Spotify has landed in the U.S.

Spotify’s long-awaited US debut is finally here. After nearly two years of broken promises from Daniel Ek, the music service’s co-founder and chief, the popular site is going live stateside later today. 

However, the greater significance is that finally another European digital service is going to try to break America. It’s like watching one of our favourite bands trying to crack the US music market – we will them to succeed but are not surprised when they regularly don’t.

Despite frequent protestations from European venture capitalists and technology entrepreneurs, that this side of the pond is just as fertile for amazing start-ups, the truth is that the vast majority of global digital players are still American. 

Apart from a few notable exceptions, Skype and Last.fm (which is now declining in popularity in Europe as Spotify’s star continues to rise), very few European digital companies really gain global popularity as stand-alone consumer services. 

Spotify’s launch has been eagerly awaited by early technology adopters in the US. However, it is entering a crowded and well-established marketplace with services like Rhapsody, Mog and Pandora, already occupying lots of mindshare and music lovers’ time. 

Spotify Premium Usage Limit Question

RaphaelSamad Says

I am thinking about signing up for Spotify Premium. However, I am struggling to find out what the usage limits are.
Can I, for example use Spotify Premium on my Iphone , my Android and one of my Daughters on her Mobile (Spotify do support it) - and can we then also use it on all our computers (though probably only a maximum of 2 simultaneously). Also, for offline listening on our mobiles, can it instead link in with Itunes or is it really better to use the Spotify mobile application.
If we can, then sharing it with the family would definitely help to justify the price.
Also, are there any offers or anything for Premium Sign Up going around or it is just the normal £ 9.99 per month.

gre
You can use it on as many devices as you want, but I think you'll find you can only use one at a time...

That's right, it detects if there are more than one app online at once 

iPhone 5 may launch in August : CNET UK

Apple's much-awaited and more speculated next-generation iPhone, iPhone 5, may launch in the second half of August, reports CNET.UK.

According to CNET, new job postings for a number of iPhone sales staff in the UK suggest a mid-August launch for Apple's next-generation iPhone.

The post seeks an "Apple iPhone sales specialist" to work for two and a half months in Apple retail stores beginning in mid-August for what recruiter Gekko calls "an exciting project". Gekko is reportedly the recruiter who posted the listings.

"Our client, Apple, one of the largest consumer electronic hardware and software companies in the world are seeking full-time iPhone Sales Staff for an exciting project to work 5 days a week (Tuesday-Saturday) for the period 16th August - 29th October within key retail stores," goes the job posting.

Though listing per se is no concrete evidence of iPhone 5 launch, it definitely shows that preparation for a new device are underway.

According to Apple Insider, Apple has also aligned three key suppliers of gallium arsenide for iPhone 5, as the company prepares to begin mass production of the handset for launch later this year.

According to a recent DigiTimes report too, the new iPhone will launch in the third quarter of calender year 2011. This means that the device could be unveiled anytime between now and the end of September. Earlier this month, it was said that Apple placed orders for 15 million iPhones from manufacturer Pegatron.

Google unveils Photovine : Go request an invite

Google has started rolling out a new photo service, dubbed Photovine. The service -- currently available on an invite-only basis -- allows users to share photos online.

Though few details are available about the new service, an FAQ and brief demonstration video suggests that the service will allow users to share photos based on specific themes.

Google reportedly said in a statement that Photovine is a photo-sharing service built by a few folks at Slide. The company acquired Slide in 2010.

PhotoVine comes close on the heeels of Google launching its social network Google +. It remains to be seen if and when the company integrates the two services.

Windows 8 Metro Clock for window 7

Is your Windows 7 log on screen making you getting bored then here is a tweek

Metro Clock 2 is a logon screen tweak which bring the Windows 8 style clock and time display toWindows 7 with a slideshow of panoramic images. The Metro font and refreshing imagery makes Metro Clock 2 a much better application than the previously reviewed 8 Clock And Date for Windows 7. Metro Clock 2 is meant to add an expected Windows 8 functionality (i.e. date and time display on logon screen) to Windows 7. To install Metro Clock 2, copy MetroClock.scr file and MetroClock folder to C:\Windows\System32. Once done, run metro.reg to apply the changes. You can also run the MetroClock.scr file directly to lock your computer with the Windows 8 style Metro clock and image slideshow display.

Note:Back up before u install this !

Rar file 11.3 MB

Goolge's Photovine : May be a photo sharing service

Another service from google to impress

As we reported last month google got the trademark on the word Photovine and registered the domain through MarkMonitor.


This is the site : Photovine.com

There's also a support page with a FAQ about the app.

The privacy policy page on the site mentions that it's a project by Slide, Max Levchin's social sharing company that Google acquired last year. Slide has been releasing other apps largely independently from other Google social efforts like Google+. Just last week, Slide began issuing invites for a photo-sharing app called Pool Party.

As of 11 pm PT there's no PhotoVine app in Apple's App Store.

We've contacted Google to find out more and will update this when we hear back.

10 Security Checklist to keep your Online Accounts safe

A Security Checklist for Online Accounts

1.  “Always use HTTPS” setting for Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, Google and all the other online services that support secure HTTP. This is especially important when accessing Internet over a Wi-Fi network because without HTTPS, anyone (and not just skilled hackers) can capture your login details using Firesheep, a simple Firefox extension.

2. I have a few Google Accounts and they all use 2-step verification now. That means if someone tries to log into my Google account from a different computer, they’ll have to type an additional code that is sent directly to my mobile phone as an SMS text message or over a voice call.

3. The 2-step verification can also alert you to potential hacking activity. If I ever get an SMS (or a voice call) from Google with the verification code but without requesting one, it is an immediate hint that someone knows my password though they won’t be able to get in without entering the verification code.

4. I have connected my mobile number with my Facebook account. This is extremely important because I get an instant SMS and an email alert whenever my Facebook account is accessed from a different computer or another mobile phone.

5. I carefully reviewed third-party sites that have access to my online accounts and revoked access to all the unwanted apps that I no longer use. In case you wish to do the same for your accounts, here are the direct links for Facebook, Google and Twitter.

6. I maintain two email addresses – one is public that is displayed on the blog while the other email address is known to a select few. Why?

6a. The public email address is associated with services like Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Foursquare, LinkedIn, Flickr, Tumblr, Posterous, Skype and a couple of other social sites where I want people to find me if they have my email address in their address book.

6b. I use the other “secret” email address with services like Dropbox, Amazon, Google Apps, my bank, my hosting service, Apple iTunes, PayPal and few other places where account security is even more critical and where I am not looking to get social.

7. If I am testing a new online service, I almost always use a disposable email address to create a test account with that service. Some online services reject disposable addresses to prevent fake registrations but the one I use goes through as it is only an alias (or nickname) of my main email address.

8. I prefer using a virtual credit card with shopping sites that I am either using for the first time or where the fine print is too long and there’s a risk that I could be billed again if I don’t cancel the account. This also helps keep my credit card safe from relatively unknown sites.

9. Once in a while, I do mock drill with my most important online accounts to test the various recovery options I would have in case I forget my password or if I lose access to my secondary email address or misplace my mobile phone.

10. The last point - how do I remember and manage so many different passwords?

Some people prefer to use password managers which are very convenient but at this time, all I use is a simple 1-page document (see sample) to store information of all my online accounts and the corresponding passwords. This file is password-protected and I put it on Dropbox so the information is available on all my computers.

This may surprise some but I also have a hard copy of this file that family members can refer to in case I am travelling and they need urgent access to any of my online accounts. Also, since they would need my mobile phone to access my Gmail or Google account, I have included backup verification codes in the printed document itself – thus the Google account can be used without requiring the phone.

One more thing. If you have two email accounts, never ever set one emails as the secondary (or recovery) email address of the other. That’s because if one of your email accounts gets compromised, the hacker can easily take over the other account as well.

Stay tuned for changes : Google+

"Stay tuned for changes this week."

Vic Gundotra, senior vice president of engineering at Google, On his Google+ page wrote asking his followers to look for changes this week.
He Posted --  “Lots of criticism for Google+. We are listening and working to address. Stay tuned for changes this week,”


Before that post, Gundotra made an apology for Google, which spammed its users on Saturday - an accident caused due to a disk space shortage problem. Fans at large reacted forgivingly to his sincere apology, but some pointed out the flaws in the current system.

Military Meltdown Monday : 90,000 military emails Hacked.

Anonymous hackers group released 90,000 email logins stolen from the military contractor Booz Allen Hamilton in a leak it's branded "Military Meltdown Monday." Anonymous has also released exchanges between the contractor's executives--and claims it "found maps and keys for various other treasure chests buried on the islands of government agencies, federal contractors and shady whitehat companies. This material surely will keep our blackhat friends busy for a while." Some of the logins belong to American military personnel, including people working at U.S. Centcom.

The group, a spin-off of Anonymous that includes members of the now defunct hacking group Lulz Sec, claims it broke into the servers of technology contractor Booz Allen Hamilton and stole the login details. They have been published on BitTorrent file sharing sites for anyone to download.

"We infiltrated a server on their network that basically had no security measures in place," Anonymous said in an online statement.

[Via:govtinfosec]