Google Launches New Music Service

The new Google Music service allows people to store up to 20,000 songs in the Internet "cloud." The benefit of doing this is that they will then be able to access the music from any Web browser that supports Flash or Android devices. The service is still being beta-tested and will only be offered to a select group of invitation-only users in the U.S. Initially, the service will be free to users, but Paul Joyce, a Google project manager demonstrating the service during the keynote this morning at Google I/O, hinted that Google may charge for the service in the future. He also hinted at capabilities being added to the service in the future. But for now Google only will allow music to be stored remotely. It won't allow users to purchase new music via the cloud.

Jamie Rosenberg , direct of digital content for Android, answered a question from a reporter about whether Google was afraid that music studios would take issue with Google allowing its users to move music digitally across the Internet. He responded by saying that the service is "completely legal," because it allows people to store only music that they own legally. Rosenberg admitted that Google had wanted to offer music labels an opportunity to sell music to Google users through the cloud service, but that the labels had asked for certain conditions that Google couldn't accept.
He wouldn't discuss details of the negotiations, but he emphasized Google's commitment to protecting the rights of music producers.

"We very much respect copyright," he said. "And we designed this service so that you can use your own personal music collection out of respect for those who create the music."

When asked how Google would police content stored on the music service to make sure it's legal, Google's Andy Rubin stepped in to answer the question. He said that Google will respond to rights holders who believe that unauthorized music is being stored on Google's service.

During the morning's keynote address, Google also demonstrated how some of its other technology initiatives will fit with the Google cloud-based music service. The Android @Home initiative will let Android-based devices control appliances and other devices in the home. Part of this initiative demonstrated during the keynote was "Project Tungsten," which offered a mechanism for streaming music to speakers and stereos throughout the home wireless. Using an Android tablet a user could access music in the Google Music cloud and play the songs throughout the home on any set of speakers or devices via the Android @Home technology and Project Tungsten capability. In essence the service replaces other wirelessly networked music playing services, such as Sonos wireless music system.
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More Testing Needed For Playstation Network Relaunch

Sony's breached PlayStation Network may well be offline longer than the company had expected, according to a Sony executive.

In a post on Sony's PlayStation.Blog late yesterday, Patrick Seybold, senior director of corporate communications and social media for the company, said Sony was still performing security checks on the system and that it might not be back up and running in the originally announced timeframe. Part of the problem, Seybold said, has been the hitherto unknown size of a breach of the Sony Online Entertainment gaming network, discovered during Sony's investigation into the PlayStation intrusion.

"When we held the press conference in Japan last week, based on what we knew, we expected to have the services online within a week," Seybold wrote. "We were unaware of the extent of the attack on Sony Online Entertainment servers, and we are taking this opportunity to conduct further testing of the incredibly complex system."

Meanwhile, the company said today that on Thursday it removed 2,500 customer names and partial addresses that had been stolen by hackers and posted on a Sony Web site. The names belonged to mostly U.S. customers who had entered a contest in 2001.

Sony said the Web site was "out of date and inactive" when discovered and that the company took the page down. PlayStation chief Kaz Hirai said last Saturday that most services on the PlayStation Network would be restored "within the week," including online game play for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable; chat functionalities; and the ability to play downloaded movies from PSN and to play unexpired movie rentals through PSN and Qriocity. Hirai said the company hoped to restore the entire network, including the PlayStation Store and purchasing features, "within the month."

The network went down in late April and it took Sony about a week to notify customers that the system had been breached by an unknown entity, who gained access to millions of customers' personal data--including, perhaps, credit card information. The company has since been criticized--by members of Congress, among others--for keeping customers in the dark and for what some see as lax security measures.


Source- http://news.cnet.com
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Call of Duty Black Ops Escalation Map Pack

This Escalation pack brings maps that include an abandoned Russian Zoo, a Cuban luxury hotel and casino, a stockpile area holding secret weapons of mass destruction, and a close-quarters convoy. But perhaps most interesting is the additional star-studded zombie level where you can play as a dream team of zombie-killers featuring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Robert Englund, Michael Rooker, and Danny Trejo.

Escalation can be downloaded for 1,200 Microsoft Points or $15. Or you can check out this site and get it free for completing a few free surveys! The PC and PlayStation 3 release has yet to be announced by the publisher, Activision. But seeing how things are with the PSN, perhaps the PS3 version is in no hurry.
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