Soon, you too can own a part of Spotify.

The music streaming service has filed for its initial public offering, seeking $1 billion for its start on the New York Stock Exchange. The ticker will be $SPOT, according to the F-1 filing.

Spotify’s decision to go public has been expected and in the works for months as the company aims to return investments to venture capitalists and further grow its business. Now, it’s opening itself up to the pocketbooks and the scrutiny of the public market. That status isn’t always easy — just look at competing music-streaming service Pandora.  Read more…

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Source: Mashable | Spotify files for an IPO on the NYSE

Google Hangouts is officially a business tool.

After months of testing, Google is opening its business messaging platform, Hangouts Chat, to everyone. The Slack-like service for team communication is now open to all of the company’s business customers who use its G Suite services.

Hangouts Chat, first unveiled nearly a year ago, is a lot like Slack in that teams can communicate in group chat and one-to-one messages. It also supports integrations with third-party apps and bots. 

Google is a relatively late entrant to the business-messaging software game. At this point, Slack and Microsoft, with its Teams app, both have significant head-starts. But there are a few areas where Google is hoping to differentiate itself from the competition. Read more…

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Source: Mashable | Google opens its Slack competitor, Hangouts Chat, to everyone

Listen up, Apple Watch users: A new FDA-approved band is on the market and it can help you monitor your heart in a whole new way.

Yes, you can feel when your heart is beating fast after a run or a nerve-racking situation — but most of us aren’t doctors and can’t tell whether this is normal or an actual problem. Detecting when a heart has a truly irregular rhythm by yourself is a toss up, and the only way to confirm an atrial fibrillation (AFib) is to get an electrocardiogram (EKG) from a cardiologist.  Read more…

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Source: Mashable | This is the Apple Watch band that can detect irregular or dangerous heart rhythms