When wefirst heard about Rdiogoing to a free, no-ads service, the immediate question was how it was going to work. Today, we get clarification. Essentially, it’s metered, which is what we had heard before. The details? In short, you don’t get to go mobile, and there’s a meter on your use. Free access users will see a customized meter at the top of their profile page indicating how much free music they have each month....

Rdiohas today released a version of its popular music streaming app that is tailored for Apple’s iPad, bringing a gorgeous interface that looks much like thenative Mac app. Rdio has also tweaked both the iPad and iPhone app to comply with Apple’s updated terms of service with regards to in-app purchasing of subscriptions. The app looks fantastic, with clean and well-laid out controls that will allow you easy access to the community features of Rdio that still set it apart from competitors like Spotify....

Spotify-like on-demand music startupRdiois today launching an API that allows developers to take advantage of music playback and user account features, as well as gain income via an affiliate program. Developers will able to build apps that can search, access and play all of the artists, songs, albums, playlists and top charts in Rdio’s 8 million song library. Apps can also be monetized via the company’s affiliate program, which pays commission fees for referring new subscribers and song purchases....

Free the music! Developers, rejoice.Rdio, the much loved social music service, is leaking its Mobile Playback API for Android and iOS platforms tomorrow to select developers at San Francisco’sMusic Hack Day. “Our Mobile Playback API is one of the first of its kind so we expect that mobile developers will be very eager to integrate Rdio into all sorts of new and innovative iPhone, iPad and Android mobile apps giving mobile developers a way to legally integrate music and its metadata into their mobile apps is a huge win for the developer community and for Rdio....

eVolo magazine’s annual #Winning Skyscrapers competition invites architects to innovate new skyscraper typologies. Yesterday, the winners of the 2011 Skyscraper Competition were announced, featuring a recycling wind turbine, an energy- and water-harvesting horizontal tower, and a re-imagining of the Hoover Dam. While it came in third, ‘Reimagining the Hoover Dam’ by Yheu-Shen Chua from the United Kingdom was our favorite. The project merges the Hoover Dam’s viewing platform, bridge, and gallery into a “single vertical super structure....