Google has today announced it’s started supporting a new type of two-factor authentication for its websites, as long as you use its Chrome desktop browser. The existing 2-step verification system is based on you entering your password followed by a six-digit code that you either receive via SMS or get from a special mobile app.

The new system replaces the code-entering with inserting a physical USB device into your computer, then tapping its sole button when prompted to do so. Read more »

Google has announced a big update for its Play Music service. First off, the Android and iOS apps have received a new, Material Design-infused coat of paint. Second, the service now brings you contextual music stations.

These have apparently been “hand crafted” by a team of music experts, including DJs, musicians, music critics, and ethnomusicologists, to give you exactly the songs you need for a particular moment. Read more »

Dropbox has updated its mobile app for iOS today, and with the new version comes support for Touch ID. Specifically, you can use the fingerprint sensor embedded into Apple’s wares to get access to your Dropbox.

This means no more entering passwords to view the files you have stored in this particular cloud service. Read more »

Twitter has announced a new feature called Audio Cards. This will allow users to discover music from their favorite artists and then play it within the app itself. The feature is available on both iOS as well as Android.

Audio Cards appear as regular tweets on your timeline with the track. You tap on the track and it starts playing within the app with album art and playback controls. You can minimize the Audio Card and continue to browser your timeline. Read more »

The Google Nexus 9 has gone on pre-order on Amazon in various countries. The new tablet can now be found on the US, German, and French Amazon stores, and should be up on others soon.

The Nexus 9 is priced at $399 for the 16GB variant and $479 for the 32GB variant. It is only available in black and white for now, and not the sand color. You could choose to get two or three year drops and spills warranty for additional $71.96 and $94.21, respectively. The tablet will be delivered after November 3. Read more »

Multiple Dropbox accounts got compromised today when an anonymous user posted hundreds of Dropbox ID and password in a text file on reddit. The ID and password were in four text files that were posted on pastebin.

reddit users confirmed that many of the accounts listed with their passwords were legit. However, Dropbox later said that it wasn’t hacked, and that the account details were obtained from third party sources. Read more »

Google is working on a new service that is integrated within the Google Search app of your phone. Whenever you search for an illness the app will suggest you to talk to a doctor, which will then initiate a Helpout-style video chat where you can ask the doctor about the problem you are having.

According to Google, “When you’re searching for basic health information — from conditions like insomnia or food poisoning — our goal is provide you with the most helpful information available. We’re trying this new feature to see if it’s useful to people.” Read more »

Adobe has outed a new update to its Creative Cloud family that not only brings new features to popular programs like Photoshop CC, but also adds new cloud-based sharing services.

These include curated content selections for user-created brushes and vectors, as well as workflow optimizations for designers and developers. Read more »

Google is reportedly working on a new messaging service for the emerging markets. It will compete against services such as WhatsApp, which is especially popular in India, along with Line, WeChat, and Viber.

One would wonder though as to why Google would bother with another service when it already has Hangouts, which replaced the previous Google Talk service. The new service will reportedly not require having a Google account (probably will just use your mobile number like WhatsApp). It will also have support for local languages and voice-to-text messaging. Read more »

Evernote has released a new beta version of its web app. The focus of this redesign was on simplicity and the designers seem to have achieved the desired result quite perfectly.

One of the reasons I don’t personally use Evernote web app or Evernote in general is because it comes across as too feature heavy (there is such a thing as too many features) and looks kinda cluttered for simple note taking purposes. The new beta does change that quite significantly. Read more »

Photoshop is officially coming to Chrome OS. A streaming version of the popular photo editor will be the first Adobe Creative Cloud feature to arrive on Google’s platform.

Photoshop will be available to Adobe education customers with paid Creative Cloud membership. Read more »

Kindle Unlimited was unveiled back in July, but only now it’s become available in the UK as well. In the meantime, it looks like Amazon added around 50,000 more books to the Unlimited roster.

If you choose this subscription service, you pay £7.99 per month and get unlimited access to over 650,000 books and “thousands of audiobooks” on any device. Read more »

There was news recently of Apple shutting down the Beats Music streaming service shortly after it was acquired. One would assume Apple might want to do that since Beats Music competed against Apple’s own iTunes, and was also available on Android.

That doesn’t seem to be the case, however. According to Re/code, who spoke with Apple PR and its sources, Apple isn’t shutting down Beats Music any time soon. However, the Beats Music brand might change over time. Read more »

With iOS 8 rolling out to devices worldwide, Apple TV also received to a major update today. Firmware version 6.2.1 brings new features to the tiny box, wrapped into a brand new user interface.

The updated user interface features flat look, which brings its appearance in line with Apple iOS and OS X Yosemite. Read more »

Ever since Google launched Hangouts, people have been waiting for the company to truly incorporate voice calling features into the app. There’s been a way to use your Google Voice number (if you had one of those) to call people, but from now on things got a lot simpler. The requirement to have a Google Voice number is gone, basically.

Rolling out during the next few days, an update to the Hangouts app for Android will let you call people for free – if they also use Hangouts, or if they’re in the US or Canada. For those who use Hangouts on iOS or the Web, voice calls will be available the next time you open the app. Read more »