Computer Support Blog

Google has finally released its latest application, Google Music. The search engine giant officially made the latest Google service available Wednesday. Google Music is a simple concept with big ambitions, namely, to emerge in the online music world as a viable iTunes competitor. The service combines an online locker service with a music marketplace.

Google has gotten three of the big four music labels to sign on, as well as Merlin, a collection of larger independent labels, according to the L.A. Times. The only major music label that hasn’t yet signed on is Warner.

Though in general, the blogosphere received GMusic in a cool—maybe even hostile—way, there were still plenty of blogs and websites who found lots worth admiring in GMusic. Many people have automatically dismissed GMusic as an iTunes alternative that will fail, but we know from recent history (Kindle Fire, Android phones) that not all Apple alternatives fail. Indeed, there’s plenty of room for multiple service providers in the tech world, which is a good thing for innovation, competition and prices.

Rather than merely looking at GMusic and seeing how it fails against iTunes, we need to consider how viable its potential for growth is. Surely, we can’t expect it to take down iTunes a mere few days after its launch.

Google Music offers two main services, as well as a variety of smaller features here and there. The first is a cloud storage system for music. Google’s service allows users to store up to 20,000 songs for free. On the other hand, Apple’s iTunes cloud charges users $25 a year for a very similar service. With the cloud storage, of course, comes the ability to stream content from one’s cloud library to any device that has the free Google Music app, which is currently available for Android, or just access the service using a regular web browser. Compared to iTunes, this is really a breakthrough—no limit on number of devices that can link to the cloud (ten for iTunes users) and no need to have iTunes installed on each of them.

GMusic comes with an easy-to-use music manager that users can download for free from the online service. Once downloaded the music manager lets users upload their music to the cloud, where they can organize it. Some users complain that the uploading process takes too long, but given the fact that the service is free and that the uploading is a onetime thing, that shouldn’t really matter.

The other big service is GMusic’s marketplace. With big names like Universal and EMI, Google is offering users over 13 million songs, some of which are free.

So, even though at first, the service doesn’t seem all that amazing, a closer look reveals that it’s actually very appealing. It’s free music backup, free cloud access and storage, and occasionally free music. The interface is simple and attractive; the available collection is on the rise. What’s not to like?

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com

Hackers continue grabbing headlines with high profile attacks against the Internet security of governments and major corporations.  Hacktivists (hacker activists) attempting to make statements attacked various targets this year, again showing the importance of good virus removal and protection in a digital world.  Targets have ranged from PayPal and Visa to FBI associate Infragard, not always with obvious reasons.  Recent hacker arrests in the United States and Europe are attempts to combat the problem.   Google announced on Wednesday, July 20, they were the latest victim as hackers compromised their Internet security.

Read more »

The digital video making and viewing community came together a little more, recently.  Apple lifted the ban on Adobe Flash Player appearing in iPhone or iPad, ending online compatibility issues.

Last year, Apple refused to work with Flash, the most popular additional program for creating and viewing multi-media websites. The media creation and viewing program’s use restricted costumers to certain devices. Adobe blocked access to Flash from Apple devices. Apple’s continually expanding mobile devices struggled to view images and videos supported by the additional program.

Read more »

Microsoft has chosen to re-renter the smartphone marketplace with a new OS – Windows Phone 7.  A highly anticipated and much debated entry into the mobile OS arena, WP7 is one of Microsoft’s most important releases in years.  To help you understand WP7 and decide whether it’s right for you, Rescuecom’s computer support and computer repair specialists share the five things you need to know about Windows Phone 7. Read more »

Verizon has become the first of the major U.S. carriers to announce pricing for Samsung’s Galaxy Tab.

In a somewhat surprising move, Verizon has priced the Tab at $600, just $30 less than the Apple iPad bundle the carrier will put on sale on October 28.

Neither device will require a contract with Verizon, allowing users to purchase the device on its own. Read more »

Microsoft officially announced its Windows Phone 7 OS on Monday and, by doing so, put itself firmly back into the smartphone market.

Totally disconnected from Microsoft’s previous phone OS offerings, Windows Phone 7 continues the pattern first displayed in the Internet Explorer 9 Beta – a product more in line with the competition than the company’s previous work. Read more »

As Apple continues to aggressively market the iPad, one of its expected competitors has dropped from the race.

This past summer, LG announced plans to build and release a tablet device running Google’s Android OS.  LG’s Android tablet was expected to be released this year, as a competitor for the iPad.

LG announced today that will not happen. Read more »

In news that’s sure to stoke the Apple vs. Android fan battles on messages boards across the Internet, Android has cut into iOS’s market share and is threatening to become the number two ranked mobile operating system.

According to comScore, Apple’s market share 1.3% this summer, as opposed to the significant 5% increase for Android.  While Google’s mobile OS still trails both Apple and RIM, Android has made massive gains and has the top spot in its sights.

Obviously, this is a significant moment for Google and Android.  As the only mobile platform to grow this summer, the popularity of Android cannot be questioned.  In terms of bragging rights in the ongoing battle with Apple, Google has struck a major blow.

However, while the numbers appear, on the surface, to be a major win for Android, Apple has no reason to concede anything yet.  As the company’s supporters would be quick to point out, Google has several key advantages in generating market share:

• Unlike Apple, Android phones can be found on all major carriers. The iPhone is, for the moment still tied to AT&T.
• iOS runs on only the iPhone. Android can be found on a hefty number of devices, ranging across all price points.
• The iPhone 4 was only available for one of the months covered by the comScore report. Additionally, it was the only iOS release, while Android was released on multiple new phones.

Regardless of the caveats, Android’s growth is still worth noting.  Apple’s supporters have long pointed to the company’s significant head start in both mobile operating systems and tablet computers as reasons why the competition will never catch up.

If the latest figures are any indication of what the competition can do when they’ve got the right product, Apple is going to have far more of a fight on its hands than it, or its fans, may have expected.

About RESCUECOM:

RESCUECOM provides computer repair and computer support, 24/7: Meeting every tech support need including data recovery, virus removal, networking, wireless services, and computer support for all brands of hardware and software. For computer support or information on products, services, or computer repair, visit https://www.rescuecom.com or call 1-800-RESCUE-PC.

For More Information, Contact:

David Milman, CEO

315-882-1100

david@rescuecom.com