Google is pushing out Chrome 52 for Android, and the big news with this release relates to video. With video being such a massive component of internet traffic, it is perfectly natural for Google to focus on this area, and the company says that improvements have been made to battery consumption and loading times.

There is a marked shift of focus to speed and power efficiency -- compared to the desktop where the focus has long been quality over everything else.

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College sports is big business -- television, radio, merchandise, etc. While many Americans are fans of professional sports such as the NFL and NBA, not every state has such a team. What every state in the union does have, however, are college athletic programs. Believe it or not, in places like Florida where there are plenty of pro teams, many folks are more wild for the Gators or Seminoles than the Dolphins or Heat.

Today, Twitter announces a media partnership with the Silver Chalice-owned company "Campus Insiders". This deal will bring the live video steaming of more than 300 collegiate sporting events to the social network, bolstering its existing offerings.

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Much like Google, streaming music service Spotify is increasingly turning its attention to advertising. Announcing what it refers to as "programmatic buying", the company reveals that it is launching a targeted advertising program.

Advertisers -- or "buyers" in Spotify's nomenclature -- will be granted access to not only demographic data about users, but also access to information about playlists.

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The BBC pumps out a great deal of fabulous content, but there's one problem -- an awful lot of it can only be accessed in the UK. With the launch of the iPlayer Radio app for iOS and Android, this changes.

As well as giving listeners the chance to tune in to live radio broadcasts, the app also provides access to podcasts, and boasts a catch-up feature for shows you may have missed. The iPlayer Radio app is available free of charge, and has already received rave reviews in the Google and Apple stores.

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Most US consumers may not be familiar with Deezer and for good reason. While it is one of the oldest players in the music streaming industry, having launched nine years ago in France, the service has only been offered alongside some audio products and carrier subscriptions so far.

That is about to change though, as Deezer is now, finally, widely available in US. Just like its main competitors, it can be sampled on all the major platforms, including Android, iOS, macOS, and Windows, with customers getting unlimited access to the "world's largest music streaming library", live radio, news, and podcasts.

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Roku has become one of the most popular streaming media platforms, leading more people to get rid of cable and satellite services. It's a mixed bag because it requires some work and a bit of paying for services, though cheaper than the alternative.

Now the manufacturer is bringing its desktop app to Windows 10 in two more countries. Both Canada and the United Kingdom will be receiving the new app for Windows 10.

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Many artists loathe music streaming services that have proved so popular with music fans. While they offer a platform to showcase music, the returns can be low and the way in which payments are calculated is endlessly complex.

Apple has put forward a proposal to simplify the royalty payment system which would not only see artists getting more money, but would make life more difficult for the likes of Spotify. Keep artists happy, harm the competition -- two birds with one stone. A government filing in conjunction with the Copyright Royalty Board suggests a royalty rate of $0.091 per one hundred streams.

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Internet Explorer has been much-maligned over the years, and Microsoft Edge sees the Redmond company trying to shake off the shackles of the past. Its latest marketing push finds Microsoft claiming that Edge is the best desktop web browser for Netflix viewing.

The reason? In addition to claims about greater battery efficiency, Microsoft's killer blow is that Edge is the only of the main desktop browsers to support 1080p viewing. It might seem like a surprising and audacious claim, but the test bears it out. Microsoft Edge has a serious unique selling point.

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End-to-end video streaming and monetization platform Anvato announced recently that it has been acquired by Google, and that it will be joining the Google Cloud Platform team.

Anvato is a video processing software solution, offering encoding, editing, publishing and distribution of videos on various platforms. The company’s clients include NBCUniversal, MSNBC, CBS, Univision, HGTV, Bravo and Fox Sports, and they use their services to power live streams, to edit videos directly in the cloud, and insert ads.

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As a Tidal subscriber, I welcome Apple acquisition—assuming lossless tracks are made available through the fruit-logo company's music services. Not that anyone should seriously believe the rumors. But one can hope.

Merger talks are typically silent affairs. When they're serious, you don't hear about them until there is a deal. Reasons are many, with regulatory being among them when public companies are involved. Acquisition rumors often mean something else: Principal party leaks information about preliminary or ongoing discussions to gauge customer and shareholder reaction; one side or the other is dissatisfied with progress/terms and seeks to apply pressure.

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Security researchers from Ben-Gurion University Cyber Security Research Center (CSRC) have unearthed a vulnerability in Google Chrome that can be exploited to make copies of DRM-protected video streams. The problem affects all Chromium-based browsers, and makes it possible to circumvent Widevine encryption technology Google uses to secure streams.

Widevine has been used in Chrome for a while, after Google acquired it back in 2010. It has been used to prevent piracy of premium YouTube channels, and is also used to protect Amazon Prime and Netflix streams. Google was informed about the problem back in May, but is yet to issue a patch.

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Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have all been pushing live streaming video these days, and many people take advantage of it.

Unfortunately it can sometimes end with a result that nobody wishes to see. That was the case with a Chicago man just recently.

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Taking more than a little inspiration from Game of Thrones, music streaming service Rhapsody has announced a rebranding. 'Napster is coming', proclaims the Rhapsody blog. This is a name that should be very familiar, particularly to old-school pirates.

Napster is a name deeply entrenched in P2P history, but turned its back on its naughty ways following its acquisition by Roxio and then Best Buy. Five years ago, Rhapsody swallowed up Napster and now the company feels it's time to revive the name.

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Amazon has been actively pursuing improvements to its line of products, be it Echo, Fire TV, Kindle or Fire tablet. Of all of the products, perhaps the most updated one and the one which gets the most attention, is the Echo, often referred to as Alexa.

The latest improvements are to Fire TV, gaining Alexa-like features. This isn't technically an Echo update, but an update to the set-top box.

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Despite competition from the likes of Vimeo, YouTube has remained at the top of the heap for streaming videos, mostly because of content that comes from its users. While it's hard to see it being toppled anytime soon, it will have a new rival trying to do just that.

Amazon, which already runs its Prime Video service filled with TV shows and movies, is expanding its footprint, adding user content.

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