Use Spotify? Be aware..

Folks, yet another item to know about.

* Spotify serving malicious ads to freemium users

“Several Spotify users are reporting that the streaming music service is serving malware to its users through its advertiser network. Users on company’s user forum noted that ads running on Spotify Free, the streaming music service’s free product, automatically open malicious websites without their permission.” Read more..

* * *

Today’s quote: “You can always count on Americans to do the right thing – after they’ve tried everything else.” ~ Winston Churchill

Copyright 2007-2015 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Hey! Some Good News

Here’s some items of interest for your thoughtful consideration:

* Password Protection Act of 2012 filed

“A new bill is filed to prevent employers from asking employees and job candidates for their passwords to social networking sites.” Read more..

I was beginning to think there wasn’t one good thing I could say about our “leadership” in Washington.. yet, here we finally have something almost good. Though, the fact that we even need to enact something like this is pretty sad .. and scary.

Next up: oops.

* Facebook under fire, under water: Investor lawsuits, investigations slam FB

“Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) stock closed at $32 today, but that’s the least of its problems. It’s now besieged with lawsuits and investigations around allegations that it did not disclose negative information about future earnings to investors before it went public on May 18.” Read more..

Oh, well. What’s a little lawsuit or two between Friends?

Related? A bad week for launches

“You’d be wrong to expect that internet giants Yahoo and Spotify would be able to launch new services without incident. Read more..

(Also: Yahoo launches Axis ‘browser’ and fumbles it disastrously {good read: I highly reco}

“Yahoo, in a bid to outstep the controversy left by former chief executive Scott Thompson, launches a brand new browser. But in doing so, it fouls it up horribly and causes another stir.” Read more..

( “Axis”? Seriously? And .. these are the professionals. ) ( Hmm.. “Outstep”? )

Idjits:

Actually useful?

* What is the best font to use in a resume?

“Could the font you use in your resume really be that important? You bet it can. Read more..

Not such good news…

* Comcast phishing site contains valid TRUSTe seal

“Security researchers from Sophos are reporting on an intercepted Comcast-themed phishing email, which contains a valid TRUSTe seal. Read more

Did you know? Everything you type online, picture you send, webpage you look at — everything you do and say online is recorded by somebody somewhere. And you cannot erase it. Ever. Maybe.. think twice before you click?

Also: The curse of free cloud services: a cautionary tale

“Cloud services have their failings, and I’m not talking about the usual crashes and cyberattacks. No, sometimes the service just goes away.” Read more..

Your reward for reading this far:

Today’s quotable quote: “Yahoo could probably trip over a chain in the street and unwittingly pull the plug on the Great Lakes — it’s that unlucky.” ~ seen on Between the Lines

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Facebook Changes Privacy Controls | More (Free) Streaming Music

Happy “hump day” to you, everyone. Not much time for writing today, but I wanted to share two items with you.

1) Facebook is a topic once again, as they are revamping how the Privacy (security) controls work. I think those of you who use Facebook should be aware of these changes — which hopefully will be improvements: please see, Facebook Rolling Out Security Update, Taking Page From Google+?

“Facebook on Tuesday introduced a number of new security features, some of which take a few pages from the Google+ playbook. Facebook said the changes will start rolling out in the next few days. When they do, Facebook will display a prompt that will walk you through the various updates.

“Taken together, we hope these new tools make it easier to share with exactly who you want, and that the resulting experience is a lot clearer and a lot more fun,“. For more, see this slideshow, as well as PCMag’s  slideshow look at When Facebook Gets Creepy.”

2) A loyal reader wrote me privately after yesterday’s article on Spotify online streaming music service, and told me about a service they use (and I had not ever visited [aka “tried”].).

“I’ve been going to Grooveshark to listen to songs of my choice free for a few years now. No download necessary, and it probably has as many or more songs as Spotify.“

In my very quick look-see, I found that it has real AC/DC, and the Offspring songs I mentioned, and yes, they are right, it plays right in your web browser. I will be checking this out more thoroughly when time allows, but thank you, Dear Reader! (You know who you are.)

Today’s quotable: “A cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.” ~ Oscar Wilde

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Review – Streaming Music With Spotify

I was lucky enough to get an “invitation”, and have been using the music service Spotify for a few weeks now.

“Spotify is a new way to listen to music. Millions of tracks, any time you like. Just search for it in Spotify, then play it. Just help yourself to whatever you want, whenever you want it.“

Spotify has three levels of service:
• Free (waiting list for invite): Millions of tracks available instantly.
• Unlimited: ($4.99/mo) No advertisements, Unlimited streaming of music.
• Premium: ($9.99) same as Unlimited but adds, Spotify on your mobile, Offline mode for playlists.

Once I got it installed, the first thing I wanted to know was, did they have my artists and bands? (aka, Would they provide the music I wanted to hear?) Well, so far, the answer to that is 95% (or, higher) → yes. Considering the convoluted mess that is DRM, that is impressive.

Back in my day, THE band was Van Halen (unless you were into the Bee Gees). Did Spotify have that?

Yes, they do. And they also have Van Halen songs performed by other artists. (see the “Artist” column.) Great! But what about the band that popularized “hard” rock, AC/DC?

Oops. They only have “cover bands”. I found the same goes for The Beatles (which makes sense, as iTunes and Apple bought the rights to the Fab Four). But the weird part is, I only knew I was listening to a cover band because I read the list — my ears thought I was listening to John, Paul, Ringo, and George.

I found other instances of DRM/artist restrictions.. for instance, the band Offspring has two songs I really like – “Come Out And Play (Got To Keep Em Separated)” and “Self Esteem”. Though Spotify has plenty of Offspring songs, the first is not listed (too popular?) and the second is sort of listed, but is not the song at all (it’s some Bluegrass weird thingy) .. But their top song, “The Kids Aren’t Alright”, is there.

But by and large, if I can think of the song, Spotify has it. I did not explore other music genres, but I have no reason to suspect the same would not be true there. (I did look up Johnny Cash, and he’s there. “I fell in to a burnin’ ring of fire..”) I do not think “millions of titles” is an exaggeration.

Spotify works much like the iTunes program, in that you can create “playlists”, play existing libraries, pause, replay, sort and search, etc.. It blows the doors off of Pandora if hearing your band play your song is what you prefer. I cropped my screenshots in a way that the banner ads in the free version are not as evident as they are when you have the Spotify ‘player’ open. I found no lags or skips or anything other than good quality when playing music with Spotify.

I can tell you that the “hype” over Spotify you have probably seen, seems justified to me , and I certainly understand why CNET calls it is a Top Pick. As I am not really a “music guy” these days (too many other distractions), I am fine with the free version, (and the ads don’t bother me as I create a playlist and then minimize the window) but were I still like I was when I was younger, and more “into the tunes”, I would seriously considering “upgrading” to the version that would allow me to access Spotify with my Android smart phone.. so I could better use it like an iPod when I am out walking. $10 a month for that, and “offline” playlists, seems quite reasonable to me.

You can check out Spotify, here. “All the music. All the time. On your computer, mobile phone, and more.” If you like listening to music, I highly recommend you do. Put your name on the waiting list for the free service, at least. Spotify earns two Tech Paul “thumbs up”.

(I might like to see an “equalizer” function.. you know, so I could crank up the bass.. ha! I guess I still have some music fan left in me..)

Today’s quote: “I like long walks, especially when they’re taken by people who annoy me.” ~ Fred Allen

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Music Radio For Your Phone (or Blackberry)(or PC)

Loyal readers know that some time ago now, I acquired one of those new-fangled Android “smart” phones. And (they) probably saw my recent mention that I was giving the new (to the USA) Spotify online music service a tryout as well.

image source = engadget.com

By definition, smart phones are more than just phones – they are cameras (movie cameras, even) and, with Internet access, web surfers and music players and GPS navigators and more. They can be mini televisions, and we can watch Netflix.. etc., etc., etc..

I was hoping that Spotify would give my ‘droid added music “streaming” ability – and it would, if I sign up for a premium service level (otherwise, it is PC only). Currently, though, I am not enough of a ‘music person’ (too busy) to justify a monthly fee for music access for my phone, though I can say that my early perusals of Spotify’s “library” lead me to think music lovers will find it a true bargain..

Currently, I plug in my headphones, and use the ‘droid’s FM Radio feature and tune in my fave local stations; or play some songs that I have loaded onto my memory chip (no, I do not purchase tunes). I have the Pandora app, but have found I never use it.. but here are some free music alternatives for you smart phone/Blackberry/iPhone owners:
[note: these can be used on your PC as well.]

• Pandora Radio
“Pandora radio is the personalized internet radio service that helps you find new music based on your old and current favorites. ”

• FlyCast
“FlyCast is the mobile broadcast network that gives you what you really want – choice. Choose what you want from the best music in all genres, talk radio, …

• Slacker Personal Radio
“Slacker Personal Radio is the easiest way to create free radio stations. Listen anywhere to free personalized Internet radio stations playing your favorite music.”

• Spotify (currently “invite only”)(Go there and sign up to receive an invite..)

Also, I have heard raves about XM Radio (Sirius), which requires a subscription.

I am sure there are other music services out there in Internet Land, and I hope music lovers will write in with their faves/reco’s. What music apps do you use?

Today’s reading:
• Netflix betting on subscriber fallout in Q3, everyone over it in Q4

“Netflix posted solid Q2 earnings on Monday, but naturally, all of the attention was focused on the recent price hikes. Nevertheless, Netflix execs feel confident that all the complaining is just hype.” Read more..

• Great Instructional Videos to Learn the Basics of Windows 7

“I am always on the hunt for instructional material for people that use their computers in their homes..” Read more..

Today’s quote: “Jumping for joy is good exercise.”  ~ Unknown

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Netflix and other news

Kind of a hodgepodge today.. Some interesting topics.

Big news in the tech world. Implications unknown. Some court has found that smart phone maker HTC has infringed on Apple patents, and now not only is the company (and other smart phone makers) in um, er, “a muddle” (without a paddle?) but the future of android is suddenly unclear .. perhaps doomed.

I love the idea of letting clueless (frequently “seasoned citizen”) judges decide the future of tech. I understand a few of them have heard of the “Internet thingy”, so maybe not all their decision will be hopelessly uninformed and short-sighted. Just 99.9% of them to date have been..

Here’s something to read, if you’re interested: Apple deals massive patent blow to HTC, Android in serious trouble

“Late yesterday an ITC judge ruled that smartphone maker HTC has infringed two Apple patents, and it seems likely that every single Android device out there infringes the same patents.” Read more..

~

And I suppose I should say something about Netflix, and their recent price hike. Seems many of you are quite upset. Many think it is pure and simple gouging, and are particularly incensed as they feel Netflix have us by the short and curlies: many are canceling their subscriptions.
Okay. I understand that. (And they certainly could have gone about it better!)

If enough people cancel – it is reasonable to speculate they will rethink.

But I suspect there is more going on here, and it is my hope that this increase in revenue will be reinvested. See.. Netflix needs bigger pipes (more ‘infrastructure’) to keep up with demand. Not only that, but how we view our entertainment is changing. Advertisement-based “network TV” is going the way of the Dodo bird. Netflix is trying to buy the rights to “content” — current shows and movies. The game is changing, and Netflix is trying to come out a winner as a “content provider”.. as NBC and CBS, et al, struggle to stay alive in this age of IPTV, and “streaming media”.
It takes serious money to compete with networks, media ‘moguls’, and Disney.

The Internet is changing the world, don’t you know? The issue is .. complicated. I am not canceling nor squawking — heck, I am so happy to be able to watch ‘on demand’ and commercial free, I might pay triple!
Man, do I hate ads.

~

I do not know how many times in my life, some yahoo has called me “Mr. Spock”. (So many, I have come to embrace, and adopt it.. and frequently use it myself when trying to describe myself to others.) I do not really look like Leonard Nimoy’s character. I get called that because I am seen as “logical” (and not “emotional”). Fortunately, I have discovered why — it turns out I am a “left-brain thinker”. That explains it! It hasn’t been easy…

• 10 curses of the analytical thinker

“Being a left-brain thinker can be an asset in the IT field. But as Alan Norton observes, it’s not without its shortcomings.” Read more..

There’s more news in the “world of tech”, but, it’ll have to wait for another day. Because it is sunny and nice and warm here again, (after a “cool” spell) all the way up to 82°, and I do have a small gap in my obligations. I am going to try to get outside and play. Maybe… throw a Frisbee. Haven’t done that in.. oh, 25 years?

Yawl take care now, ‘ya hear?

Today’s quotable: “Of all the things you wear, your expression is the most important.”  ~ Janet Lane

I got an “invite”: (testing now) Spotify hits U.S. shores, plus browser and uTorrent news

Big news hit U.S. shores this past week in the form of Spotify, the European on-demand music-streaming service. CNET Senior Editor Donal Bell calls it “the best free music option since stealing,” but unfortunately, you may not get to try it for quite some time since as of now, Spotify is invite only.

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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