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Spotify and Apple Music have signed new deals with music rights management service Dubset, bringing unofficial remixes to the two most popular streaming services.

For the time being, it seems that short-form mixes are available but long-form mixed content is still unavailable as of writing. Spotify confirmed it was coming but did not give a time frame.

Additionally, full DJ sets are coming at some point too, with Dubset CEO Stephen White excitedly saying "Mixes are coming next!"

Dubset works by using Gracenote's audio fingerprinting database, thus providing rights holders with royalties even if their song is only sampled for a small piece of the mix.

"Content owners have been very supportive. The publishing and label deals we have under license provides a large catalog to work with," White added. This "allows some of the content that until now has only been on YouTube and SoundCloud to come to these great paid services where content owners will get paid!"

Google has updated their Google Suite package (formerly GAPPS), making the "Hangouts" app now optional for OEMs.

Reads Google's email to devs: "Today, we are announcing that Google Duo will replace Hangouts within the suite of core GMS apps, and Hangouts will become GMS Optional for telephony products. This change will take effect on December 1, 2016."

Duo is Google's cross-platform FaceTime competitor.

Now, the headline may be a bit alarmist, but there will be little incentive for OEMs to include Hangouts when there are plenty of rivals that may pay better to have their messaging app pre-installed. Google does say Hangouts will be supported for business and personal, at least for now.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has said this week that entry to China is very unlikely in the near future.

When asked why the company is not in China yet (the world's largest Internet market), Reed noted that regulators recently shut down movie stores from Disney and Apple and that it is still very tough to break through in the censored nation.

"It doesn't look good. We're figuring our way out (in China), but we're really focused on the rest of the world. There is so much opportunity for us in India, Poland, Turkey and Latin America and Vietnam," added Hastings.

Google has announced a "pop-up shop" in NYC to showcase their new "Made By Google" hardware.

The store will be set up at 96 Spring St. starting on October 20th, marketing their Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, the Google Home and Google WiFi home accessories and their new VR headset - the Daydream View.

There is evidence that other pop-ups are on the way, and visiting popup.withgoogle.com has a new "Visit Us" tab that it currently empty but will likely not be in the near future.

With the start of their retail experience, Google appears to be taking a page out of Apple's book.

Kodak quickly posted and then deleted a tweet teasing an upcoming smartphone.

The one-time film giant teased the launch for October 20th, showing off the side of a brushed steel frame and a power button with the Kodak logo.

Kodak released their IM5 phone last year and as expected nobody bought it. This phone appears to be higher end, but there is also zero chance it will sell.

According to a new report, the spy tool that Yahoo installed last year to scan hundreds of millions of emails on behalf of the NSA and FBI was a "poorly designed" malware that engineers actually flagged as a rootkit.

The bombshell report dropped last week and even though it is unclear why Yahoo was served with the confidential order, it has been reported that the government was "looking for a specific digital signature of a communications method used by a state-sponsored, foreign terrorist organization."

Sources claim that the malware was flagged by Yahoo's internal security during a routine checkup. "They assumed it was a rootkit installed by hackers," said the anonymous ex-employee source. "If it was just a slight modification to the spam and child pornography filters, the security team wouldn't have noticed and freaked out. It definitely contained something that did not look like anything Yahoo mail would have installed. This backdoor was installed in a way that endangered all of Yahoo users."

A high-severity security alert was issued within Yahoo's internal tracking system and it got to CIO Alex Stamos who at that point was told that it was installed on purpose. The alert was then "covered up" and "closed...fast enough that most of the [security] team didn't find out."

Microsoft has sent press invites to an event on October 26th where the Redmond giant will unveil new Surface hardware.

Additionally, the company will show off some Windows 10 updates and is also expected to announce some Xbox-related news, as well.

Many in the industry expect a Surface all-in-one PC, and there are also likely to be Surface branded wireless keyboards and mice unveiled. There are not expected to be any updates to the Surface Pro tablet line or Surface Book notebook.

The future of Windows 10 will be on full display no matter what, so expect to hear a lot about what is coming next year.

The major US carriers will allow any Samsung Galaxy Note7 owner to replace their devices for free, even if the phone was already a replacement.

If you bring the phones to retail stores, you can replace the Note7 with another device including iPhones and other Android phones.

Says Sprint: "Sprint is working collaboratively with Samsung to better understand the most recent concerns regarding replacement Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is also investigating the Note 7 replacement device. At this time, CPSC has not specifically said if customers should or should not use the replacement model. If a Sprint customer with a replacement Note 7 has any concerns regarding their device, we will exchange it for any other device at any Sprint retail store during the investigation window. We will provide additional information when the investigation has concluded."

Verizon: "Samsung is in the process of investigating the incident and is working with the authorities. When there is an update, we will make it available. Any Verizon customer concerned about the safety of their replacement Note7 smartphone may take it back to the original point of purchase to exchange it for another smartphone beginning Saturday, October 8. Verizon online customers may also exchange their replacement Note7 smartphones at Verizon stores beginning Saturday, October 8."

Facebook has introduced "Events from Facebook" today, a new app "designed for event seekers who are passionate about keeping up with nearby events and finding things to do with their friends."

The social media giant explained how the new service works: "When you open Events, you can quickly catch up on new events your friends are interested in, recently-announced events by the Pages you like, and updates from events you're already connected to.

If you're looking for something to do this weekend or even right now, you can easily browse event recommendations based on time, location and your interests. Explore events happening where you are or in places you like to go using the interactive map. You can also search for events in any city if you're planning ahead for a trip."

Finally, the service will track all your events in a calendar letting you easily know when you're busy. You can even add your Google and other calendar events to the service.

For now, Events is available for iOS users with Android users getting the app next month.

Comcast has announced today that most of their ISP customers now have a data cap beginning on November 1st - 1TB per month.

Thanks to their "Xfinity Terabyte Internet Data Usage Plan," you are now capped at 1TB of bandwidth per month, regardless of the speed of your connection. If you absolutely need more than that, $50 per month extra gets you true unlimited.

Now, it appears that Comcast understands that a few people will go over their limits. "If you choose to use more than 1 TB in a month, we will automatically add blocks of 50 GB to your account for an additional fee of $10 each," reads the FAQ. Comcast also says it will give you two free grace period months in the first year to get accustomed to 1TB.

Comcast says 99 percent of its subscribers do not use 1TB but that is sure to change in the future with the advent of 4K streaming.

Speaking during their Oculus Connect keynote, the VR pioneer has announced that the Oculus Touch controller will launch on December 6th for $199.

The controller will come bundled with VR Sports Challenge and The Unspoken, as well as a secondary camera that gamers can place in their play area.

In addition, if you would like a third sensor that allows the Touch controller to room scale, Oculus is selling it separately for $79 starting on the same date.

If you are interested, check out the Rift and the Touch here: Oculus

Over the summer, Verizon agreed to acquire struggling web pioneer Yahoo for $4.8 billion but a new report claims that Verizon wants a hefty discount following Yahoo's most recent hacking scandal.

According to the NYPost, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong could be "getting cold feet" and is "pretty upset about the lack of disclosure and he's saying can we get out of this or can we reduce the price?" Armstrong runs the Verizon division that would control Yahoo.

Yahoo is currently under attack by consumers and U.S. officials following two scandals. The company recently announced that hackers accessed over 500 million accounts, stealing passwords and personal information and the SEC is likely to open an investigation into the company's lack of disclosures. In addition, there have been reports that Yahoo allowed the NSA and FBI to scan hundreds of millions of emails secretly, causing an outrage for consumers.

It is unclear if Verizon has any recourse to drop the price or cancel the deal, but if Yahoo did not disclose these scandals to Verizon, it is hard to imagine the acquirer is happy.

Google completed their assault on Amazon yesterday, launching the Echo-rivaling Google Home.

The device was first teased at I/O earlier this year and the voice-activated personal assistant is now available for pre-order.

Shipping November 4th, Home is $129 and comes with a six-month trial to YouTube Red (normally $10 per month). The Home is a wireless speaker with microphones that allow for voice commands such as "Google, what is the weather today," or "Google, please read my calendar for today." Google Home also works with existing Nest, Phillips, Samsung and IFTTT smart home devices.

Because Google really wants their devices to blend in with your home, there are multiple "fabric" and "metal" options in different colors so that the Home can match your home's aesthetics.

Check out the device here: Google Home

Google has launched the new 4K-supporting Chromecast Ultra at $69.

The HDMI streaming "puck" is an upgrade to the existing Chromecast 2 that sells for $35, although both items will sell concurrently depending on your needs.

Google notes: "Stream up to 4K Ultra HD & HDR picture quality over your WiFi network with Chromecast Ultra, a streaming device that plugs into your TV's HDMI port. Chromecast Ultra provides fast, reliable performance with minimal buffering and smoother streaming."

Most notably, the devices will support HDR for clearer picture and Dolby Vision, as well.

Get yours here: Chromecast Ultra

Google has continued their efforts to take over your home, announcing the Google WiFi home router.

The device will start shipping in December and cost $129 - in-line with other mid-to-high range routers, or you can buy a three-pack for $299 if you would like to create a "mesh network."

"It's modular, so you can get the right fit for your home's shape and sizes. Simply add wifi points to expand coverage," said Mario Queiroz, lead of the product management group within Google's hardware division.

Google promises managing your bandwidth is easy using their app, and also promises that keeping your Internet connection fast is a top priority. Says Google: "Network Assist is intelligent software built into Google Wifi to provide you with the fastest possible speed. Behind the scenes, Network Assist automatically helps you avoid Wi-Fi congestion, and transitions you to the closest Wi-Fi point for the best signal. Network Assist will offer suggestions on how to optimize performance, like where to move a Google Wifi point for faster speeds or providing data so you can adjust your ISP plan."

Check out the router here: Google WiFi