On Tuesday, Netflix announced that it has separated its DVD and streaming services, which means if you want both, the price just increased substantially.

1-DVD-at-time unlimited plans will cost $7.99 per month, the cheapest it has ever been, but if you want unlimited streaming you will need to pay an additional $7.99. That is a $6 price hike if you subscribe to the current $9.99 mixed plan.

BusinessInsider conducted a poll of over 2000 readers asking what they would do with their subscription and an overwhelming 52 percent say they will cancel.

29 percent said they will move to streaming only.

The full poll:

The infamous Zeus Trojan has found its way to Android smartphones, a potentially devastating event.

Security firm Fortinet says Zeus, which hijacks bank accounts, is now being used by criminals "to steal one-time passwords sent by banks to authenticate mobile transactions."

The attack comes via Trusteer's Rapport software, which is used to confirm that users are securely logged into their bank's online site.

"In the background, [Zeus] listens to all incoming SMS messages and forwards them to a remote Web server," says Fortinet.

Criminals can then steal money or other credentials from within the portal.

For now, if you do not use a protective app like AVG or Lookout, simply don't log into your bank from your Android device.

Following almost two years of delays, Spotify for the U.S. has launched today, in three variations.

Spotify U.S. has an invite-only free version, a $4.99-per-month ad-free version, and a $10 ad-free "premium" version which allows for unlimited streaming on mobile.

The service has had a free offering in Europe, limited to 10 hours a week, while monthly subscriptions cost £9.99 for unlimited music via your PC or mobile device.

I was given access to the free ad-supported version of Spotify U.S. this morning and so far it has been fantastic.

Read the review here: Spotify Free for U.S., worth the wait?

According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Chinese government shut down 1.3 million sites in 2010.

That number accounted for 41 percent of all Chinese websites.

Following its policy of censorship, China began a massive crackdown on pornography in 2009, and there have been hundreds of thousands of porn-based sites shut down in the last two years.

Despite the huge drop, Academy researcher Liu Ruisheng said China has a "high level of freedom of online speech" and that overall number of web pages increased to 60 billion in 2010, up 79% year-over-year.

"This means our content is getting stronger, while our supervision is getting more strict and more regulated," added Ruisheng (via BBC).

Social media sites like Facebook, Youtube and Twitter have all been censored in the past to restrict easy sharing of activist ideals.

Nintendo has released the latest firmware update for the Nintendo 3DS today, adding Netflix streaming.

Additionally, the Japanese owners of the console will be given access to the Video Store, while North American and European console owners wait until August for the app.

If you have a $7.99 streaming-only or higher Netflix mixed subscription, you can use the handheld to watch movies and TV shows from the "Watch Instantly" catalog.

Says Nintendo:

This free downloadable application allows Netflix members with an unlimited streaming plan, a Nintendo 3DS system and a broadband Internet connection to instantly watch TV shows and movies on their Nintendo 3DS.

Last July, Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), a syndicate of technology, cable and entertainment companies introduced their long awaited cloud-based digital locker today, dubbing the service Ultraviolet.

Today, it appears the group is readying Ultraviolet for a fall launch.

When it launches, the service will allow users to stream their music and movies anywhere, as long as it is legally purchased.

Content providers will get to use one cloud-based platform to create a set of Web standards for DRM on digital content.

Says Mark Teitell, the general manager of UltraViolet (via RWW):

Consumers are looking for a better value proposition to own and collect digital movies and TV shows - a proposition that provides downloads, streaming and physical copy viewing options which are accessible on multiple platforms.

It appears that a recent Borders deal with invester Jahm Najafi has fallen apart today, leaving the struggling book store chain on the brink of death.

Najafi offered $215 million for the company, plus the assumption of $220 million in liabilities, assuming publishers would give him normal trade terms.

As of today, many had agreed, but a few major ones had not, leaving the company on the brink as Najafi withdrew his bid.

Furthermore, a liquidating group has offered $252 million for the chain, which creditors believe to be a better deal.

If sold to the liquidator group, however, all 399 stores will be closed and 11,000 employees will be out of work.

Borders President Mike Edwards has told employees he is hopeful that new bidders will come in before next week, when the bankrupt chain goes into auction, but if no one steps up then the world has seen the end of Borders.

According to analysis from Ancestry.com founder Paul Allen, Google's Google+ social network will hit 20 million users by this weekend.

Allen says the 10 million mark was hit Tuesday afternoon, and the overall user base has increased 350 percent in the last 6 days.

Using "surname-based analysis," Allen used U.S. Census Bureau data about last name popularity and compared it to Google Plus users with the same last name. The researcher used similar tactics for the international markets.

RWW explains that "Allen used a sample of 100 to 200 surnames to estimate the total percentage of the U.S. population who has signed up for Google Plus. He then used that number and a calculated ratio of U.S. to non-U.S. users (one U.S. user for every 2.12 non-U.S. users) to generate his worldwide estimates."

On July 4th, the model had user count at 1.7 million, and by July 9th that had jumped to 4.5 million.

Google+ is available to all Gmail users, and on Android. An iOS app is awaiting Apple approval.

Following weeks of speculation, Electronic Arts (EA) has announced their acquisition of popular casual gaming company PopCap Games.

PopCap, the company behind blockbuster games like Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled, made over $100 million in revenue last year and is a top social/mobile gaming outfit with around 4.3 million active daily gamers.

The final price is $650 million in cash and $100 million in EA stock.

Furthermore, if PopCap hits certain volume and financial goals by the end of the 2013, the company will earn a $550 million bonus earn-out.

Says EA CEO John Riccitiello:

EA and PopCap are a compelling combination. PopCap’s great studio talent and powerful IP add to EA’s momentum and accelerate our drive towards a $1 billion digital business. EA’s global studio and publishing network will help PopCap rapidly expand their business to more digital devices, more countries, and more channels.

We picked EA because they have recast their culture around making great digital games. By working with EA, we'll scale our games and services to deliver more social, mobile, casual fun to an even bigger, global audience.

Sony has confirmed today that all upcoming PS3 revisions will remove the ability for users to watch Blu-ray films via component cables.

The move, the company says, is to comply with the AACS Final Adaptor Agreement.

Says Sony (via Ars):

The new CECH-3000 series PS3 requires HDMI only for BD movie output in HD, in compliance with AACS standards. PS3 continues to support component output for HD gaming and streaming content.

Spotify will launch in the United States tomorrow, says FT.

The unlimited streaming music service is very popular in Europe but has been delayed in the U.S. for 18 months following an initial announcement.

Spotify has signed licensing deals with UMG, Sony and EMI and is likely closing with Warner Music Group as we type.

The service has a free offering in Europe, limited to 10 hours a week, while monthly subscriptions cost £9.99 for unlimited music via your PC or mobile device.

Spotify U.S. will have an invite-only free version, a $4.99-per-month ad-free version, and a $10 ad-free "premium" version which allows for unlimited streaming on mobile devices, as well.

According to new figures from Pew Internet Research, e-reader ownership is moving at a blistering pace.

E-reader ownership among U.S. adults has jumped to 12 percent (as of June 2011) and is expected to continue to grow, especially as prices drop.

Current e-readers are priced down as low as $114 with an average of $140.

The following guide will teach you how to use the EXCELLENT and FREE e-book manager Calibre to index, convert and manage your e-book collection.

Please read the full guide here: Guide to managing your e-books with Calibre

Pandora has announced today that the streaming music service has reached 100 million users, with 36 million being active monthly.

Additionally, the company has completely revamped their design, including the desktop and mobile versions of the site, and the redesign will go live in the very near future.

You can view some pics of the new design (and functionality) here.

Says CTO Tim Conrad:

I’ve been looking at it for seven years. I was ready to give it a fresh coat of paint. We started on it about a year ago. But even earlier than that, we’d been talking about it. There were core navigation problems that needed fixing. At first, we had been talking about more incremental changes, with the site still operating in Flash. But then last summer, it became clear that browsers with full HTML5 capabilities had gained enough support. We realized we could do the full Pandora experience without Flash.

Netflix has announced today that it has separated its DVD and streaming services, which means if you want both, the price just increased substantially.

1-DVD-at-time unlimited plans will cost $7.99 per month, the cheapest it has ever been, but if you want unlimited streaming you will need to pay an additional $7.99.

Currently, a 1-DVD plus unlimited streaming plan costs just $9.99.

The plan is now effective for new members and will become effective for existing members on September 1st.

Netflix has 24 million subscribers in the U.S. and Canada and is set to expand to South America and Mexico later this year.

The company explains its move:

Last November when we launched our $7.99 unlimited streaming plan, DVDs by mail was treated as a $2 add on to our unlimited streaming plan. At the time, we didn’t anticipate offering DVD only plans. Since then we have realized that there is still a very large continuing demand for DVDs both from our existing members as well as non-members. Given the long life we think DVDs by mail will have, treating DVDs as a $2 add on to our unlimited streaming plan neither makes great financial sense nor satisfies people who just want DVDs. Creating an unlimited DVDs by mail plan (no streaming) at our lowest price ever, $7.99, does make sense and will ensure a long life for our DVDs by mail offering. Reflecting our confidence that DVDs by mail is a long-term business for us, we are also establishing a separate and distinct management team solely focused on DVDs by mail, led by Andy Rendich, our Chief Service and Operations Officer and an 11 year veteran of Netflix.

Apple has filed yet another complaint with the U.S. ITC, this time alleging more patent infringement from Taiwanese-based smartphone/tablet maker HTC.

The company initially filed a complaint against HTC last March, claiming they were infringing on 20 patents. HTC then counter-sued Apple, asking the ITC to halt all imports of iOS devices due to alleged patent infringement on 5 of HTC's own patents.

Says HTC of the new suit (via PCW):

HTC is dismayed that Apple has resorted to competition in the courts rather than the market place.