Primus frontman Les Claypool and M.I.R.V. guitarist Bryan Kehoe were jamming around the campfire one night. Claypool was suddenly inspired by the country music forced on him as a child -- Johnny Horton, Jerry Reed, and Vernon Dalhart -- and started playing his bass in a "Luther Perkins dig digga dang, dig digga dang" while Kehoe accompanied on guitar. They tested various songs, from obvious choices like Johnny Horton's "Battle of New Orleans" and Primus' own "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver" to less likely candidates such as Alice in Chains' "Man in the Box" and the Bee Gees' "Staying Alive." The ones that worked appear on Duo De Twang's debut album, "Four Foot Shack," released in February. Duo De Twang plays at SXSW this week, March 12-14.

Hi, our name is (what?) dig digga dang, Duo De Twang.

You cover an eclectic array of songs on "Four Foot Shack." How did you choose which songs to cover? They almost chose us. Basically, what's happened with this Twang thing is that it started off as me and an old buddy playing some tunes and sitting around the campfire. People were kind of digging it, so I started doing a little Luther Perkins dig digga dang, dig digga dang. If the lyrics fit, then there you go. With ... [Read more]

Google has added new options for developers selling software through its Chrome Web Store.

Those selling software for Google's Chrome browser and Chrome OS operating system now have a variety of new sales possibilities, according to a blog post Tuesday by Chary Chen of the Chrome Web Store team. Among those options are the ability to offer:

• Free trials of Chrome extensions and Chrome packaged apps.

• Themes that cost money.
• Extensions and packaged apps that include in-app payment possibilities.
• Subscriptions for Chrome extensions.

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Apple plans to make major improvements to the Maps app in iOS 8, a new report claimed on Tuesday.

Apple's top executives, including CEO Tim Cook and Senior Vice Presidents Eddy Cue and Craig Federighi, are currently working on Maps for iOS 8, 9to5Mac reported, citing people who claim to have knowledge of Apple's plans. The executives are focusing less on interface improvements this year and more on enhancements to the application's accuracy and reliability, the report said.

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In addition, Apple has added public transit functionality to the app, ensuring that users can ... [Read more]