Tag Archives: online

we7 moves to “radio” service, proves there’s no money in music streaming

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On Thursday (29/9/11), we7 converted it’s free service to a “radio” service – being the latest online music service to do so. It follows Spotify, who moved to limited music streaming in April.

The new service for free users allows up to 50 “on-demand” tracks per month, and then a limited radio service. Premium and Premium+ users still have full access to the old site at http://subscription.we7.com and can choose between the two sites.

It does prove that there really is no money in free choice-based music streaming. We7 previously blamed the music industries high streaming fee – which was difficult to match with advertising.

We7 has argued that it believes people want their music to be chosen for them on a genre basis. According to The Telegraph, it denies the move is due to increased competition.

It’s a real shame, but it seems impossible to make money from advertised streaming services.

Having fun with QR codes

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I’d heard about QR codes in the past – otherwise known as quick reference codes – but only recently have I realised how useful they are. Basically, they’re the next step forward from bar codes.

A square image holds many pixels, which a programmed reader can recognise and decode. A simple idea – but very handy.

You may have started noticing them in advertisements and on posters. The idea is that you scan it with your smartphone or other reader, and your device will instantly decode it and provide you with whatever information you requested.

Any one QR code can hold a whole host of information such as URLs, contact cards, texts, wi-fi network details, geo-locations – the list goes on!

I’ve now trimmed up the twitter feed with a QR code for this site – seems like a no-brainer to me. There are loads of online QR code generators – such as this one – so why not stick one on your site?

Chrome 5.0 brings host of new features

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Google today released their latest version of the growing web browser, Chrome. The new version includes a large range of new features.

I’m very pleased to know that Chrome now synchronises browser settings, as well as bookmarks, to the syncing server. This means that when you use Chrome on multiple computers, you take your whole browser with you. Nice touch.

There’s also a really nice selection of HTML functions – including drag and drop (ie you can drag your Gmail attachments to your Documents folder).

In addition, great news for Mac and Linux users – Chrome 5.0 is a stable version! It’s about time!

Oh and finally, Google have set that from the next release of Adobe Flash (10.1), they are planning to automatically include a full compatible version of Flash with Chrome every time it is installed. That way, if you don’t already have it, Google will automatically install it for you when you install Chrome.

Head to google.com/chrome for the new version, or upgrade automatically from your browser!

Steam – the online game network

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I recently came across Steam after a friend recommended the program to me. I thought it was worth a go as I have pretty good graphics on my new homebuilt PC.

The main purpose of Steam is to give users the ability to download games rather than having to go and buy them on a physical disk. It also means you get access to a wide range of PC only games which may be limited in disk format. It can also be considerably cheaper to use Steam as the regularly run discounts and multipack buys.

So I went ahead and downloaded the free software and gave it a go. Bought my first game (Burnout Paradise) which was on discount at the time, and it immediately started downloading.

As soon as it downloaded (which took a while, but that’s only because my internet connection isn’t rocket speed) I launched the game. I was amazed at how well it actually worked. You get access to the in-game Steam community as well so you can chat to your friends while you are playing games.

I’m actually very happy with Steam and I doubt I will buy another game on DVD. If you’ve got a good internet connection with plenty of bandwidth, it’s a very good idea.

Oh and just in case anyone is concerned – the software is totally legal and Valve (the company who run Steam) have partnerships with many of the big game developers.

TVCatchup for iPhone gets loads more channels!

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Great news iPhone and iPod Touch owners! TVCatchup – the UK’s brilliant online TV streamer – has just launched a huge bundle of new channels for their site.

Many more of the Freeview channels are now available to stream free, anytime.

Just some of the new channels include Channel 4+1, BBC Four, ITV3, ITV4 and Fiver.

The service is still totally free and works over 3G or Wi-Fi so don’t miss out!

Head straight over to iphone.tvcatchup.com to get started.