All good things come from Sweden.

Don’t believe me? Think about it: Abba. Ikea. Dynamite. GPS. Green-living communities. Lord of the Rings-inspired metal music. Statuesque blond ski instructors.

And Spotify.

Way back in 2008, a software development company in Sweden kicked back and thought about how great it would be to offer DRM-free, streaming music to the masses. Granted, lots of people have had this thought. I’m sure you’ve all spent some time on websites like Pandora, last.fm, and maybe even Grooveshark. But you probably don’t have an iTunes-like desktop client that will do what those sites will do. That’s what Spotify is all about.

Spotify lets you pick and choose what music you want to hear from their seemingly bottomless catalog, track by track, album by album, or artist by artist. It will also automatically import any existing audio files on your computer into its directory, so can play those songs along with stuff from Spotify. You can drag things directly into your play queue or create custom playlists. The stuff you make is saved to your account, so you can access the same playlists and history from any computer. You can also link your Spotify account to your Facebook, so you can share playlists with your friends and subscribe to their playlists in turn. Lists are also provided from time to time by the Spotify staff, and other commercial interests like Rolling Stone magazine and various record labels.

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I was hoping to come to this post with an easily quantifiable impression of Google’s latest endeavor, a quick “yay!” or “nay” that I could pass along to you, our loyal readers, to give you some idea of what you could expect from the newest entry into the world of social networking. There are, unfortunately, a few things that made achieving said impression basically impossible. But, in a way, I think most of those things will also contribute to Google+’s chances at success and longevity.

First off, it took a bit of doing to finally wrangle an “invite.” Rather than opening up the service to any and everyone right off the bat, Google opted to allow small numbers in at a time, which helps them control the user experience. End users often turn up smaller bugs, that Google can then fix before the whole world sees them. That way Google+ is a more solid and polished service by the time it’s open to the whole public. It’s also a cool way to ensure that end users get to dictate how the service will evolve. By observing the first adopters, Google can modify and update the service to add the features that its user base really wants. But it does mean that I’ve only been playing around with the service for a week or so, and also that the list of my friends who have also joined up is still rather short.

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On June 6, Apple announced the latest incarnation of its OS X operating system: 10.7, more commonly known as Lion. Also announced were the imminent release of iOS 5 for Apple’s mobile devices and, hand-in-hand with that, the iCloud.

Folks who’ve been handy with Apple’s products for a few years now might recognize the source of this “new” service as MobileMe (née .Mac), the yearly membership with an email address, online storage, and push syncing for your mobile devices.

But iCloud is more than just a name change. Apple is revamping the service to expand its offerings and its reach. MobileMe used to cost $99 a year to subscribe. iCloud will be free to anyone using iOS 5, that is to say, anyone with an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch capable of running the new software when it comes out this fall.

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If you have a mobile device running Google’s Android software, the time has come to rejoice. The internet giant recently launched the online version of their app store, Android Market.

While you could always access the market from your Android device to download tons of free and paid applications, you can now check out the same selection from your computer’s internet browser. Having the mobile store to browse on the go is certainly a great convenience, but there’s something to be said for shopping for apps with more screen real estate at hand.  Considering every app’s page has screenshots, reviews, thumbnails of other apps by the same developer, and sometimes even videos of the app in action, it can be a lot to absorb on the 3.5-4″ display most touch-based smartphones sport.

The online market makes it easier to view all the information on an app’s page at once, so you may find your stamina for browsing greatly increased. But the best part? Once you’ve logged in to the market, you can install any app you like directly from the site—without connecting your device to your computer.  Android Market will automatically stream the content from server to smartphone, making the download process just as easy as if you were using the mobile market.

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We here at NYC Tech Guys have discovered that folks have a lot of complaints when it comes to their computers. From speed issues to viruses run amok, there are myriad frustrations that can complicate the user experience.  But even more amazing, lots of people don’t realize that there are some excellent software solutions out there that can ameliorate or even totally rectify some of the most troublesome issues that plague your computer.  To that end, we present “our picks,” a basic ranking of our preferred options for the most popular types of software to help you find the right programs to make your life easier.  This week, we’re talking about some great utilities for Windows users.

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We here at NYC Tech Guys have discovered that folks have a lot of complaints when it comes to their computers. From speed issues to viruses run amok, there are myriad frustrations that can complicate the user experience.  But even more amazing, lots of people don’t realize that there are some excellent software solutions out there that can ameliorate or even totally rectify some of the most troublesome issues that plague your computer.  To that end, we present “our picks,” a basic ranking of our preferred options for the most popular types of software to help you find the right programs to make your life easier.  This week, we’re talking about internet browsers.

The internet is everywhere. Literally. It’s in coffee shops, city parks, and likely every room in your home. If you have a smartphone, you’ve even got it in your pocket. It’s probably safe to say that you, like all the rest of us, take this constant connectivity for granted. But this ubiquitous access aside, you might not be getting the best browsing experience. Here are a few recommendations to help you remedy that!

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In spite of all the wonderful things computers have added to modern life, they’ve given us some pretty rotten things too: sentient AI along the lines of HAL and SkyNet, diminished capacity for social interaction, FarmVille. But of all these modern inconveniences, repetitive strain injuries have to be the most prevalent, persistent, and downright annoying. From headaches to hand cramps, there are myriad ailments you can blame on your PC.

Including sleeping poorly.

Ever since computers stopped using interfaces made up of neon green fixed-width type on an empty black screen, the light emitted by your PC’s display was meant to mimic daylight. Specifically, the color temperature of most displays is set to around 6000K by default.  And if you leave your display’s brightness setting at the higher end of its range, it means your eyes are getting bombarded with an awful lot of photons.  Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to stare into the sun?

And burning holes into your retinas aside, staring long and hard at your computer screen after dark can actually affect your circadian rhythms—the biological clockwork that tells you when it’s time to eat, time to wake up, and time to sleep.  Since your body interprets the cooler temperature light coming from your display as sunlight, it thinks computer time equals party time, even if it’s actually nighttime and you want to retire shortly after that last round of Spider Solitaire.

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So last week we served up some sites and programs you could use to watch television programming on your computer or mobile device.  While some people have certainly embraced the glory of streaming internet television, some people still prefer getting their fix from the 60″ flatscreen holding court in their living room. But what if you could get all that lovely internet TV on your actual TV?  Without the pesky bother of paying for cable?  Well, look no farther.  Here are a handful of options you can use to accomplish just that feat.

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Chances are you have, at some point in your relationship with the internet, watched some kind of video online.  Chances are that some of you (about 20%, if statistics are to be trusted) have used the worldwide web to watch full TV shows, or even movies.  You might have even paid for it!

While internet content isn’t likely to kill cable TV anytime soon, it is becoming a more prevalent and user-friendly way to get your recommended dose of your favorite programming.  We’ve taken the liberty of listing a few content providers/aggregates here, with a few pros and cons, to help you make the most of your internet television experience.

Hulu – www.hulu.com

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And it’s also time for spring cleaning!  Happily, the Lower East Side Ecology Center is making the disposal of your broken and outdated electronics really easy for you–they’re hosting a baker’s dozen of e-waste recycling events through May 22 at various locations in all five boroughs.  And since New York state just passed a law making it illegal to throw away these old electronics starting in 2015, recycling your e-waste is a good habit to get into.

Here are a few tips to consider when preparing your electronics for recycling: continue