mougg lets you upload 1GB of your music for free and costs $3 per month for unlimited storage. The service also has Android and iPhone apps, as well as sharing features for Twitter and Facebook.

Perhaps one of the better-known music storage services, MP3tunes offers you 2GB of free online music storage.You can access your music using MP3tunes via the Web, Android and iPhone devices.You can also use MP3tunes on a host of other gadgets such as the Roku player and Logitech Squeezebox.The downside is MP3tunes is being sued by EMI over its music storage service and its free music search engine Sideload.com. EMI alleges the MP3tunes-Sideload combination encourages piracy.

This service isn't free, but it does have reasonable rates.AudioBox's basic plan costs $4 a month and lets you store 11GB worth of music. The service's Ultimate plan costs $10 a month for 151 GB of storage. You can also try out a free account for 15 days before signing up.AudioBox has a dedicated Web-based media player that lets you play your songs from almost any browser. The service also has apps for Android and iOS.

Do-it-yourself options

There are a variety of methods open to you if you'd like to gain more control of how your streaming services work.Software such asand(currently in beta) can turn your home PC into a server letting you stream your music from anywhere. is open source software that helps you set up playlists on a self-hosted server.

Some people also use online storage and backup services such as Dropbox and Carbonite to store their music.The problem is that both of these services only let you play one song at a time, and don't really have music player capabilities. So a little bit of hacking will be required to get this to work the way you want it.

The music industry may not like it when people pay for music and then listen to it any way they like.But with so many services and do-it-yourself options available, music executives would be hard pressed to stop the practice regardless of what happens with Amazon's Cloud Drive.

Connect with Ian Paul (@ianpaul) andToday@PCWorldon Twitter for the latest tech news and analysis.

Laird builds 2-shot lead at Bay Hill

Martin Laird already had lost a four-shot lead Saturday at Bay Hill, and as his 6-iron on the par-3 17th began to fade weakly toward the pond, he wondered if a two-shot lead would disappear even quicker.

He was happy to see it land in the bunker, some 80 feet from the flag. Then came a long blast from the sand to 6 feet, and a par save that felt like a birdie. It was like that all day at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, only one thing didn't change.

Laird never surrendered the lead.

The 28-year-old Scot made it through an up-and-down day with a 2-under 70 and had a two-shot lead over Spencer Levin.

"That was a big one," Laird said of his par save on the 17th, one hole after a two-shot swing gave him a cushion. "I was lucky. I wasn't sure if it was going to make it over the water, to be honest, when it was in the air. And I was lucky to make it over, and then that was a big up-and-down."

Now comes the hard part.

Laird was at 11-under 205. This is the third time in his last 12 stroke-play events on the PGA Tour that he has been atop the leaderboard going into the final round, and the last two ended with someone else celebrating. At The Barclays, it was Matt Kuchar hitting a 7-iron to 30 inches to beat him in a playoff. In Las Vegas, it was Jonathan Byrd making a hole-in-one to win a three-man playoff.

Levin, who had to scramble for bogey on the easy 16th to fall two shots behind, put his troubles behind him quickly and finished off a 71 to get into the final group.

That's not to say it will be a two-man race.

With wind in the forecast, six players are separated by five shots. That includes two players who appear to be getting closer to their first PGA Tour win, Steve Marino and Rickie Fowler.

It does not include Tiger Woods.

The six-time Bay Hill winner had another Saturday swoon, trading an eagle and birdies with bogeys and a double bogey that sent him to a 2-over 74 and left him 10 shots out of the lead.

"Hopefully, the wind blows tomorrow and I can post a good one," Woods said. "And I can get a little momentum going into Augusta."

Others are simply trying to get there, starting with Levin. Nothing short of a victory would send him to the Masters.

"That's in the back of my mind, for sure," Levin said. "That's a nice thing to be thinking about — hopefully, try not to think about it, though. You have to think about what you're doing here."

Laird ran off three straight birdies early in the round to build a four-shot lead. Four holes later, Levin pulled within one shot and they were tied for the lead with three holes to play.

That's when it turned in the Scot's favor.

Laird got up-and-down for birdie from just right of the green on the 16th, while Levin was in trouble from the start. He drove into the trees, chipped out into a bunker and then pulled his third shot into the water. He had to make a 6-foot putt to escape with bogey on the easiest hole at Bay Hill.

"I know tomorrow I have to concentrate hard ... and hopefully I'll wind up on top," Laird said.

He went to Augusta National to practice a few weeks ago and looks forward to the Masters. But that can wait. The winner at Bay Hill gets a trophy, a big paycheck and an audience with the King, tournament host Arnold Palmer.

"This is a pretty good tournament to win, too," he said.

But there is much work ahead of him, especially if the gusts return to a course that already is demanding.

Bubba Watson, a winner already this year at Torrey Pines, holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th to finish off a 68. He was at 7-under 209, four shots behind. Also at 209 was Marino, who already has had two good chances at his first PGA Tour win this year.

Fowler, dressed in hot pink that elicited cries of "Pretty Rickie" from a large, sun-baked gallery, overcame a double bogey on the sixth when he drove into the water and shot 70 to stay in the game at 6-under 210, along with David Toms (69).

Woods started poorly, going from the left rough to the bunker and missing a 7-foot par putt on the opening hole. He had one stretch that went birdie-bogey-eagle, and with the leaders getting away from him, went after the flag on the 13th and hit along the rocks. He wound up missing a 5-footer to take double bogey, then hit a fat shot from the bunker into the water on the 16th to make bogey.

He has yet to break 70 in the third round this year.

"I made a few mistakes out there," Woods said. "There was a point in the round I had to get more aggressive on 13 and paid the price for it. I figured I needed to shoot 3 or 4 under, and it backfired on me a little bit."

He will complete a full year on tour without a victory. Sunday is his last round before the Masters.

Some others are simply trying to get to Magnolia Lane. Of the top 10 players on the leaderboard, four have yet to qualify. That includes Marc Leishman, who had a 66 to reach 5-under 211. Also at 211, six shots behind, were John Senden (68) and Charles Howell III, the Augusta native who was four shots out of the lead at one point until bogeys on two of his last four holes. He shot 73.

Levin figures to have the best chance at catching Laird.

"As good a chance as anybody except the guy right here," he said, motioning to Laird.

DIVOTS: Vaughn Taylor, another Augusta native who has not yet qualified for the Masters, shot 76 to fall nine shots behind. ... Erik Compton, who has had two heart transplant, started the third round at 4-under par. He shot 80 and dropped to 69th place. ... Masters champion Phil Mickelson had a 69 and was at 2-under 214. He plans another two-day trip to Augusta National before going to the Houston Open in his final tune up.

Snoop Dogg, Warren G attend service for Nate Dogg

Rappers Snoop Dogg, Warren G and The Game joined family, friends and about 1,000 fans of Nate Dogg to remember the hip-hop singer, who died this month of complications from multiple strokes.

The family of Nate Dogg — whose real name was Nathaniel Dwayne Hale — decided that the ceremony at the Queen Mary Dome would not be open to the public as they previously wanted, but they made 1,000 tickets and shuttles available to fans.

The dome in Hale's hometown of Long Beach is adjacent to the historic ship the Queen Mary and was the former home of Howard Hughes' airplane folly, the Spruce Goose.

Organizers had sought a more central location for the funeral, but none proved large enough for the numbers of expected mourners. A private dinner was planned after the service.

Hale started out singing in church choirs, then formed a group with Snoop Dogg and Warren G while the trio was in high school in Long Beach.

His almost monotone vocal stylings anchored some of rap's most seminal songs and helped define the sound of West Coast hip-hop on tracks usually produced by Dr. Dre and performed by rappers like Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound and Warren G. He remained sought after as a singer more than a decade after his original success, supplying vocals to more recent tracks by 50 Cent and Ludacris.

Hale dropped out of high school, was dishonorably discharged from the Marines and dabbled in the drug trade before finding success as Nate Dogg on Dr. Dre's classic 1992 album "The Chronic."

Late in life, he was plagued by legal and health problems, including at least two strokes in 2008.

Favored Phillies know expectations are high

How's this for pressure? Anything less than a World Series title will be considered a failure for the Philadelphia Phillies this season.

Expectations are that high for a franchise that's won just two championships in 128 years and has lost more games than any pro team in professional sports.

A sensational starting rotation bolstered by the stunning offseason addition of Cliff Lee is the reason the Phillies were consensus favorites to win it all entering spring training.

Adding Lee to a staff that includes reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Roy Halladay, three-time All-Star Roy Oswalt and 2008 World Series MVP Cole Hamels gives Philadelphia a rotation that's already been compared to some of baseball's all-time best starting staffs.

But injuries took a toll this spring and the team will head north without five-time All-Star second baseman Chase Utley, closer Brad Lidge and outfielder Domonic Brown, a top prospect who was expected to help replace Jayson Werth.

Still, the Phillies are considered the team to beat in the NL. Even Bruce Bochy, manager of the defending World Series champion San Francisco Giants, gave Philadelphia the nod when his club opened camp.

The Phillies have won four straight NL East titles, and led the majors with 97 wins last year. They were World Series champions in 2008, fell two wins short of repeating in '09 and were two wins away from becoming the first NL team in 66 years to capture three consecutive pennants before losing to the Giants in the NLCS last fall.

That's why fans in Philadelphia began planning for an October parade down Broad Street from the minute the Phillies signed Lee to a $120 million, five-year contract in December.

Of course, having the best team on paper doesn't guarantee success.

"Sometimes people forget how hard it is to win. Sometimes we forget everything about it — fans, media, organizational people, players, managers and coaches," manager Charlie Manuel said early in spring training. "The other day, I was just sitting and thinking about winning. Winning is hard. The Yankees have won 27 World Series. How long have they been in existence, 128 years? That means that over 100 years, they lost. Winning is tough. Winning is hard. And you've got to stay at it."

Losing Utley doesn't help. Utley is out indefinitely with a tricky knee problem, leaving a big void in Philadelphia's lineup. Utley's injury and Werth's departure — he signed a $126 million, seven-year deal with Washington — means the Phillies will start the season without their Nos. 3 and 5 hitters from the last few years.

It's a big concern for Manuel.

"We're missing two big run-producers right in the middle of our lineup," he said. "We've got people that are going to have to step up and do better than they've been doing or prove that they're better big-league players than what they have been."

Veteran Luis Castillo, signed after he was released by the New York Mets, could end up taking Utley's spot. Ben Francisco replaces Werth in right field. Brown will begin the season in the minors after he returns from hand surgery, but he could wind up splitting time with Francisco at some point.

The Phillies are counting on several players who had subpar seasons to regain their old form and spark a once-potent offense. Jimmy Rollins, the 2007 NL MVP, is coming off an injury-plagued year. The switch-hitting shortstop has to deliver, especially if he bats third instead of his preferred leadoff spot while Utley is out.

Ryan Howard, the 2006 NL MVP, had career lows in homers (31) and RBIs (108). Now, he won't have Utley in front of him or Werth behind him. Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino and Placido Polanco also saw their numbers decline last year.

"We won 97 games last year, and I think if you go and ask anybody in that clubhouse, we don't feel that we were as good as we probably should have been," Rollins said. "And due to injuries, we still had guys come in and play and step up. We feel we were probably 10-15 games short of what we probably should have been in the regular season and definitely in the playoffs."

The offense may not have to generate many runs whenever one of the four aces takes the mound. No. 5 starter Joe Blanton is no slouch, either.

"It's not about us five or those eight or whatever," Lee said. "It's 25 guys. We've all got to contribute. If we all do our work and prepare each day and carry our weight, good things should happen."

The bullpen was a concern even before Lidge was shut down last week because of shoulder issues. Lidge has been inconsistent since his perfect season in '08. He'll be replaced by Ryan Madson and Jose Contreras, and there isn't much depth behind them.

Then again, the relievers may not get much work if the starters consistently pitch to their capabilities and go seven or eight innings.

"The biggest thing in baseball is health," Oswalt said. "If we keep everybody healthy, we've got a great chance. But you still have to play the games. These guys on the other teams get paid a lot of money to do the same things we do. Just because we look good on paper and what we've done in the past doesn't mean you are going to have a great year."

In Philadelphia, great won't even be good enough unless the Phillies hoist that World Series trophy at the end.

JPMorgan CEO Dimon awarded $17 million stock, options

NEW YORK (Reuters) – After posting a $17.4 billion profit for 2010, JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) awarded Chief Executive Jamie Dimon restricted stock and options that could be worth $17 million.

The award is a large part of overall compensation for Dimon, who runs the second-largest U.S. bank by assets. It includes a grant of about $12 million worth of restricted stock, plus options worth about $5 million based on a commonly used valuation method.

Dimon's total pay for 2010 will likely be higher than that of most of his banking peers.

The details of his stock and option awards were released in a Thursday regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Full details on his pay, including salary, any cash bonus and perks, will be released in a proxy filing later this year.

The image of bankers being awarded large pay packages after overseeing complex transactions that caused a near meltdown in the world economy became a political flashpoint during the financial crisis, and remains so even as the crisis recedes.

While some of the popular anger has died down, taxpayers have not forgotten the hundreds of billions of dollars that the U.S. government used to prop up the financial sector.

JPMorgan has repaid the $25 billion of bailout funds it took from the U.S. Treasury, and is widely considered to have weathered the crisis better than most other major U.S. banks.

However, it still must overcome a slowdown in trading revenue, litigation tied to mortgages and foreclosure activity, and a $6.4 billion lawsuit over its ties to imprisoned Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff.

EXECUTIVE PACKAGES

Dimon was awarded 251,415 units of restricted stock, half of which vest on January 13, 2013 and half a year later, according to the filing.

He was also awarded 367,377 stock appreciation rights with a strike price of $47.73. These rights have a 10-year term and vest in five equal installments, beginning January 19, 2012.

In comparison, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) chief Lloyd Blankfein was awarded $12.6 million of restricted stock. His salary more than tripled to $2 million. Morgan Stanley (MS.N) chief James Gorman received stock and option awards that could reach $7.4 million.

BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) Chief Executive Laurence Fink got $13 million of restricted stock, while Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) said Brian Moynihan was awarded restricted stock units worth up to $9.1 million.

Citigroup Inc (C.N) Chief Executive Vikram Pandit's salary will rise to $1.75 million from $1. Other elements of Pandit's compensation have not yet been disclosed.

Dimon could lose some of his award, or vesting could be delayed, if he were to be fired, hide important risks or hurt the bank's reputation, or if JPMorgan's financial performance were to suffer, the filing shows.

Shares of JPMorgan closed down 12 cents at $47.82 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.

(Editing by Steve Orlofsky, Bernard Orr)