Michael Robertson, the mogul behind Linspire, ajaxLaunch and formerly MP3.com, has announced that his MP3tunes.com is now offering 1GB of free online storage for your music files. The service, called Oboe, is a "music locker" that you can upload your files to on Windows, Mac, or Linux, and then listen to them via unlimited streaming wherever you are via your web browser, or sync your music collection on all of your computers and devices. In the announcement on his blog, Robertson takes Steve Jobs to task for an interview in 2002 in which he said, "If you legally acquire music, you need to have the right to manage it on all other devices that you own," a proclamation some say Apple itself has ignored. Robertson says his goal is "to amass a large number of music lockers to compel electronics companies to build devices that will work with this open system--so you're always in control of your music." The company has also released an open API so developers can build their devices and software to sync with MP3tunes.

Though some of Robertson's previous ventures--all of ajaxLaunch, for example--have seemed a bit half-baked, I really like the sound of this, and I hope he achieves his goal. Robertson is, of course, chiefly concerned with turning a profit, so there are different tiers of service. The Free service lets you store up to 1,000 songs with a 1GB limit (so.. more like 300-some songs), a maximum of 20MB per son, and syncing for three computers. The Basic service, which will run you $19.95 per year, ups the limit to 2GB/2,000 songs, 5 PCs, and 20 playlists, and the Premium service--$39.95 per year--gives you unlimited storage, unlimited machines to sync with, and unlimited playlists, and ups the per-song limit to 40MB. Though streaming is limited to MP3, you can also back up your Windows Media and iTunes music, though their DRM will remain unchanged.

[Via GigaOM]

True to his word, Michael Robertson announced eyespot today, a web-based video editor. This is part of his ajaxLaunch site, where they'll be launching a new ajaxian app each Wednesday. I'm sure NVU is heading for the ajax treatment any time. This is a neat trick, but there's a social aspect to it as well. You can take videos and clips from other users, and remix them into your own. That, in itself, is pretty neat. Can't wait to see more user generated content that Scoble claims is all baloney.

The other week we mentioned ajaxWrite, which was developed by the good folks at Linspire. It appears the ajax bug has bitten Michael Robertson big time, and who can blame him? Linspire's Click-and-Run repository of instantly downloadable apps (similar to Synaptic in Ubuntu) has theoretically made it much easier to distribute and install apps for its users. Ajax apps don't even need a download really, and as Michael says, "Software can be a low cost or free service available to everyone on any computer platform, loaded instantly when you want it with no hassles. Exciting, ain't it?" Yes, it is, when it works. A number of people complained about ajaxWrite not being quite ready. Reading Michael's recap, I see why— their servers just weren't ready for the demand. Hopefully the launch of ajaxSketch last week will go better. ajaxSketch is, of course, a browser-based drawing tool.

There are still a few kinks in the system, however. Bringing in a JPG, I wasn't allowed to add text. Maybe I was, but I never saw it, and couldn't manipulate it. For basic shapes and drawings, this works OK. As expected, nowhere near the functionality of GIMP or even Paint for that matter, but an interesting tech demo. One interesting bit is that your docs are saved as SVG's. Is there a use for this? Not yet, but I can see it evolving over time into something moderately useful, especially for creating PowerPoint-esque graphics (hint, hint).

Robertson is so smitten with ajax, he's even started a website: ajaxLaunch.com, where he and his flying monkeys developers will be launching a new ajax-based web app every Wednesday. Naturally, we'll try to pick those apart each week as well. I applaud the effort, and hope, like ajaxWrite, NVU, and Linspire itself, these tools will gain some level of appeal to "average" users.

Om Malik reports on a project from Michael Robertson called ajaxWrite. Yes, it's another web-based word processor. The nice thing is, you get a window to yourself, and that window (complete with tabs for your docs) is a pretty basic word processor. I'm soaking in it right now... What's really impressive is the speed and stability of the app. That could be due to it only being compatible with Firefox, as having only one target allows you to focus on streamlining your performance. One essential feature for me is the ability to save your writing as a Word doc (the default), plain text, RTF, or PDF. Some limitations appear to be no inline saving, so if you lose power or your connection, you'd have to copy/paste your Great American Novel. Like Om, I'm not sure what the business model is, but with no signup, speed, stability, and good Save As formats, it appears to be a useful tool for when you're needing a web-based word processor without all the bells and whistles.