Spotify has now been made available in offline mode. You have to be a Premium subscriber. A computer can have up to 3,333 songs stored at most.

They have also made it possible to pay for premium with Paypal. Only in the UK to start with though.

http://www.spotify.com/blog/archives/2009/10/01/spotify-goes-offline/

Here is also a list of new releases Oct 2nd: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=tLvfG00kE3zSJr0F4802Jug&output=html

I recently found Quake Live. Okay, so I’m a bit behind on this one. The open beta launched February 24, 2009 on www.quakelive.com. As stated in this article, Quake Zero not actually in web-browser, it’s actually not running in the browser, but rather in its own window. To play you have to install a plugin. Currently, only Internet Explorer 7+, Mozilla Firefox 2+, and Safari 3+ web browers running in either Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Mac OS X 10.4+ (Safari only), and Linux are supported. -Wikipedia

In August, Microsoft unofficially (through a job post description) announced they are going to have a more widespread access to their gaming network:

The LIVE Engagement Team is looking for a LIVE Community Director to manage its LIVE community strategy and execution across a range of properties, from Xbox LIVE to Windows Mobile. This senior position will play a vital role in the community space as the LIVE Engagement team builds and program’s Microsoft’s next-generation, LIVE-enabled casual and social gaming platform across the Web, the console, mobile and beyond.

That is not to say they are going to have the actual games on there, but it’s sure a step in that direction.

At this point, a majority of games have an online multiplayer mode, so the transition would really just be a small step. Distribution would be free and much easier. And then there is the viral effect of social networks.

Update: Another interesting web-based game is Monopoly City Streets available on http://www.monopolycitystreets.com/ It makes use of Google Maps.

When you think about it, there are a lot of web services and software that just never gets out of “beta”. Even though they at times charge the same amount that was going to be charged when it’s released. It’s like everyone is scared of saying it’s a live 1st version. “What if it crashes or won’t work and we call it v.1?” Big deal.

It’s like if Volvo would start selling a new car, calling it V90 Beta. Then when the journalist asks them why they would say something like “Yeah, we’re not sure yet if the breaks are completely ok, but let’s see.”

I just think that either you release something and charge for it, or you stick with beta until you are comfortable with the service/software and then start charging. If you need money, then ask people to donate and give something back to them.

Jalbum is a free photo album software that makes it easy to share photo albums with anyone.

You get a free 30 MB Jalbum hosting account for your albums that can be upgraded. The free account gives you 2 GB bandwidth per month. There is also a Premium account for €19 per year that gives you 1 GB storage and 10 GB bandwidth per month. If you want more space and bandwidth you can get a Power account for €95 per year. The Power account gives you 10 GB of storage and 100 GB bandwidth per month. The Premium and Power accounts are ad-free.

They have partnered with Blurb so you can have your album printed. The printing starts at $12.95 for a 40-page softcover album.

Spotify – the story from Spotify on Vimeo.

Spotify has made great progress and yesterday announced that they have signed deals with several companies including Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, EMI Music, Warner Music Group, Merlin, The Orchard and Bonnier Amigo.

You can now get Spotify Premium or a Day-pass. At the same time they are starting to give out invites to the free service that is supported by ads.

I’ve had the benefit of using Spotify while it was in beta-testing and it’s really a great service. The premium service is priced at 99 SEK per month and the day-pass (24 hrs) is 9 SEK. Totally worth it!

I’m a week late, but I’m just going to go ahead and post anyway. Totiki Me was released last Thursday and is available for Windows only.

Totiki Me helps you keep an eye on what is going on on a lot of social networks that you are on. It’s a great way to keep up to date.

http://www.totiki.com/