Music streaming services seem to be a dime a dozen these days, with plenty of choices and new ones cropping up all the time. But how do you pipe that sound through your home entertainment system? There are a number of options, but the latest is Spotify for Chromecast.

The streaming service is arriving on Google's tiny HDMI dongle, which was just recently updated. Spotify claims this was highly requested and now users can have it.

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Samsung has denied claims made by The Guardian that its TVs have a special power saving mode which is only used in laboratory testing to give the impression of better energy efficiency. The Guardian reports that independent labs have found Samsung televisions use less power in official testing than in real-world scenarios.

This prompted suspicions -- that echo the allegations levelled at car manufacturer VW -- that TVs have been rigged to perform better in energy efficiency tests. The European commission has promised to investigate any claims of cheating the system, but Samsung is adamant it has done nothing wrong, saying "we firmly reject this suggestion".

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Sony may not have the most popular devices around, but it is not for a lack of quality. Its latest flagship, Xperia Z5, has the best smartphone camera according to DxOMark, outclassing rivals like Samsung's Galaxy S6 edge and LG G4.

Even the lesser Xperia Z3+ is well positioned in DxOMark's mobile chart, coming ahead of the hugely popular iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Xperia Z5 has also outclassed the newly-announced Google Nexus 6P, which has to settle for third place. Not too shabby for a Nexus device.

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Bad news for IT experts in the West. According to a survey, IT budgets are expected to increase by only one percent in 2016. On top of that, the IT headcount is expected to stay pretty much the same.

All of that, despite the fact that the demand for IT experts has exploded, and that Europe will need 800,000 IT security experts by 2020.

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Google has unveiled updates to its Google Maps for iOS and Google Maps for Android apps. The big news in this latest release is the addition of support for the Apple Watch on the iOS platform.

Both Android and iOS users also gain additional new features including support for comparing ETAs across a range of transit options, plus the ability to generate directions and call businesses directly from a list of places.

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It’s fun being a thought leader. You get to watch as others supposedly "discover" an idea or truth that you originated weeks or even months before. In this case it’s the notion that Microsoft’s Surface tablet has become a form factor trend setter for PC designs.

The above linked SuperSite for Windows article is a great read, but far from original. I postulated much the same thing when I declared that your next PC will look like a Microsoft Surface. The difference is that I published my take on the matter over three weeks ago, long before any of us knew what the Google Pixel C tablet would look like. But now that the search giant has jumped on the "kickstand-and-keyboard" bandwagon, my prescient musings have been set in stone.

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In addition to the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition, today LG also announces its V10 Android phone with a secondary display. This is the device we got a sneak peek at a few days ago and, like the Huawei-made Nexus 6P, this is a premium level handset with a full metal body which builds on the specifications of the G4.

But the LG V10's standout feature is its secondary screen. In addition to the main 5.7-inch display, there is a second, narrow screen at the top of the handset that can be used not only to display notifications, but also to house shortcuts. This is not the only surprise on the front of the phone -- there are also two cameras.

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The smartwatch wars are heating up, and LG is sending out new troops. Today the company announces the LG Watch Urbane 2nd Edition -- the first Android Wear smartwatch that offers LTE/3G connectivity.

LG describes the latest wearable as 'breaking the limits of a watch', and with the prospect of making phone-free calls with the Watch Urbane 2nd Edition, this would seem to be a fair description. The watch is compatible with iOS and Android, but it is the fact that it can be used on its own that is its real selling point.

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These days, patent lawsuits are ten a penny and big players like Google, Apple, and Microsoft are frequently involved in litigation. Out of the blue, Microsoft and Google have announced that they are burying the hatchet and will no longer pursue patent issues between themselves in the courtroom.

But more than just kissing and making up, the two companies have announced that they will "collaborate on certain patent matters". Quite what this means moving forward remains to be seen, but it could mean that there are some interesting joint ventures on the horizon.

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While some people have the luxury of a beautiful office, not everyone is so lucky. Many people, myself included, work wherever they can -- Starbucks, in a parked car, or a kitchen table to name a few. This is actually freeing, and can be conducive to creativity, but I digress. The downside, of course, is having to work with a single laptop display -- a multiple monitor setup can be a godsend for productivity.

Believe it or not, there are portable secondary monitors, which you can attach with USB to a laptop, tablet, or desktop if need be. Today, AOC announces a 16 inch USB 3.0 variant, featuring 1080p. It supports both Windows and OS X, but Linux distros may work too. Best of all? Not only is video transmitted by USB, but so is the power -- a single cable! Plus, the price is very affordable.

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Facebook today announced a series of updates to user profiles on mobile devices, and one of the first candidates for a revamp is the humble profile picture. There are a couple of interesting options to play with, including temporary profile pictures that change after a certain number of days.

This is an idea that was born from the popularity of banners which Facebook users added to their profile pictures to show support for a particular cause. Also in the pipeline are profile videos, which Facebook says will "add a new dimension to your profile". Forget static images, a looping video clip is now an option. But the profile updates don’t end there -- and, oddly, iPhone users are first in line to try out the new goodies.

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After updating my iPhone 5s to iOS 9 and then using the backup to set up my new iPhone 6s I encountered an annoying bug that prevented certain apps from being able to use mobile data. The bug was so crippling that it (temporarily at least) had me regretting my recent purchase. You can read the full story here.

I wasn’t alone in suffering from this bug and Apple promised frustrated users that a fix was on its way. Well, today that fix arrives. And that’s not the only iOS 9 issue it addresses.

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When I leave my house, I always wonder what's going on inside. No, I don't want to spy on my family (not the humans, at least), but I do want to spy on my dog! Sometimes I go out for a few hours, come home, and she is still laying in the same spot. Maybe she is running around and playing in between; I'd love to know. In all seriousness, it would be nice to check on her well-being while I am away.

Logitech, or should I say "Logi", has created a new product that meets my puppy-watching needs, but is so much more -- security, communication, etc. The Logi Circle Portable Home Connection Camera is an Internet-connected camera that can be used in a stationary spot (including mounted to the wall if you choose) or portable. It even stores recorded content in the cloud. Very cool.

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Thousands of critical medical systems such as MRI machines, completely out in the open and vulnerable to a hacker’s attack, have been exposed online, the media reported on Tuesday.

According to a report by The Register, more than 68,000 medical systems from a "very large" unnamed US organization have been exposed. That institution has some 12,000 staff and 3,000 physicians, it says in the report.

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If you’re a Windows 7 user, you might want to check carefully which updates you install. Users on Windows forums, Reddit and Twitter are concerned about a new "important" update that looks more than a little suspicious.

The update appears to be a language pack, but the details that accompany it are far from the usual information you’d expect to see, leaving many to wonder if Microsoft's update servers could have been compromised.

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